FOB Tacoma » Joint Base Lewis-McChord

Army Pacific commander hints at Stryker review, but says downsizing could have a light touch in the region

Adam Ashton — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:19:20 +0000

A new interview from the top Army commander in the Pacific raises some interesting questions about how the Pentagon’s plans for its Stryker brigades as it draws down it forces over the next few years.

Lt. Gen. Frank Wiercinski suggested to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the Army might not need a Stryker brigade in Hawaii when it has three at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and one in Alaska.

“We have three additional Stryker brigades at Fort Lewis that we didn’t have 10 years ago,” Wiercinski told the newspaper. “That’s a lot of Stryker brigades.”

(The Star-Advertiser has a pay …

Plan your Memorial Day observances with this look at the weekend’s events

Adam Ashton — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:24:33 +0000

A busy weekend of Memorial Day events is just around the corner in Pierce and Thurston counties. Here’s a look at the weekend’s ceremonies culled from community groups, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sunday

Key Peninsula Veterans Aisle of Honor, 1 p.m., VaughnBayCemetery, the cemetery is located at the corner of 100th Street Kp N and 186th Avenue Kp N, Vaughn. 253-884 9852. Signs will be posted from State Route 302. The formal ceremony begins about 1 p.m., but flags will be on display from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Yelm Cemetery Memorial Day

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Injured JBLM soldier wins two medals at Warrior Games

Adam Ashton — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:55:24 +0000

An injured soldier from Castle Rock met one of his last goals as he prepares to leave the Army when he cleaned up at the Warrior Games this month, earning two medals in the annual athletic competition for veterans.

Sgt. Josh Andrew, 26, won a gold medal for the shot put and a silver for his discus throw.

He’s assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Warrior Transition Battalion, where he is receiving treatment for repeated knee injuries he sustained on deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for concussions he suffered from explosions in combat.

Andrew plans to …

Sgt. John Russell sentenced to life without parole for killing five at Baghdad clinic

Adam Ashton — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:10:29 +0000

An Army judge on Thursday handed down the toughest sentence he could to a soldier who murdered five fellow service members at a Baghdad combat stress clinic four years ago.

Sgt. John Russell will serve life without parole for shooting to death two care providers, two patients and an escort at the clinic in Baghdad’s Camp Liberty on May 11, 2009.

“You are not a monster,” Army Judge Col. David Conn said at Russell’s sentencing, according to Reuters. “But you have knowingly and deliberately done incredibly monstrous things.”

“Sgt. Russell, you have forced many to drink from a bitter cup. …

JBLM’s wartime growth was fifth fastest across entire military, new GAO report shows

Adam Ashton — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:33:02 +0000

A new report from the Government Accountability Office shows that the number of civilian and military employees at Joint Base Lewis-McChord has increased by almost 64 percent since 2006, a pace that marked the fifth-fastest clip for any domestic military installation.

The base added about 20,600 civilian and military employees in that period, giving it a payroll of some 52,800 service members and civilians as of last year.

Lewis-McChord caught the attention of the GAO for a report looking at military bases that added or lost significant numbers of service members in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round. …

Australian two star visits JBLM to tell troops “It’s good to have you back” on watch in the Pacific

Adam Ashton — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:47:11 +0000

An Australian two-star general is visiting Joint Base Lewis-McChord this week with a message about the Army’s reinvigorated focus on the Pacific.

“It’s good to have you back,” said Maj. Gen. Rick Burr.

Burr is making the rounds in the Northwest as the deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Pacific in Hawaii. It’s a new position, and it’s intended to be reserved for Australians in the years ahead.

U.S. Army Pacific leads about 60,000 soldiers in Hawaii, Alaska, South Korea and at Lewis-McChord. It answers to the Defense Department’s Pacific Command under Adm. Samuel Locklear.

Burr’s position is one of …

Medical group asks to end use of live animals for JBLM combat trauma training

Adam Ashton — Wed, 15 May 2013 01:22:12 +0000

A Tacoma doctor and a medical ethics advocacy group are petitioning the Defense Department to halt exercises at Joint Base Lewis-McChord this week and later this month that call on airmen to use live animals for training.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine wants the Defense Department to move away from employing four-legged mammals for medical exercises and instead make more use of simulators that provide better training for doctors.

The group sent its request to Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Thomas Travis this week. It’s asking the Air Force to nix the exercises on the grounds that they …

South Sound DOD employees still facing furloughs, but new plan calls for fewer unpaid days off

Adam Ashton — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:59:52 +0000

Thousands of Defense Department employees in Pierce and Thurston counties are still facing the likelihood of unpaid time off this summer, but not as much as the Pentagon initially proposed.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday released a plan requiring about 680,000 civilian employees across the country to take 11 furlough days through the end of September.

The furloughs are scheduled to begin July 8 unless Congress allocates money to prevent the spending reduction, meaning workers will take off about one day a week for three months.

That’s down from an initial Pentagon furlough proposal that would have mandated 22 …

Witness to Baghdad fratricide: “I looked into his face and he had no expression”

Adam Ashton — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:43:14 +0000

4:50 p.m. update: The Army’s prosecution of Sgt. John Russell kicked off this afternoon with an argument that the soldier knew exactly what he was doing when he worked his way through a Baghdad combat stress clinic shooting anyone he saw.

Russell, 48, two weeks ago pleaded guilty to killing five of his fellow service members in May 2009, but he contends the shootings took place “in a rage” when he had little to no control of his emotions. He would not plead guilty to premeditated murder.

Prosecutors today began to make their that Russell showed premeditation in the attack, arguing …

Fallen soldier was a Green Beret in JBLM’s 1st Special Forces Group

Adam Ashton — Fri, 03 May 2013 21:40:45 +0000

The Defense Department today identified a Joint Base Lewis-McChord Green Beret who died Thursday at a military hospital Germany from wounds he sustained last week in Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Michael H. Simpson, 30, leaves behind a wife and two sons ages 3 and 1.

The Army identified his hometown as San Antonio. His father, retired Special Forces Lt. Col. Michael W. Simpson, is the city manager in Olmos Park, Texas.

The elder Simpson has sent messages to Olmos Park residents about his son’s fatal injuries, and has received an outpouring of support from the town. The family announced the soldier’s …