CPT Meriwether Lewis, CPT Meriwether Lewis, CPT Meriwether Lewis, CPT Meriwether Lewis ...

This title floods the news release announcing the 2013 AUSA Sixth Region Awards. Of the 35 awards giving recognition to chapters, units and individuals, 21 were associated with or nominated by CPT Meriwether Lewis, the Joint Base Lewis-McChord chapter of the Association of the United States Army.

Whoa.

The winners of the AUSA Captain Meriwether Lewis Chapter will join the few remaining winners at the Sixth Region Annual Awards Black Tie Banquet Saturday, April 12 in the Shilo Inn & Suites Hotel at the Portland Airport in Ore. The banquet is part of the 2014 Sixth Region Spring Meeting held at the Shilo Inn April 10-13.

AUSA is a private, nonprofit organization that works to advance the interests of the U.S. Army. In addition to being a lobbying organization, volunteers with local AUSA chapters support troops while deployed and at home. The Sixth Region includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Northern and Central California.

Makes the Captain Meriwether Lewis Chapter even more of a badass, huh?

Let's take a look at all the winners:

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While the weather doesn't seem ready to share warmer temperatures, it is technically spring, which for the South Sound means one thing: the Spring Fair in Puyallup.

This 25-year tradition is back at the downtown fairgrounds April 10 to 13 with food, rides, livestock and performances. All military servicemembers, retirees, disabled veterans and their families get in free April 11 with valid identification.

For more information, check out excerpts the news release from the Spring Fair folks below. ...

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Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are advancing far different proposals on how to calm tensions and de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine as Russia continues to mass troops along its border with the former Soviet republic.

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Japan and the United States plan to create a permanent consultative body to coordinate the operations of the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military in the face of China's highhanded actions over the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.

33,000 troops to go: Marine Brig. Gen. Daniel O'Donohue outlines Afghanistan drawdown.

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GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 3.29.14 >>>

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What do you do when you meet a man with straight answers and a crooked nose?

You listen.  Carefully.

"Don't settle for someone else's expectations," Maj. Nate Conkey said as he rested between weight repetitions at the Wilson Sports & Fitness Center early yesterday morning.

"Through your efforts you learn what you can achieve.  Through a sense of urgency you can push yourself to be great."

Then he turned and began to do push-ups.

>>>  Maj. Nate Conkey, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, works out at the Wilson Fitness Center. AUSA recently named him the 2013 Army Male Athlete of the Year. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson

To that end, Conkey, who is assigned as the executive officer to 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, has worked hard to excel in rugby at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

In his sixth All-Army rugby team appearance in 2013, Conkey helped lead Army to a 19-14 victory over Air Force at the Armed Forces Rugby Sevens Championship.

The expectation and urgency to do well paid off.

Earlier this year, All-Army Sports named Conkey the 2013 Male Athlete of the Year at the Association of the United States Army Winter Symposium in Huntsville, Ala.

Conkey, who rowed on West Point's crew team, first played rugby while stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky. He immediately took to the sport.

"It was one of those things I was missing," Conkey said.

"You do PT every day, but there's that extra camaraderie and extra competition of sports; that's what I fell in love with," added the native of Virginia.

He works out five days a week for about 90 minutes. Workouts vary from sprints and anaerobic exercise to weight lifting. Conkey plans on playing in this year's Army Forces Rugby tournament in August.

Conkey is married to Maj. Kate Conkey, who is assigned to the 22nd Military Police Battalion. He added that he is committed to his unit and that he appreciates the All-Army program because it allows him to play a sport he loves.

"So why not be great? Why not pursue your dream now? Why not go to work on what you want right now?

These are good questions from one who gives - and lives - straight answers.

>>> Maj. Nate Conkey, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, makes notes of his workout. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson

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Welcome home!

The Department of the Army's National Center for Telehealth and Technology opened at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2010. The mission of the National Center for Telehealth and Technology is to foster, develop, research, and deploy technology solutions for psychological health and traumatic brain injury and deliver relevant, evidence-based applications for our warriors, veterans and their families. Known as T2, the Center also uses innovative ways to help military youth cope with the unique strains of military life. In addition to disruptions from parents deploying to assignments away from home, military children are affected by moving frequently, changing schools and making new friends.

The folks at T2 have created an app to help children cope with military moves. Launched in December, The Big Moving Adventure app lets children create a Muppet friend to help them through the moving process. Yes, the DoD knows the way to Sesame Street. It has partnered with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, on the mobile app, which is available for download from the App Store, Google Play and Amazon for Kindle Fire.

Below are excerpts from the app's news release out of the T2 camp.

"Moving can be stressful, and kids need to express feelings and say goodbye to people and things," said Dr. Kelly Blasko, psychologist at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology here. "The Muppet characters in this app help make the move a fun experience."

Children can use the app to help their Muppet friend make decisions on a variety of move-related issues, such as which toys to pack in a box and which to take along in their backpack. Children watch the Muppet say goodbye to their house, their military base and their classroom and playground friends. At the new house, children help their Muppet unpack, settle into the home and make new friends.

"Sesame Workshop has always been at the forefront of creating resources for families with young children to help address some of life's most difficult issues," said Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president for Community and Family Engagement at Sesame Workshop. "The Big Moving Adventure is part of Sesame Workshop's contribution to military families, who face the challenge of helping a child cope with this major transition and help our kids reach their highest potential."

Military parents face unique challenges during a move, and the app helps their young children through the experience. A separate parents section contains additional move-related topics and tips.

The Big Moving Adventure mobile app is the newest addition to a portfolio of multimedia resources developed by Sesame Workshop, in collaboration with the Defense Department, to help military families with deployments and life transitions. While developed specifically for military families with children 3 to 5 years old, it is useful for all families with young children experiencing a move, officials said.

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Congress' multiple investigations of the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, have cost the Pentagon millions of dollars and thousands of hours of personnel time.

The bilateral security agreement between the United States and Afghanistan has still not been signed, sealed and delivered, creating budget uncertainty and potentially significant logistical problem.

The head of U.S. Pacific Command believes America does not possess the capacity to conduct amphibious assaults in the wake of a crisis, as it did during World War II.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has pushed back a vote on its controversial report on Bush-era interrogation techniques until next week.

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