On the last night of his two-week leave from Iraq, Spc. Samuel D. Stone canceled his plans and rushed to the hospital when his sister broke her ankle.

It was a simple act of kindness, but one that family members said exemplified the Washington National Guard soldier’s generous and caring personality.

"You gave life and those around you everything you had," said his brother-on-law, Svend Sorensen, at Stone’s funeral in Port Orchard.

Stone, who would have turned 21 on Wednesday, was killed May 30 when his armored vehicle rolled during a convoy security mission in Iraq. Stone was only two months away from finishing his yearlong deployment with the 81st Brigade Combat Team’s 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment.

The emotional service at First Lutheran Church drew a standing-room-only crowd of several hundred. The Patriot Guard Riders, a biker group that attends funerals of fallen service members, flanked the church with American flags. Inside, family members and friends sat beside soldiers, sailors and airmen.

=> Read more!

Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby will be on "The Colbert Report" tonight as part of the show's weeklong broadcast from Baghdad. (Colbert's stage has been erected inside the Al Faw Palace, the marble-and-glass giant inside Victory Base Complex that's home to I Corps durings its deployment as Multi-National Corps-Iraq.)

Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Grippe will be on Thursday night's show.

Colbert spent the first two shows interviewing generals and joes, cracking jokes about military life, going through basic training and playing video greetings from politicians and former presidents. He wore a camouflage suit and delivered his monologues in front of a large, standup microphone while carrying a wooden golf driver, a la Bob Hope.

He talked with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top American commander in Iraq, and broadcast a video message from President Barack Obama ordering Odierno to shave Colbert’s head.

DVIDS offers a few public affairs-written stories including Fort Lewis soldiers:

Gates Travels to Europe for NATO Discussions

Iraqi Shaykh Honored for Community Contributions

The Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Ga., has an article about multiple changes-of-command at Fort Benning.

Among them is the man tapped to be the new deputy commander for 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division:

Lt. Col. Scott W. Halstead with assume command of the 2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment from Lt. Col. Lance E. Davis. …

The 2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment trains newly commissioned infantry second lieutenants through a 13-week Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course.

A 1987 graduate of Spencer High School, Halstead received a nomination to attend the United States Army Military Academy at West Point, NY. Upon his graduation from the academy, Halstead was commissioned into the U.S. Army as an infantry officer.

Davis has been reassigned to Fort Lewis, Wash., where he will serve as the deputy commander for the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

A reminder: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will speak at the University of Washington’s graduation ceremony this weekend.

More than 43,000 people are expected to be in attendance at Husky Stadium on Saturday for the ceremony. The event begins at 2 p.m.

If you can't make it, the ceremony will be broadcast on UWTV from 1:30-4:30 p.m. UWTV can be found on channel 27 throughout much of the Puget Sound region, and it's also streamed online.

Soldiers from the Warrior Transition Battalion are on Tacoma’s East Side this week to help build homes with volunteers from Habitat for Humanity.

Here’s the release from Habitat:

TACOMA – A unique partnership unfolds this week (Wed June 10-Friday June 12th), at Larabee Terrace (East T & Gregory Street) in Tacoma’s East Side as wounded, ill or injured Soldiers from Fort Lewis join with regular weekday volunteers from Habitat for Humanity to help build homes for low income, hard working Pierce County families.

"We are humbled and honored to be working with the Warrior Transition Battalion from Fort Lewis," says Maureen Fife, CEO of Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity. "Our goal at Habitat is to help families transition out of poverty housing, and alongside our brothers and sisters from Ft. Lewis we will move closer to providing decent, affordable homes for 12 families; while honoring the service of our brave men and women in the armed forces."

=> Read more!