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By MICHAEL GILBERT, The News Tribune
A group of mental health care providers in Washington is offering free help to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families who either can’t or don’t want to go through traditional channels for care.
The Soldiers Project Northwest is modeled after a similar effort in Los Angeles, where volunteer therapists since 2004 have seen clients without charge for help with their war-related problems.
“The war just feels so big. The problems of the country feel so big. This is something that I can do,” said Tim Mallon, a University Place mental health counselor who is taking part in the Northwest effort. “I’ve got the training to do it, and the need is there. It’s pretty simple, really.”
By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP, Associated Press
Soldiers at Fort Lewis live in buildings that date back as far as 1927, but base officials say an ambitious barracks construction and renovation project is keeping soldier housing entirely hospitable.
Fort Lewis, base for about 28,924 soldiers, has been building new barracks and upgrading old ones for the past seven years, mostly to accommodate population growth as new Stryker brigades are formed or moved to Washington state.
FORT LEWIS — Pride Week traditionally has involved soldiers cleaning the post and removing debris from training areas.
Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby Jr., commanding general of Fort Lewis and I Corps, expanded this year's weeklong event to celebrate what soldiers have done and can do together.
For the first time, Pride Week includes unit-sponsored competition, including marksmanship, boxing and weightlifting, in an effort to build camaraderie and morale.
This summer, post exchange and commissary patrons may find the stores a little more crowded, traffic may be a little thicker and unit operations officers may have to plan a little further ahead to use high-demand training facilities on post.
That’s because Fort Lewis will welcome about 6,500 Soldiers home from deployment between May and September, hiking the post’s troop population to almost 29,000 in what many are calling the “summer surge.”
But Fort Lewis garrison officials have been hard at work for eight months, planning to accommodate the returning units with many new unit buildings, facelifts for existing barracks and facilties, and and a delicately crafted plan to ensure Soldiers, families and units get the support they need during the surge.
MELISSA SANTOS; The News Tribune
Dust and gravel swirl as two Chinook transport helicopters land near a complex that looks like a World War II Bavarian village.
About 50 Fort Lewis soldiers jump out and enter the complex, holding off enemy fire as they search for their target.
Within 10 minutes, a group finds him hiding on an upper floor in the midst of making a bomb and forces him to his knees. In 10 more, they have escorted him outside.
FORT LEWIS — Before bombs dropped on Baghdad in 2003, Fort Lewis already was on the forefront of change in the Army, developing and fielding a new, cutting-edge combat brigade.
And little around the installation has remained the same since.
Like other military posts, Fort Lewis has adjusted to the demands of fighting two protracted conflicts five years in Iraq and nearing seven in Afghanistan. Those demands include improving the care of wounded soldiers and increasing the number of services and programs available to families to help them through the stress of long periods of separation.
Some changes are unique to Fort Lewis, including an assessment program to ensure that any lingering effects from combat aren't ignored. The war has accelerated the development of the Stryker combat brigades; three of the Army's seven Stryker brigades are based at Fort Lewis.
[...]
Mike Gilbert of The News Tribune has a nice summary of where each Stryker Brigade is right now (deployed/dwelling), and when each might be called on again to head overseas.
The NW Guardian is the official newspaper of the Ft. Lewis community, and they have consistent coverage of the various Stryker Brigades. We haven't done a very good job of featuring their stories, but we'll try and correct that in the future. Right now they have a number of stories online regarding 3/2 SBCT homecoming activities. Stop by their website, spend a few minutes browsing their content, and bookmark it for future reference.
The names of eight members of the armed forces from Washington killed in Iraq in July will one day be inspiration for quiet thought at the 10-acre Reflection Park being created in the historic garrison section of Fort Lewis.
The names and dates of all the fallen from this state's towns and military bases, from every service branch in every war beginning with World War I, will be engraved on granite walls set amid the sound of trickling water.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
The day-to-day boss of the Army came to Fort Lewis on Monday to pump up the troops, listen to their spouses and check in on new measures aimed at improving care for wounded soldiers.
Gen. Richard Cody fielded tough questions from soldiers’ wives who are holding up despite extensions to their husbands’ combat tours. And he heard from wounded and injured soldiers who said they are still struggling with the bureaucracy of the Army’s disability evaluation system.
In the wake of recent casualties in Iraq comes word that a 5/2 SBCT soldier was stabbed to death on Post last Friday. The Army identified him today as Pvt. Timothy W. Crislip.
FORT LEWIS, Wash. - Army officials identified a Stryker brigade soldier stabbed to death last week as Pvt. Timothy W. Crislip of Elmhurst, Ill., whose mother described him Monday as "an awesome young man."
Crislip died at Madigan Army Medical Center on Friday after being "stabbed by another soldier," Fort Lewis said in a news release. The other soldier was taken into custody but was not identified Monday.
Military police and the Army's criminal investigation division were reviewing the case. Additional details, including a motive, were not immediately available.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr. arrived Monday to take charge of Fort Lewis as it endures its most difficult months yet in the war in Iraq.
The 52-year-old Detroit native pledged at his assumption of command ceremony to support the families of deployed soldiers and the rear detachments of deployed units “as they truly shoulder the load during this tough fight.”
Fort Lewis leaders are reconsidering a decision to end individual memorial ceremonies for soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A post spokesman said Thursday that Brig. Gen. William Troy, acting commander at Fort Lewis, has decided to review his decision to hold a single memorial once a month to honor soldiers recently killed in action.
Lt. Col. Robert Gilpin said Troy’s final ruling “will take into account the views of commanders, family readiness groups and our senior noncommissioned officers.”
On his blog Mike Gilbert of The News Tribune discusses a new protocol for Ft. Lewis memorials honoring fallen soldiers.
Related Article:
Fort Lewis moves to monthly memorial - The News Tribune
The following story also contains video after the link.
By Keith Eldridge, KOMO 4 News
The war means as many as 15,000 more people are moving to Ft. Lewis. The Army is adding a new Stryker Brigade to the fort. It's like dropping an instant city into the area.
The 4,000 men and women of the brand new 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division held their activation ceremony at the army base.
Some of them are seasoned combat veterans with several tours in Iraq. But many are young recruits who've never seen battle.
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
The Army officially activated the last of its seven Stryker brigades in a ceremony Friday at Fort Lewis, with one mission clearly in mind: getting its 4,000 mostly new soldiers ready to go to Iraq.
The 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division is scheduled to complete its training and preparations by early 2009.
The commander, Col. Harry Tunnell, was asked whether he thinks U.S. combat troops will still be in Iraq by then.
“That’s a question you’ll have to ask someone else,” Tunnell said. “We are training to go to war.”
The Army's seventh Stryker brigade will be officially activated in a ceremony Friday at this post south of Tacoma.
The ceremony will include an uncasing of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division's colors, to signify its status as an active duty military unit, Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Hitt said Thursday. The 10 a.m. event will be held at Soldiers Field House on post.
The 5th Brigade is the fourth such brigade to be formed and trained at Fort Lewis, which is also home to the 3rd and 4th brigades - currently in Iraq. The Stryker is the Army's eight-wheeled, medium-weight vehicle.
[...]
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Fort Lewis’ departing commander offered a sobering assessment of the nation’s enemies Monday and expressed appreciation for the people he’s worked with the past 21/2 years at the local Army post.
Lt. Gen. James Dubik relinquished command in a ceremony to Brig. Gen. William Troy, who will serve as interim commander.
Stryker drivers of all experience levels are using advanced simulators at Fort Lewis to hone their skills operating the 19-ton armored vehicles.
The $800,000 simulators allow new drivers to become acquainted with the vehicle’s handling and maneuverability and enable experienced drivers to fine-tune their skills without risking injury to soldiers or damage to the $4 million vehicles, Army officials said.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say this training capability is going to save lives in combat, and it’s going to give us a more capable force than we’ve had before,” said Brig Gen. William Troy, deputy commander of Fort Lewis and I Corps, during a short ribbon-cutting ceremony for the simulators Tuesday.
SEATTLE - Taking a page from auto manufacturers, the Army has rolled out several concept vehicles it hopes will help spawn new technologies for the next generation.
The two utility trucks and two maneuver sustainment vehicles are part of a $60 million Army program to modernize military tactical vehicles like the Humvee and the Hemmet, the Army’s large transport truck. They are to be used strictly for demonstration and aren’t likely to go into production, Army officials said.
The trucks, which arrived at Fort Lewis earlier this month, were tested Wednesday by soldiers with the 14th Battalion and the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
MELANTHIA MITCHELL, The Associated Press
FORT LEWIS - President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq has slowed the establishment of the Army's seventh Stryker brigade, to be based at Fort Lewis.
The bulk of the newly named 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division had been expected to arrive at Fort Lewis by the end of March, but that has since been postponed until May and June, base spokesman Joseph Piek said Wednesday.
SEATTLE -- The Army is in the early stages of establishing a third Stryker brigade at Fort Lewis as it nears its goal of creating seven of the units named for the eight-wheeled armored vehicles.
About 200 senior leadership members for the newly named 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division have been arriving at the Army post south of Tacoma since September, said Joseph Piek, a spokesman for the post.