Digging out after a nice two-week vacation. ... Fort Lewis' new deputy commanding general, Brig. Gen. John D. Johnson, is on the promotion list to major general that (finally) came out Tuesday. (I say finally because I am told this promotion board met back in October 2007 and only now are the announcements coming out.)

Anyway, the list includes a number of other Fort Lewis alumni, the most recent being Brig. Gen. Donald Campbell, who was here for what seemed like just a cup of coffee before moving on to Fort Knox. Others, I'm told, include Brig. Gens. John M. Bednarek (a former 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment commander), Gina S. Farrisee, Michael Ferriter and Gregg F. Martin.

Not that there's a shortage of pachyderms at the post these days. There are more general officers at Lewis now than at any time in recent memory (OK, my recent memory going back eight years now).

For those of you scoring at home, they are:

• Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby, the I Corps and Fort Lewis commander.

• Maj. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, the new commander at Madigan Army Medical Center and chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps.

• Brig. Gen. Peter C. Bayer, the new I Corps chief of staff.

• Johnson, the deputy commanding general for operations.

• Brig. Gen. Jeff W. Mathis, the rear detachment deputy commanding general.

• Col. Heidi V. Brown was nominated July 15 for brigadier general. She's the I Corps effects coordinator.

• Col. Brett Daugherty, installed as commander of the Washington National Guard's 66th Theater Aviation Command in June, is also scheduled for promotion to brigadier general.