This just in from the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Public Affairs Office ...

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - JBLM's Directorate of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation along with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service is providing three free opportunities for football fans to watch the biggest game of the year.

- Warrior Zone, on JBLM Lewis North, will be open at 10 a.m. and hold a Madden NFL ‘15 tournament beginning at noon. Former Seahawks player and pro football hall of famer, Walter Jones, will be there signing autographs and watching the game with Service members. There are more than 50 high-definition TV's to catch all of the action. (Admittance to the Warrior Zone is restricted to those 18 years and older.)

- Nelson Recreation Center, on JBLM Lewis Main, will also host a Madden NFL '15 tournament and provides a 20-foot projection screen. Doors open at noon.

- Carey Theater, on JBLM Lewis Main, is the family friendly viewing location for those football fans with family members younger than 18 years old. The audio system combined with the digital 15- by 24-foot digital screen will provide a live in-the-stadium atmosphere for the family football fans. Doors open at 12:30 p.m.

In the Army, each soldier has been told "no one left behind." This can be applied to every aspect of the service.

One area several soldiers tend to forget about is the home front. As much as I am sent on deployments, training missions or school courses, I still struggle with doing my job and not forgetting to help my family.

This brought me to the question of "merge or overtake?" Do I keep trying to make all the decisions miles to continents away or work with her?

My wife keeps the day-to-day operations of raising our children, paying bills, managing the vehicles, keeping the house clean, cooking food and taking care of anything situation upon my departure. She has first-hand knowledge that time and life don't get put on hold, but sometimes surge forward faster than expected. She can get so busy with appointments, events, tasks and trying to find time to Skype or call me that she becomes overwhelmed and sometimes feels under or unappreciated.

One experience was shortly after I got married when I left for three months for a reclassification course eight hours from her. I tried to adapt and help with every issue or problem she faced. Instead of helping her, majority of the time ended up more difficult for my wife.

This led to my spouse playing catch-up with all the decisions that I made when trying to help. After having this experience, I told myself I needed to not overstep any boundaries and help where I could. This caused me to drift more and more toward doing less and less until she was giving me updates and me not making any decisions.

I am guilty of this on more than one occasion. I went from one extreme to the other; now when I am away from my spouse, I tend to make fewer decisions about situations back home and focus on myself. This is dangerous because thinking only about myself when away causes my better half to feel alone in decisions.

I am pretty good about being perceptive and realizing something is bothering my wife, but I am completely oblivious to when what is bothering my wife is me. When she tells me how she's feeling, it sinks in, and I realize I have not been doing what I promised her in our vows.

During my last deployment, I thought I had found the balance of knowing what to make a decision on and what to let her do. Unfortunately, after noticing she was getting stressed out again, she told me I had been making it harder by making the decisions in the areas I had no control in.

As much as I knew that she had stuff she had to do, in the back of my mind was the thought that everything would wait for me until I returned home. I knew better, but was extremely difficult and hit me hard watching my first son grow up on Skype without me there. For example, I was fortunate enough to see him stand up on his own and take his first three steps on Skype. I was so proud I wanted to pick him up, but then realized I couldn't and was depressed. It happened repeatedly before that seeing the pictures of his teeth coming in, eating hard food, playing with toys, laughing, but hit me hard when he started to walk.

We are told to be patient and realize life has continued to go on without us back home, but hard to keep a grasp of when you don't want to miss a single moment. I remember being told throughout the deployment to be patient and understand my family has their own lives and schedule in place, and not be discouraged if they don't have time to talk. My wife was told the same thing about me when she attended briefings from the Family Readiness Group and other unit officials. After she was done with the meetings, she would tell me what was said and show me some brochures or pamphlets about how to help her with me. This makes me think more emphasis is placed on preparing the family for the Soldier but just as much should be placed on preparing the Soldier for the family.

If it weren't for my family, I would not have the drive and motivation for accomplishing the mission and strive to succeed in classes. For example, when I was single, I was content in my career, still trying to progress through the ranks, but no real push to become a pilot. After I married my wife, I realized being content was not the best thing for my wife and family. I suddenly had more intent and drive to accomplish more. She kept telling me not to be scared to try and accomplish my dreams and I could do whatever I wanted. With that push and support, I started to move forward with the career progression that I had wanted to for years but didn't because I was afraid.

I could build a house. With the support of my family, I could build a skyscraper. What I am asking you is when you leave for school, training or deployment, don't forget about the home front. It is the best thing going for you so do not take them for granted and they will stay by your side. Make sure you do your best to help with whatever they need, be there for them, and make them feel they are not alone.

Remember, no one left behind, this applies to your better half. They can be the most powerful thing you have in your arsenal. So when you are not home, ask yourself "Merge or Overtake?"

Sgt. Daniel Schroeder is with the 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21 2014 >>>

1. Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles features a rotating cast of musicians in a multimedia spectacular that carry the band from its jangly, Liverpudlian roots to the grand psychedelic finale of Abbey Road and Let It Be. Since the cover band's inception in 1975, its members have played everywhere from Broadway to the Today show. Dick Clark (who'd know better?) was so impressed by their vocal talents that he engaged Rain for the soundtrack of his 1979 film The Birth of the Beatles, directed by Richard Marquand (Return of the Jedi). Expect full-scale productions of such classics as "Come Together" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." In other words, anticipate greatness at 7:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater.

2. A community listening session regarding potential Army force structure reductions at Joint Base Lewis-McChord will be held from 10 a.m. to noon in the McGavick Center Ballroom at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood.The 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review requires the Army to reduce its force. The listening session allows the community to provide input to the senior leadership of the Army before any decisions are made regarding force reductions.

3. Outdoor adventure takes center stage from noon to 8 p.m. as the Washington Sportsmen's Show opens for a five-day run at the Washington State Fair Events Center in Puyallup. Expect a big line-up of fishing, hunting, camping attractions and more than 100 hours of how-to seminars, plus great values on fishing and hunting gear, clothing, camping equipment, sport fishing boats and RVs.

4. Take a break from asphyxiatingly overplotted blockbusters to absorb the good old days, when all you needed was a mysterious island, a couple dinosaurs and one sexually voracious ape. The Grand Cinema is deep in its Classic Film Series, hitting the Triangle District movie house very third Wednesday. At 1:45 and 6:45 p.m., they screen the original brainless blockbuster cobbled together by real-life thrillseekers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack (The Most Dangerous Game) for maximum impact. Cherish the smell-the-panties moment - a bit sliced out of the film that took 40 years to restore. That's right, the original King Kong is coming to Tacoma!

5. Toronto's Hooded Fang have garnered their fair share of positive reception since their formation in 2007, even earning a nomination for a Polaris Prize (sort of like the Canadian Grammy's) and setting up a tour supporting Johnny Marr, and they're deserving of every bit of praise. As their sound has evolved over the years, they've begun to embrace a volatility that wasn't quite present in their early days. Combining garage rock fuzz, the wiry dynamism of the Pixies, and the fractured structure and bombastic sound of Broken Social Scene. Unlike the majority of bands that rise on gales of internet hype, Hooded Fang have only improved, getting darker and leaner without giving up the vitality that made them so appealing when they first arrived on the scene. Catch them with No Body and Guaranteed Whales at 8 p.m. in the record store Deadbeat Olympia.

LINK: Wednesday, Jan. 21 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

TUESDAY, JAN. 13 2015 >>>

1. Classical music is not like spinach. Sure, your mom might have insinuated that cultivating a taste for both was good for you, but the goal of Classical Tuesday in Old Town Artistic Director Pamela Ryker is to get you to see that, unlike the somewhat slimy green stuff that left a funny feeling on your teeth, the musical dish she serves up is spicy, peppy fun. They'll be plenty of moms in the Slavonion Hall at 7 p.m. when Ryker hosts the Tacoma Youth Symphony chamber music ensembles. The glue-eating kid won't be there. The night will feature the best of the best: of the hundreds of students in the Tacoma Youth Symphony orchestras, the top instrumentalists will be showcased in small groups of woodwinds, brass and strings. Expect cocoa, coffee and cookies.

2. Two Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations happen today. A Living Voices performance will serve as the featured entertainment at Bates Technical College's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the college's South Campus Auditorium. The performance, titled "The Right to Dream," follows a young African American student growing up in small-town Mississippi, where the American Civil Rights movement is on the horizon. Audience members will watch as the animated performer brings life to civil rights-era issues. At Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the I Corps Equal Opportunity Office will sponsor a celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from 1-2:30 p.m. at French Theater on Pendleton Boulevard, Lewis Main.

3. The Grand Cinema screens Pump at 1:50 and 6:40 p.m. as part of its Tuesday Film Series. The film examines why Americans are so lacking in options at the gas station, what that means about the future of transportation and environmental health, and why the oil-driven American Dream must die - why it is dying.

4. If hearing the sound of your own cackling voice echoing off the walls of your shower stall has you craving the sound of something a bit more harmonious, check out the local songbirds at Victory Music Open Mic in the Antique Sandwich Co. from 7-10 p.m. It's guaranteed to be jam-packed with gorgeous sounds and humbling verses, as the South Sound's greatest up-and-coming acoustic musicians bare their souls impromptu-style.

5. Karaoke is a uniquely egalitarian way for people to live out minor fantasies while also blowing off steam. Teddy hosts a Karaoke Party at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge. 

LINK: Tuesday, Jan. 13 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

U.S. Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler held a live virtual town hall meeting at the Google Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2015.

For a little over an hour the Army leaders - speaking over a webcam - took questions from soldiers stationed around the country and around the world - including members of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Spc. Marabello of I Corps asked the two senior leaders about health care. She pointed out that U.S. troops are often deploying to environments with high concentrations of parasites and communicable diseases. She asked what the Army is doing to prepare soldiers for these dangers, and how they treat the afflicted. Recent deployments to West Africa to help contain Ebola - along with soldiers and airmen at JBLM currently undergoing quarantines after their return - have brought health issues to the forefront.

Odierno told her it's been a challenge. He explained soldiers returning from overseas are asked to fill out questionnaires, but he acknowledged they've had mixed results. "It's right when you get home from a deployment, you're in a rush, you don't want to take the time," he said. But Odierno stressed soldiers need to take the time to report any changes or symptoms.

It's about knowledge.

A soldier from Fort Lee, Virginia, asked how social media and quick spread of information are changing Army leadership. "Everybody has to realize that the world we live in has changed significantly," Odierno answered. "Like it or not, everything we do is going to be much more public."

He explained they need leaders who can comfortably navigate the new media landscape of the information age. But, Chandler weighed in and said the best way to communicate is still face-to-face contact where people actually talk to each other. He warned that intent could be misinterpreted in text and e-mail conversations.

It is indeed another a changing world.

A soldier with Ft. Benning's Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade asked about the prestigious Ranger School accepting female candidates and women wearing Ranger tabs. "What do you define success as?" he asked.

Odierno answered there was no criteria for success or failure, explaining that it's about giving women the opportunity to go through the program with the same standards as the men, and letting the results speak for themselves.

Chandler turned the conversation to the instructor, asking him how he felt about it based on his experience.

"It's a great idea," the soldier replied. "I feel like this is something that could have come along years ago."

A combat engineer assigned to the 555th Engineer Brigade received the Purple Heart medal during a ceremony at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Jan. 5. Spc. Asa Bingham, 22nd Engineer Clearance Company, suffered traumatic brain injury from a roadside bomb blast during deployment to Afghanistan in January 2014.

"I was hit twice - once in December 2013, but at the time I didn't really feel the effects from that first one," said Bingham, a native of Pismo Beach, Calif.
"It was the one January 3rd (2014) that I was medically evacuated, transferred to Germany for treatment before being sent home."

Maj. Gen. Terry Ferrell, commander, 7th Infantry Division presented the medal to Bingham. He took the opportunity to thank the soldiers of the 22nd Eng. Clearance Company for their mission success and to talk about U.S. Army current topics.

Bingham was in good spirits after receiving the Purple Heart, and joked in his closing remarks, "I want to thank the ‘Hooligans' (22nd ECC) for the support, getting me through that last deployment ... it was a blast."

Bingham receives treatment for his TBIs and returned to full duty status with the 22nd Eng. Clearance Company.

It looks like Joint Base Lewis-McChord's commander, Col. Chuck Hodges, will be making good on his bet with Lakewood's mayor, Don Anderson.

The city and JBLM enjoy a very good relationship that both Anderson and Hodges prize. But that didn't stop them from making a friendly wager on the outcome of the University of Oregon/Florida State University Rose Bowl game yesterday.

Anderson, a native of Coos Bay, Oregon, and Hodges, a native of Tallahassee, Florida, had bet that their state's team would win.

Anderson won the bet.

To put it differently, the Ducks clobbered the Seminoles, 59-20.

Oregon will now play Ohio State in the first ever College Football Championship to be held Jan. 12 in Arlington, Texas.

Ohio State earlier defeated Alabama 42-35 to advance to the final.

As to the Anderson-Hodges bet, Hodges owes Anderson a dinner at The Bistro at Russell Landing at JBLM.

No date has been set for the engagement.

This just in from the Air Mobility Command Public Affairs Office. ...

12/20/2014 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Air Mobility Command will inactivate two  C-17 squadrons over the next two years - one at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., and one at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. - based on the President's Defense Budget for FY15.

"In this fiscally constrained environment, we have to balance readiness, capability and capacity," said Major Gen. Michael S. Stough, AMC's Director of Strategic Plans, Requirements and Programs.

"To best preserve this capability, the intent is to fund these aircraft back into primary mission aircraft inventory in future years, and transfer them to the Reserve Component -  and we're working with our Air National Guard partners to do that, perhaps even as early as FY16.  We rely on our Total Force partners to meet our global mobility requirements; we couldn't do the mission without them.   We'll continue to leverage the unique strengths of the active and Reserve components to meet current and future requirements with available resources."

The Air Force plans to make adjustments over the next few years to the active duty, Reserve, and Guard components to ensure successful transitions to a leaner force that remains ready for future operations.

The FY15 President's Budget converts 16 AMC C-17s (eight from each base) from primary mission aircraft inventory to backup aircraft inventory. As a result, AMC will inactivate the 17th Airlift Squadron at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., in FY15; and the 10th Airlift Squadron at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., in FY16.   These inactivations are not new actions, but additional detail on the previously announced budget submission released in March.

Backup aircraft inventory are assigned with no manpower or flying hours. However, they will continue to receive funding needed to support weapon system sustainment. Converting 16 aircraft to BAI removes funding for the personnel and flying hours associated with those aircraft, for a savings of approximately $110M per year.

Technical Sgt. Joe Greene happily returned home to Montana late Tuesday afternoon.

"I was ready to get back to my family for Christmas," he said during a telephone interview from his home in Montana. "I missed Thanksgiving with them."

One of 15 individuals monitored for Ebola symptoms, Greene spent 21 days in isolation at Joint Base Lewis-McChord North.

The monitored group of servicemembers came from the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. None were from JBLM.

Assigned to the 819th Red Horse Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, Greene had been deployed to West Africa as this country attempts to tamp down the spread of the deadly disease.

About 2,600 servicemembers are deployed to West Africa, building and operating a number of Ebola-treatment facilities.

A deployable, heavy operational repair squadron, the unit is commanded by Col. Ron Pieri.

The servicemembers entered isolation on Nov. 25 and were released on Dec. 16.

It wasn't as though Greene didn't he know would be held and monitored for the symptoms of Ebola when he returned from his deployment.

"I understood. It's one of the things we gotta do," he said in a matter-of-fact way. "It is what it is."

Greene and the others were not exposed to Ebola-infected patients, and the risk that they are infected was minimal, Maj. Mary Ricks pointed out in an earlier press release.

JBLM could house up to 1,000 quarantined military members and civilian contractors in World War II vintage barracks that until recently were used by Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets during Warrior Forge.

"Yeah, we were in these older barracks," continued Greene. "It wasn't bad.  We had open bays like basic training, a large separate bathroom and showers and a pretty decent dining facility. We were set up pretty well."

Other accommodations included Wi-Fi, cable, movies, video game consoles, books and a tent gym with exercise equipment.

In November, the Department of Defense announced that JBLM would be one of five installations that would provide a monitoring site for servicemembers and civilians returning from missions in West Africa.

The other four locations are the Army's Smith Barracks in Baumholder, Germany; Fort Bliss and Fort Hood in Texas; Fort Bragg in North Carolina; and at an Army base in Vicenza, Italy.

According to the World Health Organization most recent statistics, there have been approximately 18,500 cases of Ebola with more than 6,800 resulting in death.

Back at JBLM and with plenty of time on their hands, the monitored servicemembers did a lot of reading, working out, and in Greene's case, working with wood.

"Yes, I had time so I built some furniture," Greene said.

A medical team from the Madigan Army Medical Center checked the monitored servicemembers twice per day and asked if there was any fatigue or muscle pain.

"The medical folks were superb," Greene added. "In fact, everyone I encountered here at JBLM was very professional, and I think the Army did a great job."

Servicemembers and their families braved the cold water of American Lake when they took the plunge for the first JBLM Polar Skip & Dip 5k and 2k Fun Run or Walk at Shoreline Park at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Dec. 13.

The JBLM Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare & Recreation hosted the 5k and 2k run for more than 250 participants, nearly 40 of whom took the plunge into the cold water.

"With this run, the main focus is to bring something different to the families of JBLM; we want to spice it up, we don't want to just run," said Stephanie Parr, the recreation assistant from the DFMWR intramural sports office. "We want to make sure that each event has its own feature, which in this event will be the dip. In between all of our usual fun runs, the best thing to do is to offer something different, exciting and new like this race here. I'm glad to be a part of it."

Col. Charles H. Hodges, the JBLM commander, who brought the first ever zombie 5k run to the base Nov. 1, was pleased to see another unique activity offered to the servicemembers and families that make up the JBLM community.

"This is a new concept and we always want to be fresh in our ideas. This is a chance for people to come out and do something a little bit different than what they've done before," said Hodges. "JBLM is known for innovation and having a great imagination. It's good we can embrace that mindset throughout the entire community."

>>> Kayla Conriquez, 7, high-fives her mother, Amanda Bennett, after her mom braved the cold water during the first ever JBLM Polar Skip & Dip 5k and 2k fun run or walk at Shoreline Park, JBLM, Dec. 13, 2014. Photo credit: Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke

Several families ran together and some children were experienced enough to run the 2k by themselves. Seven-year-old Kayla Conriquez runs weekly with her mother, Amanda Bennett, and she ran the JBLM Zombie Apocalypse 5k run by herself. So naturally she ran the 2k solo.

Conriquez said the race was fun and plans to do several races next year after completing three this year.

Two brothers, Ari and Eli Vitor, ages 12 and eight, ran the race together and braved the freezing water to complete every event.

"I found it fun even though it's cold, but it's still fun to do. I don't regret going in the cold water," said the older brother Ari.

"I liked the water part a lot and wasn't scared to go in," said Eli with a shivering smile.

Despite the race calendar becoming extremely full for the JBLM DFMWR 2015 race season, they are always looking for new possibilities to add variety, explained Parr.

"There is another race in the works for next summer, but I can't give any information about that one," she hinted. "We want to surprise JBLM with that race, it's going to be great."

For the 2015 race calendar, click here or email usarmy.jblm.imcom.list.dfmwr-sports@mail.mil for further information.

Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke is with the 19^th Public Affairs Detachment.

>>> Ari and Eli Vitor, ages 12 and 8, warm up after taking a dip in the cold water during the first ever JBLM Polar Skip & Dip 5k and 2k fun run or walk at Shoreline Park, JBLM, Dec. 13, 2014. More than 200 adults completed the 5k and nearly 50 children finished the 2k and many braved the cold water of American Lake to complete the dip portion after the race. They had several door prizes given away during the dip in American Lake portion with two grand prizes, a Dell tablet and a Great Wolf Lodge gift certificate. Photo credit: Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke