Ryan Latham is used to rolling out the red carpet for local military members.

As the group events coordinator for the Tacoma Rainiers and the ballclub's main link to the military community throughout the Puget Sound, Latham routinely works with various units to make area Servicemembers feel welcome at Cheney Stadium.

But on Monday, the tables were turned.

Latham was welcomed to Joint Base Lewis-McChord as part of a group of 11 local community and business leaders invited by the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division to spend an afternoon with the brigade while it hosted 2011 Warrior Forge.

"It's neat to come out here and be able to feel like the military treated me like a VIP," Latham said.

Warrior Forge is an annual event on the base that brings together nearly 7,000 Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets from across the nation for 14 different rotations through 55 cumulative days, testing their fitness and leadership skills through a variety of exercises and training.

This year, 4-2 is the main host unit, providing more than 1,200 of its Soldiers to assist in training cadets. Army Reservists from across the country also come to JBLM to assist throughout the event.

"The biggest thing for us is to give people an overview of what Warrior Forge is and illustrate the relationship between active duty and ROTC units," said Maj. Amanda Doyle, who serves with the Army ROTC's 8th Brigade, stationed on JBLM.

In addition to the small local contingent of community and business leaders, 140 community connectors from various college campuses across the nation that have Army ROTC programs were flown in for a few days to experience Warrior Forge.

For 4-2 Soldiers, Warrior Forge is a chance for them to further build on their own training, said Col. Mike Getchell, the unit's commander.

"It's a unique opportunity for us," Getchell said. "It's about stewardship of the profession."

In addition to helping cadets get used to working with junior enlisted troops - an opportunity they seldom see on the college campus - the experience also mirrors what they will likely see on the battlefield when they commission as a second lieutenant.

"This is closer to the kind of mission you do in Iraq," Getchell said.

Warrior Forge also gives the brigade a chance to show a group of key supporters in the local community what its Soldiers are doing and see the role they're playing in bringing up the next generation of leaders, the colonel said.

That was partially accomplished through a two-hour block of action on the demonstration range. Community leaders sat and watched from atop a hill as a Stryker patrol team fended off a simulated enemy attack. Leaders were then invited to shoot a variety of automatic weapons at targets on the firing range.

"It was great to be able to see (the Stryker teams) maneuver on the ground," said Melanie Schaad, sales and events manager for the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. "You could feel the shockwaves from the live ammunition."

While the demonstrations and firing range was an easy hit with honored guests, the experience also gave them a chance to get closer with the 4-2 and what its Soldiers do on a daily basis.

"It's a good reminder about how connected we are as a school district to the base," said Sarah Fairweather, Family and Community Partnership coordinator for the Clover Park School District. "Some of this is what our (students') parents are going through."