It was a wet, green morning at Camp Murray.

And I'm not talking about Mother Nature ... unless she wore green and ran with the Washington National Guard during the second annual St. Patrick's Day 5K Fun Run/Walk.

Yes, it was wet this morning at 7:30 a.m., but spirits were high.

"In the Guard, we don't have as many opportunities to conduct physical training collectively, so it was important to us to facilitate an event that would impact the morale of our guardsmen in a positive way," said the G1's 1^st Sgt. Michael Berndt.  "Additionally, every penny raised during the event is donated to the Minuteman Emergency Assistance Fund (MEAF), which directly helps our soldiers and airmen experiencing financial hardships," he added.

The event was once again held to "pay it forward" by the G1 Directorate, who is responsible for National Guard human resources information.

"Most of the G1 staff is involved, in one way or another, because they know the event will benefit Soldiers and Airmen for months to come," said Berndt. "Both the support staff and participants will play an active role in building our professional relationships and strengthening our community."

>>> 1st Sgt. Michael Berndt kept the Minutemen Emergency Assistance Fund silent auction running smooth. It raised $1,022. Photo credit: Gary Lott

>>> Col. Jeffrey Sabatine thanks the National Guard Association of Washington in front of members of the Washington National Guard before the start of the Camp Murray St. Patrick's Day 5K Fun Run/Walk. Photo credit: Gary Lott

>>> Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, Washington National Guard adjutant general, lists the priorities of the Guard and thanks all of the attendees for supporting the Minutemen Emergency Assistance Fund. Photo credit: Gary Lott

These types of events are important because teamwork and soldier care are at the core of Guard's values. This event covers both.

"The 5K event promotes physical fitness and strengthens our team building skills," said Berndt. "By supporting the Minuteman Emergency Assistance Fund and supporting one another, collectively, we are building resilience in a number of different ways."

>>> The iconic "Fred" The Minuteman statue kept a close on on the craziness. Photo credit: Gary Lott

The Joint Services Support Directorate (JSS) even had their Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness and Resiliency (CSF) class participate in the run.

"We are always glad to see our Fit and Resilient classes coincide with the many fun runs that take place on Camp Murray," said the CSF program manager, 1^st Lt. Kyereme Blanding. "It's great to show our class participants the importance of team building, building morale and motivating one another to become more resilient, especially with the cold weather."

Several of the Washington National Guard's Major Subordinate Commands, to include the 81st Brigade Combat Team, 96th Troop Command, 66th Aviation, 205th Training Regiment, JSS and Joint Force Headquarters, spent their own money and donated a variety of themed baskets and other items to help raise money for the event. The National Guard Association of Washington donated all of the food.

"It was awesome to have more than 150 people show up and raise more than $1,000 ($1022 exactly) for the MEAF," said event POC Staff Sgt. Susie Lopez. "We were worried the rain would affect the amount of attendees, but obviously we still had lots of green on Camp Murray today."

>>> Washington National Guard G1 singed the St. Patrick's Day Fun Run banner. Photo credit: Gary Lott

>>> Joint Services Support Directorate's Fit and Resilient class was in the house. Photo credit: Gary Lott

The word out of Gov. Jay Inslee's office ...

Governor Inslee is deeply saddened by the death of Army Pfc. James Groth, 22, of Ethal, and directs that Washington State and United States flags at all state agency facilities be lowered to half-staff in his memory on Sunday, March 16, 2014.  Pfc. Groth died on February 21 during a training accident at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The Governor's Office has no objection to agencies lowering the flags at the close of business on Friday, March 14, 2014.  Flags should remain at half-staff until the end of the day on March 16 or first thing Monday morning, March 17, 2014.

Please notify your staff and all of your field offices and facilities around the state.

Other government entities, citizens and businesses are encouraged to join this recognition.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, March 16 at 11:00 am at the Toledo High School.

Please call (360) 239-1317 if you have any questions about this flag lowering.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 3.14.14 >>>

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This just in from the 2-2 SBCT Public Affairs Office:

The 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division and the 62nd Airlift Wing will partner to train on rapid deployment of the 2-2 SBCT platform vehicle, the Stryker.

This is the first time since 2006 that Air Force and Army on JBLM will conduct joint training on the deployment of the armored vehicle.

The 62nd Airlift Wing will deploy approximately 25 Stryker vehicles from the McChord Airfield to an area near the Yakima Training Center, March 17-18.

The crews manning the vehicles will conduct ongoing movement to YTC for scheduled training to support an upcoming deployment to the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif. later this summer.

The training will help prepare Soldiers and Airmen for rapid deployment in support of the Pentagon's shift to the Pacific Theater of Operations. JBLM plays a pivotal role in the Pacific as the largest military installation on the western seaboard.

Airman 1st Class Sam Fogleman of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs office has the latest on the SkyFest airshow at Fairchild Air Force Base, May 31 and June 1.

Returning to Fairchild for the first time since 2010, the event will be headlined by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team.

Static aircraft volunteered to be on display include a B-1 out of Ellsworth Air Force Base, a T-38 and T-6 from Sheppard AFB, a F-15E from Mountain Home AFB, Fairchild's own UH-1 and KC-135, a C-17 from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a firefighter version of C-130 out of Wyoming Air National Guard Base at F.E. Warren AFB, and a KC-10 from Travis AFB.

More performances and public figure appearances are still being coordinated at this time.

"We do not have a complete list of performers and static displays since we are still in the planning phase," said Maj. Robert Aikman, SkyFest 2014 director. "We are finalizing the list now. We have a tentative list of performers. We have several in the works."

SkyFest's tentative schedule is planned for the airfield opening to visitors at 9 a.m. both days, with performances beginning at 12 p.m.

For more information about SkyFest 2014, visit http://bit.ly/SkyFest.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 3.12.14 >>>

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Medals of Honor have been in the news lately. Twenty-four soldiers who fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam will receive the Medal of Honor March 18 at the White House, correcting oversights that prevented many of them from receiving the nation's highest award for valor because of their Hispanic, Jewish and African-American backgrounds. The awarding of 24 Medals of Honor - most of them posthumously - will be the largest number to be awarded at one time since World War II.

Tomorrow, our state Senate will adopt resolutions sponsored by Sen. Steve O'Ban, R-University Place, recognizing two of the three recent Medal of Honor recipients who reside in Washington. Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter will be honored with Senate Resolution 8713 for his heroic actions in the Kamdesh district of the Nuristan Province of Afghanistan, and Sgt. Leroy Arthur Petry will receive a similar honor with Senate Resolution 8714 for his sacrifice in Afghanistan's Paktia Province.

That's awesome.

For details and background on the presentation and herorics, read a news release out of the O'Ban camp below.

Read more...

Senior Airman Madelyn McCullough of the 446th Airlift Wing grabbed three awards in the 2013 Air Force Reserve Command Media Contest. The top entries were announced today by Lt. Gen. James F. Jackson, AFRC commander. The public affairs competition featured 317 Web, print, graphic, still photo and broadcasting entries from 30 organizations.

McCullough grabbed a first place award for Commentary, second place for Outstanding New Writer and third place for News Article.

McCullough's first place entitles her to advance to the Air Force Media Contest at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.

To read a list of all the winners, click here.

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Joint Base Lewis-McChord residents and workers are familiar with construction and an ever-evolving landscape; here are some of the current undertakings on base.

Chicken closure

The Popeye's restaurant, located on Lewis Main, has been closed and the building will be demolished as part of the road construction and traffic plan that is transforming Pendleton Avenue and the furthering the Town Center project.

Currently, there is a proposal to construct a new Popeye's on Lewis North, but according to JBLM public affairs, no start or finish dates for that construction work have not been released yet.

New gate access to North Fort

The new "Integrity Gate," located near the intersection of DuPont-Steilacoom Road and Wharf Road will replace an older gate, located nearby at I Street, which had been deemed unsafe due to limited sightlines and visibility.

Specifically, the new gate will be at the next road junction north of the Center Drive and DuPont-Steilacoom Road intersection. As a component of this project, a traffic signal will be installed at the four-way intersection to regulate the gate's traffic flow. The Integrity Gate should be completed and operational in the early Fall of 2014.

Water Treatment Plant

CDM Constructors Inc., of Bellevue, was awarded a $77,476,628 firm-fixed price contract to design and build a Class A wastewater treatment plant to service JBLM.

The existing wastewater treatment plant is located near Solo Point off of DuPont-Steilacoom Road, about 1.5 miles south of the JBLM North gate, and is an older plant. The new plant will be able to treat 10 million gallons of water per day, which is intended to provide for the projected base population of 100,000 people by the year 2030.

The project recently received an official notice to proceed from office of the Army Corps of Engineers in Seattle, which is the contracting activity. The initial months of the project will focus on planning and design and a groundbreaking is expected to occur this summer.

Fisher House moves forward

Site preparation for the second JBLM Fisher House is expected to begin in mid- to late-March. Once that is complete, the contractor will take over and begin work. There will be a groundbreaking ceremony, according to Fisher House manager Jodi Land, but a date is yet to be determined.

The new house is slated to be a one-story structure, larger than the existing eight-bedroom JBLM house and located near the Madigan's Medical Mall. The new construction will have 12 rooms, including an on-site office, as well as a built-in storage room and oversized kitchen, living room and dining room.

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