Susan Galleymore, the author of "Long Time Passing: Mothers Speak About War and Terror," is in Seattle tonight and will be in Lakewood this weekend as part of a book tour.

Galleymore's son, Nick, served in Iraq and Afghanistan. When he deployed to Iraq in 2004, she linked up with an advocacy group and traveled to Iraq to meet her son.

"During her trip to Iraq was moved and inspired by the stories she heard from the mothers of Iraq," a press release said. "This started her on a journey interviewing mothers in war zones including Iraq, Israel and the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan and the US."

Today
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Keystone Congregational Church, 5019 Keystone Place, Seattle
Friday
When: 7 p.m.
Where: First United Methodist Church, 621 Tacoma Ave., Tacoma
Saturday
When: 4 p.m.
Where: Coffee Strong, 15109 Union Ave SW #2, Lakewood

These roadside bombs weren’t much of a surprise.

A convoy of three Strykers from 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division rolled down the muddy roads of a Fort Lewis range Wednesday afternoon. Each time, the mock bomb exploded near the second vehicle. Soldiers discovered a copper command wire leading toward a house at the base of a hill. Gunners in the vehicles fired at the house with Squad Automatic Weapons while a dismounted patrol closed in on the building and eventually stormed inside.

Then they’d regroup, reload their ammunition and repeat the scenario. It doesn’t quite mimic the exact situation on the ground in Iraq, where the brigade will deploy this fall, but Wednesday’s live-fire training was as realistic as some of the unit’s newest members have seen since joining 4th Brigade.

"We tell the guys, ‘Look, it’s not always going to be like this in Iraq,’" said Lt. Grant Carriker. "Things are going to be faster, more hectic. You’ll have to think on the fly. But we’re laying the groundwork now."

But Carriker, a platoon leader with Alpha Battery of 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, and others in the brigade have less time than other units to prepare. The Defense Department announced in March that 4th Brigade will deploy to Iraq this fall, about nine months ahead of schedule.

=> Read more!

The New York Times reports on the American military's strategy of cutting off the main source of the Taliban's money by deploying troops to the three southern provinces where the group harvests opium. And guess what unit appears to be scheduled to spearhead the effort?

Many of the new American soldiers will fan out along southern Afghanistan’s largely unguarded 550-mile-long border with Pakistan. Among them will be soldiers deployed in the Stryker, a relatively quick, nimble armored vehicle that can roam across the vast areas that span the frontier.

All of the new troops are supposed to be in place by Aug. 20, in order to provide security for Afghanistan’s presidential election.

(Yes, I know the Strykers in the photos are from 3/2. But it's just a really cool photo.)

One of the Internet’s greatest achievements (and curses) is that it allows people to debate just about any topic and propose any solution, no matter how outta-left-field it might seem.

A Facebook group seems to exemplify this: More than 90 members have joined a group advocating sending a Stryker brigade to the Darfur region of western Sudan.

(If you need a crash course on Darfur, Wikipedia provides a comprehensive crash course on a topic.)

The group's three administrators all are soldiers (according to their profiles) and say they live in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Here’s what they advocate:

Did you ever occur to activists that throwing aid money and food will not make a problem go away? Well here is a solution. Send a Stryker Brigade Combat Team in and make zone of separation between the janjaweed militia and people of the Darfur region of the Sudan. Once this is established. Anyone entering the zone of seperation without authorization will be terminated. This will allow the activists to then come in and help rebuild Darfur in addition to helping them eventually provide for their own defense.

=> Read more!

The folks who are running the Soldiers Project NW are looking for psychotherapists and other medical personnel who can help service members and their loved ones.

Organizers are hosting a meeting tomorrow at St. Leo’s Church in Tacoma to teach about the project, which offers confidential counseling to active-duty personnel, veterans and family members.

Kathryn Kosko, a military family life consultant at Fort Lewis, will speak on the emotional cycles of deployment, according to organizers.

What: The Soldiers Project NW informational session
Where: St. Leo’s Church, 710 S. 13th St., Tacoma
When: 7-9 p.m. Wednesday
RSVP: soldiersprojectnw@yahoo.com or 206-290-1035

Michele Bostic didn’t know much about the Stryker armored vehicle before Tuesday. But there she was, along with 21 other business and civic leaders from Lakewood, wearing body armor and a Kevlar helmet while riding in the back of the eight-wheeled vehicle as it tore through the mud of Fort Lewis.

Later that afternoon, as she and the others sat down for lunch at the headquarters building of 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Bostic was raving about the experience.

"It was phenomenal," the Graham resident said. "I had no idea what it would be like."

Bostic and her husband, Meco, took part in the half-day event that links the brigade with its partner city in the community connections program. The participants received a briefing on the history of 4th Brigade, rode to the range on a Stryker, watched squad-level exercises where the soldiers reacted to a mock roadside bomb strike and then had a chance to check out the different Stryker variants. Soldiers were on hand to answer their questions.

=> Read more!

More than $50 million in stimulus money is coming to Fort Lewis.

The Department of Defense has allocated $54.696 million to the Army post for infrastructure repairs, including upgrades to roads, small-arms ranges and heat-distribution piping. The money is part of the $787 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

"Investing in our military infrastructure here in Washington state is absolutely critical as we work toward economic recovery," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement. "This funding will provide a boost to our economy while ensuring that our men and women in Fort Lewis have safe and modern facilities."

Here’s how some of the money will be spent:

Small-arms range repairs: $1.5 million
Major range road repairs: $2.226 million
Heat distribution piping repairs: $10.57 million
Transformers and vaults repairs/replacements: $2 million
Fire suppression systems repairs/upgrades: $3.5 million
Boiler plants stack replacements: $3.4 million

The New York Times' Baghdad Bureau blog has a piece about a clearing barrel at FOB Prosperity in Baghdad's International Zone painted like a pig with the phrase "Shoot 'Em in the Face" painted on it.

Why, it sounds like the Gray Lady made a stop with the 81st Brigade Combat Team's own Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment. 1st Sgt. Terrence DeFever told me a couple of months ago that they grabbed one of the clearing barrels during premobilization training at Fort McCoy, Wis., painted it pink, added some flair and brought it to Iraq with them.

Bravo Troop provides security for the U.S. State Department. Like the rest of the brigade, it is expected to return home this summer. Until then, the joes will keep clearing their M-4s in the snout of a metal pig.

An Islamist insurgency terrorizes Somalia. Terrorist organizations named Al Qaida operate on the Arabian Peninsula and the deserts of North Africa.

And with the nation’s military and intelligence resources focused on fighting two wars, the threat posed by Islamic extremism in other parts of the world is rising, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith told The News Tribune on Friday, days after returning from a six-nation trip to Africa and the Middle East.

“It’s a growing problem,” the Tacoma Democrat said in a phone interview. “All of our resources are focused on Iraq and Afghanistan. We don’t have the same coverage to track (Al Qaida) operatives on the ground in places like Somalia, Mali, Mauritania, Algeria and Yemen.”

Smith, the chairman of the House subcommittee dealing with terrorism, met with diplomatic, military and intelligence officials on the trip, which included four other congressmen. They visited Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and Burkina Faso.

=> Read more!

The Hill newspaper reports that National Guard adjutants general from around the country -- Washington's included -- are asking Congress for funding for Strykers in the emergency war funding bill. They're asking for $1.4 billion, enough to buy 549 Strykers.

Specifically, they want the medical evacuation variant. They're playing up the fact they can be used during domestic emergencies too.

From the article:

The adjutants general from Mississippi, North Carolina, Montana, Minnesota, Washington State, Oregon, California, Idaho, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Tennessee wrote to lawmakers arguing that the Stryker ambulances "will have significant influence on the domestic support [the National Guard] can give to out citizens at home," and could assist "all regions of our nation in innumerable disaster scenarios."

The Yakima Training Center is dedicating a memorial and renaming a range in honor of a hometown soldier killed in Iraq in 2004, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported.

Staff Sgt. Kyle Eggers, 27, was killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle on Dec. 5, 2004. He was serving in Iraq with the 2nd Infantry Division.

The pharmacy service at Madigan gets a facelift. Click below to check out the release:

=> Read more!

The cavalry squadron needed the training. The hospital had the expertise.

Fort Lewis’ community connections program made the link.

In November 2007, the soldiers of 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment were preparing for a deployment to Iraq, where they would play a role in rebuilding the country. The unit leadership contacted Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup and asked for help.

"We approached them and said, ‘We want to learn how to run a hospital on a daily basis. We need to know all the stuff that’s needed to maintain the infrastructure on a daily basis and provide resources to the local community,’" said Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Willing during a farewell party the hospital hosted for the squadron Friday morning. "They were all for it. I teamed up with the maintenance crew. Others shadowed guys in the ER."

As part of 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, the squadron was linked with Puyallup through community connections, a 9-year-old program that twins a Fort Lewis unit with one of the surrounding communities. And even though the brigade has since been redirected to Afghanistan – it will deploy in early summer – Willing stressed the importance of the experience.

"The relationships we’ve built here have been great," he said. "After all, we’re all a part of this community.

=> Read more!

A cavalry squadron from Fort Lewis' 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division is at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup this morning, just weeks before the Stryker brigade is expected to leave for Afghanistan.

The soldiers from 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment will be showing off two of their signature eight-wheeled vehicles in the parking lot of the hospital's children's therapy unit. The squadron has been partnered with the hospital through Fort Lewis' community connections program, which links units with cities.

From a hospital press release:

Members of the Squadron’s leadership were partnered with members of Good Samaritan’s staff; the new teams met multiple times on Good Samaritan’s campus to shadow the hospital’s clinicians, share best practices and understand the intricacies of operating a health care facility. This unique partnership encompassed every facet of hospital operations, to include such departments as physical medicine & rehabilitation, emergency medicine, campus development, finance, human resources and mental health.

Check back here for a recap of the event later today.

Set those alarms a few minutes early tomorrow. Your humble correspondent will be on KMPS-FM (94.1) to talk about my recent embed with the 81st Brigade Combat Team. I’ll be chatting with the folks of the Ichabod Caine and The Waking Crew show.

I’m scheduled to start yabbering at 6:44 a.m.

During my trip to Iraq, I ran into plenty of Washington National Guard soldiers worried about finding work when they return from their deployment this summer.

To help out, the state launched a Web site to help members of the 81st Brigade Combat Team and other units returning from mobilization transition back to stateside life.

Check it out here. And click below to read the full press release:

=> Read more!

Defense Secretary Robert Gates will speak at the University of Washington’s commencement at Husky Stadium on June 13.

Gates is no stranger to academia: He was Texas A&M University's president before taking the military's top job in December 2007. That followed a meteoric rise in the Central Intelligence Agency, where he became the only person to start in an entry-level job and reach the post of director.

Gates also has (deservedly) received much of the credit for using quiet strength to bring about necessary changes in the military after the war in Iraq began falling apart.

It's worth asking: If he'll be an hour away from Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base, might he make a detour?

Full press release after the jump:

=> Read more!

The drawdown of American troops from Iraq is no simple task. Six years of war mean countless tons of equipment remains scattered at bases throughout the country, most of which must be trucked out of the country along bomb-riddled roads.

It’s an effort Col. Cynthia Fox of the 593rd Sustainment Brigade called "possibly the largest retrograde operation the Army has seen in years" during a speech at unit’s colors-casing ceremony Wednesday on the parade grounds of North Fort Lewis. The brigade will soon deploy about 450 soldiers to Kuwait to support the logistics of fighting the war.

But that includes oversight of getting the equipment supporting about 100,000 soldiers out of Iraq, much of it on trucks that can be loaded onto container ships in Kuwait. The 593rd will serve a year overseas; the White House plans to reduce troop levels to about 50,000 by August 2010.

"There are many years of military equipment still in theater," said Brig. Gen. Jeff Mathis, the I Corps rear commander. "And once retrograde operations are in full swing, missions will drastically increase. Soldiers and leaders of the 593rd: You are the rock upon which all this rests."

=> Read more!

Derek Dixon stood against the wall, tapped his right foot and wore a nervous smile.

His daughter, Ashley, walked slowly down the hall. She was in music theory class at Yelm High School when the office called: Her grandmother was there and needed to see her.

Ashley walked into the school’s cafeteria and looked to her left. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my god!" the 15-year-old sophomore screamed when she saw her father, a staff sergeant with the Washington National Guard’s 81st Brigade Combat Team. She sprinted toward him and jumped into his arms. Both cried as they held each other.

After eight months of long-distance e-mail and teary-eyed phone calls, dad and daughter were reunited Tuesday morning. Derek returned to Yelm a month before his expected two weeks of leave, and the 34-year-old single father had another surprise for his daughter: Because he landed a full-time job with a different National Guard unit, he wasn’t going to return to Iraq.

"I almost didn’t believe it when I saw him," Ashley said, then smiled at her dad.

"I thought you might do something like this."

=> Read more!

The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, which aims to streamline the process of military kids transferring to schools in different states, has been passed by both houses of the state legislature.

It's just waiting the signature of Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Here's a bit more information from Mark San Souci, the Department of Defense liasion who has worked tirelessly on this issue:

The House amendment struck the null & void clause for funding that was in the senate's original bill. The fiscal note will indeed be funded at $49,000 annually, out of the state budget.

As the seventh largest military state, our 29,000 active duty military school children, and activated guard/reserve member school children, will now join at least 14 other states (the compact is now on the governor's desk in Alaska, Maryland, and Hawaii, respectively, with other states to follow) as a compact state seeking a level playing field for the difficult school transition issues that arise when military families move from state to state while serving our nation. …

The effective date of the bill is 90 days after adjournment of the legislative session in which the bill is passed. Hence, July 25, 2009.

The Army Times offers a glance of 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division as it prepares for its upcoming Afghanistan deployment.

The man who heads the Catholic archdiocese tasked with ministering to members of the military visited a Fort Lewis unit during a tour of American bases in Iraq last week.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio visited the headquarters of the 555th Engineer Brigade – better known as the Triple Nickel – at Joint Base Balad. Broglio, 57, celebrated Good Friday Mass at a base chapel and visited the Triple Nickel earlier that day at the invitation of Lt. Col. Gary Studniewski, the brigade chaplain and Catholic priest.

Catholic chaplains in the American armed forces officially serve in the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, which ministers to more than 2 million people in the military, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the State Department.

Broglio – a civilian with no prior military experience but who was afforded the treatment of a two-star general – met with brigade commanders, sat in on a combat patrol briefing and participated in a battle drill, in which the crew of a Mine Resistant Ambushed Protected reacted to a mock roadside bomb strike.

"The purpose of this (visit) was two-fold," brigade spokeswoman Lt. Jenny McCowin wrote in an e-mail. "The first was to show the archbishop and impress upon him the dangers that soldiers face in Iraq every day. The second was to demonstrate the power of increased spiritual strength to the soldiers."

It ain’t easy finding a job in this economy. But if you’re a veteran (or an employer looking to hire someone), the American Lake VA is holding an open house Wednesday.

Click below to read the release:

=> Read more!

Our lights & Sirens blog is reporting a group that opposes the military's use of local ports is planning a protest aimed at an upcoming Stryker deployment.

YAKIMA TRAINING CENTER – Spc. Brandon Pollard locked onto the heat signature and pushed a button. A second later, his screen flashed white.

Pollard smiled and exhaled. Sgt. Carlos Cuba, sitting in the driver’s seat of the Humvee, let out a yell and clapped.

"It’s kind of like throwing a touchdown pass," the Oklahoma native said. "It just felt good."

The two Fort Lewis soldiers had trained years for this. As members of 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, they train on Avenger Air Defense System, Humvees equipped with two turret-mounted launchers that can hold up to eight Stinger missiles and a .50-caliber machine gun designed to shoot down incoming enemy aircraft or rockets. It’s the last unit of its kind in the active Army.

At Wednesday’s training exercise, Pollard and Cuba received their first chance to fire a Stinger missile at a drone aircraft flying high above the central Washington desert.

As the fiberglass plane – about 8 feet long with a 15-foot wingspan – buzzed overhead, the Stinger flew from its tube. An instant later, the fiery wreckage of the drone was falling to the earth.

Many of the battalion’s 350 soldiers are receiving their first chance to fire Stingers during the weeklong training at Yakima. Many are new arrivals to the unit or joined as it was training for a deployment to Iraq. Others have been with the unit longer but haven’t had a chance to shoot a missile, which are often in too short of supply. Squads often compete to have the opportunity to fire one.

=> Read more!

Click here to check out some photos from Avenger training with 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

Several military, diplomatic and economic experts on China will come together in Lakewood Friday for the 2009 Pacific Northwest Security Forum, an annual event that invites the public to learn about pivotal geopolitical issues.

China was chosen as this year’s theme because the country is so much in the spotlight, from last summer’s Beijing Olympics to Washington state’s close trade ties with the Chinese, said retired Army Lt. Col. Doug Adams, the chairman of Friday’s program.

“It’s a little bit of a different look for us because we have been a national-security-focused forum in the past,” Adams said. “But the U.S.-China relationship is more than just national security.”

THE MAIN EVENT: The 11:30 a.m. lunchtime keynote presenter is former U.S. Ambassador Darryl Johnson, whose topic will be: “U.S. and China: Conciliation or Confrontation?”

Johnson grew up in the Puget Sound area and studied at the University of Washington and the University of Puget Sound. He is a guest lecturer at the UW Jackson School of International Studies.

AFTERNOON PANELS: The U.S. has a hot-cold relationship with China, and that duality will be reflected in a pair of panels.

Partnership is the word that best describes the 1:30 p.m. panel. It will feature Joe Borich, president of the Washington State China Relations Council, and Ron Chow, a Lakewood businessman who works closely with local sister city delegations and goes to China four to five times a year.

The discussion shifts to competition with China during the 4 p.m. panel. Participants include Dr. Phillip Saunders, senior research fellow for the National Defense University Institute for National Strategic Studies; Brig. Gen. Neal Sealock of Spokane, a former defense attaché to China; and Brig. Gen. Jeff Mathis, Fort Lewis’ deputy commanding general and a former special operations soldier with East Asia experience.

WHERE: The last three years, the forum was held in downtown Tacoma. This year it moves to Lakewood at the Sharon M. McGavick Student and Conference Center, Clover Park Technical College, 4500 Steilacoom Blvd. S.W.

COST: $45 for the keynote luncheon and afternoon panels. There’s no charge for those who show up only for the panels.

WHO’S ATTENDING: Active duty and reserve service members, veterans, civic and business leaders, and ROTC students are expected to attend. But anyone is welcome.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Click here.

Matt Misterek: 253-597-8472

What should members of 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division expect as they deploy to Afghanistan this year?

More violence, the top NATO general told a Canadian newspaper.

Dutch Maj.-Gen. Mart de Kruif, the commander of security forces in southern Afghanistan (where 5th Brigade is expected to serve) told the Globe and Mail that the increase in troop levels means increased attacks from Taliban insurgents.

"You will see an increase in incidents because we will go to places where we have never been before,” he told he newspaper. "We will be able to put much more pressure on the insurgents. We will hunt them down in their save havens."

About 20,000 troops – including a U.S. Army aviation brigade and the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force – will bolster the force in Afghanistan. De Kruif also told the Globe and Mail that it could take up to a year to establish security in the region.

(Photo by Sgt. Frank Hudec, Canadian Forces Combat Camera)

Have you been wondering what's the latest with Ehren Watada, the Stryker officer who refused to deploy to Iraq?

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin offers a quick update: Basically, his case is still caught up in the system, and he's still working a desk job at I Corps.

From the article:

"The Army says it is still awaiting a decision from newly appointed U.S. Solicitor Elena Kagan, who was sworn in three weeks ago, as to whether it will appeal a federal judge's decision rendered in October.

The judge said that a second court-martial could not be held for the 1996 Kalani High School graduate pending the outcome of his claim that it would violate his Fifth Amendment rights by trying him twice for the same charges."

(Sorry most of my blogs have been links elsewhere. I return to work next week.)

From the Associated Press:

The Thurston County Sheriff's Office says a Fort Lewis soldier is dead after being accidentally shot in the head and killed by his wife in Olympia.

Lt. Chris Mealy of the sheriff's office told KOMO-TV the soldier was teaching his wife how to handle a handgun when he was shot early Sunday. Mealy told The Olympian that the semi-automatic handgun was the soldier's personal property.

Mealy says deputies were called at about 1:30 a.m. He says the soldier and his wife, both 25, had been out with friends before the shooting.

Mealy says after the couple got home, the soldier decided to teach his wife how to handle the handgun.

Mealy says the soldier's wife is not facing charges currently, but the sheriff's office is investigating the shooting. He says the soldier was scheduled to deployment soon. The couple's names were not released.

The Los Angeles Times published (and we carried) a deeper look at the case of Capt. Michael Nguyen, the Fort Lewis soldier accused of embezzling more than $690,000 while serving as a civil-affairs officer in Iraq.

Sgt. Brian McGovern, a Fort Lewis-based public affairs officer deployed to Afghanistan, has been blogging about his experiences in South Asia.

McGovern, in a recent post, recalls a conversation he had with a fellow soldier. It’s something I heard a lot during my recent trip to Iraq:

An Army journalist who tagged along with me indicated she had become somewhat disenfranchised with military journalism. Especially after meeting the boy and his father, it seemed to her that we were using this tragic event to simply make the Army look good. I got to thinking... Is this all we are, just a public relations firm for the Army?

Check out his post to see his answer.

The head of Madigan Army Medical Center received a big honor when the USO recognized Maj. Gen. Patricia Horoho as its military woman of the year at a banquet in New York on Tuesday.

The Military Leadership Award is presented each year to "female service members who embody the USO's mission and values," according to an Army press release. The USO is an independent nonprofit organization that provides recreation and morale service to American service members across the world.

Horoho, who also commands the Army Nurse Corps and the Western Regional Medical Command, took over at Madigan in July 2008.

President Barack Obama's speech at the Al Faw palace at Baghdad's Camp Victory had an I Corps flavor.

The palace is the headquarters of Multi-National Corps-Iraq, which runs day-to-day operations of the American military in Iraq. I Corps took over as MNC-I on Saturday.

Here's a photo gallery from the speech.

Were you at the speech? Want to share your story or maybe a photo you snapped? E-mail me at scott.fontaine@thenewstribune.com.

From reporter Brian Everstine:

A Fort Lewis soldier was found shot in his car Tuesday afternoon on post.

Officials say the male soldier was found with a gunshot wound to the head in his car near the Gray Army Airfield. He was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center, where he died at about 2:30 p.m. The soldier's name has not been released. Army officials are investigating the death.

"The Fort Lewis community extends its most heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of the Soldier who died," a Fort Lewis news release states.

In case you haven't heard, President Barack Obama made a surprise trip to Baghdad today.

His visit included a stop with Multi-National Corps-Iraq, better known around these parts as I Corps.

Here's the press release:

BAGHDAD - In an unannounced visit, President Barack Obama addressed approximately 1,500 United States service members, government civilians and contractors assembled in the rotunda of Al Faw Palace in Baghdad, the headquarters of Multi-National Corps - Iraq, this evening.

During his remarks, the President lauded U.S. troops and government employees for their professionalism and sacrifice, telling them, "You have performed brilliantly in every mission that has been given to you."

The President praised the assembled service members for their steadfast focus on the task at hand: "Through controversy and difficulty and politics, you kept your eyes focused on just doing your job."

President Obama acknowledged that work remains to be done in Iraq, but told the service members that through their service, they have been critical in ensuring that Iraq no longer remains a haven for terrorists. "You have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country. That is an extraordinary achievement, and for that you have the thanks of the American people," he said.

In closing his remarks, the President assured the audience that "we have not forgotten what you have already done; we are grateful for what you will do; and as long as I'm in the White House, you're going to get the support you need, and the thanks that you deserve, from a grateful nation."

Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, will visit Fort Lewis tomorrow to visit with soldiers and attend an after-action review for a Minnesota National Guard unit soon deploying to Iraq.

The 60-year-old general will preside over a promotion ceremony for several Fort Lewis noncommissioned officers, according to a post press release, and then award the Army Commendation Medal to a 3rd Stryker Brigade soldier who provided first aid to a 7-year-old girl injured in a car accident.

He also will meet with soldiers from the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division, the Minnesota Guard unit that will soon oversee daily operations in southern Iraq. (For those steeped in the lingo, the division is taking over from the 10th Mountain Division as Multi-National Division-South.)

Casey has been chief of staff since April 2007; before that, he was the commander of Multi-National Force-Iraq.

(U.S. Army photo)

I Corps took command of day-to-day operations of Iraq during a change-of-command ceremony Saturday in Baghdad, marking the first time since the Korean War the Fort Lewis-based unit has deployed to a combat zone.

“Our time is now to deliver with success and honor,” said Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby, the corps commander who will become the American military’s No. 2 officer in Iraq.

The Fort Lewis unit deploys at a crucial time in the Iraq War. The level of violence has dropped the lowest levels since the invasion, and President Barack Obama announced plans in March to withdraw combat troops by August 2010 – a process that will be overseen in part by I Corps.

I Corps takes over as Multi-National Corps-Iraq, the second-highest coalition military unit in the country. Multi-National Force-Iraq is the overarching unit under which all coalition forces fall. MNC-I is a step lower; it’s in charge of running daily operations and supporting subordinate units.

Jacoby will answer directly to Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top military commander in Iraq.

I Corps relived XVIII Airborne Corps, which oversaw the end of the troop surge during its yearlong deployment. Jacoby praised the advances made by the Fort Bragg, N.C., unit during a meeting with The News Tribune editorial board last month and said it's absolutely important momentum it built isn't lost.

=> Read more!

Almost six decades after dying in the Korean War, a Whatcom County soldier will receive a burial with full military honors.

Cpl. Robert G. Schoening of Blaine was serving with a combat engineer battalion in the 25th Infantry Division on Nov. 25, 1950, when his company came under heavy enemy attack near Hill 222 south of the Kuryong River in North Korea. He and three others were reported missing in action on Nov. 27.

Schoening will be buried June 19 at Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia.

The recovery of Schoening’s remains is the results of a joint United States-North Korean team that excavated the site in P’yongan-Pukto province, according to a Department of Defense news release. Scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used forensic tools, DNA sampling, dental records and circumstantial evidence to make the identification.

An Army Reserve officer is suing the University of Washington, saying he has been harassed and discriminated against for his service in Iraq, according to seattlepi.com.

Lt. Col. James Lukehart deployed in 2006 and served in Balad. He charges in court papers that an investigation into misconduct was launched while he was overseas and that he took a demotion and accept a pay cut to keep his job.

A spokesman for UW said the demotion had nothing to do with Lukehart's service in Iraq.

From the story:

Before he went overseas, a group of his coworkers had told him he would be "engaging in immoral, if not illegal, action" if he went to Iraq as ordered, Lukehart asserts in court documents. Still, the reservist went to war less than three weeks after receiving notice that he'd be deployed.