The Soldiers Project NW has put out an open call for licensed mental health counselors in private practice who want to volunteer their time to work with troops returning from or serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and their loved ones.

Organizers are holding a meeting on Feb. 12 for therapists to learn about the project and learn about specific health issues related to the service members and their families (including parents, children, spouses and significant others).

The project, which started in Western Washington in February 2008, is a group of psychotherapists from various disciplines who volunteer at least one hour per week to offer confidential counseling. It’s totally volunteer-run and receives no funding.

What: The Soldiers Project NW information session
Where: First United Methodist Church of Tacoma, 621 Tacoma Ave. S.
When: Thursday, Feb. 12, 6-8:30 p.m.
RSVP/Contact: soldiersprojectnw@yahoo.com or 206–290–1035

The University of Washington softball team will be at Fort Lewis on Saturday to learn about leadership and team-building from an infantry battalion preparing for its third deployment to Iraq.

The Huskies will be paired with the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment – a unit of the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division – to “conduct team-building exercises and to
establish esprit de corps,” according to a Fort Lewis release.

But an informal boot camp this is not: “Afternoon activities will involve timed team building events requiring good communication and more mental than physical exertion,” Fort Lewis says. So no worries about push-ups like the variety in the photo.

Photo: Pvt. Darrin Carroll, 21, does push-ups as Cpl. Paul Goodyear walks on his hands during physical training with the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment on Sept. 29, 2006. (Tony Overman/The Olympian)

Story by the Bellingham Herald’s Zoe Fraley. Photos by The News Tribune's Janet Jensen:

For three months, Joe Moser lived a nightmare.

Shot down over France on Aug. 13, 1944, during his 44th mission of World War II, the fighter pilot was captured by the Germans and taken to Buchenwald concentration camp.

He was transferred to a prisoner of war camp Oct. 20, 1944, just four days before he was scheduled to be executed.

On Thursday, the 87-year-old Moser got to close the door on that painful chapter of his life as he accepted the Distinguished Flying Cross at McChord Air Force Base’s annual awards banquet. Two former members of his Army Air Corps squadron were to escort Moser on stage.

“I guess I’d say it fulfills my dreams,” he said, “that all I went through has turned out really fantastic now.”

Moser didn’t realize he was eligible for the award until 10 years ago at a reunion for his squadron. He just got word a week ago that he would finally receive the award for a bombing mission in his P-38 Lightning aircraft.

“It’s been a long wait, and I’m sure happy for him that he’s finally getting it, after 64 years,” said his wife, Jean. “I thought he deserved it after all he went through.”

=> Read more!

Fort Lewis soldiers will be firing mortars and blowing stuff up around post through next week.

The post announced that soldiers will be firing 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortars during the day and night until Sunday. And they’ll be exploding C4 and other explosives next Tuesday through Thursday.

The USO Puget Sound Area helps hundreds of thousands of people each year, and the organization received its due recognition Thursday.

The organization – which runs only with the hard work of more than 250 volunteers – received a five-star standards of excellence rating from the parent USO.

The rating is based on a review of the organization’s operations, services, volunteer program and community outreach.

“This award represents the gold standard for non-profit organizations and I am extremely proud of our staff and volunteers who work with such dedication, making this achievement possible,” Tom Jaffa, the USO Puget Sound Area board chairman, said in a release.

The USO Puget Sound Area served 386,017 members of the military in 2008; volunteers worked 26,344 hours. It operates centers at Sea-Tac Airport and McChord Air Force Base and a “mobile canteen”.

During the winter storms last month that stranded thousands at Sea-Tac, the USO managed to keep its lounge staffed around the clock and fed more than 250 service members and their families.

USO Puget Sound Area also helped operate a Toys for Tots drive, sponsored children of fallen service members on a free trip to Disneyland, distributed holiday meals for more than 600 families and awarded $2,500 in grants.

(Photo: USO volunteers distribute care packages to Fort Lewis soldiers preparing for deployment.)

A 29-year-old Colville man was among four soldiers killed Monday when two OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters crashed in Kirkuk, Iraq.

Chief Warrant Officer Benjamin H. Todd, 29, was serving in Iraq with the 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment – a unit of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Also killed was 31-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Tillery of Beaverton, Ore.

The military said the crashed don't appear to be caused by enemy fire. The accident is under investigation.

Todd, who is survived by a wife and child, is the 310th Washington soldier -- one who was either stationed here or has listed this as his or her home state -- to die while deployed since Sept. 11, 2001.

He joined the Army in October 2000 and completed warrant officer training in 2005. He was assigned to Fort Drum in November 2007 and deployed to Iraq 11 months later.

His awards include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Expert Infantry Badge and the Parachutist Badge. He was also posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.

Chief Warrant Officer Philip E. Windorski of Bovey, Minn., and Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Kelley of Cameron, Mo., also died in the crash.

UPDATE: I'm bumping this up because it's been a big talker, and I want to keep the conversation going.

A Stryker brigade could receive orders this month to deploy to Afghanistan, the Associated Press reports.

The story focuses on how the new Obama administration and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will handle increasing troop levels in Iraq. More Marines are expected to go, but the story makes it clear a Stryker brigade isn’t a certainty.

From the story: “Their challenge, however, is to get troops out into the hundreds of tiny villages in the volatile southern region, where the Taliban insurgency has been centered. To do that, Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has asked for more mobile forces and believes the Strykers will allow soldiers to move more easily along the rugged trails to the widely dispersed tribal enclaves.”

But, the story points out, "Army officials have concerns about how to free up the Stryker unit."

Two Fort Lewis Stryker brigades are scheduled to deploy to Iraq this year. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will leave in early- to mid-summer. 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division is expected to follow by summertime.

The use of Strykers in Afghanistan isn't totally new. The Canadians have used the LAV III, which has the same chassis as the Stryker, with success. And Fort Lewis' 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment have used them there -- but the typically mediaphobic unit won't discuss it.

We're interested in hearing your take. Have you served in Afghanistan and with a Stryker unit in Iraq? Are you one of the Rangers that have used the vehicle in Afghanistan? A Canadian soldier with experience in the LAV? Shoot me an e-mail.

Click below to read the full AP story.

=> Read more!

A bill introduced in the state House of Representatives could be the first step to adding to the capitol campus a memorial to Washington service members killed or declared missing in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The measure, which has 38 co-sponsors, directs the State Department of Veterans Affairs to coordinate the design, construction and placement of the memorial. And it sets up an account with the treasurer’s office for private donations. But there aren’t many more details, such as the memorial’s proposed cost or a timeline for creation.

And as of right now, there isn’t a corresponding Senate bill.

Any time an elected official accuses part of the government of “giving us the middle finger,” you know there’s a good story behind it.

My colleague Brent Champaco wrote about opposition from Lakewood to a proposed 600,000-square-foot development at Fort Lewis that would mix mid- to high-end retail, casual-dining restaurants, a health club, a furniture store and other amenities.

Some readers shot back at Lakewood in the comments section.

If you missed it in today’s paper, check out the story.

And if you're interested in AAFES plans, read this.

Flipper and Co. could be guarding a Navy base near you.

The Navy wants to use dolphins and sea lions to help guard Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The program – officially called the Swimmer Interdiction Security System – was first proposed in February 2007. An environmental impact statement will be presented to members of the public in Silverdale on Feb. 11 and in SeaTac on Feb. 12.

From the Kitsap Sun:

The Navy is considering five options: California sea lions and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins; just sea lions; combat swimmers; remotely operated vehicles; and no change. The sea lions-only option was added after the public suggested it in 2007, said Navy spokeswoman Sheila Murray.

The no-action option wouldn’t comply with terrorism-related requirements enacted after the September 11th attacks. The Bangor base, with 4 miles of shoreline, houses eight nuclear-missile submarines, two conventional-missile subs and one spy sub.

The Navy’s preferred alternative is dolphins and sea lions. It has used them for 40 years — including at Bangor’s sister base in Kings Bay, Ga. — while combat swimmer and ROV programs would have to be developed.

The Sun has been all over this story. Check out much more detail in Monday's article.

(Photo: Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class Shawn McDonald, a marine mammal handler assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 1, uses tactile reinforcement to bond with his Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. The mammals are participating in extreme shallow water operations during Rim of the Pacific 2008. Photo by U.S. Navy.)

Sixty-five years after flying a bombing mission over Europe, an Army Air Corps veteran will receive the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Joseph Moser, an 87-year-old Whatcom County resident, will receive the honor for "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight" at McChord Air Force Base’s annual awards banquet Thursday night. Two former members of his squadron will escort Moser on stage, and more than 30 members of his family are expected to be in attendance.

Moser was a first lieutenant in the 474th Fighter Group. On July 30, 1944, he flew a “highly successful bombing mission over a heavily fortified target,” according to a McChord release. Two weeks later, Moser’s P-38 Lightning was shot down over Germany. He was captured and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Moser didn’t receive the Distinguished Flying Cross because of a paperwork error; he didn’t even know he was eligible for it until the early 1990s. Then, according the McChord release:

After a few unsuccessful attempts by his family to petition state officials for a ceremony, the effort lost steam.

“I just figured it was lost and that I would never get it,” said Mr. Moser, now 87.

But momentum was re-ignited after author and friend Gerald Baron discovered the oversight in interviews with Mr. Moser for a book he was working on. Upon making some connections at a local Rotary Club meeting, Mr. Baron contacted retired Chief Master Sgt. Rick Arnold, who helped get the ball rolling again, he said.

“The whole process has been exciting and incredibly rewarding,” Mr. Baron said. “It’s exciting to see what (the commitment to awarding the Distinguished Flying Cross) means to the Air Force.”

When Mr. Baron told Mr. Moser that he was finally going to be publicly acknowledged, the 87-year-old lifetime Whatcom County resident could hardly believe his ears.

“I thought he was pulling my leg – I didn’t really believe it,” Mr. Moser said. “It still hasn’t really sunk in – it’s quite an honor.”

In the comments section of executive editor Karen Peterson’s Sunday column, a reader asked, “Is there an embedding charge from the military, aside from the safety gear? Do you apply to embed with a unit, someone reviews the application and charges a fee based on the situation?”

Journalists apply with Multi-National Force-Iraq, which coordinates with a unit for an embed slot. The application is a few pages; journalists must also sign ground rules that restrict what one can report. My embed application took a bit of work (I’m asking to cover one unit in four locations), but it was rather effortless on my end.

There’s no fee to embed with a unit, but the process isn’t free.

Usually the most expensive single cost of an embed is the flight. Most journalists (reporters or photographers) fly into Kuwait. That costs about $1,200 to $1,500 for the round-trip ticket. Equally as expensive can be an insurance policy that covers individuals in Iraq.

The cost of safety gear – helmet, vest, SAPI plates and ballistic sunglasses – can total into the thousands of dollars. Vaccinations can also be pricey; the Centers for Disease Control suggests protection against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid and rabies.

Others costs add up. Up-front expenses include proper clothes and a power converter/adapter. We’ll spend money in Iraq by using a satellite phone. Travelers must purchase entry and exit visas for Kuwait. Journalists must bring their own technology – laptop, camera, audio recorder – which isn’t cheap.

Once in Iraq, the military provides a place to sleep, meals and transportation on a space-available basis.

Another large expense comes after the embed is finished: The military suggests that the journalist schedules his or her flight from Kuwait four days after the embed is finished. That can mean four days of hotel costs, meals and other daily costs in an expensive country.

So even though the trip costs lots of money during this period of belt-tightening, we’ve made coverage of the military a priority.

(Flickr photo by Tracy O)

Fort Lewis just e-mailed more information about Sgt. Kyle Harrington, the member of the 542nd Maintenance Company, 80th Ordnance Battalion killed in Iraq on Saturday.

Harrington, 24, died after being struck by a forklift in Basra.

Here's a link to the story in this morning's paper.

And here's the press release:

FORT LEWIS, Wash. - The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. According to the Dept. of Defense, Sgt. Kyle J. Harrington, 24, of Swansea, Mass., died Jan. 24 in Basra, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-hostile accident in his unit motor-pool. He was assigned to the 542nd Maintenance Company, 80th Ordnance Battalion, 593rd Sustainment Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash. The company deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in April, 2008, for a 15-month tour of duty.

The incident is under investigation.

According to unit records, Harrington initially entered military service on May 25, 2004. After completing advanced individual training in his military occupational specialty of 63B: Light-Wheel Vehicle Mechanic at Fort Jackson, S.C., he reported to Fort Lewis on December 14, 2004, and was initially assigned to the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Harrington was reassigned in the fall of 2005 to the 542nd Maintenance Company and deployed with the unit to Iraq in November 2005 for 12 months. Harrington was on his second tour in Iraq with the 542nd Maintenance Company at the time of his death.

His civilian and military education includes a high school diploma (2003), and the Military Occupational Specialty 63B (Light-Wheel Vehicle Mechanic) qualification course; Warrior Leader Course (2007); Combat Lifesaver Course (2005). His awards and decorations include Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon, Drivers Mechanic Badge, and Drivers Wheeled Vehicle Badge.

On behalf of the entire Fort Lewis military and civilian community, we extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Sgt. Harrington.

The Department of Defense made official what we (and two Massacuesets) newspapers reported over the weekend:

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Kyle J. Harrington, 24, of Swansea, Mass., died Jan. 24 in Basra, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-hostile accident in his unit motor pool. He was assigned to the 542nd Maintenance Company, 80th Ordnance Battalion, 593rd Sustainment Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.

The incident is under investigation.

Usually Fort Lewis will follow with more details. I’ll post them then.

The News Tribune is returning to Iraq.

I’ll arrive there early next month to report about the 2,400 Washington residents serving with the National Guard’s 81st Brigade Combat Team.

It’ll be the sixth time The News Tribune has embedded with a unit. That means I’ll be with them day and night, eating and sleeping alongside the troops. The 81st Brigade is spread among bases across western and northern Iraq; the soldiers primarily provide convoy security and force protection.

I leave Feb. 1. First stop is Kuwait, where the military will process travel orders into Iraq. Then it’s on to Baghdad to get credentialed at the press center. After that, I’ll spend about six weeks covering the National Guard in Balad, Mosul, Ramadi and Baghdad.

My primary assignment is to cover the 81st Brigade, but I’ll also link up with Fort Lewis-based troops. I will be reporting on day-to-day life of our state’s service members. That means anything from Sunday services to the slog of long-range convoy security.

Karen Peterson, our executive editor, wrote about the assignment in her weekly column. Here's her take on the importance of this trip: "While we publish plenty of news service stories about the high-level political and military machinations of the Iraq war, we rarely get the opportunity to share with you a soldier’s-eye view. And it’s almost impossible to see and hear from our local soldiers unless we go ourselves."

I’ll be filing everything – stories, photos and video – to this blog before it appears in the paper, so check back here often. And if you’ve got an idea on what you’d like me to cover, feel free to shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment here. I’ll be checking my messages daily while in Iraq.

Washington’s first war death of 2009 is a Fort Lewis soldier was killed in Iraq on Saturday when he was struck by a forklift, his wife said.

Sgt. Kyle J. Harrington of Swansea, Mass., was serving at Joint Base Balad with a unit of the 593rd Sustainment Brigade. The 24-year-old was scheduled to return from his deployment in August.

“He was amazing,” said his wife, Faith. The couple has two children, 5-year-old Joshua and 2-year-old Kaylee.

Army officials arrived at the Harringtons' on-post housing Saturday afternoon to inform Faith of her husband's death, she said. Neither Fort Lewis nor the Department of Defense has announced the death. Typically officials wait to contact family members before releasing identities of fatalities; the process can take several days.

Harrington is the 309th service member stationed at a Washington installation or who lists Washington as his or her home state to die while deployed since Sept. 11, 2001.

Harrington had previously deployed to Iraq in November 2005. He repaired Humvees and other lightweight vehicles.

Kyle and Faith met in high school and married shortly after graduating in 2002. Kyle enlisted to provide a better life for his family, his mother-in-law told The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Mass.

"He wanted to protect the country so his kids could live in a country that was free," Debra Ryan said.

The folks at Army and Air Force Exchange Service sent across this release about Charles Griggs, an AAFES associate at Fort Lewis, who volunteered for a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.

Read more below:

Ft. Lewis Civilian Voluntarily Deployed in Support of Troops

HQ AAFES, Dallas – While most Americans plan to spend Presidents Day weekend with friends and family, one local Department of Defense civilian left his home and family for a one year voluntary deployment to Afghanistan.

Fort Lewis Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) associate, Charles Griggs, trekked 6,733 miles to man a contingency base exchange in support of troops half a world away. This is his third deployment having previously gone to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I deployed to give the troops a feel of home,” said Mr. Griggs, father of two.

=> Read more!

Next time you’re driving through Clallam County, you could be cruising on the Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial Highway.

A bill in the state House of Representatives would change a stretch of State Route 101, which runs between Forks to La Push, in honor of the eight Washington service members who died in the liberation of Kuwait.

The bill, which has 18 sponsors, will be debated during a hearing before the House Committee on Transportation at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

(U.S. Army photo)

The folks raising funds for the Reflection Park at Fort Lewis got a big boost this month.

The Puyallup car dealers will donate more than $30,000 toward development of the six-acre park that will honor the memory of fallen service members from Washington state.

A representative from the dealers – who agreed to donate $10 for every car sold during a recently completed 90-day period – will present the check next Thursday at Pioneer Park in Puyallup. A rep from Harborstone Credit Union will also be on hand to donate $5,000.

Reflection Park, which will boast views of Mount Rainier, will offer a collection of memorials for every major conflict since World War I. The names of those killed in action will be engraved into large basalt boulders. Polished granite structures will bear the image of service members serving in each conflict.

The park will also offer a kiosk that allows visitors to search memorials by name, unit, conflict, service branch or gender.

The Iraqi police chief wanted the American soldiers to build a wall to protect his officers from sniper fire.

He wanted them to fix his station’s showers and toilets.

He needed drinkable water, glass for windows and new doors.

He asked for rocket-propelled grenades, rifles, night-vision binoculars and a television.

Lt. Michael Cryer, a platoon leader with the Fort Lewis-based 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, tried his hardest to reassure the Iraqi, at least about the security wall.

“That’s something we can definitely talk to our commanders about,” Cryer said Thursday. “We know it’s important to you, and we want to help you.”

The session was part of a training exercise at Fort Lewis in which Iraq-bound Stryker platoons are participating this and next week. The Iraqi police chief was a role player.

He smiled and switched subjects. The American military wrongfully detained one of his officers last week. The man had done nothing wrong, the chief insisted.

Cryer, sharing a table with the police chief, an interpreter and five others from the platoon, told him he would ask about the case and verify why the policeman was detained.

“I am telling the truth,” the chief said, “because I am not a liar.”

=> Read more!

A soldier who was killed in a car crash at Fort Lewis was identified Thursday as 22-year-old Pvt. Nahum Abriz-Sanchez of Tyler, Texas.

Abriz-Sanchez, who died early Saturday, was assigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Company of the 593rd Sustainment Brigade, said Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek.

Abriz-Sanchez joined the Army in April and was assigned to Fort Lewis in October.

“It’s a tough time anytime we lose a soldier, and it’s especially tough when we lose a soldier in an accident,” Piek said. “We extend our condolences to his family and friends back home in Texas.”

(This report comes from News Tribune reporter Brian Everstine.)

Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Winters received his orders last June to report to Fort Lewis. The Army gave him 30 days to move.

It was Winters’ 11th move in 18 years. He was accustomed to the routine. The biggest headaches may very well belong to his four children.

His son, Steven, had trouble getting into advanced-placement classes at Bethel High School despite a 3.75 grade-point average because a Texas school district lagged in sending official transcripts.

His 15-year-old daughter, Haley, also faced obstacles when her parents tried to enroll her in AP courses.

“When you only get 30 days’ notice to leave, the schools don’t react that quickly,” Winters told a meeting of the Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education in Olympia on Wednesday.

The 40-year-old is a top enlisted leader in the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, a unit of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He shared his story with state senators, urging them to pass the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.

The compact is a binding agreement among states that aims to address an array of disruptions military children face when they move, including graduation requirements, standardized testing, eligibility rules for sports and immunization regulations.

Entering the agreement would cost Washington $102,500 next fiscal year, according to a state estimate.

“Local school counselors don’t understand the problems military children face,” said Winters, whose son was on track to graduate early until graduation requirements in his new district intervened.

=> Read more!

The 81st Brigade Combat Team’s headquarters company is now serving on an Iraqi-owned base.

The Washington National Guard unit is running daily operations of Camp Ramadi in western Iraq. And at a meeting yesterday, a representative from the Iraqi army and brigade commander Col. Ronald Kapral signed a memorandum of agreement, transferring ownership of Iraq but agreeing that the base will can be used by coalition forces through 2011.

Kapral is the de facto mayor of the base just outside the capital of Anbar province.

But don't expect too much to change, according to a brigade news article: "Force protection measures will not be changed. All camp improvement projects will continue. Iraqis will take a look at the buildings on Camp Ramadi to see if it is something they want to keep. The physical structures built on camp Ramadi will either be prepared to be handed over in 2011 or torn down. Part of the agreement is for coalition forces to put the base back to the way they found it."

“Signing over of Ramadi is more symbolism than it is an actual event,” Kapral said in a story released by the brigade. “It shows that the U.S. military and the coalition forces are starting to prepare to turn over and demilitarize the bases that we have been using for the past five years. If you look at what has been done in the past five years, the Iraqi army has started taking responsibility for their actions. They’re starting to support themselves. They are proving training we have given them over the past three years is starting to pay off.”

=> Read more!

Dana Canedy was devastated. Her fiance, Army 1st Sgt. Charles King, was killed when a roadside bomb exploded under his Humvee in Iraq. King left behind Canedy and their 6½ -month old son, Jordan.

“I had all this grief and fear and anger and frustration and pain, and I had to do something with it,” she said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “I looked at my little boy and thought I could do something positive. I decided to write a book so he could know about his father and our relationship.”

The product of that labor is “A Journal for Jordan,” which weaves together the lives of Canedy and King with excerpts from the journal King kept for his son before and during his deployment.

Canedy, a senior editor at the New York Times who will speak about the book at the main branch of the Tacoma Public Library today at 7 p.m., gave King a blank journal shortly before he deployed with the Fourth Infantry Division.

Before his death on Oct. 14, 2006, the 48-year-old filled the journal with more than 200 pages of fatherly wisdom: “Never be ashamed to cry. No man is too good to get on his knee and humble himself to God. Follow your heart, and look for the strength of a woman.”

=> Read more!

There was no ballroom jammed with projection screens, balloons and red-white-and-blue confetti. No congratulatory drinks or trays of catered snacks. No campaign signs plastered on the walls.

Instead, Washington service members serving in Iraq watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama, their new commander in chief, Tuesday in familiar settings: in conference rooms, company headquarters buildings or their rooms.

“(It was) mostly just another day in Iraq,” Lt. Col. Paul Morgan, the brigade executive officer of the Washington National Guard’s 81st Brigade Combat Team, said in an e-mail.

Morgan, a 45-year-old Snohomish resident, watched the festivities with another member of the 81st from a conference room in the unit’s headquarters at Camp Ramadi. He wasn’t aware of any large-scale watch parties at base in western Iraq.

The brigade of 2,400 Washington residents and about 1,000 others provides convoy security and run day-to-day operations at several bases across western and northern Iraq.

“We probably had more discussion about upcoming Iraqi elections (on Jan. 31) than the U.S. inauguration,” he wrote. “The Iraqi elections have the potential more a more immediate effect on our operations.”

=> Read more!

Apparently these Stryker vehicles are pretty handy: A Fort Benning-based brigade will use 30 of the medevac variety during a deployment to Iraq later this year.

Units at Fort Lewis are going to be shooting mortars and howitzers at night this week.

The sound of 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortars could be heard in the areas around the post until Friday. And 155mm howitzers will be fired Thursday and Friday.

Want to complain? The public affairs office’s hotline is 253-967-0852.

A soldier was killed in a vehicle accident Saturday morning on North Fort Lewis, the post's public affairs office said Sunday.

The name of the soldier isn’t being released because next of kin hasn’t been notified. A Fort Lewis press release said the accident, which happened shortly before 6 a.m., is under investigation.

Military Times has details about the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which will go into effect Aug. 1 and should provide a big boost for service members wishing to go to college (especially in this era of skyrocketing tuition costs).

Any readers out there planning to take advantage of the new benefits? Shoot me an e-mail if so.

McChord Air Force Base limits bird strikes through a combination of nature, timing and technology.

The base, home to a wing of C-17 Globemaster cargo jets, must deal with Canada geese, gulls, sparrows, larks and pigeons near its flight line. But it hasn’t had an aircraft significantly damaged from a bird strike in recent memory, said Lt. Col. Jon Olekszyk, the operations officer for the 62nd Operations Support Squadron.

That’s in part because ground crews crunch online and real-time data on migratory patterns of birds and schedules takeoffs and landings away from times when large flocks are in the area; dawn and dusk during autumn is a particularly heavy time for bird migration. And the base employs a falconer, who trains a large bird to fly near the flight line to help clear the skies

“Just the presence of a falcon soaring in the area deters most of the birds from flying around here,” said Master Sgt. Brian Poje, the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard program manager.

The base first used a falconer in 1998, and bird strikes are down 65 percent since the program’s implementation, Poje said.

=> Read more!

For Marines at far-flung bases in the western Iraqi desert, the appearance of the 295th Quartermaster Company – and the promise of hot showers and fresh laundry they brought – must have been as welcome as a care package from home.

“They loved seeing us when we got to the bases,” said Spc. Ericka Dobbs, a 22-year-old Longview native. “It really made their day.”

After 15 months running laundry and shower facilities in Iraq, about 100 members of the company returned home Friday. Hundreds of screaming family members welcomed them at a ceremony at Wilson Sports and Fitness Center on North Fort Lewis.

The company, part of the 593rd Sustainment Brigade, was based at Al Asad Airbase but shuttled to six bases throughout Anbar province in western Iraq to support two Marine air wings.

The units hauled laundry facilities on a 40-foot trailer. Another trailer contained a 12-head shower facility. The unit washed about 10,000 bags of laundry each month, said Staff Sgt. Ronald Wyatt, the rear detachment commander.

“It can be kind of a thankless job,” said Capt. Mike Burns, the 80th Ordnance Battalion operations officer. “But fresh laundry and a good shower can be a big morale boost.”

Families at the homecoming ceremony watched the soldiers land at McChord Air Force Base and prepare for their return to Fort Lewis. Some sat in anxious silence, while others traded stories about their loved ones.

Dobbs’ mother, Judy Schultz, showed those sitting around her in the bleachers a photo from the Grocery Outlet in Longview, which welcomed home Dobbs on its signboard.

“She’s our hero,” Schultz said. “It was unbearable at times. It was difficult. I was anxious. I was always worrying. But at the same time, I was so proud.”

=> Read more!

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith introduced legislation today that widens the scope of what the federal government defines as a combat-related injury.

The new definition could cover veterans who have been denied care from the Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Tacoma Democrat said in a press release.

The legislation would revert to the definition the Department of Defense used in March 2008, prior to a narrowing of the definition that Smith called “unacceptable.” The narrowed definition cost veterans hundreds of thousands of dollars, Smith's office wrote.

The Pentagon told the Los Angeles Times in November that it changed the definition to remain consistent with Congress' "wounded warrior" law, passed in January 2008. But Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the Times that the narrowed definition wasn’t Congress’ intent.

The previous definition – the one Smith wants reinstated – covered almost all injuries received in a combat zone. The current definition covers those injured “directly through armed conflict,” a press release from Smith’s office said. “. As a result, members of the military who were injured while taking cover from incoming fire or sustained injuries from a roadside bomb have had their injuries ruled as being unrelated to combat, costing them thousands of dollars in benefits.”

(Department of Defense photo)

From crime reporter Stacey Mulick:

A Fort Lewis soldier accused of kidnapping and raping two women at his Parkland home has been arrested in Texas, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department reported.

A warrant for the arrest of staff Sgt. Nathan Ryan Smith, 29, was issued last week and the public was asked to help find him. Pierce County prosecutors have charged Smith with two counts of first-degree kidnapping, four courts of first-degree rape, attempted rape, felony harassment, destroying evidence and first-degree arson.

Law enforcement officers near Austin, Texas, arrested Smith about 2 a.m. today, Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. He was driver a rental car with switched plates.

No other information about the arrest or why Smith was in Texas was immediately available. “We are still gathering information,” Troyer said. “We know he has ties to Texas.”

Detectives from the Tacoma Police and Pierce County Sheriff’s departments will head to Texas this afternoon to talk with Smith, Troyer said.

A bit of background: Smith is a 29-year-old staff sergeant and has been stationed at Fort Lewis since July 2006. He served as a cavalry scout with the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. Here's the original story we published about the case.

About 100 soldiers from the 295th Quartermaster Company will return to Fort Lewis tomorrow after a 15-month deployment to Iraq.

The unit deployed in October 2007 and served at six forward operating bases in Anbar province. They primarily provided shower, laundry and clothing-repair services to soldiers and Marines.

McChord airmen and students from Key Peninsula Middle School will chat with astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday.

The airmen and students will participate in a “live in-flight education downlink with the International Space Station,” according to a McChord release. That’ll include a 20-minute question-and-answer session with astronauts Sandra Magnus (that’s her on the right) and Mike Fincke, a retired Air Force colonel.

This is the second event of its kind in Washington.

Key Peninsula Middle School is one of 50 NASA Explorer schools nationwide. The program links schools with the space agency to boost interest in science, technology and math education.

The International Space Station orbits about 190 miles above the earth and travels at about 17,210 miles per hour. It's a partnership of 15 countries and has been continuously staffed since its completion in 2000.

NASA photo

A Puyallup native attending the Air Force Academy will march in next week’s inaugural parade.

Cadet 2nd Class Ben Ausbun, a 2006 graduate of Puyallup High School, is one of 92 cadets who will participate in the festivities after President-elect Barack Obama is sworn into office. Ausbun is a junior majoring in systems engineering management. He also plays third base on the Falcons baseball team.

The cadets will march a 1.7-mile route from Capitol Hill to the White House, passing the president, congressmen, members of the cabinet and other dignitaries watching the parade from the reviewing stand. The Air Force Academy has played a part in every inaugural parade since 1957.

Ausbun’s squadron was selected based on academic and military performance.

Full press release below:

=> Read more!

It's simple math: More soldiers, more children.

And that means an increased burden for Fort Lewis’ Child and Youth Services, which provides daycare and activities for children and teenagers, but relief is on the way: Post officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for the first of 11 centers opening the next two years.

“There’s a lot of demand,” said Barbara Sporcic, Child and Youth Services division chief. “These centers are what the soldiers need.”

Construction of the newly opened Eileen Beaulieu Infant Toddler Child Development Center, located near Madigan Army Medical Center, began in 2007. Inside, four rooms help up to eight infants, many of whom were napping in cribs. Others crawled on the floor or watched in amazement as the center’s employees entertained them with toys.

The center is part of an overall building boom at Fort Lewis, which received $385 million in Congressional earmarks for new construction in the 2008 fiscal year. About 2,000 more active-duty soldiers will be stationed at Fort Lewis over the next five years, bringing the number of troops and soldiers stationed at the post to about 35,000.

Fort Lewis is already home to seven buildings that can accommodate about 1,400 children, ranging in age from infants to high school students. Some of those will be expanded soon, Sporcic said.

=> Read more!

Pick up a copy of the Northwest Airlifter, the on-base newspaper for McChord Air Force Base, and it was unavoidable: a countdown to the start of the Nuclear Surety Inspection.

Clearly, the inspection was a big deal.

“It’s not just a big deal at McChord,” said Col. Jeffrey Stephenson, the commander of the 62nd Airlift Wing, a day after the base passed its inspection. “This is – no kidding – our No. 1 mission. It’s a no-fail mission, because anytime you deal with nuclear materials in any form or fashion, it’s not just of national interest. It’s of international interest.”

The 4th Airlift Squadron is responsible for transporting the military’s nuclear weapons, and two other units have failed inspection in recent months.

The inspection by the Air Mobility Command Inspector General Team, which began Wednesday and concluded Monday, was rigorous, Stephenson said.

“They ask if the airmen are mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for the mission,” he said. “ Do they know the processes? Do they know the procedures? Are there self-inspection books (in order)? They have their own checklist to make sure their programs are uptight and their procedures are followed to a T.”

The inspection results could be viewed as a slumpbuster for the Air Force, which has suffered a string of embarrassments over the handling of nuclear weapons.

=> Read more!

If you like hunting and recently were PCSed to Washington, a bill might have you staring down Bambi sooner than before.

State Sen. Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, introduced legislation that would waive the requirement of completing a hunter safety course before purchasing a hunting license for active-duty military -- like Ol'Teddy Roosevelt (pictured right), himself no stranger to hunting and the military -- and any reservists or National Guardsmen called to active duty.

“If anyone is skilled at things like the handling of firearms, it’s members of our military,” Hewitt said in a release. “It doesn’t make sense to force them to sit through a course to learn something they already know.”

Full press release below:

=> Read more!

The sad case of Sgt. Joshua Barber, the Fort Lewis soldier who shot himself in the parking lot of Madigan Army Medical Center, appears in USA Today.

(Barber's case was the subject of the main story of our package on soldier suicide we ran in November.)

We've compiled a slide show of photos from Gov. Chris Gregoire's visit to Iraq. Click here to check it out.

Military veterans are very proud, and very particular, about their service medals. We get that.

So we took it seriously when the News Tribune reader representative took a Monday morning call from a reader who wanted to report an error in our obituary story headlined "WWII officer led prisoner rescue."

The Associated Press story reported the death of Robert Prince, a U.S. Army officer who led the Jan. 31, 1945, assault on a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines, which led to the rescue of 571 prisoners of war. Prince died on New Year's Day in Port Townsend. He was 89.

The part that caught our reader's eye said that Prince was awarded "the U.S. Army's highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross." The reader, a veteran himself, said the highest honor is actually the Medal of Honor.

Turns out we're both right. And you can't say that very often.

The Medal of Honor, the highest military award issued by the United States, can be awarded to any member of the armed forces. The Distinguished Service Cross, on the other hand, is the highest award given solely to members of the U.S. Army.

We're running a clarification in Tuesday's paper -- not a correction, because the story was not wrong.

Gov. Chris Gregoire had one last message before the phone interview ended: She’s clearly a fan of Ryan Crocker, the American ambassador to Baghdad.

She met with him during her trip to Iraq last week.

“He’s amazing,” she said. “Crocker is a walking encyclopedia. He’s Spokane, and he’s coming home. He’s retiring in a month, and he and his wife are building a new home in the Spokane Valley.

“Having our meeting with him and meeting with him was like being in an advanced college course. He’s just a wealth of knowledge and understanding, and he’ll be a huge asset back home.”

Gov. Chris Gregoire had voiced concerns during the 81st Brigade's first Iraq deployment in 2004-05 that it didn't receive the proper equipment and was leaving behind vehicles and gear in Iraq.

The troops seem well-equipped, she said, but she was concerned that some of the soldiers were still wearing older flack vets that wearers slip over the heads. The newer version is affixed over the chest with two large strips of Velcro, making it easier to remove when treating a torso wound.

Gregoire also wanted to see more Mine Resistant Ambushed Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, for soldiers on convoy security missions.

And she’s worried the soldiers won’t have the proper equipment on which to train when they return from the deployment, set to end this summer. Last time, the unit left $33 million in vehicles and other in Iraq.

She said the state’s adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, will discuss her concerns with Pentagon officials.

“To start getting the states back to where they were, it’s going to take a long time,” she said. “We’re not close to where we were before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The governor arrived aboard a V-22 Osprey. She stepped off the helicopter-airplane hybrid wearing a bulletproof flack jacket and a camouflaged helmet.

Clearly, this was no ordinary trip.

“You don’t pass up an opportunity to go to Iraq,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire told The News Tribune on Monday, four days after returning from visiting Washington National Guard soldiers deployed with the 81st Brigade Combat Team.

The trip, the fulfillment of a promise the governor made to the brigade during its pre-mobilization training at the Yakima Training Center in August, remained classified until she arrived in Iraq.

Gregoire traveled Jan. 4 to Washington, D.C., and met with Pentagon officials the next day. She left Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Jan. 5 with Govs. Jon Corzine of New Jersey and Rick Perry of Texas, who also were visiting troops from their states.

=> Read more!

McChord Air Force Base’s 62nd Airlift Wing has passed its nuclear inspection with the highest grade, the base announced Monday.

The wing received a grade of satisfactory, according to a press release. The base’s 4th Airlift Squadron plans and executes all Primary Nuclear Airlift Force missions.

The inspection was primarily conducted by the Air Mobility Command’s Inspector General department. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Air Force Inspection Agency and U.S. Strategic Command also participated.

"These results underscore our commitment to the American people in our ability to conduct our number one no-fail mission," wing commander Col. Jeffrey Stephenson said in a release. "No mission is more important than safeguarding our vital nuclear capabilities and maintaining nuclear deterrence.”

Full press release is below:

=> Read more!

Master Sgt. Cathy Jo Wings is another full-time National Guardsmen used to seeing the governor during state emergencies. And she said it’s important to have the governor close by when flooding or destructive weather, so the timing of the visit impressed the 59-year-old Tacoma resident.

“It was fabulous for her to visit us, especially because she knew Washington was full of water when she was here,” she said. “I’m sure it was stressful on her to be away during that time. The fact she didn’t cancel her trip showed a lot of appreciation for us.”

Other members of headquarters company, serving at Camp Ramadi, seemed pepped up by the visit.

“She was just so friendly as she went around and chatted with all of us,” she said. “It was a morale booster for us.”

Spc. Shane Zoellmer was surprised to hear the governor would be visiting Camp Ramadi, Iraq.

“It was a bit shocking,” the 20-year-old SeaTac resident said. “One day we’re doing our jobs, the next Gov. Gregoire is here. I saw a whole lot of smiles that day.”

She shook his hand and chatted with him for a few seconds, he said. Others practiced their smiles for upcoming snapshots.

Even days later, Zoellmer sounded a bit star-struck.

“It was the first time I ever met the governor,” he said. “It was one of the coolest moments I’ve had. It was really awesome just to have her here, actually coming to where we’re at. That was above and beyond to come visit the troops.”

“She really seemed like she was happy to be here,” he continued. “She was smiling, making jokes, conversing with the troops.”

For Staff Sgt. Derrick Grasty, the timing of governor’s trip to Iraq really resonated.

She arrived just days before the legislature convened and as storms caused flooding around Western Washington.

“With all the stuff going on – the bad weather, roofs collapsing in schools, the flooding – her coming over to visit us was pretty good,” said Gratsy, a 33-year-old Lacey resident. “It’s always good to have someone come over from home and spend time with you.”

He admittedly wasn’t certain what a visit from a politician would feel like, but he said the atmosphere remained comfortable.

“It seemed like it was more than just a political visit,” he said. “She asked us all our first names. She didn’t seem to care about ranks. She was real down-to-earth like that. It was cool to see someone at a higher-up level act on a calm, relaxed level with us.”

Gov. Chris Gregoire greeted Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Sweeney with open arms minutes after she landed at Camp Ramadi, Iraq, last week.

Sweeney, a Graham resident, is the senior enlisted leader for the Washington National Guard and has interacted often with Gregoire. But he believes the two-day trip was a big morale booster for the 2,400 Guardsmen from Washington deployed with the 81st Brigade Combat Team.

“I’ve traveled with her to a lot of events before, but this was special because she honored the commitment she made to all the soldiers back at Yakima in August,” he said. “For the soldiers to see that come true is a big excitement.”

He helped deliver a briefing to Gregoire, who Sweeney said has been a quick study on military matters.

“She’s quite familiar with how we operate,” he said. “Years of getting briefing after briefing on how we do business has made her pretty knowledgeable on what we do. She picks up on that stuff pretty fast.”

In his previous job with the Guard, director of military support to civil authorities, Col. Ronald Kapral worked with the state on preparing and responding to natural disasters. That often meant meeting Gov. Chris Gregoire.

But during the governor’s two-day trip to Iraq to visit with troops from the 81st Brigade Combat Team, Kapral noticed a different demeanor.

“I’ve never seen her happier,” said Kapral, the brigade commander. “It was important that the leader of the Washington National Guard and see what the soldiers from the state experience. It’s one things to send pictures back and talk about your experiences, but to be on the ground, to eat in the mess halls, to see walk the ground the soldiers have to walk every day was probably one of the most rewarding experiences any leader can have.”

The trip, Kapral said, was largely organized by the State Department and was kept classified until the governor arrived in Iraq.

“Very few people knew about the visit early on,” he said.

=> Read more!

A sailor from Auburn will receive the Bronze Star next week.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephen Blas, a corpsman assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, N.C., will receive the medal awarded for bravery at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Blas, who was born in Renton, was the first medic to arrive a scene of a roadside bomb blast that critically injured an American soldier in Afghanistan, a press release said. He provided care to the soldier as insurgents fired on their position. Medical evacuation wasn’t an option, and Blas provided medical care for the next 15 hours, until a medevac could be arranged for the soldier, who survived the attack.

Blas graduated from Auburn High School in 2003 and attended Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland for about two years. He enlisted in the Navy on April 26, 2005.

A few more details are out about Gov. Chris Gregoire’s trip to Iraq.

The governor visited soldiers, most from the Washington National Guard’s 81st Brigade Combat Team, at bases near Baghdad, Ramadi and Balad.

Among the topics she discussed with the soldiers: lower gas prices, the winter blasts that hit the state and the slumping economy.

“The purpose (for this visit),” Gregoire said, “is to come here in person, see what it’s like, have a much better understanding of what you do, and bring it back to the people of Washington.”

The brigade’s public affairs office has released some photos of her visit. We’re compiling a photo gallery, and I’ll post a link when it’s available.

The war is long over. His leg has healed. But a former Marine received a long overdue honor Thursday.

Richard Beard, who fought in the Vietnam War in 1965-66, received a Purple Heart for shrapnel injuries he received almost 45 years ago during an emotional ceremony at the Marine Home Site Training Center at Fort Lewis.

His wife, Rozellen, and several members of Beard’s platoon were in attendance, including Gary Shreve, the corpsman who treated him on a hillside just south of Danang.

“I can’t explain what this means,” said Beard, a 62-year-old Bellevue resident. “It’s been so long, but it’s such a huge part of my life that will never go away.”

Beard received his injuries on Sept. 11, 1965, when he was a private first class tasked with operating mortar cannons. He and other members of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment were tasked with setting a command center on a hillside. The helicopters unloaded them in the wrong area – in the middle of a minefield.

The battalion commander and a nearby radioman stepped on a mine and died just minutes after they landed.

“It was the most difficult night of my life,” Shreve said. “It was just a horrendous day.”

=> Read more!

Coast Guard helicopters and rescue crews are buzzing across the Northwest, looking for stranded flood victims and surveying damage.

Here's their press release:

ASTORIA, Ore. -- The United States Coast Guard, in conjunction with other federal, state, and local agencies, is continuing its response efforts to the flooding in the Pacific Northwest.

Coast Guard helicopter rescue crews are currently conducting overflights of flood effected areas to assess damage and look for stranded citizens. In addition, Air Station Astoria is currently performing a patient transport from South Bend, Ore. to Portland. After the patient transfer, the helicopter rescue crew will transport blood from Legacy Hospital in Portland to Gray's Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen, Wash. Coast Guard helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., and Astoria are also attempting to airlift approximately 20 people stranded due to landslides near Morton, Wash.

Emergency Operation Centers throughout Washington remain open in response to flooding, snow recovery, road closures and other storm-related events.

Many rivers across the state have crested but flooded roads and standing water remains a hazard. Do not drive through standing water or flooded areas as the underlying road may be eroded or the water may be deeper than it appears. Many flood-related deaths and injuries are caused by motorists attempting to cross through flood waters.

Camille Even wrapped her left arm around Falcon and rubbed his head with her right hand. The golden retriever closed his eyes and wagged his tail. The dozen or so people watching smiled. A few snapped shots with their cameras.

“She’s ecstatic about this,” said Camille’s father, Sgt. Daniel Even. “It’s something we’ve been wanting for a while.”

More than a year and a half after her mother applied, 14-year-old Camille was promised a service dog Thursday during a short ceremony at the Fort Lewis commissary. It’ll still be about six months until Camille receives a dog from Canine Assistants through Milk-Bone’s Canine Heroes Program, but she clearly relished playing with Falcon, the service dog of a Navy family in attendance.

The Evens will travel to Alpharetta, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, in July to meet and train with the service dog. Camille, an eighth grader who was diagnosed with diabetes at 2 and also has other progressive developmental disabilities, likely will receive a golden retriever or a goldendoodle, a poodle-golden retriever mix.

=> Read more!

Skip Irving of Bonney Lake served in the Army from 1969 to 1972 and said his time was much easier than others: He worked with electronics in Europe and North Africa while others went off to fight in Vietnam.

One of Irving’s friends didn’t have it as easy. The two shared a house in the mid-70s, after each was out of the service. Irving learned to be careful when waking his friend, who slept with a knife under his pillow.

“It took him so long to get better,” said Irving, now 61.“It was tough for people to know what he was going through.”

He hopes a new mentorship program, called VetsMeetVets, will provide stability for today’s veterans struggling to return to civilian life from places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. And he feels a duty to help the country’s service members.

“It’s payback, quite simply,” said Irving, a manager at Schucks Auto Parts in Enumclaw. “I have a good life, have been reasonably successful. My kids have grown up and are successful. It’s time to pay back.”

The program is the brainchild of Rod Wittmier, who has launched an ambitious plan based on a simple idea: A challenge can be made easier when someone who has already gone through it gives advice.

=> Read more!

Lt. Col. Seth Goldberg, the commander of the 81st Brigade’s 1st Battalion, 185th Armor Regiment, e-mailed from a base near Tikrit to talk about the status of forces agreement. I asked him if it changed day-to-day operations much for the troops.

Here’s his response:

Generally no it hasn't. The majority of the 81st units are providing security for logistics convoys throughout Iraq, managing base operations and conducting security on bases.

Our mission does not change; we will make some operational adjustments in how we operate out on the roads, but the mission does not change. As coalition moves forces around the battlefield in support of the security agreements, we will obviously change where we deliver critical supplies to support their needs. But as a rule, our mission of supporting them with critical supplies does not change.

The implementation of the agreements does not affect the daily lives of the soldiers out on the road. The historic ratification of these two agreements is a major achievement in the strategic partnership between the governments of Iraq and the United States. The agreements respect the sovereignty of Iraq and establish a legal framework which enables us to continue to partner with Iraq to achieve stability. We welcome the ratification by Iraq's Presidency Council of the strategic framework agreement and security agreement, because it means that we, the United States and the GoI, are witnessing success in improving the security for Iraq and its people. This is clearly a sign/indication of progress.

While the main focus of the upcoming legislative session will deal with the ballooning state deficit, several bills dealing with veterans and military issues will be introduced.

The proposed laws could affect a variety of issues, like streamlining school transfers for the children of service members and expanding eligibility for county-based veterans benefits to National Guardsmen and reservists, State Sen. Derek Kilmer told a meeting of the Tacoma-Pierce County Military Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

The Legislature convenes Monday, and the proposed legislation includes:

● A bill proposing the adoption of a tweaked version of the Interstate Compact on Military Children, an agreement between states to simplify transitions in K-12 education for the children of service members. The compact allows states to work together to streamline records, course sequencing, graduation requirements, entrance and exit testing, inclusion in extracurricular activities, entrance-age rules for kindergarten and first grade, and other transition issues.

● A proposal to remove potential drawbacks to hiring National Guard or Reserve service members by tweaking companies’ unemployment insurance ratings. For example, if a National Guardsmen is deployed and a company hires a temporary replacement, it could find itself paying more if it lays off the temporary worker when the soldier returns. This bill would help keep those potential costs down.

=> Read more!

The Pew Center on the States has released a report analyzing voting and the military. Entitled "No Time to Vote: Challenges Facing America's Overseas Military Voters," it found that more than a third of states don't provide adequate time for service members stationed abroad to vote.

Here’s what the report found, in a nutshell: “All told, 25 states and Washington, D.C., need to improve their absentee balloting rules for military voters abroad. In fact, given our conservative assumptions, the other 25 states would better serve these voters by giving them additional time to request and return their ballots as well.”

But there’s good news for Washington’s service members: The state is one of 25 that is listed as providing enough “time to vote.” (The other categories were “no time to vote,” “time to vote, but with concerns” and “at risk.”)

The full report is here. Plenty of info in there.

(Hat tip, nwnavynews)

News Tribune file photo

The battalion of Fort Lewis-based combat engineers serving in southeastern Iraq don’t anticipate much of a change from the status of forces agreement, either.

“The restraint doesn't effect ‘force protection’ operations which is pretty much 99% of everything we do as combat engineers here in Iraq,” said Capt. Thomas Anderson, the spokesman for the 14th Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade.

Force protection includes route clearance and infrastructure improvement projects. Most of the battalion’s 750 soldiers, 500 of whom are from Fort Lewis, are serving at Contingency Operating Base Adder near Tallil. One company is serving near Balad.

The battalion's 15-month tour should conclude this summer.

Most of the 14th Battalion’s soldiers spend their days rebuilding roads and training Iraqi units. But one-third of the unit still does patrol missions. Soldiers look for and dispose of concealed bombs – a task that took up most of the battalion’s first two deployments.

But one stipulation in the agreement – that American combat forces withdraw from Iraqi cities on June 30 – could have an impact on the engineers.

“We could see a rise in construction operations due to the need of living space for the soldiers moving out,” he wrote in an e-mail.

An Iraqi soldier patrols the streets of Nasiriyah as part of a joint patrol with the 14th Engineer Battalion. Photo by Staff Sgt. Brendan Stephens, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq.

The New Year brought new rules for American troops serving in Iraq, but the status of forces agreement between the Washington and Baghdad isn’t having a major effect on the 2,400 Washington National Guardsmen deployed to Iraq.

The soldiers of the 81st Brigade Combat Team are spread across bases in central and northern Iraq. They are largely tasked with providing security for convoys and running day-to-day life at bases -- not "kicking in doors and taking prisoners," one battalion commander said.

And so Lt. Col. Jeff Sabatine, the commander of the 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery Regiment, doesn't expect much to change for his soldiers, serving at FOB Marez near Mosul.

“This security agreement will have little bearing because the scope of their day-to-day work does not involve a lot of joint operations with (the Iraqi military),” he wrote in an e-mail. “For all intents and purposes we have a support role, rather than one that involves full spectrum combat operations. But the potential for contact with bad people is always out there.”

And if thrust into a combat situation, “senior leadership has never wavered on U.S. forces' right to defend themselves,” he said.

Brigade spokeswoman Sgt. Emily Suhr said the agreement also isn’t having much effect on headquarters company, which is running daily base operations at Camp Ramadi.

The agreement, which authorizes American troops to remain in Iraq, went into effect on Jan. 1 when it replaced the expiring United Nations mandate. It presents a timeline for American troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities on June 30 and to leave the country by the end of 2011. It also requires search warrants before American troops search homes, places contractors under the jurisdiction of Iraqi courts and makes U.S. troops subject to Iraqi criminal law for crimes committed off-duty and off-base.

Sabatine, who is running daily operations at FOB Marez, said the agreement cements a partnership between American troops and the Iraqi government.

“I inherited great, effective partnerships with both Iraqi police and Iraqi army units,” he wrote, “and the security agreement really just formalizes a program that my predecessors have been building for at least a year now.”

Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery Regiment participate in vehicle and convoy training on Oct. 23 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Photo by Sgt. Amanda Gauthier, 81st Brigade Combat Team.

If you suffer from combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, you're not eligible for the Purple Heart, the Pentagon confirmed.

I’ve casually asked folks in and outside of the military if they think the Purple Heart, awarded for combat injuries, should be given to those who suffer from PTSD or traumatic brain injury. It’s usually sparks a pretty good conversation.

According to the Military Times, here are some of DoD’s reasons for not awarding the Purple Heart for PTSD:

• Based on the definition of a wound, “an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent,” other Purple Heart award criteria, and 76 years of precedent, the Purple Heart has been limited to award for physical wounds, not psychological wounds;

• PTSD is specifically listed as an injury not justifying award of the Purple Heart in Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

• The requirement that a qualifying Purple Heart wound be caused by “an outside force or agent” provides a fairly objective assessment standard that minimizes disparate treatment between service members. Several members could witness the same traumatic event, for instance, but only those who suffer from PTSD would receive the Purple Heart.

• Current medical knowledge and technologies do not establish PTSD as objectively and routinely as would be required for this award at this time.

• Historically, the Purple Heart has never been awarded for mental disorders or psychological conditions resulting from witnessing or experiencing traumatic combat events — for example, combat stress reaction, shell-shock, combat stress fatigue, acute stress disorder, or PTSD.

So I want to ask the readers of this blog: What do you think? Are mental injuries on par with physical ones? Is it time to redefine who gets a Purple Heart. Comments, please.

Photo by The Associated Press

Gov. Chris Gregoire made good on a months-old promise and quashed speculation she was leaving her job when she visited Washington National Guard soldiers serving in Iraq.

“Every one of these individuals, I want you to know, could not be more proud,” she told reporters during a conference call. “The morale is high.”

She met with service members and public officials, had lunch with a unit of the 81st Brigade Combat Team, dinner with another and held a town-hall meeting with a third, she said.

The governor's office didn't say which bases Gregoire would visit, and brigade spokeswoman Sgt. Emily Suhr said she couldn't release any details while the governor was in Iraq.

Gregoire traveled to Washington, D.C., on Sunday. She met with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and other Pentagon officials on Monday. Later that day, she traveled to the Middle East with Govs. Jon Corzine of New Jersey and Rick Perry of Texas, who are also visiting troops from their states.

The trip was carried out under a cloak of darkness, and her absence sparked rumors about her future. The governor canceled a forum speech set for Tuesday, and her office refused to say where she was. That created speculation that she would soon accept an appointment in the Obama administration.

She said she had only just learned of the speculation her absence prompted, and that she ran for re-election last year because she wanted to be governor: “I made it clear early on I would not accept an appointment.”

“I’m sorry to say I’ve been on a flight since Sunday, and I’m really not aware of any inconvenience or problems this has caused,” she added.

=> Read more!

Northwest Public Radio has an intriguing piece on a former Iraqi interpreter and his struggles to make due in the slumping economy.

Haider Nahell worked with American troops for about four years before he was injured by a roadside bomb. He recovered and came to the United States, eventually landing a job as an Arabic instructor at Fort Lewis.

But he was recently laid off and scraping to get by.

Read or listen to the story here. It’s the second piece of a two-part series about Iraqi interpreters; the first, about an Oregon soldier who helps Iraqis immigrate to the United States, is here.

The Army says an assault rifle that apparently originated in Iraq, was brought to Fort Lewis and later removed from the local post was not a functioning weapon.

The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command is officially still investigating the chrome-plated, AK-47 assault rifle, bearing Saddam Hussein’s likeness, that was turned into Lakewood Police in early December.

Investigators consider the weapon “demilitarized,” meaning someone welded a metal slug into the barrel and removed the firing mechanism.

The Army investigated and determined it was appropriately processed as a “military museum artifact,” according to Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Kubistek.

“How it got off post is still under investigation,” he said today.

Lakewood police Lt. Heidi Hoffman said a soldier turned in the weapon, which has a white-colored stock, to the department Dec. 4. The soldier wanted police to “take custody and destroy it,” Hoffman said today.

Normally, the department would direct that such a weapon be turned into military police, but a front-desk person mistakenly accepted it, she said. After police examined the gun, they turned it into the Army on Dec. 8.

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The Associated Press is reporting a Lakewood resident is to appear in a military court at Fort Bragg, N.C., to face premeditated murder charges.

Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis was recalled from 2004 retirement. He's accused of killing Kathryn Eastburn, 31, and her two young daughters in 1985, the AP reports. He had been convicted in North Carolina state court, but his sentence was overturned on appeal.

More here.

A Fort Lewis-based soldier was honored yesterday at a national All-American game for high school football players, Newsday reports.

Sgt. John Gaylord received a Bronze Star during the first of his two Iraq tours, the Long Island, N.Y., paper wrote. “Because the soldier who was to serve as the brigade's military intelligence analyst was sent on a different mission, Gaylord, without formal training, took the job three pay grades above his rank,” the article said.

More than 90 soldiers mentored the high schoolers during the week leading up to the Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

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Article by The Olympian’s Adam Wilson. Make sure to check out a video from the event.

The first 25 gold-star license plates, available to the parents of people who died while in the armed services, were unveiled Friday at the Capitol in Olympia.

Gold-star plate No. 24 went to Jeff Norton of Rainier, in memory of his son.

Army Sgt. Justin Norton was killed overseas June 24, 2006. His father, a Thurston County sheriff’s deputy, signed up for the new license plate “just so people know the sacrifices that families make.”

The gold star – like dog tags and the boots, the helmet and the rifle used in memorial services – has a special meaning to military parents, said Myra Rintamacki, president of Washington State Gold Star Mothers.

She and others at the ceremony said they hoped the public would come to recognize the plates as a reminder that a soldier’s death affects more than one person.

Dean and Annette Howard of Yacolt, Clark County, were on hand to pick up a plate on behalf of their son Bryce, who died Aug. 28, 2007, in Afghanistan.

“It’s just really, really important to us that our sons are not forgotten – anything to recognize their sacrifice,” said Annette Howard.

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Think Strykers have been a hit in Iraq?

Baghdad sure thinks so. The Iraqi military wants to buy 400 of them.