McChord Air Force Base’s 446th Airlift Wing is taking part in Lagoon MINEX 2009, a humanitarian mission alongside the French, Australian and New Zealand militaries to locate and dispose of more than 200 mines left over from World War II.

The wing’s C-17 Globemaster III jets are lifting dolphins from the Navy’s Marine Mammals program in New Caledonia, a South Pacific Ocean territory of France, back to San Diego. The dolphins can use their sonar to locate the mines; the 446th will take the animals back to San Diego when the exercise is done.

Neat.

More local links: …

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A soldier who served with the Washington National Guard’s 81st Brigade Combat Team is working to start a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in his hometown of Cleburne, Texas.

I wrote about Laureles when I was in Iraq earlier this year. He transfered to the Washington National Guard in 2003 from Texas so he could deploy and practice battlefield medicine. He had since bounced from unit to unit so he could stay continously in Iraq since.

Other local links:

5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Ferndale mayor declares Nov. 14 Aaron Aamot Day [Bellingham Herald]

4th Brigade, …

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National Public Radio is embedded in Afghanistan with troops from 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. The first piece talked about the constant threat of roadside bombs the troops face. The most recent piece is about an operation to recover a bombed-out Stryker.

Some of the guys talked frankly about the desire to go home:

Higden, a 21-year-old soldier from North Carolina, says military service is a family tradition. But with the repeated bomb attacks, he regrets even joining the Army. He just wants to go home.

“I think you just take all of us out and let them run

…

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I’m catching up on almost a week’s worth of links (I was out of town), but obviously the biggest story while I was gone was the memorial service for the seven fallen Fort Lewis soldiers. Vice President Joe Biden was in attendance.

Other local links:

5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division:
Injured Fort Lewis soldier back from the brink [The News Tribune]
Two more from Fort Lewis confirmed killed in Afghanistan [The News Tribune]
Fort Lewis Memorial: Going back to Louisiana [The News Tribune]
Fallen Stryker soldier: ‘Not once did he quit or complain’ [The News Tribune]
‘Faith will help us out,’ Fort Lewis soldier’s family says [Bellingham Herald]
Biden: 7 Wash. state soldiers were extraordinary [AP]
Vice President Lauds Fallen Fort Lewis Soldiers [KPLU-FM]
7 fallen Stryker Brigade soldiers honored at Fort Lewis [Seattle Times]
Roadside bomb kills two Fort Lewis soldiers [KOMO-TV]
Soldier from Ocala killed in Afghanistan [Orlando Sentinel]
West Bank soldier killed in Afghanistan mourned at service in Harvey [Times-Picayune]
Ferndale Graduate Killed In Action In Afghanistan [KGMI-AM]
Memorial for Vancouver Soldier Killed in Afghanistan [KUOW-FM]
SF units to get latest Land Warrior kit [Army Times]
Fallen soldier was to return for Thanksgiving [ocala.com]
Custer soldier killed in Afghanistan explosion [Lynden Tribune]
Biden honors fallen Fort Lewis soldiers [KOMO-TV]
Vice President Biden Honors Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan at Ceremony at Fort Lewis [ABC]
My husband is at war [San Francisco Chronicle]
On The Scene In Afghanistan: A Deadly Day For U.S. Soldiers [NPR]
Funeral Procession for Spc. Kyle A. Coumas [thepinetree.net]
Combat Advisors See Afghan Troops in Action [DVIDS]
U.S. combat injuries rise sharply [Washington Post]
Perdue visiting soldiers in Iraq [Jacksonville Times-Union]
Crossroads of Afghanistan-Contested Province Is Vital Link [DVIDS]
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Hal Bernton, the Seattle Times reporter working in Afghanistan, talked with KUOW-FM yesterday about his experiences in South Asia, including an embed with 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Other local links:

5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division:
Bomb kills Fort Lewis soldier in Afghanistan [The News Tribune]
Fort Lewis soldier dies in Afghanistan [Seattle Times]
23-year-old soldier from Moreno Valley dies in Afghanistan battle [Valley News]
Habersham man wounded in Afghanistan [The Northeast Georgian]
Lone Medic [DVIDS]

I Corps/Multi-National Corps-Iraq:
Report Finds Lapses in Handling of G.I. Accused …

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Stars and Stripes has a nice piece about soldiers of 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and the challenges they face in multiethnic regions of Diyala province.

The story doesn’t mention too many Fort Lewis soldiers (though it’s an important topic for any reader), but the story also offers a nice photo slideshow.

(Hat tip, strykernews.com)

I was gone a few days last week. So here’s catching up on the other local links:

Fort Lewis:
Were soldiers’ rights violated on Fort Lewis? [The News Tribune]
Attorney: 2 Soldiers Jail …

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Lots of stories about local service members today, including several on the memorial service yesterday for three Stryker soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Other links:

I Corps/Multi-National Corps-Iraq:
For I Corps, elections key to stable Iraq [The News Tribune]
‘We are very close to success In Iraq’ [KOMO-TV]
Iraqis, Americans seeking a new relationship [McClatchy Newspapers]

5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division:
Three more fallen Stryker soldiers honored [KOMO-TV]
Soldier’s loss is felt throughout community [Columbus Local News]
Public visitation set for Friday for soldier killed in Afghanistan [Columbus …

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The Seattle Times’ Hal Bernton has two good dispatches from Afghanistan, where he’s embedded with Fort Lewis’ 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division while on assignment for McClatchy Newspapers. He writes about the grueling pace of counterinsurgency in the Arghandab Valley and a slice-of-life blog post about a mutton feast.

Other local links:

5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division
Kandahar NATO base: hockey, discos and funerals [Agence France-Presse]
Army 10 Miler Held at Kandahar Airfield [DVIDS]

446th Airlift Wing
Tuskegee Airman takes part in promotion ceremony of next generation Airman [446th AW]
…

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