Family
The Defense Department implemented annual changes to the Child Development Program Fee Policy and restructured total family income categories which determine child care fees. The policy change includes fee increases necessary to ensure the department's ability to find and keep skilled child care staff and to continue providing quality care
Health
As the new year approaches, make sure you're aware of changes to the TRICARE Pharmacy Program that may affect you. While these changes offer several enhancements, some of the changes may require action on your part. This will ensure you have access to the prescription drugs you and your family
Entertainment
When compiling the list of my favorite TV series of 2022, I've opted not to include continuation seasons in favor of spotlighting shows that debuted this year. 10. We Own This City (HBO and HBO Max) The creative team behind The Wire and many of the cast members of that seminal
Neighborhoods
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD - Restoring the South Sound prairie after training maneuvers is key to continued training. On Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Integrated Training Area Management team performs that task. During the fall, a new garden was started in a defunct set of bleachers overlooking the Artillery Impact Area. Planting the
News Front
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD - The ‘Cold Steel' soldiers of 189th Infantry Brigade Command hosted a Change of Responsibility ceremony Dec. 13, 2022, which saw Command Sgt. Maj. Robert M. Keith relinquish his responsibilities as the brigade's senior enlisted advisor to Command Sgt. Maj. Victor M. Benavides before a large audience
Military Life
Meals have always been an important part of military life - for sustainment as well as enjoyment. On holidays, the Defense Department has tried to provide especially delicious meals, as troops were often far from family and needed an extra morale boost. In 1933, the Christmas Day menu for Coast Guardsmen
Family
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD - "Don't ever forget them, and don't ever let their stories die." Damien Snyder is a Gold Star Family member. Snyder lost his sister, Sgt. Devin A. Snyder, while she was serving in Afghanistan in June 2011. "The last time I saw my sister alive was around Christmas time,"
Family
Team McChord volunteers box homemade cookies for Operation Cookie Drop at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Dec. 14, 2022. The goal of Operation Cookie Drop is to spread holiday cheer by giving single airmen a dozen home-baked cookies provided by the Team McChord community.
Health
Army veteran Joe Knight, from West Haven, Connecticut, had started drinking again when he was unable to obtain opiate pain medications to manage his pain. Battlefield acupuncture (BFA) offered relief for the pain and a new opportunity to enjoy life. At 50, Knight has experienced joint pain typical of someone much
Entertainment
A series that premiered Dec. 18 on Paramount Network and Paramount+. Subsequent episodes begin streaming Jan. 1 on Paramount+. "Violence has always haunted this family ... where it doesn't follow, we hunt it down, we seek it." -- Voice-over narration in the pilot episode of 1923. Truer words have never been spoken
News Front
Hundreds of airmen, friends and family members gathered as U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Randall Reed, deputy commander of Air Mobility Command, recognized four Mobility Warfighters for their extraordinary aerial achievements during Operation ALLIES REFUGE with the Distinguished Flying Cross at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Dec. 20, 2022. "This (award)
Health
According to Cigna/Express Scripts, more than 2,000 independent pharmacies will rejoin the Tricare retail pharmacy network. "Since we issued the new solicitation on Dec. 1, we are pleased that more than 2,000 pharmacies have accepted the terms and will rejoin the Tricare network, said Justine Sessions, a spokesperson for Express Scripts,
News Front
MADIGAN ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Joint Base Lewis-McChord - Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, has inspiring patients. One of its youngest proved that light shines brightly, however dark the winter season, at the annual Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 9. Ten-year-old Jasmhier and her
News Front
In an article published this month by ProPublica and reprinted in Military.com, Google has promoted a plan to digitize, through the use of its AI business, the Joint Pathology Center's (JPC) collection of millions of pathology slides containing samples of skin, tumor biopsies and organs from armed service members and
Jobs & Education
FORT LEE, Va. - Applications have now opened for the Scholarships for Military Children program for academic year 2023-2024. The program, entering its 23rd year, recognizes the contributions of military families to the readiness of the fighting force and celebrates the commissary's role in enhancing military quality of life.
Entertainment
If I had two separate categories to judge James Cameron's motion-capture epic Avatar: The Way of Water, I'd give it four stars for Visuals and two and a half for Story, and I'm in charge of the math here, so I'm awarding three and a half stars to TWAW for
News Front
WASHINGTON - When the Army announced the Future Soldier Preparatory Course pilot program this summer, the hope was to help eligible Americans overcome academic and physical fitness barriers to service. A little over three months since it began at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, the program is starting to bear fruit with some of
Health
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Military policies and testing requirements ensure soldiers are physically trained and ready to fight the nation's wars, while reducing injury risks through scientifically-supported methods. Examples include gradually increasing activity duration or intensity over time, and replacing "running-centric" training regimens with more varied exercise activities, like
News Front
Studying a seating chart, Spc. Andrew Warren stood just outside the doorway to a small recreational room in the newly completed Northwestern Joint Regional Correctional Facility. "I have only been with the 508th Military Police Detention Battalion for a couple of years," he began, "so I have no idea what the
