Just a quick heads up if you're a fan of both roller derby and Instagram - darth_saydious of the JBLM Bettie Brigade posts the latest action from the flat track.

Side note: The JBLM Bettie Brigade's Belle Ringer Bootcamp is designed to help you prepare for the WFTDA skills test and get ready to try out to be a Bettie for the 2014 season. No skating experience required. You do need to be associated with the military and carry personal medical insurance. For $80, you'll receive 20 hours of on-skates instruction. An orientation and introduction will commence at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Lacey Derby Center, 5700 Lacey Blvd. The two-hour Sunday sessions begin at noon Jan. 26. For details, visit bettiebrigade.com.

As previously mentioned, the 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord is at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif, participating large-scale, conventional warfare training with offensive and defensive operations. The first Stryker brigade ever activated in the Army is now conducting its first decisive action rotation with a unit from the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force at NTC. For four weeks, the 3-2 SBCT will roam the 1,200 square miles of high desert terrain - with the JGSDF soldiers from the Fuji Training Center near Mt. Fuji - facing guerilla forces, insurgents, criminal elements and a near-peer conventional force.

Journalist Staff Sgt. Christopher McCullough with the 3-2 SBCT has waded through the predominately male discipline of field artillery to check in with 2nd Lt. Taylor Cardosi, a fire direction officer working in the 1st Battalion, 37th Artillery Regiment Battalion Fire Direction Center, and the first female to do so.

Cardosi's appointment as FDO is hot on the heels of the Department of Defense's decision to eventually open all military jobs to females. However, while some positions remain closed as the Department of Defense works out details, the job of FDO opened up only days after Cardosi's entry into active duty on Dec. 27, 2012.

"I was 100 percent surprised when I got here," said Cardosi. "I just showed up and I immediately went to the field."

Cardosi's admission into the largely male-dominated field is no surprise to those who know her. All her life Cardosi has strived to succeed in activities not usually associated with young ladies, beginning with her decision to quit ballet.

Read McCullough's full interview with Cardosi here.

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One-on-one with communications specialist Cpl. Charles Wamsley

Arrowhead Brigade sweeps over National Training Center

Southern California's National Training Center is one of two Army sites in the States that plunges units into elaborate deployment scenarios, complete with role-players, who play civilians or enemy combatants. Units are evaluated 24 hours a day by veteran soldiers called observer-coach-teachers, or OCs. NTC trains the soldiers by conducting force-on-force and live-fire training for ground and aviation brigades in a joint scenario across the spectrum of conflict, using a live-virtual-constructive training model, as portrayed by a highly lethal and capable Opposing Force and controlled by an expert and experienced Operations Group. 

The 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord has been at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif, since the beginning of the month. There aren't any fixed bases. There isn't a focus on capturing the enemy. Instead, the focus is centered on large-scale, conventional warfare training with offensive and defensive operations.

Staff Sgt. Justin A. Naylor of the 17th Public Affairs Detachment is embedded with the 3-2 SBCT. Naylor adventures have landed him in Cpl. Charles Wamsley's domain, a communication specialist with the 3-2. While at NTC, Wamsley is spearheading a program that connects communication equipment that was previously unable to communicate. The Lacey resident, and computer freak since childhood, has an interesting history.

Wamsley ... has been serving in the Army for just over five years. Things have changed a lot for him. Before joining the service he was a high school dropout working several dead-end jobs and had his second child on the way.

Read Naylor's full feature on Wamsley here.

See Also

Arrowhead Brigade sweeps over National Training Center

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Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told reporters Wednesday that he was eyeing overseas contingency operations to pay for most - if not all - of the $30 billion veterans omnibus bill he introduced last week, which includes the repeal of the military retirement benefits cut.

The Pentagon on Wednesday announced new rules that make it easier for troops to request religious exemptions from uniform rules, grooming standards and other military policies.

A military judge has ordered the release of un-aired portions of interviews that CBS and CNN conducted with a woman at the center of a sexual assault case that involved three U.S. Naval Academy football players.

The U.S. government's decision last week to cut funding for the Army's combat vehicle program may dash hopes for production of BAE Systems Plc's so-called green machine.

After two failed attempts to replace the Kiowa Warrior, the U.S. Army has finally succumbed to financial pressure and abandoned plans for a third effort to buy a specialized helicopter optimized for the armed scout role.

Soldiers who serve as instructors in the NCO Education System will be recognized with badges and professional development skill identifiers as a result of the Army's continued efforts to battle sexual assault.

Unmanned robots already have proven their worth on the battlefield, neutralizing improvised explosive devices, and more capable ones are coming in the future.

Despite a shrinking budget, Army aviation will continue to become even more valuable to commanders and soldiers on the ground through its investment in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, sensors and software.

An overseas intelligence and security command retention staff sergeant has been named active component Headquarters, Department of the Army/Secretary of the Army Career Counselor of the Year.

Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Europe and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Europe District are engaged in a robust military construction program designed to revitalize dilapidated schoolhouses.

Three soldiers from the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program earned nominations for the U.S. Olympic Luge Team for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Five Soldiers in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program have been selected for the U.S. Olympic men's bobsled team that will compete at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

All the Air Force Doctrine Documents on the AF e-Publishing website have been rescinded and replaced by the new Air Force doctrine website.

Norway's endless Tolkienesque landscapes of little islands, fjords, and mountains are a pleasure to watch from an F-16 jet fighter.

Arnold Schwarzenegger goes undercover to prank people at Gold's Gym.

Gasp: Captain and Tennille are splitting up!

Quentin Tarantino is furious after one of his movie scripts leaked.

Bill Cosby may return to TV.

Bill Nye is heading to the Creation Museum to do battle against some loony creationists.

Shakespearean actors exactly recreate a battle between commenters on YouTube.

GRAB A CUP & READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 1.22.14 >>>

Syria's government set a bitter tone today at the opening of talks meant to end the country's long and bloofy civil war, accusing Arab neighbors of sowing terrorism and insurrection while dismissing as interlopers the United States and other Western backers of Syrian rebels.

A Pentagon plan reportedly proposes to withdraw all forces by the end of Obama's second term.

While the Air Force investigates the biggest cheating scandal in the history of the nuclear missile force, top Defense Department officials are considering the possibility of raises for those officers to address morale problems.

Army brass are coming to terms with what a force of 420,000 could and could not do.

A federal grand jury indicted a former Connecticut man who attempted to ship boxes of stolen information on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Iran.

US dominance, major programs at risk in 2015 budget

When it comes to Air Force physical fitness training, reflective belts are out and black socks are in. Hot-pink cell phones are now OK too, while in uniform, as are morale T-shirts and patches - but only on Fridays.

An Osprey tilt rotor plane will join in a disaster relief training program between the U.S. Marine Corps and Japan's Self-Defense Forces in the western Japanese prefecture of Kochi next month, using U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Lobbying spending remained mostly flat for the top defense contractors in 2013, as they grappled with sequestration taking effect at the Pentagon.

Signs of consciousness found in rats brains after death.

Forty more maps that explain the world.

Robert Capa's colorful photos of the world after World War II.

Finally: Someone ranked the 10 best Grateful Dead songs.

Ten historic bars every book nerd needs to visit.

Listen: Jim James, Lil Bub, Tim Harrington, comedians cover "The Super Bowl Shuffle."

A day in the life of Carrie Brownstein.

Beck has a new song.

Is Friends the reason so many Gen X-ers are unbearable?

The Pierce County prosecutor charged a Puyallup man with second-degree murder Tuesday in the stabbing death of Sgt. 1st class Shawn A. Woods, who intervened in a domestic violence assault Sunday.

Woods, 38, was a member of Troop A, 8th Squadron, 1st Calvary Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis McChord.

Read more...

Lakewood resident, military spouse and mother of three Jamie Johnson represented Joint Base Lewis-McChord at the 2014 Mrs. Washington America Pageant Jan. 18 in Bellevue.

Johnson's chosen platform was veteran Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) awareness and support. She also wanted to show her pride in being a military spouse and was thrilled to represent the military community in the event.

Read more...

The Army is considering the feasibility of shrinking the size of the brigade combat team from about 4,000 soldiers to 3,000 over the coming years, and replacing the lost soldiers with robots and unmanned platforms.

The United Nations revoked an invitation to Iran to attend a crucial peace conference on Syria in Switzerland, culminating a day of chaotic international diplomacy that included loud U.S. objection to Iran's participation and a threat by the Syrian opposition to boycott the talks.

Read more...

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An assault by suicide bombers and gunmen against a NATO base in southern Afghanistan today killed one servicemember.

After a night of vicious streets battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed anew today in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

A coalition servicemember was killed today when insurgents dressed in military uniforms launched a complex attack on a military base in southern Afghanistan, employing a car bomb and multiple attackers with suicide vests.

The Obama administration announced last week that it had revised its arms sales policy, emphasizing "restraint" to ensure that arms don't fall into the wrong hands or aren't turned on civilians by governments.

The Taiwanese Air Force unveiled an air-to-ground stand-off weapon developed for the F-CK-1 Indigenous Defense Fighter.

A senior Marine officer whose career was stalled for two years amid a high-profile scandal involving scout snipers in his unit has finally been promoted and assigned to a top-level school.

The 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team is at the National Training Center. Let's look at photos.

The Seattle Seahawks are bringing their game-changing defense - and the "12th Man" - to the Big Apple for the Super Bowl.

Good News: Technology is not driving us apart after all.

According to Google, Washington state residents want "a say" in life.

Why strap a boring Rolex to your wrist when you could proudly wear a spacecraft?

Director J.J. Abrams said he has a completed script for the next Star Wars film and will begin shooting in May in England.

Now there's a rumor that the little Seinfeld reunion was for a Super Bowl commercial.

Gary Burghoff (Radar from MASH) is now on Twitter, with plenty of stories to tell.

You'd think that, by this point, people would start being a little more discerning with their passwords. You would be wrong.

LOB

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President Barack Obama Friday announced a series of reforms for a controversial National Security Agency data-collection program that he said would give Americans confidence their privacy is being protected and allow U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to continue safeguarding the nation.

The Pentagon is considering sending U.S. troops back to the Middle East to help train Iraqi forces.

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., this week introduced a wide-ranging package of veterans legislation, covering changes to the GI Bill, survivors' benefits, advanced appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs and fertility treatments for wounded veterans.

Barring investment from European allies, the Pentagon should abandon the goal of a nuclear-capable F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in favor of spending funds elsewhere, according to former US Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz.

European Union foreign ministers are expected to approve a military mission to protect civilians in the Central African Republic at their meeting in Brussels Monday.

Whoever runs the Marine Corps Special Operations Command's official Twitter handle got in trouble Friday for this tweet: "Don't be lone shooter #MLK weekend! make sure you've got security - stay safe! #MARSOC #Marines #shortbarrelforVBSS." 

The Defense Imagery Management Operations Center recently signed a $5 million agreement to digitize, store and provide access to hundreds of thousands of historical images.

At the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, experts in the emotional toll of disasters help the Defense Department, government agencies and first responders worldwide understand how best to help communities struck by terrorist attacks, mass casualties and natural disasters.

Dr. Bill LaPlante testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the time it takes to develop and field weapon systems, the importance of science and technology investment and how to speed up cyber acquisition.

The famed Japanese soldierwho spent 29 years hiding out after World War II ended, never realizing his country had surrendered under threat of continued nuclear bombardment, has died at age 91.

Emails from judges in 2008 reveal allegations of misconduct by judge in original case, and could potentially pave way for Roman Polanski's freedom.

Conan O'Brien hilariously grills and tortures his staff of interns.

It's amazing what a little rebranding did for these 10 celebs.

Lupita N'yongo's Critics' Choice Awards acceptance speech is a must see.

Check out this homemade mockumentary on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Bird steals egg with camera inside and films entire penguin colony.

Here's the weirdest videogame trailer ever.