According to one 62nd Airlift Wing deputy commander, this is the busiest season yet of Operation Deep Freeze at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. 

Crews from both the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wings are fully entrenched in the mission, which supports the National Science Foundation's research.

Read more about this year's mission here.

Steilacoom resident and Air Force spouse Joan Brown will sign copies of her new book, "Move And Other Four-Letter Words," from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 9) at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in the Lakewood Towne Center.

Brown, who's husband spent three years stationed at McChord from 1976 to 1979, details through her own experiences the everyday challenges faced by military wives throughout the world and different branches of the service.

The book is a collection of humorous stories and chronicles the family's more than 20 moves. 

Copies can be purchased here, Barnes and Noble or other local bookstores. 

Retirees are now authorized and welcome to eat at the McChord dining facility during all meal periods.

They will be charged the same 33 percent surcharge (per meal) that active duty members receiving BAH must pay.

Family members and guests may accompany a retiree at the dining facility on federal holidays only. For more information, call 253-982-2527. 

For families with young children, McChord's Sounders Lanes Bowling Center is the place to be on Thursday night from 7 to 10 p.m.

The 62nd Force Support Squadron hosts a bowling party celebrated on East Coast time with unlimited bowling, pizza, party favors and sparkling cider.

Tickets cost $13 each in advance at the Sounders Lanes front counter.

For more information, call 253-982-5954.

McChord Center United Service Organization Manager Tracye Kakely said today the center put together 100 holiday baskets full of non-perishable items for needy military families. Donations for the baskets came in from various volunteers and local businesses.

Representatives from the Marines and the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wings picked up the non-perishable items to deliver to the families in time for Christmas day.

Also, for more information on what the USO Puget Sound is doing in the local military community, become a fan on Facebook. In the search area, type "USO Puget Sound." 

In an effort to expedite the payment of vouchers and save airmen time when it comes to submitting documents, the McChord Financial Services Office will debut the eFinance system Jan. 1.

eFinance is a secure, paperless process to submit financial documents with automated assistance from the McChord Financial Services Office. The process is accomplished via a "Turbo Tax" approach to guide the member through a wide range of finance functions. The system may be accessed via a secure Web site application using a common access card and pin at https://efinanceworkspace.wpafb.af.mil or through the Air Force Portal under the Money-Finance Central link. Once accessed, the eFinance site uses an easy-to-understand question and answer session to walk the user through the process of travel, allotments and entitlements from start to finish.

eFinance is designed to process financial documents or route the user to the appropriate system that can. For example, if the user is accessing eFinance and wants to change direct deposit information, the system will automatically route them to myPay to accomplish the change. The capabilities of eFinance include both military pay and non-DTS travel transactions for both reserve and active duty members, excluding CED orders. Highlights of the system include immediate e-mail notification on the status of vouchers, the ability to scan or fax supporting documents and off-site submission capabilities for reserve and detachment organizations. This makes eFinance a one-stop system that gives the user the necessary tools to efficiently manage their Air Force financial affairs.

Starting Jan. 31, the McChord FSO will no longer accept paper documents that can be submitted through eFinance or MyPay. Visit https://eim.amc.af.mil/org/62cpts for a complete guide to submitting documents. The finance office will also open eight computer stations with scanners to assist any member with eFinance submissions.

For more information, e-mail  62cptshelp@mcchord.af.mil.  

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is encouraging military shoppers to share family memories for a shot at a $1,000 shopping spree in the "Memories Etched in Images Holiday Photo Contest."
Shoppers can submit their funniest, most creative or heartwarming photos to PatriotFamily@aafes.com with the title "Memories Etched in Images" in the subject line. The top 50 entries will be posted online and the winners will be announced by Jan. 22. The first place winner will receive a $1,000 AAFES gift card with $500 going to the runner-up. Third and fourth place will receive a $250 gift card and with the next five places earning $100 each. Entries will be accepted until Dec. 31.

Complete contest rules and entry details are available at aafes.com/Patriot Family Connection/Memories Etched in Images Contest.    

12/22, 12:24 P.M.  STORY UPDATE HERE.

A family traveling from North Dakota to Western Washington awoke this morning to find their pickup and rented moving trailer stolen from a Spokane Valley motel parking lot.

Dewey and Sharon Brown and their 7-year-old daughter were headed to McChord Air Force Base, where he's scheduled to fly to Korea for a year-long military assignment after the family gets settled.

The Browns were due in Tacoma today but are staying in town in hopes of finding the pickup and rented U-Haul trailer missing this morning from La Quinta Suites, 3800 N. Sullivan Road.

In the trailer were clothes, toys, photo albums, checks, family quilts, medical records, Christmas gifts and $50,000 in jewelry. Also gone are Dewey Brown's military uniforms and paperwork, including his transfer papers, and his daughter's beloved doll.

"That's a big Scrooge move," said Sharon Brown. "We're going to sit here for a day or two and hope for a Christmas miracle."

Crime Stoppers is offering a $500 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

The pickup is a blue 1995 Dodge with Alaska license plates, oversize tires and a chrome strip along the lower sides. The single axle, 5 x 8 trailer has Florida license plates with a Tucson, Arizona graphic on the sides.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS, or submit tips online.

It's the second time this year a visiting family's U-Haul has been stolen from a Spokane Valley motel parking lot.

On July 12, a family moving to Florida from Canada discovered their 17-foot U-Haul truck stolen from the Holiday Inn Express on Mission Avenue.

It was found in an abandoned barn July 15 with most of the family's possessions intact. No arrests have been made. 

Military spouses can earn up to $1,000 to obtain professional certification or to attend post secondary or graduate school. The deadline for filing an application is Jan. 31. For more information, click here.

McChord Force Support Squadron officials announced this week that they'll host a special screening of the classic holiday flick "A Christmas Story" at 6:30 p.m. Friday (Dec. 18) at the base theater.

All Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Rider BB gun and everyone keeps telling him, "You'll shoot your eye out." The movie has to rank up there with "Christmas Vacation" as one of the best-ever holiday movies.

FSS officials will also be awarding a leg lamp door prize (just like the one Ralphie's father wins in the movie).