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.