Northwest Military Blogs: Fort Lewis Blog

August 30, 2010 at 1:47pm

201st memorial tomorrow

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Family, friends, Service members and the Joint Base community will remember a Soldier who died while in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with a ceremony to be conducted Tuesday, at 3 p.m. in the JBLM Lewis Main Chapel.

Sgt. Faith R. Hinkley, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died Aug. 7 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her unit in Iskandariya, Iraq. 

She was assigned to the 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The battalion deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in September, 2009.

August 29, 2010 at 3:47pm

AWOL Lewis-McChord soldier shot in Utah

Spc. Brandon S. Barrett, 28, was killed Friday after he wounded a police officer in one of the busiest intersections in downtown Salt Lake City, according to published reports.

For more on the story, click here.

Filed under: Army News, Fort Lewis, News To Us,

August 27, 2010 at 3:41pm

Users can play Taliban, kill U.S. troops in new video game

A new first-person shooter video game has some up in arms about some of the game's features.

By allowing players to assume the role of Taliban fighters killing U.S. troops, Redwood City-based (Calif.) Electronic Arts may have crossed the line with its latest first-person shooter game, a line that Mountain View resident Karen Meredith says was drawn with the blood of soldiers like her only son, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

For more on the story, click here.

August 27, 2010 at 2:16pm

Soldier pleads guilty

The JBLM soldier accused of torturing his child under a sink plead guilty to the crime.  See the story here.

August 25, 2010 at 5:50am

Sesame Street Live this week




Military families may enjoy two free performances Aug. 25 and 26 by The Sesame Street Experience for Military Families at JBLM Lewis Main.

The show will have performances at the Carey Theater on JBLM Lewis Main 3 to 6 p.m. Aug. 25 and noon to 3 p.m. Aug. 26.

Admission is free to military ID card holders, and seating is first-come, first-served. Doors open 30 minutes before each show.

The show is based on Sesame Workshop's award winning Talk, Listen, Connect initiative, which offers significant resources for military families with young children who are experiencing the effects of deployment, multiple deployments or when a parent comes home injured.

It is co-sponsored by the USO, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting U.S. troops and their families.

Designed to address the concerns of today's military families as they deal with the hardships of deployments, the show uses familiar faces to address tough issues, such as multiple deployments and lengthy separations from loved ones. With help from Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Rosita and Zoe, the tour serves as an extension of traditional USO entertainment tours and a continuation of Sesame Workshop's award-winning Talk, Listen, Connect initiative - which provides vital resources and emotional support to military families with young children coping with challenging transitions in their lives. 

Military families in attendance experience a 25-minute character performance and receive giveaways and outreach materials. To date, the tour is the longest-running entertainment tour in USO history and the first-ever traveling USO tour designed specifically for military families. 

August 24, 2010 at 11:07am

Sgt. Brandon Maggart killed in Iraq

The Department of Defense announced

today the death of a Soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Brandon E. Maggart, 24, of Kirksville, Mo., died August 22 at

Basrah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit

using indirect fire.  He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 5th Air

Defense Artillery Regiment, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

According to unit records, Maggart enlisted June 8, 2006 and reported to

Fort Bliss, Texas, for basic training and advanced training in his

military occupational specialty, 14S - Avenger crewmember. He reported

to Fort Lewis, Wash., (now Joint Base Lewis-McChord) on November 9,

2006, and was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery

Regiment. The battalion was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation

Iraqi Freedom in January 2010. This was his second deployment with the

unit to Iraq. He previously deployed from March 2007 to May 2008.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army

Achievement Medal (2 awards), Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense

Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal (2 awards), Global War on Terrorism

Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon,

and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

On behalf of the entire Joint Base Lewis-McChord military and civilian

community, we extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends

of Sgt. Maggart.

August 20, 2010 at 10:06am

Army won't let rabbi keep beard

This from The Wall Street Journal: Rabbi Menachem Stern's stringy brown beard is hardly an unusual sight in his Brooklyn neighborhood. But in trying to become a chaplain in the U.S. Army, Mr. Stern has gotten tangled in a military bureaucracy that has made exceptions for other beards, but not his.

The 28-year-old rabbi was notified last year that he had been accepted as a chaplain in the Army Reserve.

To read the entire story, click here.

Filed under: Army News, Reservists, News To Us,

August 20, 2010 at 9:58am

4th Brigade on NBC

The final convoy of the Army's 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Lewis, Wash., began entering Kuwait about 1:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. Wednesday ET), carrying the last of the 14,000 U.S. combat forces in Iraq, said NBC's Richard Engel, who has been traveling with the brigade as it moved out this week.

For more on the NBC story, click here.   

August 19, 2010 at 4:45pm

B Co., 51st headed to Afghanistan

B Company of the 51st Signal Battalion (Expeditionary) will case its colors in preparation for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan during a ceremony Friday at 10 a.m. at the battalion headquarters on JBLM-Lewis North.

Approximately 130 Soldiers will deploy with B Company. Upon arrival in Afghanistan, the company will provide communication support to United States Central Command forces in theater.

This is B Company's first deployment to Afghanistan. The unit has three previous deployments to Iraq; once under 51st Signal Battalion and twice under 29th Signal Battalion (before it was reconstituted 51st).

August 19, 2010 at 3:05pm

Free BBQ for military families

Champions Centre church, 1819 East 72nd St., Tacoma, hosts a free barbecue for military families from 5 to 10 p.m. Aug. 24.

Activities include live music, basketball, sand volleyball, pool tables, a giant bounce around, face painting and dinner.

There will also be prize giveaways.

For more information, visit www.championsfoundation.com.

Filed under: Food and Drink, Tacoma,

Recent Comments

Brooks said:

On behalf of the Brooks family i want to send our condolences to the Maggarts family, keep...

about Sgt. Brandon Maggart killed in Iraq

Jilly said:

Excellent.

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janice spiak said:

so very sorry to hear about the death of spc. faith Hinkley. My sincere prayers go out to her...

about 201st soldier killed

janice spiak said:

I have a whole new level of respect for our millitary after reading this story. they come back...

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Marcus Hill, SGT, USA (ret) said:

Congrats on a job well done, as well as the awards. I've personally trained with SGT Harris,...

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