The support troops from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis – the 296th Brigade Support Battalion – have commissioned this artwork to capture their experiences during the last deployment to Iraq. It's by Paul Stuecke, the Olympia artist who's probably best known for his paintings and posters about the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The battalion's Family Readiness Group is selling prints and will use the money for its programs. Contact Nicole Rosen from the 296th FRG at 253-843-3147 or nickelnm@iglide.net for more information.

USA Today has a story that will come as welcome news to the Washington National Guard's 81st Brigade Combat Team: Convoy attacks in Iraq are down to their lowest rate since the early months of the war.

At the high point of the insurgency in 2006, one in every five convoys got hit; in the first six months of 2008, fewer than one in 50 was attacked, the newspaper reported, citing Pentagon data.

At the same time more U.S. logistics convoys are moving across the country than at any time in the war, USA Today said.

Lots of folks around here will be keeping their fingers crossed that this trend continues. Convoy security will be the 81st Brigade's primary mission when it reaches Iraq in October, brigade officials say.