As the U.S. military's mission in Haiti gradually shifts from providing relief aid to supporting the Haitian's efforts to return to managing routine operations in their country, airmen from the 446th Airlift Wing at McChord Field continue to be involved in the process.

Reservists from the wing's aerial port squadron are experiencing this at the ground level.

Read more about it here.

(446th AW PA) — Reservists traveling northbound on Interstate 5 will not be able to take Exit 125 June 5-6 to access McChord Field for the unit training assembly weekend.

Construction planned by the Washington State Department of Transportation calls for the closure of Exit 125 at Bridgeport Way for northbound travelers.

Alternate gates for reservists include the Housing Gate in the morning only both days, and the North Gate for both morning and afternoon commutes.  Security Forces Reservists will be manning both gates. 

Reservists may also check the status of the construction closure at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic    

If you see a handful of C-17 Globemaster IIIs filling the sky today, don't worry, it's all part of a special mission at McChord Field.

A large formation of C-17s took off this morning to train for their strategic airdrop mission. Seven C-17s will began taking off at about 10 a.m. and will fly throughout the local area.

Along with active-duty and reserve airmen from the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wings, airmen from the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron and soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord are participating in the training exercise, according to McChord Field public affairs.

At different points in the training exercise, aircrews will air drop heavy equipment and personnel. C-17 Globemaster III transporters must be able to meet the Army's goal of airdropping a brigade's worth of troops and equipment within 30 minutes.   The strategic brigade airdrop capability resides only in the C-17 community, according to PA.

The Seattle Times has a great story about "Hire America's Heroes," a 3-year-old nonprofit group that hosted a symposium Thursday at JBLM-McChord Field as part of an effort to help veterans find jobs. 

Read more about the symposium here.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber will recognize the Howard O. Scott Citizens of the Year at its 29th annual presentation May 4.

The chamber is currently seeking nominations for the award.  Guidelines are as follows:

1. A Reservist or National Guard member, any service;

2. A resident of Tacoma or Pierce County;

3. Professional in both military and civilian occupations;

4. An exemplary volunteer in the community

5. Additional consideration given if the nominee is an employee of a Chamber member or owns a business that is a Chamber member.

Nominations should be no longer than two pages (no photos).  While military professionalism is important, this is usually a given standard, according to a letter from Gary Brackett with the chamber.  As such, he recommends the nomination focus on the nominee' s volunteerism in the community.

Selection of the honoree will be made by the Military Affairs Committee of the chamber.  Wing Reservists' nominations should be submitted to Lt. Col. Anna Sullivan, 446th AW Public Affairs, in Bldg. 1214.  Deadline for submitting nominees to public affairs is April 19.

Courtesy 446th AW Public Affairs

For those of you who are members of the social networking Web site Facebook, the 446th Airlift Wing at JBLM-McChord Field recently started a fan page. It has posted a few items on there already, and includes a discussion question under the discussion tab. The Reserve wing is encouraging people to become fans and let them know what you think.

This week six 62nd Airlift Wing airmen and one 446th AW reservist will compete at the third annual Aviation Maintenance Technology Society's Aircraft Maintenance Professionals Skills Competition March 16-18 in Las Vegas, Nev.

Read more about the competition and the airmen headed there.

The JBLM-McChord Field Chapel Support Center and the USO is teaming up to host a dinner for deployed families from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday (March 1) at the chapel.

The dinner is open to McChord Field families with a spouse on a deployment or temporary duty assignment. 

The dinner will have a "March Madness" basketball and sports theme.

For more information, call the chapel at (253)982-5556.

The next time you go for a jog in the cool, wet weather of the Puget Sound and complain about the conditions, think first of these two reservists from the 446th Airlift Wing. 

They run nearly every day in the dry, dusty conditions of the desert.

Both are stationed at Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq, and have established a running club on base. The pair is approaching the 700 mile mark and hope to reach it before they return home to JBLM-McChord Field next month.

Read their story here.

This week Air Force officials released details of a plan that would reward bases with a cash prize for earning the top spot within each group based on point values in several categories: percent over goal; donation amount equal to or greater than the previous year's amount; and active duty participation rate. You can read more about the plan here.

I find this plan a weird considering that the representatives that I've talked to each year in the past are hesitant to talk in specifics about monetary goals for how much the base wants to raise. The theme has been 100 percent contact, basically making sure everyone knows about it and how to get involved.

If you read the story on the Air Force's Web site, there are already a few negative comments about the idea. Your thoughts?