The 42nd Military Police Brigade headquarters returned Friday from a 15-month deployment running the United States’ largest detention center in Iraq, but its long-lasting effect on the country’s security could take years to assess.

The unit headed a task force that ran an array of quality-of-life programs aimed at ensuring detainees wouldn’t leave lockup and rejoin the insurgency. During the months the unit was deployed, it offered detainees agricultural and vocational training, encouraged moderate Islamic teaching and regular visits from family members.

"It’s been a rewarding mission, but a difficult one," Col. David Glaser told the crowd of several hundred at Soldiers Field House at a homecoming ceremony that included balloons, homemade signs, cake and plenty of teary-eyed family members.

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Monday is Caribbean-American Heritage Celebration at Fort Lewis.

From the public affairs folks:

Fort Lewis, Wash. — The I Corps and Fort Lewis Equal Opportunity Staff Office are hosting a Caribbean-American Heritage Celebration Monday at the Cascade Community Club from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The celebration is part of a month-long recognition of Caribbean-Americans.

Guest speaker for the event is Trinidad native, Command Sergeant Major, Althea Green Dixon, U.S. Army Medical Command Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Army Surgeon General.

Island Jamz Steel Drum Orchestra of Gig Harbor will entertain participants by creating the feeling of an island paradise with rhythms of steel in old-time classics, jazz, reggae, and calypso music.
There will also be cultural displays provided by the Fort Lewis Library Staff.

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Frank Grippe walked on stage with his M-4 rifle in hand. The reaction of the host across the desk – a faux right-winger wearing a camouflage suit and a fresh buzzcut – was one of mock terror.

"Don’t touch that gun," Stephen Colbert said. "I’m a friendly, I’m a friendly."

The crowd of hundreds of service members giggled. Grippe, the command sergeant major for Fort Lewis-based I Corps, cracked a smile.

Welcome to "The Colbert Report," Iraq-style. The Comedy Central show featuring a self-important talking head – the credits list the host as Sir Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, DFA – spent a week with troops in Iraq. Many of the hundreds in the audience are serving in Baghdad with Fort Lewis-based I Corps, which is running daily operations of the military in Iraq.

The tour, organized by the USO, was a great distraction, Grippe told The News Tribune by phone Friday. He and corps commander Lt. Gen Charles Jacoby sat for interviews, and hundreds more were in the audience for the tapings. Colbert also shook hands and chatted with the service members after the cameras were off.

"His audience really fits the demographics of a lot of people in the military today," said Grippe, a 46-year-old New York native. "They’re all about Steve."

Colbert broadcast from the Al Faw Palace, a hulking marble building in Baghdad. The palace is home to Multi-National Corps-Iraq, which I Corps has run since April.

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The Columbia Daily Tribune in Missouri wrote about a former Fort Lewis soldier who the Army trained to withstand the blowback of nuclear blasts. Interesting stuff.

From the story:

But the legacy of his time in Nevada has stayed with him. Robertson only has two-thirds of a kidney and one-third of his pancreas; the rest was lost to cancer. He also has had traces of cancer show up in his liver and prostate and has spots on his lungs.

Yet somehow it took him three years of compiling evidence for the Army to acknowledge a service connection between his radiation exposure and his cancer. In 2002 he held the first Missouri meeting for atomic veterans in Joplin. He expected a few local vets to attend, but dozens showed up from nine different states, including Alaska. Many told heart-wrenching stories about their medical problems.

Operation Warrior Forge, the annual ROTC gathering at Fort Lewis, kicks off tomorrow with more than 5,800 college students. And if you want to follow news from it, they've launched a blog.

Here's a quick explainer about what's involved:

More than 5,800 college students from around the globe converge at Fort Lewis beginning Saturday, where the next generation of new Army officers is trained and evaluated prior to being commissioned as second lieutenants.

The Leader Development and Assessment Course, held each summer at Fort Lewis, is Army ROTC’s capstone training and assessment exercise — an event supported by hundreds of Soldiers and Army civilians from units across the country.

This year, over 5,800 ROTC cadets are scheduled to attend LDAC in 12 ROTC regiments. Each 500-person regiment will undergo a 29-day cycle of sequential and progressive training, culminating in the regimental graduation ceremony.

Following LDAC, those cadets who have earned their degree and completed all Military Science requirements will receive their commissions as second lieutenants during the regimental graduation ceremonies. But most of the cadets will return to their universities to complete pre-commissioning requirements and, subsequently, their commissions.