Iraq

It’s back to school season, a time when many students are asked, "What did you do over the summer?" Well, one professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has an intriguing answer to that question.

History professor Brian Glyn Williams traveled to Iraq, where he helped rescue a young girl from ISIS.

Since President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority nations, many refugees are in limbo. They’re waiting abroad, and some of their family members are waiting for them here.

Imagine serving as a soldier in Iraq, surviving, and then deploying to Afghanistan, with no trip home in between. U.S.Army Veteran Thomas Pittman did just that. As we honor the service of veterans on this Veterans Day, we bring you Pittman’s story, as part of our series "RI Veterans' Voices." 

Pittman served as a combat engineer in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He is currently pursuing a degree in social work at CCRI and Rhode Island College. 

Pittman served in the U.S. Army from 2008 through 2011. He spoke with Rhode Island Public Radio's Nate Mooney, who produced this story. 

Republican First Congressional District candidate Cormick Lynch, a 29-year-old Newport resident, joins Political Roundtable this week to discuss his campaign, along with more revelations about state contracts won by Representative Peter Palumbo; GOP gubernatorial candidate Allan Fung's Ohio-based campaign commercial; and secretary of state candidate Guillaume de Ramel's lack of detail about why he hired then-Speaker Gordon Fox for legal work in 2011.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed is gearing up for yet another campaign cycle.  Reed, who’s held his Senate Office since 1997 will face Republican Mark Zaccaria in the November general election.

Reed stopped by Rhode Island Public Radio to speak with our political analyst Scott MacKay about the crises at our borders and abroad, Rhode Island’s economy, and hitting the campaign trail once again.

On this Veterans Day we meet Donald Ruggieri.  He served five years in the Marine Corps, and was deployed to Iraq as an explosives dog handler.

He continued that work state-side, working with the secret service on missions for both President Bush and President Obama.

Ruggieri is not only a veteran, but also a student at URI where he is studying to become a veterinarian. 

Ruggieri spoke with Rhode Island Public Radio’s education reporter Elisabeth Harrison.

Rhode Island has lost a sixth soldier to the war on terrorism. The Rhode Island  National Guard has announced the death of Staff Sergeant Timothy McGill in Afghanistan.

Sergeant McGill lived in Ramsey, New Jersey but was a member of the Rhode Island National Guard.  He was assigned to company A 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces.  He was killed Saturday from wounds received by small arms fire in eastern Afghanistan.