At our newspaper, we don't publish a lot of so-called "handout" photos provided by the U.S. military. We have our own staff photographers to take images at Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base, and we rely on wire service photographers for news overseas.

But an AP story today about a doctored photo of a prestigious Army newsmaker gives us food for thought.

The Associated Press on Friday suspended the use of photos provided by the Defense Department after the Army distributed a digitally altered photo of the U.S. military’s first female four-star general.
The image of Army Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody is the second Army-provided photo the AP has eliminated from its service in the last two months.
The AP said that adjusting photos and other imagery, even for aesthetic reasons, damages the credibility of the information distributed by the military to news organizations and the public.
“For us, there’s a zero-tolerance policy of adding or subtracting actual content from an image,” said Santiago Lyon, the AP’s director of photography.
Lyon said the AP is developing procedures to protect against further occurrences and, once those steps are in place, it will consider lifting the ban. He said the AP is also discussing the problem with the military.
Col. Cathy Abbott, chief of the Army’s media relations division, said the Dunwoody photo did not violate Army policy that prohibits the cropping or editing of a photo to misrepresent the facts or change the circumstances of an event.
In the original photo, the general appears to be sitting at a desk with a credenza and bookshelf behind her. Three stars on her uniform identify her as a lieutenant general, her rank before Friday’s promotion.
The altered photo, distributed by the Army and run on the AP’s photo wire Thursday, shows Dunwoody in fatigues in front of an American flag. Her rank, affixed to the front of a soldier’s tunic, is not visible.
“We’re not misrepresenting her,” Abbott said. “The image is still clearly Gen. Dunwoody.”

What do you think? Should the military be manipulating photographs this way? Is the news media overreacting?

Incidentally, we are putting a story about Dunwoody's historic promotion on Page A3 Saturday. Accompanying it will be a picture taken by a wire service photojournalist during Friday's ceremony at the Pentagon.

UPDATED 11/17/2008: Fort Lewis spokeswoman Catherine Caruso called to make it clear that Fort Lewis does not manipulate photos it provides to the media. This would be a violation of Army regulation 360-1, Chapter 13-4. (Read it here.)

"We don't take things out of photos and we don't put them in," Caruso called to tell me. "The second you make a change like that, it becomes a photo illustration."

The Department of Defense must've been working off different sheet music in the Dunwoody case.

The most common type of Army "handout" photos we use at the TNT -- mug shots of soldiers who died in the line of duty -- are typically provided by family members, with Fort Lewis as a third-party conduit. Army public affairs specialists can't vouch for the integrity of those photos, Caruso said, although they do reject them if it's obvious they were altered.

An event in Tacoma on Saturday will allow hundreds of military spouses connect and share their experiences. SpouseBUZZ Live will also feature “military-friendly employers and organizations whose services benefit the military community,” according to a press release.

The free event is the third and final stop of a national tour. SpouseBUZZ is military.com’s virtual spouse support group and military spouse blog. Scheduled events include panel discussions like "A Humorous Look at the Milspouse Experience" and "Making the Most of the Milspouse Experience."

What: SpouseBUZZ Live
When: Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Hotel Murano, 1320 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma
Cost: Free

The Washington National Guard is partnering with food banks across the state. The Guard will collect non-perishable items at its eight storefront recruiting stations across the state.

The program runs through Jan. 1.

If you want to drop something off, the eight locations are:

Lakewood: 10020 Bridgeport Way S.
Puyallup: 4621 South Meridian #15
Lacey: 8221 Martin Way SE #F
Seattle: 2445 4th Ave. S., Suite 104
Lynnwood: 3333 184th St. SW
Kennewick: 2525 West Falls Ave.
Yakima: 112 W. Nob Hill Blvd.
Spokane: 1402 A North Division

Officials from Fort Lewis and the Clover Park School District are breaking ground today on a joint-use youth facility at Hillside Elementary School.

The 135-person facility at the on-post school will be used by both the military and the school district, according to a press release. Clover Park will use two classrooms for its Early Childhood Education Assistance Program for low-income and at-risk preschoolers.

Fort Lewis’ Morale, Welfare and Recreation will use the facility for its School of Knowledge, Inspiration, Exploration and Skills program, which offers classes in academics, arts, life skills and sports for military children and teenagers.

Other space has been designated for use by the school district for educational, sports and fitness programs.

A Kent man who claimed he was an Iraq war veteran and a Purple Heart recipient pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to presenting false military documents and to making false claims of military service and medals earned.

Brandon V. Perkins, 21, faces up to a year and prison and a $100,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Richard Jones plans to sentence Perkins on Feb. 6.

Perkins admitted he submitted a written claim to the Veterans Affairs regional office in Seattle in April 2008, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office. He claimed to be suffering from pain stemming from a combat injury sustained while deployed in Iraq.

He submitted discharge papers stating he had served a full term of service in the Army and received a handful of medals, including the Combat Infantry Badge, Combat Action Badge and Purple Heart.

Perkins, though, served less than two years in the Army, never served overseas, wasn’t injured in combat and didn’t receive the medals he claimed. He enlisted in the Army in July 2004, the attorney’s office said, and was discharged in 2006 because of a misconduct conviction in civilian court.

He received $2,720 in medical benefits from VA health care facilities. As part of his plea agreement, he’ll pay back the money.

Click below to read the press release (with more details):

=> Read more!