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Lax security found in bombing that killed Dupont resident

WASHINGTON (AP) - Warnings were ignored, security was lax and good judgment was lacking, leading to one of the worst tragedies in CIA history, when a double-agent suicide bomber killed seven CIA employees in Afghanistan last December. One of those CIA employees lived in DuPont, across I-5 from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. 

Veterans

Marijuana in VA hospitals

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government says patients treated at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics will be able to use medical marijuana in the 14 states where it's legal, including Washington state. The directive from the Department of Veterans Affairs is coming out in the week ahead. It's intended to clarify current

News Articles

Two Strykers killed in Iraq

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) - The Army has identified two Washington state-based soldiers killed in Iraq by a suicide attacker in an explosives-rigged car. Killed were 24-year-old Sgt. Israel P. O'Bryan of Newbern, Tenn., and 23-year-old Spc. William C. Yauch (Yowk) of Batesville, Ark. They were assigned to the 3rd

News Articles

Fraud is the new worry with PTSD claims

Moved by a huge tide of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress, Congress has pressured the Department of Veterans Affairs to settle their disability claims - quickly, humanely, and mostly in the vets' favor.  The problem: The system is dysfunctional, an open invitation to fraud. And the

Focus

Bail set in murder case

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A 28-year-old Army sergeant accused of killing his wife during an argument and hiding her body in a storage crate has been ordered held on $750,000 bail. Sheldon Plummer appeared before a judge Monday in Olympia via video feed. He is being held in the Thurston County

Focus

Soldier could face death penalty

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) - An Army specialist accused of killing two fellow soldiers and taking their baby in Washington state could face the death penalty if convicted in her upcoming court-martial. The Army said Monday it has referred charges including premeditated murder, kidnapping and burglary to a general court-martial

News Articles

Grumman backs out

WASHINGTON - Northrop Grumman Corp. has decided not to compete against Boeing Co. for the $35 billion the Air Force will spend to buy its own fleet of refueling tankers. Congressional and industry officials confirmed the decision Monday. It puts the Pentagon on a path to do something President Barack Obama

Veterans

VA dispersing GI Bill money better

The Veterans Affairs Department is more efficiently cutting checks for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to attend college this semester, following a rocky rollout last fall that left veterans so cash-strapped there was concern some wouldn't re-enroll. As of Feb. 5, nearly 90 percent of enrollments for the 167,000 veterans submitted to

Focus

Welcome to the O.K. Corral in Afghanistan

FORWARD OPERATING BASE TOMBSTONE, Afghanistan (AP) - Welcome to the O.K. Corral. Past the concrete slabs and guards in heavy combat gear, a wooden board at the entrance to an allied military base in Afghanistan shows an image of Wyatt Earp, the legendary lawman of the American Wild West. His features

News Articles

Ranger charged again

SEATTLE (AP) - A former Army Ranger convicted of leading a takeover-style bank holdup in 2006 in Washington state has pleaded guilty to trying to hire a hit man to kill a federal prosecutor. Luke Sommer also pleaded guilty Monday to attacking a robbery co-defendant because he thought the man had

News Articles

DuPont man killed in CIA blast

The family of a DuPont man told the News Tribune of Tacoma he was one of the seven people killed by a suicide bomber Dec. 30 at a CIA base in Afghanistan. Dane Clark Paresi was a retired Army master sergeant from a Special Forces group at Fort Lewis who was

News Articles

Army rethinks ethics classes

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - Army leaders who've been prompted to rethink tactics and war-fighting doctrines because of Iraq and Afghanistan also see a need to re-examine how they educate soldiers about ethics. Some of the interest in ethics is tied to the wars: the black eye of the Abu Ghraib prison

News Articles

Lawmakers: Troops sent to war without proper gear

WASHINGTON (AP) -  Troops are being sent to war zones without proper training and suitable gear, according to two senior Democratic lawmakers who say they've been told by soldiers about problems ranging from their backpacks to their rifles. In a Dec. 10 letter to the Pentagon's top leaders, Rep. Ike Skelton,

News Articles

Daughter executed?

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The family of a Fort Lewis soldier who died in a non-combat shooting in Iraq says she was killed execution-style, with a bullet in the back of the head. The mother of Staff Sgt. Amy Tirador of Colonie, N.Y., told The News Tribune of Tacoma it was

News Articles

Military divorce rate edges higher

WASHINGTON (AP) — The divorce rate in the armed forces continues to edge higher, despite efforts by the military to help struggling couples. There were an estimated 27,312 divorces among roughly 765,000 married members of the active-duty Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps in the 12 months that ended Sept.

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