Joint Base Lewis-McChord officials have released the names of the four 16^th Combat Aviation Brigade Soldiers killed in Monday night's crash of two OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters inside the southwest training area at JBLM, in Thurston County.

Dead are:

• Capt. Anne M. Montgomery, 25, an Army aviator and a native of North Dakota. She had served on active duty since August 2008, and arrived for duty at JBLM in December 2010.

Montgomery is a 2008 graduate of the United States Military Academy, and had not deployed overseas. Her awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Aviator Badge.

• Chief Warrant Officer Three Frank A. Buoniconti, 36, an Army aviator and a native of Colorado. Buoniconti had served on active duty since July 1994, and arrived for duty at JBLM in early November 2011.

Buoniconti was commissioned a Warrant Officer in 2003, and since has had assignments at Fort Bragg, N.C., and the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif. He deployed to Iraq twice, and Afghanistan twice. Buoniconti's awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross,  Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal (six awards), Army Commendation Medal (nine awards), and the Army Commendation Medal w/"V" device, the Army Senior Aviator Badge and other awards and decorations.

• Chief Warrant Officer Three Shan Joseph Satterfield., 32, an Army aviator and a native of Alaska. Satterfield had served on active duty since September 1997, and arrived for duty at JBLM in December 2009.

Satterfield was commissioned a Warrant Officer in 2002, and since has had assignments in Korea and at Fort Campbell, Ky.  He deployed to Iraq once, and to Afghanistan once. Satterfield's awards include the Air Medal (two awards), Army Commendation Medal (two awards), the Aviator Badge and other awards and decorations.

• Chief Warrant Officer Two Lucas Daniel Sigfrid, 32, an Army aviator and a native of Alabama. Sigfrid had served on active duty since May 2008, and arrived for duty at JBLM in January 2011.

Sigfrid was commissioned a Warrant Officer in 2008, and had not deployed overseas. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Aviator Badge.

Montgomery and Buoniconti and were assigned to A Troop, 4^th Squadron, 6^th Attack Reconnaissance Squadron, 16^th Combat Aviation Brigade, and Satterfield and Sigfrid were assigned to C Troop, 4/6 ARS, 16^th CAB.

An investigation into the cause of the accident has already begun by the Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., who is the overall lead in the accident investigation. The circumstances of the crash will be determined by the investigation team. Additional information will be released as it becomes available. According to a base safety officer, the helicopters were on a routine night training flight.

"The Soldiers and leadership at 16^th Combat Aviation Brigade mourn the loss of our patriotic heroes," said Col. Robert Dickerson, 16th CAB commander, in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and loved ones of the aviators involved in this accident. We are conducting a thorough investigation to find the cause of this event and offer our utmost support to the families during this difficult time."

Duane Hardesty's across-the-street neighbor is a lot like anyone else's. He mows the lawn, washes his car and occasionally comes over to sit on the porch and talk.

That's where his neighbor, Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, was on an evening in May, after the White House announced that he would receive the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry in Afghanistan.

Petry, who lost his right hand throwing a grenade away from his fellow Rangers in 2008, and his wife Ashley, were sitting outside the Hardestys' home in Steilacoom, Wash., when the congratulatory texts and calls started to arrive. But in spite of his recent notoriety, friends and fellow Soldiers say he's the same guy he's always been - and that they couldn't be prouder.

"It's an incredible honor to know them personally and just be able to be a help to them," he said of the Family.

Hardesty, a retired Army colonel, works for a private contractor that assists severely wounded servicemembers. He remembers every detail of the first time he saw Petry without his hand. He had just returned from a business trip when his wife came into his study.

"I thought she'd seen a ghost or something," Hardesty said.

His wife told him Leroy and Ashley wanted to see him. When he came outside, he could see right away his neighbor's hand had been amputated at the wrist.

"I just gave him a bear hug and we cried for a while," Hardesty said.

Staff Sgt. Nathan Norton, 2-75 Rngr., has other vivid memories of Petry. He was part of the mission that day in Afghanistan, but couldn't be at the White House ceremony on Tuesday. Instead, he watched with the rest of D Company (Petry's former company) at Farrelli's Wood Fire Pizza in DuPont, Wash.

"I can't congratulate him enough," Norton said.

He remembers the events of May 26, 2008 as though they happened in slow motion, and knew even then what an incredible thing he was witnessing. There was no question in anyone's mind that Petry deserved to be nominated for the award, Norton said.

Aside from his missing hand, though, not much about Petry has changed. Before, he was known for always joking around - maybe even a little too much. Now his prosthetic arm just gives him another prop to be the goofy guy he always was.

"How the President described him is pretty much how he is," Sgt. 1st Class Aric Daldon, who's known Petry about six years, said after the ceremony.

Now Petry works with other wounded, injured and ill Soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and Hardesty said there's no better man for that job, or to set an example as a Medal of Honor recipient.

"He's so focused on making sure he represents not only the Army, but every warrior (who has) ever worn a uniform," he said.

Hardesty expects that when Petry comes back to the house across the street, he and his Family will be just as humble, dedicated and duty-driven as they've always been. But he knows one thing for certain - the next time he sees his neighbor, he's going to salute him.

"I couldn't be prouder of him if he were my own son," he said.

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The producers of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" are seeking people involved in the military whose home deserves an extreme makeover. 

The producers are looking for people with "amazing strength of character and who put their own needs aside to help others," a press release said. "Whether it's a Soldier, a mom, a teacher or a fireman, we think deserving families are families who inspire those around them." 

Additionally, the show's producers are seeking families whose houses need major alterations or repair - "homes that present serious problems for the family and affect the family's quality of life." 

To be eligible, families must own their single family home and be able to demonstrate how a makeover will make a difference in their lives. 

Interested military families or people who wish to nominate a military family should e-mail a short description of the family's story to emheusa@gmail.com. The e-mail should include the names and ages of household members, a description of the family's challenges, an explanation of why the family is deserving of a makeover or is a positive role model in the community, photos of the family and their home, and contact numbers. 

The deadline for nominations is May 30, but people should send submissions early, the release said. Only up to 25 families are selected each season. 

For more information on the application process, visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index?pn=apply. 

This from Air Force Times: Legislation shielding military pay from the effects of a government shutdown is quickly gaining cosponsors as the clock ticks toward the midnight Friday expiration of federal funding, after which the government would shut down.

In the Senate, 71 cosponsors have signed onto a bill sponsored by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, that would continue paying the military during a shutdown and would give the Defense Department the discretion to also pay federal civilian workers and defense contractors deployed on contingency operations in support of U.S. troops.

To read the entire story, click here. 

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2011 - The Defense Department is hopeful that a government shutdown will be averted, but is releasing guidance to help plan for an orderly process if a shutdown becomes necessary, Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said in a memo issued today.

"The president and the [Defense] Secretary [Robert M. Gates] know that the uncertainty of the current situation puts federal employees in a difficult position and are very much aware that a shutdown would impose hardships on our military and civilian personnel as well as our military families," Lynn wrote.

Operations and activities essential to safety and to protect human life and property will not be shut down, he wrote.

Addressing duty status, Lynn wrote that military personnel are not subject to furlough and should report for duty during a shutdown. Civilian personnel performing excepted activities will continue to work during a shutdown, he wrote.

The Defense Department will continue to conduct activities in support of national security, Lynn wrote, including operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Japan, as well as Libya-related support operations and other activities essential to national security.

Continuing operations include the following, Lynn wrote:

-- Inpatient and emergency outpatient care in DOD medical treatment facilities and emergency dental care;

-- Dining facilities and child-care activities;

-- Some legal activities, and contracting and logistics operations supporting excepted activities;

-- Some education and training activities, including Department of Defense Education Activity schools, and some financial management activities.

"In the absence of appropriations, non-excepted activities that have not already been fully funded will need to be shut down in an orderly fashion," Lynn wrote.

He will issue more detailed guidance to the department regarding specific activities that are considered excepted or non-excepted. Lynn wrote that he understands the military departments, defense agencies and individual commanders must tailor this guidance to many different situations around the world.

"Therefore, should there be a government shutdown, DOD personnel will be informed through their chain of command about how a shutdown may affect them personally," he wrote.

On the topic of military, civilian and retiree pay, Lynn said if the government shuts down because of a lack of funding, DOD will have no funds to pay military members or civilian employees for the days during which the government is shut down.

But military and civilian personnel will receive pay for time worked before the shutdown, he said, and military personnel and civilians in excepted positions will be paid retroactively for their work during the shutdown once the department receives additional funding.

"Congress would have to provide authority in order for the department to retroactively pay non-excepted employees for the furloughed period," Lynn wrote.

Benefits for military retirees and annuitants should continue without interruption, he added.

The USO Puget Sound Area and KMPS 94.1 FM are joining forces to salute military heroes.

If you have a family member or friend in the service that you would like to recognize on The Candy + Potter Show on KMPS, e-mail the following info to solider@kmps.com: Your Name, Solider's Name, Relation to Solider, Your Phone, Any Additional Info on Your Soldier.

Various salutes have already been posted on the station's website.

To see the page, click here.     

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (AFNS) -- While emphasizing that service members eventually will receive the pay they would earn during a government shutdown, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates acknowledged here April 7 that if the government shuts down for a week starting April 8, their mid-month paychecks would include only the pay they earned for the first week of the month.

During a visit with U.S. Division Center Soldiers at Camp Liberty, the first question posed to the secretary concerned the possibility of a government shutdown and the effect it would have on service members' pay.

"Over time, they won't lose anything," the secretary told reporters after the visit. "But you all know as well as I do that a lot of these young troops live pretty much paycheck to paycheck, and when I start to think about the inconvenience that it's going to cause these kids and a lot of their families, even half a paycheck delayed can be a problem for them.

"So I hope they work this whole thing out," he added.

Shouts of "Hooah!" rang out among the 175 Soldiers gathered for the secretary's visit when Secretary Gates began his answer to a question about the possible shutdown by saying, "First of all, let me say you will be paid."

Secretary Gates joked that as a historian, it always has occurred to him that "a smart thing for government is always to pay the guys with the guns first." But he then explained how the shutdown would affect the Soldiers' pay.

"Based on some stuff I read this morning, if the government shutdown starts on the 8th and goes for a week, you'd get half a check," he said. "If it goes from the 15th to the 30th, you wouldn't get a paycheck on the 30th, but you would be back-paid for all of it (when the government resumes operations)."

Service members are paid on the 15th and last day of each month.

Secretary Gates told the Soldiers he knows that could present a tough situation for them.

"Frankly, I remember when I was your age, I did a lot of living from paycheck to paycheck," he said, "and so I hope this thing doesn't happen, because I know it'll be an inconvenience for a lot of troops."    

WASHINGTON — Military members would continue to earn wages in the event of an April 8 shutdown of the federal government, but they'd have to wait to collect them until Congress agrees on a budget, a senior administration official said here today.

During a telephone briefing administered by the Office of Management and Budget, a senior administration official detailed the consequences of a possible federal government shutdown that will occur April 8 if Congress doesn't agree on a budget.

Service members, the official said, "will continue to earn money" in the event of a shutdown.

But because there wouldn't be any money to pay out to service members during a shutdown, the official said, they would have to wait to be reimbursed.

"They will be paid once we have money again to pay them," the official said.

Some members of the Defense Department's federal civilian work force would be exempted from a shutdown because of their work in critical areas, or because they are funded through sources outside the federal budget, the official said.

However, "a significant number of DOD civilian employees, unfortunately, would be furloughed if the government shuts down," the official said.

Activities necessary to protecting life and property, or those whose funding comes from someplace other than the federal budget, will continue if the government shuts down April 8, the official added.

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Beginning June 1, Social Security numbers on military identification cards will begin to disappear, said Maj. Monica M. Matoush, a Pentagon spokeswoman. 

The effort is part of a larger plan to protect service members and other DOD identification card holders from identity theft, officials said. 

Criminals use Social Security numbers to steal identities, allowing them to pillage resources, establish credit or to hijack credit cards, bank accounts or debit cards. 

Currently, the Social Security number is printed on the back of common access cards, and on the front of cards issued to dependents and retirees. Beginning in June, when current cards expire, they will be replaced with new cards having a DOD identification number replacing the Social Security number, officials said. The DOD identification number is a unique 10-digit number that is assigned to every person with a direct relationship with the department. The new number also will be the service member's Geneva Convention identification number. 

An 11-digit DOD benefits number also will appear on the cards of those people eligible for DOD benefits. The first nine digits are common to a sponsor, the official said, and the last two digits will identify a specific person within the sponsor's family. 

Social Security numbers embedded in the bar codes on the back of identification cards will remain there for the time being, and will be phased out beginning in 2012. 
The department will replace identification cards as they expire. 

"Because cards will be replaced upon expiration, it will be approximately four years until all cards are replaced with the DOD ID number," Matoush said. 

The identity protection program began in 2008, when DOD started removing Social Security numbers from family member identification cards.    

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Children of U.S. service members around the world will be honored throughout the month of April for their contributions to their families' well-being and sacrifices on behalf of the nation, a Defense Department official said.

Each April, Americans pause to recognize the nation's 1.8 million military children during the Month of the Military Child, which marks its 25th anniversary this year.

"It's really exciting that the Department of Defense, the White House and civic leaders recognize the sacrifices that military children make," said Barbara Thompson, the director of the Pentagon's office of family policy, children and youth. "It's particularly important during these times of conflict, when children are missing their parents and are sacrificing a lot, to say your sacrifice is recognized and we want to commend you for what you do for your family."

Throughout the month, military installations worldwide will host programs and activities for military children, including fairs, picnics, carnivals and parades, Thompson said. Communities also can get involved by sponsoring fun events to celebrate military children.

Military children's sacrifices and contributions have risen to the forefront in recent years, Thompson said, as people have become increasingly aware of the impact a decade of war is having on military families. Along with the typical military-related stressors of multiple moves and schools, children also have had to deal with long-term, multiple deployments and separations from one, or both, parents over the past 10-plus years.

More than 900,000 military children have had a parent deploy multiple times, she added.