Fort Lewis Blog
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Less than six months ago, U.S. Army Pfc. William A. Swaray's drill sergeant at Fort Benning, Ga., gathered soon-to-be infantrymen in a small room.The drill sergeant wanted the young soldiers to watch the movie "Restrepo.""He said, 'OK, this is what you guys have gotten in to,
Fort Lewis Blog
WASHINGTON - Improvised explosive devices and multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan are boosting the incidence of mild traumatic brain injury, a condition that some early studies indicate may increase a soldier's future risk for Alzheimer's disease, a researcher said yesterday. Dr. Elaine Peskind spoke at the 3rd Annual Trauma Spectrum
Airlifter Blog
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Senior Airman Rachel Kleist, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., participated in the Air Mobility Command Icon competition at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., Oct. 21. Kleist was the base-level winner at Joint Base L-M and was among 11 competitors who sang to earn the title
Airlifter Blog
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Tech. Sgt. Tim Raymon is a loadmaster for a C-17 Globemaster III deployed with the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia. Raymon is deployed from the 313th Airlift Squadron at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. As a member of
Fort Lewis Blog
BAGHDAD - When 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, arrived at Joint Security Station Tarmiyah in January 2010, there were still empty shell casings scattered on the rooftops and in the guard towers; a misleading sign as to what they would encounter over the next year.As the third and final 4th
Fort Lewis Blog
BAGHDAD - Nearly four years ago, a horseback-riding instructor walked into a Temecula, Calif., recruiter's office looking to prove a point: she wasn't too girly for the Army.Now at the end of her first deployment, 1st Lt. Kimberly Brown's work isn't about proving anything to anyone; it's about improving the
Fort Lewis Blog
BAGHDAD - Soldiers of 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, U.S. Division-Center, delivered boxes of prosthetic limbs July 19 to the Adamiyah Hospital, a rehabilitative hospital in the Baghdad area."We wanted to put these limbs to good use," said Capt. Gabriela Niess, the non-lethal planner for 4th SBCT,
Fort Lewis Blog
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. -- The instructors of the motorcycle safety courses here have increased the number of weekly courses available in preparation of the fair summer weather and large number of Soldiers returning from deployments.Department of Defense and Army regulations require all DOD personnel to successfully complete an approved
Fort Lewis Blog
CAMP NATHAN SMITH, Afghanistan - The 504th Military Police Battalion, deployed out of Fort Lewis, Washington, assumed command of the mentoring and partnership mission from the 97th MP Battalion in Kandahar City, July 6 at Camp Nathan Smith.During the ceremony, Brig. Gen. John Vance, Commander of Task Force Kandahar, expressed
Fort Lewis Blog
ZABUL, Afghanistan - The Sabers of 4th Squadron of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment became the first Squadron in the Regiment to assume responsibility of an area of operation in southern Afghanistan. During a transfer of authority ceremony held, June 28, the Sabers replaced 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment as
Fort Lewis Blog
BAGHDAD - Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President of the United States Joe Biden, met with members of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division "Raiders" and other deployed service members and civilians at Camp Liberty Sunday as part of a visit to Iraq during the
Fort Lewis Blog
DIYALA, Iraq - "The best memory I had of my brother was going to the airport when he left to live with his dad when I was four," said Spc. Joshua Wagner, a cook from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Fort Lewis Blog
SEATTLE -- More than 43,000 spectators cheered as Joint Base Leiws-McChord's 1st Corps Command Sgt. Maj. Frank A. Grippe stepped up to the Safeco Field pitchers mound, June 18, and rocketed the ceremonial first pitch for the Seattle Mariners home field match up against the Cincinnati Reds, kicking off the
Airlifter Blog
Perhaps the biggest challenge of any deployment is the separation from family and friends and missing those momentous occasions in life such as a son's first word, a daughter's high school graduation, a 20-year wedding anniversary or family reunion.While a military member's time downrange can't be cut short so they
Fort Lewis Blog
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTNAC, Afghanistan - Nine Soldiers from 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division received Army Commendation Medals with Valor on Friday. Soldiers from 562nd Engineer Company received the honor for feats of bravery during their deployment in southern Afghanistan.The awards stem from three different incidents during the
Fort Lewis Blog
DIYALA, Iraq - Throughout the United States Armed Forces there are numerous examples of service members who are living proof of the strong impact a military father can have on his child's willingness to serve.This Father's Day, the Soldiers of 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, reflect upon
Fort Lewis Blog
DIYALA, Iraq - The morning of May 28, proved to be a sweltering one throughout all of Diyala province, Iraq. This was especially true for the palm groves of the area, which provided a canopy that trapped humidity making the heat index underneath at 115 degrees Fahrenheit as Gen. Khalis,
Fort Lewis Blog
DIYALA, Iraq - An estimated 1.21 million Iraqis were displaced before 2003 under the Ba'ath government, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Since then that number has more than doubled primarily as the result of a rash of sectarian violence that gripped the country, according to the center. The
Fort Lewis Blog
DIYALA, Iraq - The sign out front may say 'Chop Shop,' but inside the massive tin sheet metal building located at the south end of Forward Operating Base Warhorse, there are no stolen vehicles or illegal activities. Instead, with an ever-present aroma of engine oil and transmission fluid wafting in
Fort Lewis Blog
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. - On the morning of April 12, 1945, then 19-year-old Pvt. Leo D. Hymas, and his unit from the 97th Infantry Division, investigated what they thought was a Nazi prisoner of war camp in Germany's Black Forrest near the town of Weinmar. Instead, what they found
