From TNT reporter Brent Champaco:

Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base plan to consolidate forces in about 15 general areas when they become a joint base in two years.

Those areas include management, housing, supplies, emergency services and information technology.

Joe Jimenez, Fort Lewis spokesman on the joint basing, told the Lakewood City Council Monday that the exact details of the merger won't be known until the two installations sign a memorandum of understanding next year.

But it appears that little will change in terms of operations when the two instillations become Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

"In some ways for some folks, this will be the biggest change you'll never see," he said.

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It's been up for a little while, but in case you've missed it, there's an official Web site for Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It's pretty chock-full of information -- like everything from how joint basing works to the effect on the proposed cross-base highway -- and worth a glance.

It also features videos, interactive maps and news articles.

Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base public affairs officials have been working on the month for more than three months. The neighboring installations will become a joint base in January 2010, as mandated by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

As Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base take small, subtle steps toward reorganizing as a joint base, many soldiers, airmen and their families are logically asking: "What does this mean for me?"

As it turns out, there are some nice perks that come with joint basing. Like a free membership at any of the five Pierce County YMCA centers.

The YMCA of Tacoma-Pierce County announced Monday that up to 900 local military families are eligible for memberships at no cost starting this month.

In most military communities, the benefit is limited to families with a service member who is deployed for at least six months. The idea is to provide family-strengthening activities, wellness programs, respite child care and other services to these households at a time when they need it most.

“Families are the most affected when a loved one gets deployed, so we are deeply committed to providing them with support in spirit, mind and body," local YMCA Executive Vice President Michael Ketcham said in a news release.

That's great news for 81st Brigade National Guardsmen headed to the Mideast now, and a pair of Stryker infantry brigades likely headed to Iraq next year. Not so great for McChord personnel, whose deployments typically last 120 days.

Fortunately, the door is open even wider at a handful of military bases, including Lewis and McChord, that are being brought together under the Joint Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) umbrella. Active-duty service members and their families at these joint bases may be eligible for a free YMCA membership, regardless of deployment status.

The Department of Defense is underwriting the fees through a new “Outreach Initiative,” developed between the DOD and the Armed Services YMCA. It's in response to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, which contains extra provisions for military family readiness.

Ketcham said about 1,600 individual soldiers already have enjoyed free membership at local YMCAs for the past few years. This expands it to entire families.

Those who are interested should take their completed DOD/YMCA eligibility form, their military ID and their deployment orders (if applicable) to their nearest participating YMCA.

In Pierce County, all the Y facilities (Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup and Gig Harbor) are participating.

The Hill has an interesting piece today about Sen. John McCain's complaint that the Air Force may be trying to wriggle out of the joint basing decisions that were set out in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round.

The Hill story focuses on concerns in Alaska and Hawaii, but we're also hearing lots of chatter here about friction in the joining of Fort Lewis and McChord – in particular, McChord concerns about having to work under the direction of their Army brothers and sisters at Lewis.