I just filed my story about a group of Air Force reservists from the 446th Airlift Wing at McChord returning from a deployment to Dover Air Force Base, where they worked in the mortuary section. Not sure when the story will run, but in the meantime, I've posted a photo gallery here.

Check it out when you get a chance. None are McChord guys (they didn't bring cameras with them to work), but it offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes.

Madigan Army Medical Center opened an eight-bed specialty care unit Wednesday, the next step of a $1 million project to reduce referrals to outside hospitals and time spent in intensive care units.

Te new eight-bed unit contains a pediatric intensive care unit and an adult progressive care unit. The pediatric ICU is designed to provide critical-care services to children. The progressive care unit is for adults who require critical-care nursing but don’t quite need a stay in an intensive care unit because their injury or illness has stabilized.

The cost to get the unit started – including new equipment, facility renovations and additional staff – cost almost $1 million. It’s expected to treat several hundred patients each year.

A monument memorializing Medal of Honor winners from Pierce County will be dedicated during a Memorial Day observance at Tacoma’s War Memorial Park on Saturday.

The Tacoma Historical Society and American Legion are co-hosting the event, which begins at 2 p.m. at the park near the intersection of 6th Avenue and MacArthur Street.

Eight Pierce County residents have received the Medal of Honor, all but one from service in World War II, according to a release from the Historical Society. The eighth name, Maj. Patrick H. Brady, was honored for actions in the Vietnam War.

The Special Olympics are returning to Pierce County’s military installations this weekend.

More than 8,000 athletes, coaches and volunteers are expected to participate in this year’s games. Seattle Seahawks coach Jim Mora and his wife, Shannon, are the grand marshals for Friday’s opening ceremonies. Jen Mueller and Doug Dillon from Fox Sports Northwest will be the emcees.

The events include aquatics, track and field, cycling, weightlifting and soccer.

A bridge in Barrington, N.H., was named in memory of a Fort Lewis soldier who died in a training accident, Foster's Daily Democrat reports.

From the article:

The bridge in town spanning the Isinglass River on Route 202 was renamed the Specialist Jesse Conger Memorial Bridge Monday in memory of the local man who tragically died seven years ago in an army training accident.

A special ceremony began in Pine Grove Cemetery off Route 9 Monday afternoon, where family, friends, local politicians and members of Rolling Thunder veteran's advocacy group gathered to remember Conger and what he gave for their country. Conger joined the Army in 2000 as a Barrington resident and graduate of Dover High School. He was killed in a training accident after a five-ton truck rolled over on March 22, 2002, in Ft. Lewis, Washington.

Troops with the 81st Brigade Combat Team serving in Ramadi, Iraq, didn’t get their mail this week after a disagreement between Baghdad and third-party carriers that ferry some mail into the country grounded flights in Bahrain.

The backlog, though, should be completely cleared up, said Yvonne Yoerger, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Postal Service. The disruption didn't seem to affect any one particular region of the country.

At the center of the dispute was a surcharge on commercial cargo flown by non-Iraqi airlines. Some airplanes remained grounded in Bahrain while the contractors negotiated with the Baghdad government.

"(The Iraqi government) made no distinction for what the cargo was," Yoerger after contacted by The News Tribune, which inquired after soldiers from the Washington National Guard brigade e-mailed the paper saying they weren’t receiving letters from home.

The mail shipments were freed up after U.S. Central Command discussed the matter with the Iraqi government, Yoerger said. The amount of mail delayed couldn’t be determined, she said, and all pieces have since been delivered.

The U.S. Postal Service flies its mail bound for the Middle East from the United States to Bahrain, where it’s sorted. A majority of the mail that reaches troops in Iraq arrives at the bases via military air, but the postal service also uses contractors to fly the mail into the country.

Fort Lewis units are going to be blasting C-4 today, tonight and tomorrow. Call the public affairs office at 253-967-0852 with any questions or comments.

Two other high-profile cases involving Fort Lewis soldiers are still pending.

Spc. Ivette G. Davila is charged with murder, burglary and kidnapping following the deaths of two other Fort Lewis soldiers. Investigators said Davila shot the two soldiers, took their baby and burned their bodies with acid.

Davila has been held in confinement at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor while awaiting her Article 32 hearing. The proceeding has been delayed numerous times at the request of defense attorneys, a Fort Lewis spokesman said.

And the Army is still considering the remaining charges of conduct unbecoming an officer against Lt. Ehren Watada, who refused to deploy with his unit of 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. An appeal to continue prosecuting him on more serious charges was dropped in May.

Watada is assigned to the I Corps Special Troops Battalion rear detachment, where he serves as an operations officer.

The Los Angeles Times carried a great article yesterday about Spc. Erik Oropeza, who won the Distinguished Service Cross while serving with Fort Lewis' 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Oropeza, now 22, is now serving at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., but his story of heroism is well worth a few minutes of your time.

If you have Google Earth installed on your computer, make sure not to miss Map the Fallen.

It maps out details of each coalition soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are a couple of screengrabs:

=> Read more!

Twenty-four names are being added to the Army Special Operations Command Memorial Wall in Fort Bragg, N.C. They were killed over the past two years in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Six of those are from Fort Lewis.

From 1st Special Forces Group:

Staff Sgt. Joseph F. Curreri, of Baltimore, Md.
Staff Sgt. David W. Textor, from Jamestown, N.Y.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Tully, from Falls Creek, Pa.

And from 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment:

Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, of Ramona, Calif.
Spc. Thomas F. Duncan III, of Rowlett, Texas
Spc. Christopher Gathercole, of Santa Rosa, Calif.

The folks at Madigan Army Medical Center are going to cut the ribbon this week on a new Specialty Care Unit, including a pediatric intensive care unit and an adult progressive care unit. The former means fewer referrals to Seattle Children's Hospital or Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma.

Click below to read the press release:

=> Read more!

Our big Memorial Day story ran Sunday. It focused on the Ewens family of Gig Harbor; one son was killed in Afghanistan, two of his brothers are there now and one is heading over there soon with 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. (For the Web-only readers, there's a good chance you missed this story. The folks who update our homepage jammed it way down into oblivion pretty early in the day, making it hard to find if you weren't looking.)

We also will be staffing an event today. Check out thenewstribune.com later today for that story. I suspect we'll be poaching at least part of The Olympian's story for tomorrow's paper too.

And, of course, don't forget to check out our war casualties database, which records the death of every service member either from Washington or assigned to a military installation in this state.

For those who liked this story, check out this video:

The Elgin Courier News of Illinois wrote today about the effects of the death of Pfc. Leonard J. Gulczynski, a soldier with the 14th Battalion, 555th Engineer Regiment who died Sept. 17 after a Humvee accident in Iraq.

Gulzynski's little sister, Jacki, is apparently a pretty good athlete. From the article:

There's little doubt some of the lumps Jacki took while being pushed around by her older brother make her more adept at fighting for a rebound or attacking the basket for a lay-up. Aside from that physical boost, Lenny now provides a strong source of inspiration for Jacki, who never has to look farther than the black wristband inscribed with her brother's initials and his volleyball number "15" that her teammates made following his death.

"I wear the wristband for every single game and I sometimes wear it to school," Jacki said. "Every time I go to the free-throw line or go to the plate for a big hit in softball, I look at that and get a sense of inspiration.

"I'll think, 'All right Lenny, give me some strength here. I can do this.' I can definitely say I've used my wristband to help me get through to Lenny."

Thomas Donnelly, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, weighs the future of military vehicles in light of the gutting of the Future Combat Systems program.

Here's his opinion on the Stryker:

"At first glance, the Stryker looks like it might do better in modern warfare. An eight-wheeled vehicle, it has a more efficient engine and can move rapidly. But the Stryker lacks the off-road capability of a tracked vehicle like the Abrams or Bradley. Although it performed beyond expectations in Iraq -- and should as well in Afghanistan, where it is just being introduced -- it can only play a niche role, since its combat capabilities are limited."

Thoughts anyone?

The Article 32 hearing for Pvt. Timothy E. Bennitt, the Fort Lewis soldier accused of supplying his 16-year-old girlfriend with a lethal dose of prescription drugs, will resume Tuesday.

The hearing, the military version of a grand-jury proceeding, had been postponed until June 2 because of scheduling conflicts. No reasoning was given for the change.

Bennitt, a 19-year-old Indiana resident, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and several drug-related offenses. He faces 82 years in prison.

DVIDS provides a touching story about a soldier serving in Iraq and traveling to Mosul to walk on a street named in honor of her brother, Sgt. 1st Class Richard Henkes, a Fort Lewis-based Stryker soldier killed in a roadside bomb attack in September 2006.

From the story:

The next day Bass traveled around the base with her own driver. With his help they found two street signs with her brother's name and stumbled upon a third. Bass laid a charm in the shape of a shield with the verse Joshua 1:9 inscribed on the back at the base of one of the signs. The verse is, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

The Georgia Bulletin has a piece on the fine work the USO does at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. One of the soldiers quotes was Lt. Col. Gary Studniewski, the chaplain of the 555th Engineer Brigade. He's been in The News Tribune in happier times and more mournful occasions. Sounds like he's heading back to Iraq to join the Fort Lewis-based Triple Nickel.

From the story:

Lt. Col. Gary Studniewski is a Catholic priest and brigade chaplain in the Army’s 555th Engineer Brigade. His home base is Washington state, but he was returning to Iraq for several more months. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., but serves in the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. It ministers to more than 2 million Catholics in the military, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. State Department.

As he passed through Atlanta, he said he was grateful to the Atlanta Archdiocese for recently releasing two of its priests to service as military chaplains—Fathers Kevin Peek and Fred Wendel.

"It’s like coming home," he said about the USO. "The doors are always open. You always feel love and supported."

"The USO is your home to the American service members," said Father Studniewski.

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment held its annual memorial ceremony at its home at Fort Campbell, Ky., on Thursday, and honored two soldiers with Washington connections.

The regiment, which has a battalion based at Fort Lewis, added to its memorial the name of Pfc. Blaine N. Adams, who died Nov. 29 following an on-post water survival training. Adams was a MH-47 Chinook helicopter repairer.

"(Adams) was a highly motivated young man and was well thought of highly respected by the Soldiers he served with,” Col. Clayton Hutmacher said in a press release. “Like the others who went before him, he too was an example of courage, commitment and sacrifice."

The regiment also dedicated its aquatics training facility in memory of Sgt. Thomas F. Allison, a 22-year-old Roy resident who was aboard an Army Chinook helicopter that crashed into the Bohol Sea off Negros Island in the southern Philippines on Feb. 22, 2002.

As cars jammed during lunchtime in Lakewood’s Tillicum neighborhood, Susan Hoppler walked down Berkeley Avenue and caught passengers’ attention. Many rolled down the car window and took a leaflet from the Federal Way resident.

Its contents weren’t pretty: A photo of hands wearing surgical gloves cutting into an animal. It’s tough to determine what animal it is because much of the picture is filled with a large, open wound. "Stop military trauma tests on animals," it says.

"I’m a normal person. I’m not some wacko," said Hoppler, a 46-year-old former veterinary technician. "But this is important to me."

Hoppler was one of eight people organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to protest the Army’s use of animals to train medics on trauma response. The organization is protesting at Fort Lewis and 16 other military installations across the country.

PETA targeted Fort Lewis over its use of goats to train medics in trauma response. During some practices, parts of the animals’ limbs were amputated under anesthesia to teach the proper application of a tourniquet.

=> Read more!

A month or so ago, we blogged about Gig Harbor's brand-new St. Anthony Hospital and how military families, retirees and their survivors might want to keep driving past it for a while, except in case of emergency.

Now we're told that St. Anthony is officially part of the TRICARE network, so you can receive care there using your military medical entitlement.

“We are pleased that St. Anthony Hospital has been accepted as a TRICARE network provider, and we look forward to providing the highest quality care to our military families,” said Carole Peet, the chief operating officer at St. Anthony, in a statement.

The hospital opened on March 17 and joined up with TRICARE the first week of May.

The delay was the result of paperwork requirements, according to a hospital spokesman.

We're compiling a list of Memorial Day events around the area this weekend so you can plan something fun with the kids.

Want to add your event? Email me at scott.fontaine@thenewstribune.com

Friday

Model recreation of Arlington National Cemetery, Clover Park High School front lawn, 11023 Gravelly Lake Dr SW, All day through Monday.

Sunday

Vaughn Bay Cemetery, Firing detail and speaker from 555th Engineer Brigade, corner of 100th Street KPN and 186th Avenue KPN, Vaughn, 1 p.m.

Fir Lane Memorial Park, I Corps Band, color guard from 191st Infantry Brigade and firing detail from 17th Fires Brigade, 924 176th St E., Spanaway, 1 p.m.

Monday

Thurston Country Deputy Sheriff's Association Ride Around the Mountain, Rainier High School, 308 Second St. W., Rainier, registration begins at 8 a.m.

Sumner Cemetery, I Corps Band, color guard and firing detail from 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, military chaplain as speaker, 12324 Valley Ave E., Sumner, 10 a.m.

Bethany Cemetery, Color guard and speaker from 191st Infantry Brigade, firing detail from 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment, 26418 Mountain Hwy E., Spanaway, 10:30 a.m.

Flying Heritage Collection, Paine Field, 3407 109th St. SW, Everett, 11 a.m.

NABVETS Day of Honor, a celebration of minority veterans who fought in World War II, Bethlehem Baptist Church, 4818 Portland Ave., Tacoma, 11 a.m.

Thurston County Veterans Council, State Capitol Rotunda, 11 a.m.

Korean War Veterans Memorial, wreathlaying, State Capitol Campus, Olympia, 11 a.m.

Milton Veteran s Memorial, Fort Lewis garrison commander Col. Cynthia Murphy as speaker, Triangle Park, Milton Way and 15th Avenue, Milton, 11 a.m.

Fort Lewis cemetery, Fort Lewis acting commander Brig. Gen. Jeff Mathis as speaker, I Corps command honor guard, I Corps Band, 11:30 a.m.

New Tacoma Cemetery, chaplain from Fort Lewis, 9212 Chambers Creek Rd W., University Place, noon

Vietnam Veterans Thunder Run 2009, wreathlaying, speakers and the addition of name to the wall, leaves from various locations, Meets at Olympia Capitol Campus Vietnam Memorial, 12:30 p.m.

Pioneer Park Pavilion, Representative from 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division to attend, 210 W. Pioneer, Puyallup, 1 p.m.

Washington Soldiers Home, Speaker from Western Air Defense Sector, Chilson Hall, 1301 Orting-Kapowsin Hwy., Orting, 2 p.m.

Vietnam Memorial, soldiers from the Republic of Vietnam to attend, State Capitol Campus, 2 p.m.

Mountain View Memorial Park, chaplain and color guard from 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, 4100 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, Lakewood, 2 p.m.

Mills and Mills Funeral Home, speaker from 17th Fires Brigade, 5725 Littlerock Rd. SW, Tumwater, 2 p.m.

Woodlawn Cemetery, 5930 Mullen Rd. SE, Lacey, 4:30 p.m.

DefenseLink has a story about Washington National Guard soldiers in Thailand to work with first responders. It's part of the State Partnership Program. Check it out here.

They're often contradictory beliefs: Many complain the American people don't act like a nation at war, but only until very recently the return of coffins from service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan (images that would remind the public of the cost of war) were off limits to reporters.

So when the bossman sent me a link to this story, I wanted to share it with y'all and hopefully get some input. Two reporters were on hand for the honoring of a fallen soldier at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Check it out.

Should the military allow reporters around for more events like these? Or does it overstep the line protecting privacy?

As far as military housing goes, Fort Lewis soldiers could do far worse than the barracks of the 62nd Medical Brigade.

Residents type a code into a keypad to gain access to each suite's shared space, which boasts a kitchen, bathroom and sometimes a washer and dryer. Each bedroom measures 151 square feet and has a walk-in closet.

Matt Barnes, the Fort Lewis garrison command sergeant major, said if he had to live in any barracks on post, this year-old building would be it.

"We've come a long way since 1942, when a whole platoon bunked in one barracks," he said last week during a News Tribune tour of the post's residences for unmarried enlisted soldiers. "This is really state of the art."

The on-post death of Leah King, a 16-year-old Lakes High School sophomore, on Feb. 15 has brought recent attention to soldiers' living arrangements and how increased privacy is a trust that may occasionally be abused.

King died from a lethal dose of drugs she helped a Fort Lewis soldier obtain, according to charging statements. She was found unresponsive in the barracks, along with another 16-year-old girl who was released from a hospital after treatment.

Pvt. Timothy E. Bennitt, a 19-year-old Indiana resident, is facing involuntary manslaughter and other charges.

With an eye toward independence and privacy, Fort Lewis is in the midst of replacing most of its barracks buildings, many of which date back decades. It's part of a Department of Defense-wide move for better on-post living quarters.

By 2017, almost three-fourths of Fort Lewis' 11,491 barracks beds will be in the "1+1"-style, meaning two single bedrooms share a common kitchen and bathroom. Most of the remainder will be in older buildings converted to the 1+1 style.

King was found in a 1+1 unit in the barracks of the 864th Engineer Battalion.

Barnes said the idea is to provide soldiers with a place that feels like home.

"It's a quality-of-life issue for the soldiers," Barnes said. "They need a place to go that's their own."

The barracks construction boom is part of the overall Fort Lewis master plan, which emphasizes a cluster of communities where soldiers can walk from their barracks to unit headquarters, dining facilities and other work-related areas. The post's urban planners estimate construction of the new barracks will cost about $1 billion.

Commanders at Fort Lewis say their troops should live better at home than they do while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"We want to give soldiers a social life. We want that for them. They've earned that," said Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby in a March meeting with News Tribune editors, before he deployed to Iraq with I Corps. "On the other hand, I have the responsibility to make sure it's a safe, secure environment."

All residents are required to abide by visitation rules; they must check inall guests at a desk manned 24 hours a day by a charge of quarters, otherwise known as a "CQ." Visitors must show photo ID, cannot be under 18 and must leave by midnight (or 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday).

"Under no circumstance can a minor be in the barracks. Escorted or unescorted. Period," Jacoby said.

Still, the increased privacy means a greater chance rules will be broken.

"The people living in the barracks are adults," Barnes said. "And we treat them like adults."

=> Read more!

Fort Lewis units are going to be blasting C-4 today and tomorrow, both day and night. Any questions? Call the public affairs office at 253-967-0852.

Pvt. Timothy E. Bennitt, the Fort Lewis soldier charged with the overdose death of a Lakewood teenager, will appear at an Article 32 hearing tomorrow.

Bennitt, 19, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, wrongful use and distribution of controlled substances and conspiracy to use controlled substances. He faces up to 82 years in prison, reduction in rank to private (E-1), forfeiture of all pay and a dishonorable discharge.

An Article 32 hearing is the military’s equivalent of a grand jury hearing. An investigating officer has been appointed to look into the charges and will review the evidence presented by the defense and prosecution attorneys. After the review, he or she will make a recommendation regarding the charges and appropriate level of court-martial.

Bennitt, from Rolling prairie, Ind., is a heavy construction equipment operator assigned to the 864th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade at Fort Lewis. He joined the military in June 2007 and arrived at Fort Lewis in December 2007.

Leah King, a 16-year-old Lakes High School sophomore, died Feb. 15 from a lethal dose of drugs she helped Bennitt obtain, according to charging statements. She was found in the barracks, a dormitory-style area where soldiers reside in individual rooms.

=> Read more!

I'll be speaking Wednesday before the City Club of Tacoma about my recent embed with the 81st Brigade Combat Team and other local units in Iraq. So if you’ve got any burning questions to ask, are interested about covering the war in Iraq or just want to discover how nervous I get speaking before large crowds, come to the Landmark Convention Center.

In true military style, I'll start it off with a PowerPoint presentation (mainly some of my favorite photos and a quick recap of where I went) and then open it up for questions.

Where: Landmark Convention Center, Rooftop Garden Ballroom, 47 St. Helens, Tacoma
When: Doors open at 11:30 a.m. for lunch, followed by program.
Price: $23 for members, $30 for non-members. A limited number of $5 coffee and dessert tickets are available at the door.
Register: By noon Monday by e-mailing may-20-lunch@cityclubtacoma.org

Sgt. Christopher Osborne was riding in a Stryker through Baghdad’s International Zone when his view went black.

"Man, we just got smoked!" one soldier yelled.

"Catastrophic kill," another announced over his headset. "1-2 is dead."

And if Osborne had any doubt what happened, he could just look at the computer screen, which displayed a simple message in white letters: "You are dead."

Osborne’s Stryker was again rolling through the streets of Baghdad about 30 minutes later, and the 26-year-old Lacey resident was back on the headset, communicating with others in his platoon – but not before distributing some good-natured trash-talk.

"Hey," he said, "I would’ve moved out of the way."

Welcome to Virtual Battlespace 2, a computer-based trainer soldiers from 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division are using this week at Fort Lewis to prepare for its fall deployment to Iraq.

=> Read more!

Sometimes the little guy wins one.

In this case, the little guy is 1-year-old Aiden Lopez of Lakewood. The son of a Fort Lewis engineer was recently diagnosed with Sanfilippo syndrome, an inherited condition that affects the body's ability to break down certain proteins and sugars.

The disease is fatal, and there’s only one prospective treatment for him: A bone-marrow transplant using umbilical stem cells that costs about $700,000 performed at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina. Aiden’s parents, Sgt. Gilberto and Penny Lopez, discovered the treatment online when doctors told them no treatment or cure for Aiden or his 5-year-old sister, Hannah, was available.

(Hannah also has Sanfillipo syndrome, but the disease has progressed too far for the treatment. She has developmental disabilities and will likely only live into her teens.)

TriWest Healthcare Alliance, which operates the military medical insurance program TRICARE in the western United States, twice denied the Lopez’s request for Aiden’s treatment. When I talked to her last week, Penny was visibly upset as she thumbed through stacks of paperwork from insurance providers, doctors and the office of U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, which helped expedite the appeals process.

=> Read more!

The public is invited to Fort Lewis on Saturday for the post’s annual Armed Forces Day celebration.

Festivities kick off at 9 a.m. with a 5-kilometer "mud run" obstacle-course race.

An hour later, the parade grounds open and include attractions like historical military reenactments, vehicle displays, live music, climbing wall, pony rides, a 10-kilometer Volksmarch, an Army vs. Air Force soccer game, a parachutist drop, craft and food vendors and an amateur singing competition.

If you don't have a car pass, enter Fort Lewis at the DuPont gate off Exit 119 on Interstate 5. Drivers must have a valid license, registration and proof of insurance. Everyone 16 or older must show photo ID.

Fort Lewis is inviting military retirees to the American Lake Club on Friday for an annual event that focuses on health care and the status of today's Army. Military agencies and veterans groups are also on hand to provide information.

Here’s what’s on tap, courtesy of the folks at public affairs:

A Madigan Army Medical Center mini-clinic, which will conduct diagnostic tests on site, from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. No appointments are necessary, but patients should fast for 12-hours before having blood drawn.

A Retiree Information Fair will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. Booths representing state and federal, and non-profit agencies will be staffed by employees and other individuals knowledgeable about benefits and services their organization has available for military retirees.

The Fort Lewis Staff Judge Advocate's office will staff a legal advice center at the fair, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., to assist with wills, special general and medical powers of attorney, and answers to legal questions.

Maj. Gen. Patricia Horoho, Madigan Army Medical Center Commander, will be the guest speaker for this year's event. She will be introduced by Maj. Gen. (retired) Eugene L. Daniel, Fort Lewis Retiree Council chairman, at 12:30 p.m.

Complimentary refreshments (fruit, pastry, coffee, and juice) will be offered throughout the day, from 7:30 a.m. to noon. There will also be a no-host breakfast served from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and a no-host luncheon from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 p.m., with dinner music provided a pianist from the 56th Army Band.

There’s another VetsMeetVets event on tap this weekend.

The program, which aims to link younger veterans with older ones, will be at City Park in Pacific on Saturday. It kicks off at 10 a.m.

Here’s what the schedule looks like:

10-11:30 a.m.: Seasoned veterans meet for introduction and enrollment as coaches
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: Recent veterans/families/guests/seasoned veterans/the whole community: A celebration/acknowledgment of our veterans with food and music and speakers
1:30-4 p.m.: Main event with seasoned veterans coaching recent veterans in groups of six

Fort Lewis' urban planners plan to transform the post from a concrete jungle of sprawled buildings to a leafy collection of smaller communities.

The post's long-term master plan, which was unveiled Tuesday, organizes the installation into 13 neighborhoods, each anchored by a mixed-use area. In the works are widening of sidewalks, on-street parking, street cafes and restaurants. Some of the post's historic buildings, many dating back to World War II, will renovated.

"I think it's really important to have that sense of community, especially during that time of war," garrison commander Col. Cynthia Murphy said. "When you have that sense of community, you know your neighbors and care about your neighbors. You don't have that isolated feeling you have when you just drive from place to place."

A major goal of the design is to reduce commuting; planners hope to group barracks, dining facilities, motor pools, administrative buildings and training areas close enough to encourage soldiers to walk to work.

"It's the new, old trend," said Tom Tolman of the Fort Lewis public works department's planning division. " It's returning to the principles we used when we built Fort Lewis – the ability to walk and drive and bike. Now it's all about driving everywhere."

Planners are touting the post's ecofriendly design: The reduction of car commuting, addition of more trees and adoption of sustainable construction standards could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 18 million pounds per year, Tolman said.

=> Read more!

Here are a few aerial plans for how neighborhoods will look under Fort Lewis' master plan. Click on each to see the hi-rez version.

Our state leaders used to harumph about the Washington National Guard being commandeered by the feds. Gov. Chris Gregoire especially didn't like Bush Administration plans three years ago to federalize the National Guard for natural or man-made disasters.

"As commander in chief of the Washington National Guard, I will not stand quietly while the federal government tries to strip my ability to command the National Guard to protect the citizens of Washington," Gregoire wrote in a 2006 News Tribune opinion piece.

She hasn't made such noises when the Guard is called up to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. We didn't hear a peep before the 81st Brigade deployed to Iraq from our back yard last fall. She and other politicians just want to make sure citizen-soldiers are properly equipped.

Down south in Oregon, however, the chorus of naysayers is picking up. A couple of legislators -- one a Democrat, one a Republican -- are leading the charge on House Bill 2556, which makes explicit the governor's power to ensure the Guard is only used in the presence of a "valid Congressional enactment consistent with the Constitution of the United States of America."

"The Oregon National Guard should not be treated like the private army of any U.S. president," said one of the sponsors, said Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point.

A new state law, it it comes, would be too late to block 2,600 Oregon National Guardsmen from heading to Iraq by way of Georgia. They were mobilized in early May.

According to a national campaign to bring Guard units home from overseas (or keep them home), a dozen other state legislatures are considering similar legislation. They include Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

The group claims that grassroots campaigns have been launched in other states, including Washington. (We haven't heard of a movement in the Evergreen State, and of course our Legislature is done for the year.)

What do you think? Does a law like this make sense in Washington? Do you think the Guard has been overextended here?

Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the man tapped to take over the American war effort in Afghanistan, has served at Fort Lewis. He commanded 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment from November 1994 to June 1996, before he left for a year to attend Harvard University.

The News Tribune is compiling a list of memorial day celebrations around the Puget Sound area. If your organization is hosting one (that is open to the public), e-mail me at scott.fontaine@thenewstribune.com or call 253-320-4758 to get the event in the listing.

Thanks!

Fort Lewis has issued a late-night firing announcement. Tonight, soldiers will be using C-4 and dynamite. On Wednesday, it’ll be C-4.

Wanna complain? Call 253-967-0852.

Two women who struck up a friendship as their loved ones were deployed with 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, have written a book about their experiences.

"Friends for Life: Strangers Brought Together by the War in Iraq" discusses the deployment of 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment. From the book's description on Amazon.com:

Friends for Life is a story about the experiences and recollections of two women who were strangers brought together through the yearlong deployment of their soldiers during the Iraq War. Patti, the mother of Army medic Jon, and Jennifer, sister of infantry soldier James, forge a dear and lifelong friendship as their soldiers fight to stay alive in one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq.

The story begins separately with the Patti and Jennifer's recollections of the day their soldiers deployed to Iraq from Ft. Lewis, Washington. As the book progresses, their separate stories of Army life grow together as their soldiers’ deployment continues. During the journey, tragedies occur and survival tactics are learned by the soldiers on the battlefield and the loved ones at home. The shared experiences, frequent communications, and constant support for each other grow into a sweet and lasting friendship.

This story is a unique, non-fiction, war story, through the eyes and emotions of a mother and sister. Though the two women were separated by many things, including thousands of miles, age, and interests, they were drawn together by shared terrors and overwhelming desire to communicate with and send comfort to their soldiers. The Iraq war is a modern war. This book demonstrates the positives and negatives for the families of modern soldiers. Communication is instant, yet, timing is unpredictable. Often, those at home know more about recent events than the soldiers in the battles themselves do. Portions of this book contain actual Instant Messages with the soldiers, offering a window directly into the thoughts, words of expression, family closeness and anguish that was always present during the deployment. The book also serves as a guide to Soldiers families for surviving a deployment.

The book goes on sale May 19.

(Hat tip, Strykernews.com)

The folks at Madigan Army Medical Center are recognizing Women’s Health Care Week in several different ways.

Read on:

Madigan Celebrates Women’s Health Care Week

Madigan Army Medical Center will observe National Women's Health Care Week May 10-16. The theme for this year's campaign is, "It's Your Time!" This observance is an opportunity for Madigan to raise awareness of important health issues that affect women, such as heart disease, the No. 1 killer of American women.

Traditionally, women’s health issues have been limited to childbirth and reproductive health rather than encompassing a broader range of health issues. This week’s events are aimed at empowering women to make their health a top priority and reminding them that taking care of themselves is essential to living longer, healthier, and happier lives.

During the entire week of May 10-16 there will be a Static Display on the ground floor of the medical mall, and on May 14-15 there will be a variety of Information Tables, manned by various providers of Women's Health. Those Subject Matter Experts will be periodically manning the tables and answering patient and staff questions regarding: Midwifery, diabetes, health and nutrition, heart disease, breast health/risk factors, obstetrics and gynecology, and more.

I swung by the Citizen-Soldier of the Year Award presentation earlier this week, but the focus of my story was on the keynote address. For those interested in Air Force Tech. Sgt. Juan Colon, the man who won the award, click below.

The airman with the 446th Airlift Wing really has done a lot for his community and deserved the recognition:

=> Read more!

For those who enjoyed today’s article on the Paralympics camp with soldiers from the Warrior Transition Battalion, you might appreciate this e-mail from Paul Wensley. He’s the vice present of the Commencement Bay Rowing Club, which hosted the adaptive rowing event with the soldiers.

He writes:

Laura Schwanger (bronze medal adaptive rower at the Beijing Paralympics) believed this event had the largest number of AR rowers on the water of any event so far in the United States. CBRC (ironic name as we row on American Lake) has been trying for over a year to start a continuing year-round AR program for military and civilians with disabilities, and despite the success of yesterday's event we are still uncertain if this will happen.

Our main problem is not the lack of effort/support from our incredibly generous members, as you could see from the numbers of local volunteers on a weekday/workday, but simply making enough people aware of our existence.

So if you’re interested in learning more about the club, click here.

The children of Washington’s service members should have an easier time transferring between schools when their parents receive new orders after Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children on Thursday.

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. Washington becomes the 17th state to enter the compact.

Entering the agreement would cost Washington $49,000 next fiscal year, according to a state estimate. Its proponents – service members from Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base testified at committee hearings – say it’s money well spent.

Washington has more than 135,000 active-duty family members -- servicemembers, spouses and children -- and as many as 33 percent move every year, said Mark San Souci, a regional liaison from the Department of Defense.

=> Read more!

Three of Spc. Jeffrey Sigerson’s fingers are curled, the result of his right hand being crushed in the door of a Humvee during an ambush in Iraq last year while he was on a convoy-security mission.

On top of that, his entire torso twitches frequently after an accident in basic training left him with dislocated vertebrae and damaged nerves.

But as Sigerson rowed himself around American Lake Thursday, the Fort Lewis soldier found peace on the choppy waters.

"I thought it would be a lot harder to do," the 40-year-old Tacoma resident said after 30 minutes on the lake. "But I found out that it’s something I can do. It was relaxing. It’s freedom on the water."

Sigerson and 14 others from Fort Lewis’ Warrior Transition Battalion, a unit for soldiers with complex or long-term health concerns, rowed and played sitting volleyball during a camp run by the U.S. Paralympic Team.

Another 15 veterans or active-duty military personnel from other bases also participated in the camp, which began Tuesday and concludes today.

Sports are growing in popularity as a way to help wounded and injured service members; proponents say they encourage physical activity after a traumatic event and provide a sense of calm. One local nonprofit, the Wounded Warrior Adaptive Golf Project, helps link disabled soldiers and veterans with mentors on the links.

=> Read more!

Almost three years after Lt. Ehren Watada refused to deploy to Iraq and became a hero of the antiwar left, the Army dropped the most serious charges against him.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Army’s request to dismiss the case against the Honolulu native who made national headlines when declared the war illegal as his unit of 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, prepared to deploy.

The brigade has since completed a 15-month deployment to Iraq and is preparing to return again this summer. Watada’s case, meanwhile, has navigated the military and federal court system while he works as an operations officer with I Corps.

He faced up to six years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for missing movement and engaging in conduct unbecoming an officer. Watada said he didn't deploy because he felt his service in Iraq would make him a party to war crimes.

But his legal limbo isn’t yet over. Two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer – stemming from antiwar statements he made to the media – weren’t part of the legal dispute the Ninth Circuit ruled upon and could still be filed in the military court system.

Watada’s lawyer, James Lobsenz, told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that he expects Watada to be discharged soon. The lieutenant plans to return to civilian life and attend law school, Lobsenz said in a press release.

=> Read more!

I know flammability was a concern from a lot of the joes when the Army switched to the ACUs a few years back. As a buddy of mine once told me, "Someone could light a match 20 feet away and your uniform would catch fire."

Perhaps it wasn't that bad, but improvements have been made. One example of the new material's durability comes from the house fire of Staff Sgt. Nathan Foster. Here's what he found in the ashes:

Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the United States' top diplomat in Iraq since 2007, has returned to his native Spokane Valley. The Pacific Northwest Islander catches up with him.

The Tacoma Rainiers are honoring the military Saturday night. The team is hosting a "Salute to the Armed Forces Night" when it plays Colorado Springs at 7 p.m. at Cheney Stadium.

Service members and their family can get in for $5 each. The team will wear special uniforms with camouflage sleeves and them auction them off after the game. The proceeds go to Support America’s Armed Forces.

According to a press release:

The Rainiers will be video taping your personal messages of thanks and support for a keepsake DVD being sent to troops serving around the world. The DVD will also be shown on the Pentagon Channel which broadcasts military news and information to 2.6 million members of the U.S. Armed Forces. The I Corps Command Honor Guard from Ft. Lewis will also be part of pregame ceremonies to pay homage to the five branches of the military and the Washington National Guard.

Click below to check out how the military jersey will look:

=> Read more!

The U.S. Navy has been shrinking since the end of the Cold War, yet the service is tasked with a wider array of responsibilities. Its ships track Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa or smugglers from South America. Its engineers manage building projects on every continent. And more sailors are stationed in the Middle East than on ships.

It’s part of an evolution that increases the emphasis on "soft power," or projecting American influence through cooperation, the chief of staff of Navy Region Northwest said during a speech in Tacoma on Tuesday.

"Twenty years ago, we were prepared for a showdown with the Soviet Union," Capt. Peter Blake Rush said. "Today we also focus on piracy, disaster relief, anti-smuggling."

Rush was speaking Tuesday at a meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Tacoma, which was presenting the Howard O. Scott Citizen-Soldier of the Year award. That honor went to Tech. Sgt. Joan Colon, an Air Force Reserve mortuary specialist with the 446th Airlift Wing.

Navy Region Northwest oversees installations in Whidbey Island, Everett, Bremerton, Bangor and Indian Island, near Port Townsend. More than 20,000 active-duty sailors and 3,700 reservists are assigned to the state, and the estimated annual contribution to the Puget Sound economy is $4 billion.

The overall size of the Navy, though, is waning. During the 1980s, it boasted 568 ships and about 500,000 active-duty sailors.

=> Read more!

The upcoming deployments of three Stryker brigades from Fort Lewis are sparking protests from the local anti-war community.

On Thursday afternoon, members of Port Militarization Resistance will be marching in downtown Tacoma to protest the use of the Port of Tacoma to ship Strykers to Afghanistan.

From a release: "Join us as we take back the streets of Tacoma this Thursday! To no one’s surprise the gears of the war-machine are still spinning after the election of Barack Obama. We must show the city of Tacoma that if they continue to allow the military to use their port we will continue to cost them money."

And at noon Saturday, a rally protesting the stop-loss policy will take place at the Freedom Bridge over Exit 122 on Interstate 5. The group Iraq Veterans Against the War will participate.

"We will assemble with soldier’s families and community groups to rally against the systematic mistreatment of soldiers by the Pentagon, which maintains stop-loss as a backdoor draft," said Seth Manzel, the director of the group that runs nearby Coffee Strong in Tillicum.

Photographer Lui Kit Wong and I were out with guys from 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division last week for a live-fire exercise. Lui snapped some great shots – but because the story ran inside (and thus the photo was black and white), a really remarkable photo didn’t make the front page.

Here it is:

So what makes this photo so cool (at least in the opinion of this non-photog)? If you zoom in, you can actually see the bullet in mid-flight:

Neat.

The Los Angeles Times offers a snapshot of Jean Chamberlin, the vice president and general manager of Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III program.

She's a local gal:

Chamberlin, 55, grew up in Tacoma, Wash., where her father retired as a senior master sergeant at nearby McChord Air Force Base. "I always had planes flying around in my backyard."

The cinders from Nathan Foster’s Spanaway home crunched under his shoes as he walks. He held a wallet photo booklet in his ash-stained hands and flipped through the pages; the fire didn’t touch scorch post of the pictures. He stared at snapshots of his family, smiling during happier, simpler times.

"So much is gone or ruined," the 32-year-old father of four said. "We probably don’t even know everything that was destroyed. But we really are trying to look on the positive things."

It’s been three weeks since a fire tore through the Fosters’ home. The insurance company declared it a total loss, and it could be a long time before they can rebuild and move back in.

The family struggled at times with despair and frustration: How would Nathan, a Washington National Guard soldier, return from Iraq? How would they deal with the insurance company? Where would they stay?

But the positive things about which Foster speaks are many. Neighbors, many of whom they rarely talked to, offered to help. Strangers helped collect donations of money, clothes and more for them. Family took them in. And the Army, just days before Nathan was scheduled to return to Iraq, reclassified him, allowing him to stay with his family.

"It’s been a best-case scenario and a worst-case scenario," said Nathan, a staff sergeant with the 81st Brigade Combat Team. "Things get frustrating at times, yeah, but really, people have been so helpful this entire time. I’ll always remember that."

=> Read more!

"The Alzheimer’s Project," an HBO documentary that has been receiving some buzz ahead of its debut Sunday, focuses in part on research done by scientists at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

Press release below:

=> Read more!

Don't miss today's report from my colleague Kelly Kearsley about South Sound service members struggling to sell their home when PCSing.

The volunteers at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent received a formal thank you from the Army. Read on:

U. S. Army Says Thank You to the Tahoma National Cemetery Volunteers

Patriotism comes in many forms. Soldiers make great sacrifices for their country, but so do those they leave behind when they deploy to serve. On April 30th the Army said “thank you” to some of the people who make the service of Army Soldiers possible. Almost 200 Tahoma National Cemetery Volunteers were honored with a Freedom Team Salute—a program launched by the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff—in a ceremony at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, WA.

Mr. James Trimbo, the Veterans Administration Director at the Tahoma National Cemetery, made the presentations and announced that these citizens volunteered 18,216 hours during the last fiscal year at the cemetery providing military honors, chaplain services and taps. During this period there were 2,683 internments and 1,377 had military honors.

Tahoma National Cemetery has a Veterans Service Organization Honor Guard Association. These veterans provided honors to 90 percent of the veterans interred here and volunteered 11,302 hours. The Association is made up of The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Elks Club, the Inter Tribal Warriors Society, and other organizations. All of these volunteers have served in the Armed Forces themselves and include veterans who have served in WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, the Gulf War and the present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

=> Read more!

Protesters who previously rallied at military shipments at the Port of Tacoma are again hoping to make a statement as another Fort Lewis Stryker brigade ships its equipment overseas. But they’ll have to find another place than the loading terminal.

Tacoma police officers blocked the only entrance to the dock where vehicles and equipment from 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division were being loaded Saturday night. Just before 10 p.m., a convoy of Strykers rolled through the mostly abandoned streets. Police vehicles with their lights flashing escorted the convoys while other officers blocked entrances to the street.

The brigade is headed to Afghanistan this summer for its first deployment. The ships’ final destination – and how the vehicles ultimately will arrive in the hard-to-reach Asian nation – isn’t known. A spokesperson for the Army command who coordinates that couldn’t be reached Saturday.

=> Read more!

Susan Galleymore knows war and its effect. For the past five years, the author has traveled across the Middle East and South Asia to witness the effects fighting can have on those not directly involved.

"We fight because we’re avaricious – we’re greedy," she said. "But we also fight because we love. We love our opinions."

She recorded countless discussions with women who have suffered – many have lost children – during war, and the California resident was in Lakewood on Saturday to promote her published collection of those interviews, "Long Time Passing: Mothers Speak About War and Terror."

The talk took place at Coffee Strong, a café created by veterans that sits just outside the gates of Fort Lewis that its owners started as a place for soldiers and veterans to talk openly about the military and the war. About 30 people, many of whom voiced their skepticism with the war in Iraq, attended the event.

=> Read more!

Service members contact Trisha Pearce in need of counseling.

"By the time people call us," she said, "they’ve already tried to get help elsewhere. Or they just want to be away from the whole military system. Whatever their reason, we get them help."

Pearce, a psychiatric nurse from Stanwood, then asks for basic information and links the caller with a nearby therapist, who offers free sessions. The military chain of command isn’t notified.

It’s the work of Soldiers Project NW, a 14-month-old program that aims to help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who, for whatever reason, simply aren’t comfortable using the numerous mental-health programs the military medical system provides. Pearce, who has 30 years experience in the mental health field, has been the project’s director for the past six months. She organizes meetings every few weeks to draw support from therapists across the area.

It’s a way to help serve the men and women who serve the United States, she said.

"I just think that we, as a community, need to get behind the military and help them out," she said.

=> Read more!