Scott Fontaine covers Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Washington National Guard and the veteran community. Fontaine has worked at The News Tribune since 2006. E-mail along story suggestions and tips by e-mail.
FOB Tacoma
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 19, 2010 at 10:17 am
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Foreign Policy magazine has a cool online photo gallery of Kandahar, Afghanistan. And a bunch of the photo include soldiers from 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 19, 2010 at 8:48 am
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It's always nice to see a former Fort Lewis guy doing good. So from the Times-Picayune comes a short blurb about Karlos Knott, a former Lewis soldier who founded the Bayou Teche brewer in Louisiana.
From the story:
Karlos Knott, the brewery’s founder, got a taste for quality beer while serving as an Army calvary scout in Germany. Later he was stationed at Ft. Lewis in Washington state, one of the hotbeds of American microbrews. He took up home brewing in 1994. When he came home, Knott and his brothers, who all live on the Arnaudville farm, created beers to compliment Cajun cuisine and launched Bayou Teche.
Félicitations, soldat.
Other local links:
I Corps
Iraq threats Joint Base Lewis-McChord commander [The News Tribune]
Northwest's top general optimistic about Iraq's future [KING-TV]
Despite challenges in Iraq, returning general confident U.S. will maintain withdrawal schedule [Seattle Times]
Iraq Drawdown And Return of NW Troops On Track [KPLU-FM]
4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
2-23 Infantry Battalion Command Checks [DVIDS]
5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Police Academy One [DVIDS]
Fire Base Bagthu [DVIDS]
Secretary Gates Visits FOB Frontenac [DVIDS]
C Battery Change of Command [DVIDS]
Combat Outpost Crusher MWR [DVIDS]
Local service members
Medical Training [DVIDS]
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 18, 2010 at 2:50 pm
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Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby in Iraq
Iraq has made great progress in the past year with American combat troops withdrawing from cities and holding a successful election, but its gains could be derailed by both internal and external threats, the I Corps commander who served as the American military's second-in-command in Iraq until this month said.
Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby also told reporters Thursday during a discussion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord that the American military remains on schedule to reduce its numbers to 50,000 by September.
"We feel that, as we left, the security environment, the way the election was conducted and the way the results are starting to size up that drawdown of U.S. capabilities will continue on track," he said. "That was our view when we left, and that's the view of Gen. (Raymond) Odierno," the top American commander in Iraq.
Jacoby landed with the final wave of 1,000 I Corps troops returning home from a yearlong deployment. The corps, based in Baghdad, ran day-to-day American military operations across the country, providing command and coordination of missions of troops across the country.
(more...)
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 18, 2010 at 2:48 pm
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Now that I Corps is home from its first official combat deployment since the Korean War, what’s next?
New faces and a return to the corps’ traditional mission of a focus on the Pacific region, corps commander Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby said Thursday.
The corps bulked up its numbers and deployed to Iraq with almost 1,000 soldiers. The staffing level will drop to about 800 people. And even though its focus will look west – to countries like Korea and Japan – it will remain available to deploy worldwide.
"We’ll take a quick rest and get back to work," Jacoby said.
Much of its leadership will soon depart. Jacoby has been nominated for a job on the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C., and is awaiting Senate confirmation. He will relinquish command in a ceremony tentatively scheduled for late April.
Maj. Gen. J.D. Johnson will command the corps until Defense Secretary Robert Gates names Jacoby’s replacement, and that person gets the Senate’s approval.
"This was a significant event in bringing the corps back to life – training it, deploying it, accomplishing the mission and now resetting it and having it available for global deployment," Jacoby said. "It’s a powerful capability, and one we’re proud to be a part of."
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 18, 2010 at 7:50 am
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Agence France-Presse reports the upcoming big offensive in Kandahar has already begun. The article also makes a minor reference to the work of 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which is tasked with clearing the highways around Afghanistan's second city.
Other local links:
Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Brothers found safe after Amber Alert [The News Tribune]
Salem police arrest father in child abduction case [Statesman-Journal]
Amber Alert called off after boys turned over to police [The Columbian]
5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Sergeant's father notes ‘time to cry' [The News Tribune]
3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Sentiments for a fallen soldier [The Register-Guard]
42nd Military Police Brigade
The 66th Military Police Company Partnering With Iraqi Police [DVIDS]
17th Fires Brigade
Soldiers Jazz-up International Women's Day [DVIDS]
Washington National Guard
1161st members arrive home safe [Columbia Basin Herald]
Local service members
Key Resolve/Foal Eagle 2010 [DVIDS]
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 17, 2010 at 5:29 pm
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Photo by Lui Kit Wong/Staff photographer
Sgt. Anthony A. Paci was a dedicated soldier, a veteran of two wars and a lover of fast cars.
But, friends said, above all things Paci was proud to be the father of three children and shared his dreams of a big family.
"He was always happy when he was talking about his children," said Paci's friend, Spc. Eric Tapia. "Even though Sgt. Paci just had a third child in November, he always spoke of having one more so the Paci family could be complete."
But the war in Afghanistan intervened. Paci, 30-year-old Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier, died March 4 during a vehicle rollover in Gereshk, Helmand province. His family told the Washington Post the Rockville, Md., native was riding in a hatch of a Stryker when he yelled for his driver to swerve to avoid hitting an oncoming passenger car.
The vehicle rolled, killing Paci and handing his 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment its 22nd casualty of the war.
Friends and comrades gathered at a memorial service Wednesday at Lewis-McChord to honor Paci, who is survived by his wife, Erica, and his children: 2½-year-old Judah, 1½-year-old Tallulah and 3-month-old Mila.
(more...)
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 17, 2010 at 2:02 pm
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Our political folks have a good snapshot of Congressional earmarks for the 2010 fiscal year. The one thing that really sticks out? The projects coming to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, many of whom were funded by U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair. (He's the new chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee and controls the Pentagon budget.)
Check out the blog post or our database of federal earmarks.
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 17, 2010 at 1:30 pm
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Tech. Sgt. Jacob Erickson, right, of Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s 446th Civil Engineer Squadron celebrates his homecoming with his son, John Erickson, and wife, Patsy, on the Sea-Tac Airport tram. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Thirty Air Force reservists from Joint Base Lewis-McChord returned home Monday after a six-month deployment to Iraq.
The airmen, members of the 446th Civil Engineer Squadron, served in Kirkuk. They deployed in August 2009; eight of the squadron’s firefighters remain in Iraq and will likely return this summer.
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 17, 2010 at 8:10 am
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The death of a 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division soldier seems to have generated a lot of buzz around Northwest news outlets, likely because of the personal demons she overcame during her teenage years.
Other local links:
3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
'Lost child' grew up to be a decorated soldier [Seattle Times]
Sheldon grad killed in Iraq 'inspired people to be better' [KVAL-TV]
'She was somebody I wanted my daughter to look up to' [KOMO-TV]
Sheldon High Grad Killed in Iraq [KEZI-TV]
Remembering Army Spc. Erin McLyman[KMTR-TV]
Sheldon graduate killed in Iraq [Eugene Register-Guard]
Oregon Soldier Confirmed Dead In Iraq [Oregon Public Broadcasting]
4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Tomahawks Verify Polling Security [DVIDS]
Elections Meeting Emphasizes Combined Efforts [DVIDS]
Hitting the Streets on Election Eve [DVIDS]
Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police Work Together During Tiger Team Training [DVIDS]
17th Fires Brigade
Civil Assistance Missions Helps Villagers in Paktya Province [DVIDS]
593rd Sustainment Brigade
Patch Ceremony Gives Soldiers Bi-Coastal Representation [DVIDS]
Local service members
Corporal Welton on Fire [DVIDS]
School Assessment [DVIDS]
Posted By Scott Fontaine on March 16, 2010 at 3:47 pm
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Here's the TV story I mentioned in my previous post about Spc. Erin McLyman:
