Army Rangers from Fort Lewis, along with military aviators from Kentucky and Florida, will join forces for two weeks of training exercises starting Monday. And their spokespeople warn neighbors that they might notice increased noise, low-flying aircraft, and more air traffic coming and going during that time.

The training is scheduled from July 13 to July 27 and involves fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The public may report any concerns to the Fort Lewis Community Relations hotline at 253-967-0852.

But in general, the Army has asked the surrounding community to understand the importance of this training for the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. A statement from Fort Lewis public affairs says, in part:

Tough, realistic training is critical to prepare Army Rangers for their mission to stand ready to deploy anywhere in the world and conduct high-intensity military operations at a moment's notice. This is scheduled training, conducted at regular intervals, to maintain individual soldier and unit readiness. ... Every measure to reduce the amount of noise associated with the training will be taken, and we appreciate the support of the local community.

We at The News Tribune wish we could check out the training and tell you more about it, but Fort Lewis officials say it won't be open for media coverage because of "operational security and safety reasons."

Some of the training will be held at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane.

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.

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.

UPDATE: I'm bumping this up because it's been a big talker, and I want to keep the conversation going.

A Stryker brigade could receive orders this month to deploy to Afghanistan, the Associated Press reports.

The story focuses on how the new Obama administration and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will handle increasing troop levels in Iraq. More Marines are expected to go, but the story makes it clear a Stryker brigade isn’t a certainty.

From the story: “Their challenge, however, is to get troops out into the hundreds of tiny villages in the volatile southern region, where the Taliban insurgency has been centered. To do that, Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has asked for more mobile forces and believes the Strykers will allow soldiers to move more easily along the rugged trails to the widely dispersed tribal enclaves.”

But, the story points out, "Army officials have concerns about how to free up the Stryker unit."

Two Fort Lewis Stryker brigades are scheduled to deploy to Iraq this year. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will leave in early- to mid-summer. 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division is expected to follow by summertime.

The use of Strykers in Afghanistan isn't totally new. The Canadians have used the LAV III, which has the same chassis as the Stryker, with success. And Fort Lewis' 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment have used them there -- but the typically mediaphobic unit won't discuss it.

We're interested in hearing your take. Have you served in Afghanistan and with a Stryker unit in Iraq? Are you one of the Rangers that have used the vehicle in Afghanistan? A Canadian soldier with experience in the LAV? Shoot me an e-mail.

Click below to read the full AP story.

=> Read more!

Another former Army Ranger has been sentenced in the 2006 robbery of a Tacoma bank.

Chad Palmer, 22, pleaded guilty almost two years ago and received a sentence of 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release for the robbery of a Bank of America branch on South Tacoma Way. According to court documents, Palmer used an AK-47 assault rifle during the robbery as he and four others escaped with more than $50,000.

More details in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office are below:

=> Read more!

The Times-Herald of Forrest City, Ark., has a story about a former Fort Lewis-based Ranger who is walking across the country to raise money for the Pat Tillman Foundation.

Rory Fanning of Chicago is walking from Virginia Beach, Va., to Hermosa Beach, Calif., and hoping to raise $3.6 million. The money will go toward scholarships and leadership training.

He averages about 100 miles a week, walking along railways, and is keeping a blog about his progress.

Just received this press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Seattle:

Former Army Ranger sentences to 24 years for Tacoma bank robbery

Luke E. Sommer, 22, of Peachland, British Columbia, Canada, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 24 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Commit Armed Bank Robbery, Armed Bank Robbery, Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, and Possession of an Unregistered Destructive Device – Hand Grenade. Sommer was transferred in May 2008, from Canadian custody to U.S. Custody at the Peace Arch border crossing at Blaine, Washington. Sommer, who holds both U.S. and Canadian citizenship, had fled to Canada and fought extradition following the August 7, 2006, bank robbery in Tacoma, Washington. U.S. District Court Judge Franklin D. Burgess imposed the sentence agreed to in Sommer’s plea agreement saying, “You touched a lot of people here, all in a negative way.”

According to documents filed in the case, Sommer recruited two other U.S. Army Rangers, Chad Palmer and Alex Blum, and Canadian nationals, Tigra J.A. Robertson and Nathan R. Dunmall, to participate in the August 7, 2006, robbery of the Bank of America on South Tacoma Way. Sommer recruited Blum to drive the getaway car. Sommer discussed his plans at length with a sixth defendant, Scott A. Byrne, who was a “consultant” on the robbery. At a meeting the day before the robbery, Sommer provided Palmer and Dunmall with loaded fully automatic AK-47 machine guns. Sommer and Robertson carried loaded semi-automatic hand guns. The men wore soft body armor to protect themselves in case of a shoot-out with police and carried hundreds of round of extra ammunition. Sommer told Byrne and others that he wanted to use the proceeds of the robbery to start a crime family to rival the Hell’s Angels in British Columbia, Canada.

=> Read more!

Secretary of the Army Pete Geren will visit Fort Lewis tomorrow to receive updates on the family-care operations at the Warrior Transition Battalion and the Solider and Family Assistance Center.

Geren will also visit Madigan Army Medical Center, have lunch with soldiers from the 2nd Ranger Battalion and meet with Army spouses at the Fort Lewis Family Resource Center.

Want to know more? Click below to read the press release:

=> Read more!

Fayetteville, N.C., Observer has a story today about a memorial ceremony Wednesday at Fort Bragg where the U.S. Army Special Operations Command added the names of its fallen soldiers from 2007 to its Memorial Wall of Honor. The story includes a photo slide show from the rainy ceremony.

The command includes the 1st Special Forces Group and the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment from Fort Lewis. The two units rarely open their memorials here to the press and general public.

The Fort Lewis names added were:

• Sgt. Maj. Bradly D. Conner, 1st Group.
• Sgt. 1st Class Nathan L. Winder, 1st Group.
• Cpl. Jason M. Kessler, 2/75.
• Sgt. 1st Class Adrian M. Elizalde, 1st Group.
• Spc. George V. Libby, 2/75.
• Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Tully, 1st Group.
• Staff Sgt. Joseph F. Curreri, 1st Group.

The 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment wants you to know that a training exercise Tuesday through Dec. 14 may result in a little more racket than usual in the immediate vicinity of Fort Lewis.

They'll "use training ammunition and other training devices to make the exercise as realistic as possible" at Lewis and at Fallon Naval Air Station in Nevada. Helicopters from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and Air Force special ops aircraft will be in on the gig.

Says the Rangers press release: "There will be periods of increased air traffic to include low-flying aircraft, both helicopters and airplanes, during hours of darkness. Increased air traffic and noise may be associated with a large airborne operation involving the Rangers as well as training activities that does not include the Rangers but involves the 160th SOAR and U.S. AFSOC conducting nape-of-the-earth flights (flying low to the ground) and aerial refueling.

"This is routine training conducted periodically to maintain a high level of readiness for the military personnel involved. Every measure to reduce the amount of noise associated with the training will be taken."

The Department of Defense published a transcript here of Tuesday morning's news conference at the Pentagon with Secretary of the Army Pete Geren.

The headlines are all about the fallout for retired Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, former head of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. But Geren also covered the disciplinary action that followed for Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey, the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment commander at the time of Tillman's death. (Bailey has since been promoted to colonel and is assigned to the staff at the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C.)

Geren said the reviewing general, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command boss Gen. William Wallace:

"determined that Colonel Bailey, the battalion commander who received a memorandum of concern -- he received it because of his handling of punishment against the Rangers involved in the shooting of Corporal Pat Tillman; it had nothing to do with the investigation of Tillman's circumstances of his death, other than the conduct of the Rangers in firing upon Tillman's position."

Geren said Bailey and Ranger Regimental commander Brig. Gen. James Nixon, who also received a memorandum of concern:

"were forthcoming in the reviews of their actions and were found innocent of any attempt to cover up the truth in the Tillman matter. Both were in the war zone in Afghanistan and kept their leaders back home regarding Pat Tillman's death in the friendly fire investigation fully informed."

And Geren said:

"Brigadier General Nixon and Colonel Bailey made mistakes, but they kept Lieutenant General Kensinger informed of the key facts regarding Corporal Tillman's death and the investigation. Nixon and Bailey were in Afghanistan, conducting secret missions against a ruthless enemy. They were in the fight 24/7. They had every reason to expect that if they kept their leaders in their administrative chain of command informed, their leaders would do their duty, which included proper family notification and timely safety reviews."