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."

(Army Times) -- The Army Physical Fitness School, which played a key role in designing the new test, is building the scoring scales that will separate the average from the exceptional. The school has completed 3,000 of 10,000 initial tests. The final scoring scale is still a long way off, but patterns emerging in the initial tests provide a good look at what you will need to pass the challenging new test.

The school provided Army Times an exclusive look at the average scores for men and women in each of the new test's five categories, as well as the high and low numbers for each.

The averages, rounded to the closest whole number, are:

Push-ups in one minute: Men, 36; women, 19.

Shuttle run: Men, 16 seconds; women, 18 seconds.

Rower in one minute: Men, 33; women, 31.

Long jump: Men, 79 inches; women, 61 inches.

1.5-mile run: Men, 11:02; women, 13:12.

These scores are not the goal, unless your goal is to be average. But if you hit these numbers, you should pass.

While the fitness school continues to compile the data needed to build the full scoring model, we will use a statistical analysis of the averages and compare them with average scores obtained on the current fitness test to help you see where you are, and where you need to be.

This effort is challenging because the Army does not keep good statistical or historic data on individual fitness tests and trends - a fact bemoaned by fitness school officials. For our purposes, we will compare these new averages with the average scores of trainees at Fort Jackson, S.C., and the average scores of noncommissioned officers whose scores equate to points toward promotion.

To read the story, click here.

From time to time, training areas on Joint Base Lewis-McChord might resemble the sets of war movies.

Lately, though, some look more like the sets of a reality TV series.

Actor Ricky Schroder and his production company, OLD POST Films, will be at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for the next four weeks filming episodes of the proposed reality show called "Starting Strong." The program follows prospective Army recruits as they try out Military Occupational Specialties for a week, helping them decide whether or not to join.

Beyond that, though, it will help show the world what Soldiers' lives are like.

"(The best point has been) Getting to know these Soldiers and really getting to hear from the horse's mouth what they like and what they wish they could change," Schroder said.

Schroder started the series to tell Soldiers' stories, and has worked directly with the Army to produce the program. While a network hasn't picked up the series yet, the team hopes to find a buyer and have it air sometime in 2012.

Work on "Starting Strong" has been underway for the last 18 months, with nine episodes already in the can when filming started on JBLM two weeks ago. The first of the five local episodes featured the 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment.

Each prospect gets a senior NCO mentor and two lower enlisted battle buddies to guide them through tasks.

Julian Chavez, 19, spent a week trying out life in the 4-6 Air Cav. He spent time in the field, helped assess and repair aircraft and was surprised at the end of the week with a visit from a former Soldier who now uses the same skills in the civilian world.

"This will definitely put in perspective what Army life is like," battle buddy Spc. Sean Shuttleworth said, though he noted that shooting a reality show can feel a bit contrived.

Chavez's favorite experiences early in the week included shooting an M-240 machine gun out of a helicopter. Watermelons were fixed behind targets for a cinematic effect when hit.

"That was exhilarating," he said.

The Army is interested in the series as a recruiting tool, since it will show those thinking about enlisting that the military can be a great place to start a career. But it's not just the prospect who benefits from the program.

"The public of our country kind of will get a taste of what we do," 4-6 Air Cav. Commander Col. Jay F. Klaus said.

On site liaison officer Tim Connelly, a retired Army colonel who acts as a technical adviser for the film crew, pointed out that most civilians don't really know what Soldiers do on a day to day basis.

"(Their support) is well-meaning and it's genuine, but not everyone can put a face on that," he said. "It's a lifestyle that I don't think they really know," he said. "The Army has a culture."

This from The News Tribune: Washington lawmakers want to make it easier for veterans to apply their military training to civilian careers. They're advancing bills in the state House and Senate that would require state agencies to evaluate whether military experience can be applied to a variety of professional licenses ranging from nursing to cosmetology.

Some licenses require hundreds of hours of training and work under supervision - experience that the bills' supports say veterans already have.

"This is fair and right to the person who served, and it's a smart deal for taxpayers not having to spend money or time training people for things they already know," said Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.

Veterans say the changes are overdue, particularly for high-demand careers such as nursing.

"This is in a field where every time you turn around you hear they're crying for nurses, but here they've got this crop of people they're not going to help get certified," said Mike Dalzell, 59, of Bremerton.

Dalzell retired from the Navy in 2003 as a master chief hospital corpsman with a 31-year career behind him. He couldn't find civilian employment without returning to school that would have compelled him to take basic classes.

To read the entire story, click here.

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Soldiers of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 2nd Infantry Division will conduct air assault field training on Thursday, Jan. 27 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in conjunction with aviators of the 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment (General Support).  The training will occur at 12:30 p.m.

Two CH-47 Chinooks and four UH-60 Blackhawks will execute a rapid tactical insertion of more than 90 Soldiers from Company C, 4^th Battalion, 9^th Infantry Regiment, into territory simulating a hostile landing zone. Their mission will be to engage and capture a notional insurgent leader, whose forces can be expected to mount fierce resistance to the air assault, despite the presence of roleplayers representing civilians living in the area.

To succeed, the Soldiers of C Company will have to fight through difficult terrain, counter the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and distinguish civilians from insurgents, all while facing intense enemy fire. 

The assaulting UH-60s and CH-47s will arrive in two waves about five minutes apart, silhouetted against Mt. Rainier as they approach the landing zone from east to west.  The Stryker infantry company-organized in three platoons of about 30 Soldiers each-will exit as the aircraft land with rotors turning, and then begin consolidating in pre-attack positions along the Nisqually River.

From that point, though supported by OH-58D Kiowa Warriors scouting the skies above, nothing will be predictable for the Soldiers of Company C, as they encounter unanticipated obstacles, cross danger areas, and protect local civilians on their way to locating and capturing - or killing - the insurgent leader.

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - With most of the Army units assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord now returned from deployment, the units have begun using the training areas at JBLM and Yakima Training Center more extensively as they prepare for future operations.  

Many units will conduct convoys to and from YTC, and we ask for the public's help to ensure those convoys are successfully completed in as safe a manner as possible.

Military convoys will generally travel on Interstate 5 and I-90 to YTC,
and convoys will be properly marked "Military Convoy Ahead."
* Civilian motorists should use caution when approaching or passing
convoys of military vehicles.  
* Civilian drivers should keep a safe distance from the convoys and not
insert themselves into the middle of a military convoy.  
* Military drivers have passed an extensive drivers training program and
are well versed in safety procedures and safety measures to include
maintaining proper intervals between vehicles, proper speed, and
rotation of drivers.  

JBLM units will conduct military convoys in groups of approximately 25 vehicles and will be on the highways during non-peak traffic hours to minimize the impact on commuters and travelers.

Beginning next week, units from JBLM's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team will convoy to YTC for scheduled training.     

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2011 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday described the Pentagon's three-step process for preparing to allow gays to serve openly in the military services.    

At a Pentagon news conference with Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gates updated reporters on the department's plan for implementing repeal of the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law, which has been in effect since 1993 and remains in effect until the process is complete.

"Our goal here is to move as quickly, but as responsibly, as possible," Gates said. "I see this as a three-step process. The first is to finalize changes in regulations [and] policies [and] get clearer definition on benefits."

The second phase is to prepare training materials for use by personnel specialists, chaplains, commanders and other leaders, and those who are in daily contact with service members, he said.

The third phase, the secretary explained, is the actual training for service members.

"We're trying to get the first two phases of that process done as quickly as possible," he said. "My hope is that it can be done within a matter of a very few weeks, so that we can then move on to what is the real challenge, which is providing training to 2.2 million people."

To read the complete story, click here.