This year, after more than a decade of service as a linguist and a paratrooper, Jay Huwieler made the decision to leave the military. “It was a combination of feeling like I’d served my purpose, and at the same time feeling like there had been

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'More Happiness In My Life'

Dec 23rd, 2018 4m

Jeremy Moore was on a night patrol in Afghanistan in 2012 when he fell nearly 60 feet down an open well. He suffered serious injuries to his legs, spine, and head. He returned to Fort Bragg, determined to stay in the Army and keep working, even

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'What We Were Called To Do'

Dec 16th, 2018 4m

Military service is the thread that weaves Bobby and Alexia Fields’ family life together. He’s on active duty at Fort Bragg, she serves in the Army Reserve. Together, they balance the demands of the Army with the responsibility of raising three

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'A Turning Point In My Life'

Dec 9th, 2018 4m

From 1942 until 1978, women who wanted to join the Army served in the Women’s Army Corps. Former Specialist Victoria Landes spent six years as a WAC during the 1960s, training to be a dental assistant at Fort Bragg. “When I graduated at 18, I r

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'The War Was Wrong'

Dec 2nd, 2018 4m

As a young man in the late 1960s, Hal Noyes faced the prospect of being drafted to fight in Vietnam. He was opposed to the war, but decided to enlist, hoping to avoid combat. By 1969, he found himself stationed at Fort Bragg, working in the s u

FT. BRAGG STORIES: From Agriculture To Airborne

Nov 25th, 2018 4m

Growing up on his family’s farm in southern Alabama, Private First Class Tyler Dunn thought his future lay in agriculture. “Our family farm, we’ve got roughly 3,000 acres that we row crop, we have chicken houses, and we have close to 3,000 head

FT. BRAGG STORIES: Helping Incarcerated Veterans

Nov 18th, 2018 4m

Lynn and Steve Newsom spent five years as co- directors of Fayetteville’s Quaker House. During their tenure, they advocated for better mental health care for incarcerated veterans, organizing a petition and vigil in A pril 2016 to draw attentio

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'No End In Sight'

Nov 11th, 2018 4m

Sergeant First Class Kelly Rodriguez deployed more than five times in the course of her 21-year military career, serving as an Army Combat Medic in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and twice in Afghanistan. She loved her work, but it exposed her to some o

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'Journey Through Darkness'

Nov 4th, 2018 4m

Retired Major Ivan Castro’s life was forever changed September 2, 2006, when a mortar landed near him in Iraq. Two of the men in his unit were killed and Castro was gravely injured. The attack left him completely blind, facing a long road to re

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'We Try To Debunk'

Oct 28th, 2018 4m

In 2008, Armando Nunez and a friend decided on a whim to try their hand at ghost-hunting by taking pictures in a local cemetery. His wife Joanna and friend Tom Kuntz soon joined in and together they founded the Paranormal Research Organization

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'A National Emergency'

Oct 21st, 2018 4m

Jean Wilson was a college freshman on October 22, 1962, when she heard President John F. Kennedy’s speech announcing the presence of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on the island of Cuba. “It sounded like an emergency, like a national emergency,”

FT. BRAGG STORIES: Hurricane Florence

Oct 14th, 2018 4m

Hundreds of soldiers aided in Hurricane Florence rescue and recovery efforts, even as some saw their own homes flooded or evacuated. Specialist Ruben Alvarez is a parachute rigger at Fort Bragg. During the storm, he volunteered to help evacuate

FT. BRAGG STORIES: Earning The President's Hundred Tab

Oct 7th, 2018 4m

Specialist Jonathon Wannemacher is an infantryman in the 82nd Airborne. He’s also a skilled marksman. At age 26, he’s ranked as one of the top 100 competitive shooters in the country. He placed 81 out of roughly 1,200 shooters in the President’

FT. BRAGG STORIES: "Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things"

Sep 30th, 2018 4m

The Base Realignment and Closure process of 2005 shut down 24 military installations across the country and consolidated many more. Fort Bragg grew as a result, adding the U.S. Army Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command.

FT. BRAGG STORIES: First Flight

Sep 23rd, 2018 4m

Bob Dean was a twenty-year-old rising senior at Cornell in 1950. When the Korean War started that summer, he was training with his ROTC class at Fort Bragg. “I recall for the early part of the training, we had a heck of a good time,” said Dean,

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'The Checkpoints Went Up Overnight'

Sep 9th, 2018 4m

Growing up on Fort Bragg as the son of an active duty service member, Josh Groll saw the military installation as his home, a small town insulated from the rest of the world.

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'Time Stood Still'

Sep 2nd, 2018 4m

In the fall of 2001, Shelli Altopp-Miller was living with her husband and two small children at Pope Air Force Base. He was on active duty with the Air Force, she was a stay-at-home mother.

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'Square Peg In A Round Hole'

Aug 26th, 2018 4m

Steve Newsom and his wife Lynn spent five years as co-directors of Quaker House, the Fayetteville nonprofit that advocates for peace and supports service members who question their role in the military. As a young man growing up New Jersey, Ste

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'He Stood Out In My Mind'

Aug 19th, 2018 4m

Mary Ellen Shugart served two tours as an Army nurse in Vietnam in the 1960s and early 70s. She treated hundreds of soldiers, but the memory of one young man at Fort Bragg stayed with her through the years. She recalled treating a soldier in th

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'The War Is Over'

Aug 12th, 2018 4m

Bill Reid is 92 now, but back in 1944 he was just 18 when he was drafted to fight in World War II . He traveled by train from New Jerse y to Fort Bragg for 17 weeks of training before heading off to Europe . On his first day at Bragg, Reid reca

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'More Than Ink And Skin'

Aug 5th, 2018 4m

Tattoos have long been a hallmark of military service . Memorial tattoos , in particular, have a special place in the armed forces . Images inked on flesh can pay tribute to those who have served , salute the fallen, and help soldiers and their

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'We're Ready To Start Healing'

Jul 29th, 2018 4m

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael Duskin served with the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. During seven deployments over the course of 15 years, he and his wife Maggie established routines to cope with his absences and keep the lives of the

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'It Made Me Understand'

Jul 22nd, 2018 4m

Joanna Nun ez's father, Joe Garcia, served two tours in Vietnam before retiring from the Army in the early 80 s. Growing up in Fayetteville , s he recalls her father was often distant and irritable, with dark mood swings that were hard to predi

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'Not Afraid Of The Fight'

Jul 15th, 2018 4m

Many soldiers who decide to leave the military put their training to use in civil ian careers. James Quigg is no different, although his career choice is somewhat unusual. He's a professional mix ed martial arts fighter known as the Gentleman B

FT. BRAGG STORIES: 'I Refused That Fate'

Jul 8th, 2018 4m

Sergeant Solomon Abanda proudly serves in the 82 nd A irborne Division at Fort Bragg , but his path to get there has been complicated. Born in Cameroon, Abanda came to the U.S. at 19 to study. A fter a series of mis steps, he found himself livi