JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Brig. Gen. Daniel York, commanding general of the 104th Training Division (Leader Training), along with other senior military leaders and elected officials, will dedicate the 104th Training Division Headquarters building Saturday, April 9, in memory of Staff Sgt. Coby G. Schwab, a U.S. Army Reserve Soldier and former member of JBLM's 3rd Stryker Brigade.

The building dedication ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. at the 104th Headquarters building located at the JBLM Logistics Center. Family and friends of Staff Sgt. Schwab will be in attendance.

Staff Sgt. Schwab, an Army Reserve Soldier and a Puyallup resident, was killed May 3, 2007, during a recovery operation of a damaged vehicle near a canal. Schwab was returning to his vehicle after reattaching the recovery straps to the disabled vehicle which was threatening to pull both vehicles into the canal when he was killed in a secondary explosion caused by an IED. The incident took place near Ar Ramadi, during his second deployment in Iraq.

Schwab was assigned to Company B, 321st Engineer Battalion, 301st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, 416th Theater Engineer Command. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star with Valor Device, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Combat Action Badge. At the time of his death, Schwab was 25.

Schwab served previously as an Infantryman with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, from February 2001 to February 2005. He was a Stryker vehicle commander and team leader and deployed with 3/2 SBCT to Iraq in 2003 -2004. Following that deployment he left active duty and continued his military service by transferring to the United States Army Reserve.

Schwab was passionate about ensuring that Soldiers had proper training and he used his previous active duty deployment experience with the Stryker Brigade to prepare his fellow Reserve Soldiers for duty in Iraq.

CAMP MURRAY - The Washington National Guard will bid farewell to the 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation in a ceremony on Saturday, February 5 at 2:00 pm in the Army Aviation Support Facility #1 on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The unit will serve in support of Operation New Dawn and will be based in Kuwait. Approximately 180 Army National Guard aviators, support personnel and staff from all over the State of Washington will comprise the deploying force.

"The air warriors from the Raptor Battalion are well known throughout the military aviation community for their professionalism and record of excellence.  They will represent our state and nation well, and accomplish their mission," said Major General Timothy J. Lowenberg, the Adjutant General and commander of the Washington National Guard.

Commonly referred to as "The Raptor Battalion" the 1/168 Aviation is headquartered at JBLM, under the Washington Army National Guard's 66th Theater Aviation Command.  Their mission will focus on the synchronization of aviation assets, senior leader movement and general support missions in the Operation New Dawn Theater.  The Raptor Battalion flies and maintains UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

The unit recently completed a portion of their mobilization training and certification at the Yakima Training Center.  They will spend a couple of months training at Fort Hood, Texas and then deploy to Kuwait.  They will be mobilized for 12 months, plus any leave time they accrue.  The Raptor Battalion previously served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from May 2007 to May 2008.    

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - The 3^rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2^nd Infantry Division, will rededicate the Arrowhead Brigade Memorial on Wednesday, January 26, at 3 p.m., during a ceremony that will be conducted adjacent to the brigade headquarters.

The names of eight Soldiers who died during the brigade's 2009-20010 deployment to Iraq will be added to the memorial during the ceremony.

The Arrowhead Brigade Memorial is a 6-foot tall bronze statue of a Soldier in full battle gear, and the statue stands atop a granite base with panels etched with the names of fallen Soldiers. The memorial honors Arrowhead Brigade Soldiers who have fallen since the brigade's inception.

During the October 2007 ceremony at which the memorial was first unveiled, the names of 88 Soldiers assigned to the brigade who died in combat or training, as well as those from other units who died while they were under the brigade's operational control were read.

The Arrowhead Brigade Memorial project began during the 3^rd Stryker Brigade's first deployment to Iraq and the memorial was dedicated following the brigade's second Iraq deployment.  3^rd Stryker Brigade has deployed to Iraq three times (Nov 03-Sept 04; June 06-Sept 07; Aug 09-Aug 10).

The memorial was designed by Olympia-area sculptor Gareth Curtiss.

I received this today from a group calling itself "Keep Zahid Home."

Veterans, along with friends and neighbors of disabled US military veteran Spc. Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry will protest outside the Seattle Immigration Court building from noon to 1 p.m. prior to Chaudhry's deportation hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 12. Supporters of Chaudhry are calling on elected representatives to take action to prevent the deportation of the decorated veteran and valued community member.

Chaudhry is a legal permanent resident who served in the U.S. Army and National Guard until he was honorably discharged due to injuries sustained in the military that left him in a wheelchair. Despite his qualified military service and despite being married to a U.S. citizen for ten years, Chaudhry has been forced to resist wrongful deportation to Pakistan and fight for his right to remain in the United States.

In his struggle to remain home with his family, Chaudhry has received letters of support and recommendations for citizenship from U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Congressman Doc Hastings, Washington State legislators, as well as from a former immigration adjudicator. His ordeal was profiled in the Yakima Herald Republic in an article that was subsequently picked up by the Associated Press and has been featured in news outlets across the country.

Yet deportation proceedings have continued against him. As a result, friends and neighbors of the Chaudhrys have organized the "Keep Zahid Home" campaign with the intention of making it clear that the Chaudhrys are valued members of the community who should not be forced to leave.

"This is a man who has always come to the U.S. legally and is a legal permanent resident," says Keep Zahid Home organizer Wendy Tanowitz. "Our government has a reputation for not fulfilling its promises to its veterans. The treatment of Zahid Chaudhry, who served in the military until injuries made him no longer valuable and who is now being threatened with deportation, does nothing to improve the government's image."

The Keep Zahid Home campaign calls on elected representatives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to prevent the deportation of this valued friend and neighbor who has done so much for our country.

Following the Jan. 12 rally, Spc. Chaudhry will attend a master calendar hearing in Immigration Court to determine the status of his deportation proceedings.

For more information, visit www.keepzahidhome.org.       

SEATTLE - A Washington state flight nurse who sued to win reinstatement to the Air Force is planning to be there when President Obama signs a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

Maj. Margaret Witt, of Spokane, was discharged just short of retirement after the Air Force learned she had been in a relationship with a civilian woman. She sued, and in September U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton in Tacoma found that her dismissal was unconstitutional because it advanced no legitimate military interest.

He ordered that she be reinstated as soon as possible.

The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Witt, says she flew to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and will attend the ceremony on Wednesday.

Witt says she's excited to be there for all of those who can't be.

She expects to rejoin the Air Force Reserve early next year.

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - About 100 soldiers from the 62^nd CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear) Company will be reunited with friends and families at a "welcome home" ceremony currently scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16 at Wilson Gym on JBLM Lewis-North.

The unit deployed in January 2009 for a one-year deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

While deployed, the 62^nd CBRN Co. provided Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear (CBRN) response capability, and trained coalition forces in CBRN response. The unit also participated in Joint US military training and exercises, assisted in force protection and security missions for the area of operations, and escorted Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and other sensitive equipment being transported to Afghanistan via military aircraft.

Olympia - Retired Rear Admiral Herbert M. Bridge, USNR will deliver the keynote address when the Washington State World War II Memorial is re-dedicated on Tuesday, Dec. 7, on the state capitol campus in Olympia.

The public is invited to attend this event which will take place in a heated structure next to the memorial which is located between the north diagonal and 11th street on the main campus.

Simon Kogan, the Olympia artist who created the memorial in 1999, restored the memorial and recreated the ghost images on the five bronze blades, images which represent members of the armed forces as well as the civilians who participated in the conflict on the home front.

The 14-foot-high blades contain the names of the nearly 6,000 Washington residents killed in the war. The memorial's large granite stones are engraved with major battles fought by year.

The memorial is surrounded by nearly 3,000 granite tiles, which include engraved personal messages from families and friends of those who served during World War II. The tiles were installed last summer, replacing weathered original tiles, which were crushed and used as part of the base material for the new tiles. The summertime project also improved drainage around the memorial.

Parking is limited on the Capitol Campus! Please consider using off-site parking at the Olympia Farmers Market and the Free DASH Shuttle to the Capitol which runs every 15 minutes. Hourly parking is also available throughout downtown Olympia with access to the DASH shuttle on Capitol Way.

For additional information, please contact the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs at 360-725-2180.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. -  The 2^nd Squadron, 1^st Cavalry Regiment,4^th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2^ndInfantry Division, will conduct a ceremony tomorrow, Dec. 7, to re-issue several combat-related military awards to a veteran of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, at the onset of World War II.  The ceremony will be at 4 p.m. at the Soldiers Field House on JBLM Lewis-Main.

Staff Sgt. Alfred Eye will be re-issued the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge which he originally received for his actions in the Pacific Theater during World War II. A resident of Toledo, Ohio, Eye was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, the day of the attack, and participated in combat operations against the Japanese forces. He subsequently served throughout the Pacific, including the liberation of the Philippines.

The Bonze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge will be re-issued by Lt. Col. Charles Lombardo, the commander of 2-1 Cavalry Squadron.

During Staff Sgt. Eye's six-year Army career (1940-1946) he was also awarded the American Defense Service Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific CampaignMedal (with four bronze service stars), World War II Victory Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon (with one bronze star).

Staff Sgt. Eye is being re-issued the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge because these three awards had gone missing.

Eye's great-grandson, Spc. Nathan Glaser, is currently assigned to the 2^nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4^th SBCT, 2^ndInf. Div. and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  He deployed with the 4^th Stryker Brigade to Iraq from August 2009-August 2010.  Spc. Glaser was instrumental in getting his great-grandfather's awards replaced.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. - A soldier who returned this summer from duty in Afghanistan and his family will join Gov. Christine Gregoire Dec. 3 to light the Holiday Tree in the rotunda of the Capitol Building in Olympia. 

Sgt. Kevin Barretta, Company C., 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, along with his wife Amanda and their children Madison, 6, and Abigail, 2, will represent Joint Base Lewis-McChord through participation in the Holiday Tree lighting ceremony. 

Sgt. Barretta has been assigned to the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team for more than four years and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from July 2009 through June 2010. He has served in many infantry positions such as rifleman, automatic rifleman, team leader, and squad leader.  As a rifle team leader, Sgt. Barretta led his men on more than 200 missions and patrols in Zabul and Helmand Provinces, Afghanistan.  His excellent leadership and care for soldiers has made him an integral part of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

Sgt. Barretta is originally from Newman, Calif. 

For more than 20 years, the Association of Washington Business has sponsored the Holiday Tree at the Washington State Capitol. This year, a 25-foot Noble fir will be lit at what has become an annual holiday tradition for the governor, fire departments, families and the community to come together.

The Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony begins at 6 p.m. in the Washington State Capitol Rotunda Legislative Building in Olympia with musical selections from Kids in Koncert.  Just before 6:30 p.m. the lighting will take place with Gov. Christine Gregoire and the Barretta Family.

Over the past several years an Army Reserve Soldier or National Guard soldier from Washington State has participated in the Holiday Tree lighting.  This year the state asked JBLM to select an active-duty soldier and family from the base to participate.

"It's an honor for Sgt. Barretta and his family to not only participate in the tree lighting in Olympia, but to represent all the military men and women at JBLM who serve our country," said CSM Frank A. Grippe.command sergeant major of I Corps. "This is also an opportunity for all the leaders at the base to thank everyone in our surrounding communities for supporting our Soldiers and their families. Thank you." 

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. - The 201^st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade will conduct a Change of Command at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1.

Col. Bob Whalen will relinquish command to Col. Paul Norwood in a Change of Command Ceremony on Watkins Parade Field on JBLM Lewis-Main.

Whalen became the first commander of 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade on July 3, 2008. The brigade returned in September from a 12-month deployment to Iraq. Previously, he served as a military assistant to the acting Secretary of the Army and as an Army War College Fellow at the Central Intelligence Agency, and commanded the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Bragg, N.C.  

Norwood most recently served as a director of intelligence for a Joint Task Force in Afghanistan. Previously, he served as the senior intelligence officer on the 1st Infantry Division general staff, and commanded the 709th Military Intelligence Battalion in the United Kingdom.