The American Homefront Project features reporting on military life and veterans issues by NPR affiliate stations nationwide.
We’re visiting bases to chronicle how American troops are working and living. We’re meeting military families. We’re talking with veterans — in their homes, on their jobs, at school, at VA hospitals — to learn about their successes and their challenges. We cover major policy issues at the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs, and we report on the family issues that service members and veterans experience in their daily lives. From the youngest military recruits to the veterans of World War II, we’re reporting in-depth stories about Americans who serve.
In 2021, Congress reversed a policy that blocked students with dependents from continuing their studies at the highly competitive military academies. The change is scheduled to take effect in the upcoming school year.
At two years old, the country’s youngest service branch is still on the receiving end of jokes and bigger questions about what it does and why it exists.
To get into one of the nation's elite military academies, students must be nominated by their member of Congress. But those picks go disproportionately to white students, leading some to call for change.
Gay and lesbian veterans who received a less-than-honorable discharge because of their sexual orientation can't access federal veterans benefits. But Colorado is among the states moving to ensure they can at least qualify for state ones.
Months of physical distancing and pandemic anxiety has been especially tough on veterans who were already dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related injuries.
Some of Los Angeles County's 3900 homeless veterans had been lined up to move into the complex under construction. After the fire, many will remain on the streets.
More than 50 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers are involved in trials to test vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, and the agency is calling on vets to volunteer.
Advocates say the Army is too quick to write off soldiers as deserters when they don't show up for duty. That can delay searches when a service member disappears because of an accident, suicide, or abduction.
Medical facilities run by the Department of Veterans Affairs are reopening at a slower pace than many civilian health systems. But the VA has recently started to expand in-person care.
American Legion posts across the country serve as a community hub for veterans and their families. But the pandemic has put the future of many posts in jeopardy.
Most military children are used to moving and changing schools. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be especially hard to make friends and feel comfortable in a new place.
The One Navy Task Force is looking at why only a handful of African Americans reach top jobs. It's also examining discrimination in all aspects of Navy life.