The Army Ranger battalion based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord will take another rare turn in the public spotlight at the Tacoma Dome at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening, May 10.

Rangers with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment will be presented with military awards for combat actions.

The public is welcome to attend the event at the exhibition hall inside the dome.

In addition to the individual awards, the battalion will receive two unit awards for their role in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq in the summer of 2005. One operation resulted in the capture of a terrorist leader …

Read more »

A Tacoma man who was wounded in Iraq will receive his Purple Heart nearly nine years late in a ceremony Tuesday at Joint Base-Lewis McChord.

Marine Corps veteran Kenneth McAllister will be presented with the nation’s oldest military decoration for combat wounds he suffered on April 1, 2003, while serving in Iraq with a 1st Marine Division tank battalion based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

McAllister joined the Marines in 2000 and was honorably discharged in 2004 with the rank of lance corporal. Last August he contacted the Tacoma office of U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell asking for help getting the Purple …

Read more »