It took less than two hours of deliberation for a Fort Walton Beach jury to find former Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy Eddie Duran not guilty in connection with the 2024 shooting death of Senior Airman Roger Fortson.

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Green, former command chief of Air Force Special Operations Command, was found guilty of four offenses in violation of two articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including indecent recording in violation of Article 120c and possessing, viewing and producing child pornography in violation of Article 134.

Marine Col. Andrew Kellner took command of Training Air Wing 5 at Naval Air Station Whiting Field on Sept. 5, taking over from Navy Capt. Kenneth Kerr, according to a news release from Whiting Field.

Santa Rosa County will receive $525,000 in state grants to design an expansion of Whiting Aviation Park and to buy land near NAS Whiting Field to protect the base from encroachment, according to a news release from Santa Rosa County officials.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis has asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to study establishing a national veterans cemetery in Okaloosa County and announced a steering committee to build a case for a roughly 200-acre site in Northwest Florida.

The Navy will begin asking homeowners near Naval Air Station Whiting Field for permission to sample their private drinking water wells in August, including wells the Navy tested years ago and found within safety guidelines.

Santa Rosa County Commissioners moved forward July 7 with plans to apply for two state defense grants worth up to $750,000 to support NAS Whiting Field.

Randy Roy is paid, in part, to think about a war that hasn’t happened yet and the pilots who’ll fly it.

It has been more than 10 years since Eglin Air Force Base opened its gates to the public for an air show. In April 2027, that will change.

Most naval bases take their names from their location, or the towns nearby. Naval Air Station Whiting Field is different. The Navy’s busiest training base, tucked into northern Santa Rosa County, carries the name of a man, one who never set foot on it.