Thomas E. Thompson, Nuclear Surety manager for the 62nd Airlift Wing, was named the Nuclear Surety Individual of the Year for 2013. Photo credit: Master Sgt. Todd Wivell
The votes are in and 2013 was another banner year for the airmen of Joint Base Lewis-McChord Field according to the recent Air Mobility Command Safety Awards.
The 62d Airlift Wing won the AMC Distinguished Ground Safety Award for large wings and Thomas E. Thompson won AMC's Nuclear Surety Individual of the Year.
"This is definitely an honor, no question about that," said 62d AW Commander of Safety Lt. Col. Brian Lewis. "I've had the honor of working with this office and these folks for a while now. Mr. Thompson is a legend and he deserves the recognition. Mr. Heath and his shop help the Air Force to be better every day."
Thompson, who has served as the Wing Nuclear Surety manager at McChord Field for close to 14 years, entered into the Air Force in 1986 and began his current career as a civilian in 2006. He has spent the nearly his entire time associated with the Air Force working with the nuclear enterprise and has been through 24 Nuclear Surety Inspections, both as a unit member or inspector.
"It is really humbling to be nominated and then to win," Thompson said.
Rain and more rain at JBLM. Winds at 16 mph. Hi should hit 46 at noon. Noon is when I take my personal demons - Abandonment Issues, Crippling Lack of Self-Confidence, Fear of News Team - out to lunch at the Olive Garden. Lo: 38.
This Date in History: 1965
The State Department sends secret cables to U.S. ambassadors in nine friendly nations advising of forthcoming bombing operations over North Vietnam, and instructs them to inform their host governments "in strictest confidence" and to report reactions.
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Capt. William Swenson at a meeting with senior Zone (Brigade) leadership to discuss the security in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan, March 2009. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army
UPDATE: The Washington state Senate honored U.S. Army Capt. William Swenson today.
"Captain Swenson was awarded the Medal of Honor for acts of gallantry - at the risk of his life - above and beyond the call of duty. The danger Captain Swenson faced that day was not some general risk of injury...it was the immediate threat of imminent death," O'Ban said, according to a news release. "No one ordered him to repeatedly place himself at the threshold of death to save his brethren. No one would have judged him disloyal for not going in a second, third or fourth time into mortal peril."
A photo from the ceremony is posted below, as well as information on the ceremony, which we posted yesterday.
Gen. Daniel Allyn, the 20th commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command, will be the special guest speaker and award presenter at the Saint Barbara's Day Ball. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army
UPDATE: According to its mission statement, "17th Fires Brigade trains and prepares for combat; on order deploys to any area of operations to plan, synchronize, and execute combined, and joint fires and effects; integrate attached ground and air maneuver forces and be prepared to function as a maneuver headquarters in support of full spectrum operations."
Change to the Thunderbolts means nothing.
So news of a change to its Friday night ball will probably be taken in stride.
Originally, Gen. Daniel Allyn, the 20th commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command, was the guest speaker for the event. But the general canceled today and will not be able to attend.
Maj. Gen. Terry Ferrell, the 7th Infantry Division commander at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, will be the guest speaker and award presenter at the ceremony, which will still be held at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.
Below is our original post on the 17th Fires Saint Barbara's Day Ball.
The Air Force Personnel Center also manages the myPers website designed to help individuals easily find information about personnel program. Photo credit: Joel Martinez
Typically, when an airman has a question about a personnel issue - a problem with pay, for instance, or a question about PCS orders or retirement - he or she stops by the personnel office to work it out. But this isn't always possible - especially when the service member is deployed.
In 2012, the Air Force launched myPers, a retooled version of the Air Force's personnel website. It brought together a plethora of information that Airmen could access from around the world at the touch of a few buttons.
"We're always looking for better ways to serve those who serve," said Col. Pat Blassie, commander, Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center (AFPC) in a press release shortly after the myPers site was launched in 2012. "Each technological advancement we can offer our customers from the Total Force Service Center is part of a longer-term strategy to deliver human resource services as quickly, as seamlessly, and as efficiently as possible anytime and anywhere an airman might be; myPers is another outstanding refinement to that end."
Last year, myPers added a feature that allows airmen to chat about personnel issues from anywhere in the world in real time - with real people.
From rain to scattered rain to partly cloudy to cloudy at JBLM today. Hi 44 at 2 p.m. Accu-Radar shaped like butterfly. Chance things will work out w/Danielle in the Steno Pool: 10%. Lo: 38.
This Date in History: 1944
Operation Catchpole is launched as American troops devastate the Japanese defenders of Eniwetok and take control of the atoll in the northwestern part of the Marshall Islands.
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Amid concerns that the current policy in Syria is failing, U.S. officials are developing new options to bring about an end to the three-year civil war,
Secretary of State John Kerry drove home a hard line on the threats of climate change Sunday, saying they rank as high as terrorism threats.
The crowd cheers Foxy Blocker and the JBLM Bettie Brigade before their bout against the Grunge City Rollers Saturday, Feb. 15 at the Lacey Derby Center.
It's a Saturday night in Lacey, Wash., and the JBLM Bettie Brigade are taking on the Grunge City Rollers' Sisters of Saint Anne on a rainy night. AC/DC and Nirvana are blasting on the loudspeaker. And the Betties have their hands full, trailing 101 to 108 at halftime. The night began with the junior varsity JBLM Bratz roller derby team pounding a much bigger Grunge City Juniors. Even though the Juniors towered over the Bratz, the Joint Base Lewis-McChord home-based team won 303 to 267.
New to roller derby? Here are the basics: Two skaters, called jammers, scramble through a pack of blockers who try to knock them down. If the jammers successfully break through the blockers, they sprint around the track and score a point for each person they legally pass. Think you have what it takes to be a Bettie?
Military children make up a very special part of our region's population. Although young, these brave sons and daughters stand in steadfast support of their military parents through moves and deployments. To honor their unique contributions and sacrifices on behalf of the South Sound, The Ranger and Northwest Airlifter, with support from child car seat manufacturer Diono, have planned a free day of fun for the military kids at Pierce College. Old McDebbie's Petting Zoo, The Reptile Man, a gym full of inflatable toys, Starbucks treats, A Princess Party with hair designs, a Home Depot building craft center, games, prizes, a kids' game show, the Pierce College's Planetarium and much more will be available to the military dependents.
There are a lot of things more important than following live-blogging of our Salute To Military Kids event today at Pierce College - but none of them are things you have to do today. That's right, we're doing us some live-blogging.
11 a.m.: Doors are open at the Pierce College Health Education Building. The whole building and nearby parking lots are loaded with stuff to do. A bit disappointed the weight room is closed. Today was chest and triceps day.
11:05 a.m.: The kids have found the At A Simple Wish princesses.
Capt. (2nd Lt.) Trudy Frantz, 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron flight nurse, assembles a litter with a Soldier onboard a McChord Field C-17 Globemaster III during a mass casualty exercise. Reservists with the 446th AES trained alongside Army medical
With the military downsizing and, as a result, the Defense Department's increased reliance on the Reserves, means many Guard and Reserve troops are donning their uniforms more often than ever before. Once referred to as "weekend warriors," many now find that their military jobs demand more of their time, whether it's to receive specialized training or to participate in exercises or real-life military operations.
Lt. Col. Kenneth "Rhino" Winslow, 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron flight nurse and director of operations - currently an occupational nurse practitioner in Issaquah - joined the Reserve out of persuasion from coworkers who were with 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, when he was an emergency department and helicopter nurse at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma nearly 27 years ago, reports Jake Chappelle with the 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs.
"I knew as a child, I wanted to continue this tradition," said Fisk - now an eight-year Air Force Reserve nurse with the 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron here. "My grandfather suggested the Reserve after I graduated from nursing school as an opportunity to see the world and serve my country."
The Aeromedical Staging Squadron, the Aerospace Medicine Squadron and Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron - all part of the 446th Airlift Wing - have a collection of nurses who share a common passion - helping people.
Read Chappelle's full feature on these awesome nurses here.
1. Beyond being reliably catchy providers of psychedelic synth-rock, People Under the Sun are perhaps the Tacoma music scene's most committed aesthetes. Not content to simply call it a day at paying homage to the New Wave pioneers that have clearly served as influences, People Under the Sun go so far as to cram their stage with a bounty of outmoded technology. Blocky computers and vintage Korgs surround the band, making it hard not to recall how David Byrne swooned over the sterile beauty of microchips in True Stories. While rumor has it that the band has recently begun pairing down the equipment (read: they're ditching floppy disks), they're still very much analog-powered. Catch them with the Silver Dollars and Bod at 8 p.m. at The New Frontier Lounge.
2. Asia Pacific Cultural Center will host the 16th Annual Asian New Year Celebration from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall. The Island Nation of Tahiti (French Polynesia) will serve as this year's host nation. The public is invited to come and bring friends and family to this free family friendly event.
3. The Rainier Hockey League - four divisions and 22 teams - has a full line-up of face-offs scheduled, including six games at 1:10 p.m. in the Puget Sound Hockey Center.
4. Tacoma Musical Playhouse's "Dancing with the Tacoma Stars," is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Landmark Convention Center in the Temple Theatre Ballroom. There are two ways to enjoy this event: An $85 ticket includes dinner, show and competition. Tickets for $35 include dessert and a chance to view the show and competition from the balcony. This year, the "Stars" include Miriam Barnett (CEO of the Pierce County YWCA), Donald Hansen (owner/operator of Cascade Park Vista and Rotary 8 president), Connie Ladenburg (Pierce County Councilperson), Kathy Kluska (professional financier/fitness instructor), Jeff McVicker (owner of several Tacoma area Subways) and Cameron Smith (a Tacoma based Mortgage Advisor).
5. JBLM Bettie Brigade's second roller derby bout of the season hits the Lacey Derby Center's flat track at 5 p.m. against Grunge City Rollers. Bonus: The JBLM Bettie Bratz are back and ready to issue some JV hurt on the Grunge City Juniors.
11:05 a.m.: The kids have found the 
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