Military Life
Darlene Pacheco is a collaborative person who truly enjoys being a part of something larger than herself. "I strive to help navigate families to the different resources and the professional help available to them," began the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) Specialist aligned with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 2nd
News Front
The Army will soon be replacing the M4 Rifle and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. With the awarding of a ten-year, $20.4 million contract to Sig Sauer, the XM5 Rifle and the XM250 Automatic Rifle will become the new standard small arms weapons for soldiers. Soldiers will also switch from using 5.56mm
News Front
The sound of demolition, mortar and artillery training at Joint Base Lewis-McChord - particularly at night - ofttimes leads to complaints from the surrounding communities. "We owe the people in those communities an explanation for the noise," began Joe Piek, a public affairs officer at JBLM, "and we work very hard
Family
Jocelyn Suarez knows about foreshadowing in telling a good, scary story. In her short story "Beach," she clues the reader into how a woman turns into a dog by writing, "The beach was as dry as a dog's tongue." Her younger brother, Knight Cassady, wrote a suspense filled mystery entitled "The Ghost
Focus
Lakewood City Councilmember Don Anderson was recently elected to the board of the Association of Defense Communities (ADC). He has served on the Lakewood City Council since 2008. "It is a wonderful opportunity to continue to work toward building community relations with Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) and the South Sound area," Anderson
News
House Bill 1181 honors veterans in a way that is a first for Washington state. Passed unanimously by both the House and Senate earlier in March, Governor Jay Inslee is expected to sign it. The legislation not only calls for a new memorial - The Washington State Global War on Terror
Explore
Blizzard, an Arctic Tundra polar bear, is waiting to meet you. Born in 1995, and soon after orphaned, he now lives at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium (PDZA) in Tacoma. Nearby, red wolves thrive in safety due to the PDZA's work in helping to restore their population after years of
News Front
Military members and civilian workers may receive a 4.6% pay raise - the largest in 20 years - under the Pentagon's annual budget request. This represents a 2.7% increase over the 2022 pay raise, but remains well below the current inflation rate. "This is the largest pay raise in 20 years
News Front
A recently released audit by the Office of the Inspector General determined that the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and military services did not complete screening and treatment of alcohol misuse by service members in a timely manner as per Department of Defense (DoD) guidance. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
News Front
PFC Gerald Burke values and respects the meaning of the word resilience. "My grandfather taught me the value of resilience," began the intelligence analyst assigned to 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, part of the 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. That lesson learned has led to Burke's earning an appointment to
Health
In a just released study, Israeli researchers say that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms can be reduced through the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). "We've started in this research to treat PTSD in a way that seeks to have an effect on the actual physical changes in the brain," said
Military Life
Oliver Space says that it has built a better way to buy furniture. Founded in 2019 by Chan Park, former Head of Expansion and General Manager of Uber Asia, Oliver Space works to remove the hassles surrounding furniture and furnishing selections, letting customers make better use of their time. Park came up
Focus
In an article entitled "Lakewood Mayor Jason Whalen on Ukraine," which appeared in the Suburban Times on Feb. 25, he wrote the following: Lakewood is a military community, home to generations of active and retired military members and their families. Lakewood is also a global community, home to expatriates of Ukraine
News Front
Sonia Garza's love of service began while a student at Sam Houston State University. "The school's motto is ‘The measure of a life is its service,'" she explained, "and it is that founding principal that has guided my decision to serve in capacities that serve my greater community." Her belief that
Entertainment
GROUNDED is about coming down from the blue sky and into a drone's grey image on a computer screen. It is characterized by powerful and questioning dialogue from a chair on a stage that narrates a war that is very recent. A compelling one-woman presentation written by George Brant and produced
News Front
The Olympia Armory is part of a long history of the Washington Army National Guard's presence in Olympia, as well as being a central part of the city's cultural history. Built in the late 1930s on the site of the Washington School, and recently listed on the Olympia Heritage Register, will
Health
In providing mental health services, Olympia TMS has rebranded to Pristine Mental Health in order to strengthen connections with patients and their families. The founder of Pristine Mental Health is Dr. David Penner, MD, a Harvard-trained, dual board-certified psychiatrist. Realizing the future of psychiatry had begun to shift toward the use
News Front
Representative Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) co-led and secured language for the Military Family Hunger Prevention Act of 2021 to help service members and their families make ends meet. Begging the question, how many military personnel need help? "Congress and the Department of Defense need to show that we value service members and
Focus
Since 1941 the United Service Organizations (USO) Northwest has supported the area's service members and their families while adapting to meet their needs. The USO Northwest - which celebrated its 81st birthday on Feb. 4 - is present throughout the states of Washington and Oregon. With approximately 300 volunteers, the organization
News Front
Imagine having groceries from the commissary delivered to your doorstep. The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) will soon make online grocery delivery a reality, including at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Agency officials have identified eight stores that will be part of a pilot program to test the idea of doorstep delivery of
