The Los Angeles Times carried a great article yesterday about Spc. Erik Oropeza, who won the Distinguished Service Cross while serving with Fort Lewis’ 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
Oropeza, now 22, is now serving at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., but his story of heroism is well worth a few minutes of your time.
If you have Google Earth installed on your computer, make sure not to miss Map the Fallen.
It maps out details of each coalition soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here are a couple of screengrabs:
Twenty-four names are being added to the Army Special Operations Command Memorial Wall in Fort Bragg, N.C. They were killed over the past two years in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Six of those are from Fort Lewis.
From 1st Special Forces Group:
Staff Sgt. Joseph F. Curreri, of Baltimore, Md.
Staff Sgt. David W. Textor, from Jamestown, N.Y.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Tully, from Falls Creek, Pa.
And from 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment:
Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, of Ramona, Calif.
The folks at Madigan Army Medical Center are going to cut the ribbon this week on a new Specialty Care Unit, including a pediatric intensive care unit and an adult progressive care unit. The former means fewer referrals to Seattle Children’s Hospital or Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma.
Click below to read the press release:
Our big Memorial Day story ran Sunday. It focused on the Ewens family of Gig Harbor; one son was killed in Afghanistan, two of his brothers are there now and one is heading over there soon with 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. (For the Web-only readers, there’s a good chance you missed this story. The folks who update our homepage jammed it way down into oblivion pretty early in the day, making it hard to find if you weren’t looking.)
We also will be staffing an event today. Check out thenewstribune.com later today for that story.
…For those who liked this story, check out this video:
The Elgin Courier News of Illinois wrote today about the effects of the death of Pfc. Leonard J. Gulczynski, a soldier with the 14th Battalion, 555th Engineer Regiment who died Sept. 17 after a Humvee accident in Iraq.
Gulzynski’s little sister, Jacki, is apparently a pretty good athlete. From the article:
…There’s little doubt some of the lumps Jacki took while being pushed around by her older brother make her more adept at fighting for a rebound or attacking the basket for a lay-up. Aside from that physical boost, Lenny now provides a strong source of inspiration
Thomas Donnelly, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, weighs the future of military vehicles in light of the gutting of the Future Combat Systems program.
Here’s his opinion on the Stryker:
“At first glance, the Stryker looks like it might do better in modern warfare. An eight-wheeled vehicle, it has a more efficient engine and can move rapidly. But the Stryker lacks the off-road capability of a tracked vehicle like the Abrams or Bradley. Although it performed beyond expectations in Iraq — and should as well in Afghanistan, where it is just being introduced — it
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