Blake Farmer

Women In Combat Ban To Be Lifted

Blake Farmer — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:42:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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We're expecting Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to make an announcement today. From now on, women will formally be allowed to serve in ground combat.

INSKEEP: To sense just how dramatic this change is, consider how many other milestones the military passed before reaching this one.

Military Homecomings Still Bittersweet For Some

Blake Farmer — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 22:25:00 +0000

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Homecomings at the nation's military bases are treated as occasions of the highest order. This morning, more than 100 families at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, waited for hugs and kisses before the sun came up.

Wal-Mart's Female Employees File Suit In Tennessee

Blake Farmer — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:20:00 +0000

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some other news. Women who work for Wal-Mart - the world's largest retail chain - continue to make claims they get paid less and are not promoted as often as men. Current and former Wal-Mart employees have now filed a court case in Tennessee.

As Blake Farmer of member station WPLN reports.

BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: Three women are named.

Army Aims To Use Words, Not Weapons, With Afghans

Blake Farmer — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 22:26:00 +0000

The U.S. Army has been ramping up instruction in the languages of Afghanistan, even as troop levels in the country decrease in preparation for the U.S. troop withdrawal in 2014.

This year, key installations have added several hundred speakers of Pashto and Dari to their ranks, more than doubling the number of soldiers trained in the Afghan languages.

But it's not just the country's languages that are foreign to U.S.