The president has nominated Maj. Gen. Raymond E. Johns – McChord Air Force Base wing king from 1998-2000 – for a third star and a new gig at the Pentagon.

Formally, Johns is director of programs, deputy chief of staff, plans and programs, at Air Force HQ. If confirmed by the Senate, he’ll be deputy chief of staff, strategic plans and programs, at Air Force HQ.

As 62nd Airlift Wing commander Johns oversaw the initial bed-down of the new C-17 Globemaster III cargo jets at McChord.

For his full bio, click here.

The Military Channel airs a show called “Anatomy of a Stryker” this weekend. The Military Channel site doesn’t say much about it, but our friends at Strykernews say it features footage from the former 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division’s stay in Iraq, and from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division’s preparations before they headed back in June.

It airs at 6 and 9 p.m. Saturday and 1 a.m. Sunday. That’s channel 274 if you’re a Comcast digital subscriber, 224 on Click!

Got this photo in the inbox this morning. Look carefully at the left. Any idea what that giant pole thingy is that’s sticking out of the front of the Stryker?

An OD bull-fighting cape?

Boom microphone?

The truck belongs to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment – AKA the Tomahawks. Perhaps it chops?

But seriously. Guess here is that it’s got something to do with keeping the civilian motorists clear in busy Baghdad traffic. If it’s anything like Mosul, the people drive like maniacs.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel

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It looks like fewer Washington National Guard service members and reservists from Washington-based units are on active duty now than at just about any time since the early months of the war in Iraq, according to the latest Pentagon figures released Wednesday.

There are 1,534 Army, Air Force and Navy reservists and guard troops on active duty right now, plus an undisclosed but likely small number of Marine and Coast Guard reservists. Just in terms of Army guardsmen and reservists, our state trails 28 others and Puerto Rico in the numbers called up.

Two years ago

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Capt. Damon Armeni and his family would just as soon forget his last trip to Iraq. He was critically wounded in an August 2004 firefight in Mosul and for a while there folks worried whether he was going to make it. Numerous surgeries, infections and rehab sessions followed, but he recovered, and now he’s back in Iraq. The 27-year-old Wilson High School and Pacific Lutheran University graduate is executive officer with Crazy Horse Troop of the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, part of

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McChord Air Force Base rolled out a redesigned public web site Tuesday, and we’re not going out on a limb here in saying it’s a massive improvement over the old. Mind you, that wasn’t hard to do – the old site was poor – but the new one is pretty cool.

There are useful local links including a place to sign up for space available travel, maps of their C-17 flying routes over the Tacoma area and eastern Washington, and a “click here” spot to request McChord’s support for a community event.

There are also links

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Army veterans are outpacing their comrades from the other services in the sales of specialized Washington state license plates, according to the latest figures released by the Washington state Department of Veterans Affairs.

The standings, as of the end of July, are:

Army 1675

Navy 1125

Marines 982

Air Force 960

Coast Guard 310

National Guard 230

A cut – $28 – from the fee for each plate goes to a state veterans programs account.

The DVA web site also includes a list of the first 25 people to

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The 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division in Mosul is working for a new headquarters in Iraq now that Task Force Band of Brothers has handed authority for northern Iraq over to Task Force Lightning, headed by 25th Infantry Division commanding general Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon.

The Honolulu Advertiser reported Wednesday that:

Mixon’s force includes four maneuver brigades, including the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, a Stryker vehicle unit, in Mosul; the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division in Tikrit; the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division in Diyala Province east and north

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