Military Life

Military Life: Scholarships Available

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:40:25 -0800

Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan or Operation Iraqi Freedom are encouraged to apply for Horatio Alger Military Scholarships.
2008 applications are available until April 15, 2008 at www.horatioalger.org/scholarships_military/
Scholarship recipients will each be awarded $5,000 to support their undergraduate education. Applicants must have served in one of the operations after Sept. 11, 2001, have an honorable military service record, critical financial need, be pursuing a bachelor's degree, carry a minimum GPA of 2.0, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, have no more than 60 credit hours and have shown integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity.
Scholarships are available for 416 veterans. Since 2005, the association has awarded 1,880 scholarships.

Military Life: USS Ohio Moving to Guam?

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:01:38 -0800

That's what the commodore of Submarine Squadron 15 was quoted as saying in the Saipan Times on Monday, but don't count on it happening.
Nobody at Pacific Submarine Force in Pearl Harbor had heard such a thing, nor had Lt. Kyle Raines, the public affairs guy for submarines at Naval Base Kitsap.
Raines said the Ohio and USS Michigan, both of which have been converted from ballistic weapons to cruise missiles, will remain homeported here.
They'll be forward deployed for up to 15 months, and Guam is one of the places where they can exchange crews, Raines said.
The Navy is in the middle of shifting its forces to put 60 percent in the Pacific and 40 in the Atlantic. It used to be 50-50. Part of that shift is to put subs at Guam, Raines said, "but at no point have I been aware of the Ohio being one of those submarines."
"In terms of Ohio having a permanent homeport change, that is not accurate."
In the Saipan daily newspaper, Commodore Phillip Sawyer was quoted as saying the upcoming buildup of forces in Guam is being preceded by a buildup of submarines, which started in 2001.
There are now three subs based there — the USS Buffalo, USS Corpus Christi and the USS Houston.
"This means that there are some 2,000 submariners that are permanently stationed in Guam," he was quoted as saying. Then the reporter stated that Sawyer said the USS Ohio will soon be joining the three in Guam.

Military Life: Trident II D5 Missile Achieves Record 120

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:52:33 -0800

Here's a press release from Lockheed Martin bragging up its D5 missile:

Military Life: Statement from Sgt. Walls' family

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:55:03 -0800

I received this from Sgt. First Class Johnny C. Walls family at about 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

Military Life: Hope Memorial Doesn't Become Circus

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:52:18 -0800

These Westboro folks are really crazy or really smart. I'd hate to think that they're smart and duping all of us, including me, to justify their cause. I get the feeling they thrive on all the hate directed at them, and any publicity no matter how bad it is. They think it justifies their cause.
I'm sure the Walls family doesn't want a big circus, even one tipped 100 percent in support of them. They'd prefer to just celebrate their family member in private. I think we all would.
Unfortunately, I didn't think I could hide the fact that the Westboro people said they would be coming to picket. The word was getting out long before it got to me. Now there are dozens of comments from people saying they'll be there to counter-demonstrate. Some comments are mean, and I understand that, but I hope nobody stoops to hurting these picketers because that's just what they want you to do.
The best outcome would be if they just didn't show up like happened in Poulsbo in 2003. We'll get a heads-up if they aren't at Fort Lewis the day before.
Please always keep in mind that the Walls family should be first in everybody's minds. Don't do anything stupid to take away from that and inadvertently be fodder for the picketers.

Military Life: Crazy Eric's Thanks Vets

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:52:12 -0800

An unofficial theme emerged from the big Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, Nov. 12, at the Fairgrounds. It was along the lines of, "Have you done enough for a veteran today?"
A perfect example of somebody who did, and does, was Darryl Erickson, who along with two sons runs Crazy Eric's drive-ins in Navy Yard City and Belfair.
For the second year, Crazy Eric's fed the whole crowd, for free. Last year about 700 people came through the lines. More than 1,000 people attended this year's event.
"We're just trying to repay them for our freedoms which we enjoy every day," said Erickson, 66. "We're very thankful and blessed by many people."

Military Life: He Can See Again

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:51:10 -0800

I wrote up a little item a few weeks ago. Almost decided against even mentioning it because it was happening over in Renton. It was about Clearly LASIK Eye Center of Puget Sound providing free LASIK surgery to 20 active and retired military personnel on Veterans Day to thank men and women of the armed forces.
Several dozen signed up for the procedure, which would normally cost about $3,000. The winners were picked by lottery. I got an e-mail saying one of the guys was from Bremerton and they would see if I could interview him.
A little while later, one of the IT guys here at the Kitsap Sun, Steve Harman, walked over to me and said he's the guy.
I saw him the day after the operation and, though there was some blood in his eyes, he said he now had 20-10 vision. It was a little creepy, he said, but it didn't hurt at all.

Military Life: Case of the Missing Entries

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:19:05 -0800

I get a notification in my e-mail when a new entry is posted on this blog. Normally I can just click on a link in the e-mail and give the OK to accept the item. I got one over the weekend but I clicked on it and couldn't get access. I tried to access it straight from my blog page and it wasn't there. So if you don't see your comment, that was probably it. Sorry.
That happened all the time a few months ago. Let's hope that's the end of it.

Military Life: DUI Costs Hornet Çommander His Job

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:13:59 -0800

This is another one of those stories that don't have enough local interest to get in our paper but might be interesting to the military folks.

Military Life: Washington Man Killed Handing Out Toys?

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:55:38 -0800

A story on the Associated Press wire today implies that a Rochester man might have been killed while he was handing out toys to children.

Military Life: Fort Lewis Captain Accused of Taking Bribes

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:18:00 -0800

You might have seen this, but I don't think it ran in our paper. So here's the Associated Press version from the weekend.
Sounds like the guy's downfall was bringing his pregnant girlfriend home to meet his wife. Ouch!

Military Life: Front Page Or Not?

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:08:21 -0800

Just got a call from a lady complaining that my story about a former Bremerton man dying in Afghanistan shouldn't have been on the front page. She said she wasn't being cold-hearted but that the man, Johnny C. Walls, wasn't a resident. He grew up here and graduated from Bremerton High but left for the Army right after that and has been gone for 22 years. Much of his family still lives in Port Orchard.
I can't say that I agree with her. We've had seven guys killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, including a contractor, and some of them had skinnier ties to the area. It's not something that happens very often, and I don't think the person needs to live his whole life here to get his due.
She had a good point, but I don't agree with it. Judging by the comments at the bottom of the story, it appears several people remember growing up with him.
Johnny's brother and sister, Harvey and Roxana, were great to talk to and I wish them the best.

Military Life: Tell Your Story on Vets Day

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:03:04 -0800

"Saluting America's Veteran" is calling for veterans to tell their stories on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
Launched last month in conjunction with Kin Burns' documentary series on World War II, the Web site has attracted dozens of personal accounts, each one putting a human face on America's 20th-century conflicts. Friends, family and colleagues are invited to share their memories, appreciation and recognition of veterans, and veterans are invited to share their own stories.
To participate in the living museum, go to www.americanprofile.com/veterans.

Military Life: Military Divorce Book

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:46:07 -0800

Michael JR Schindler has written a book that came out Nov. 5 entitled "Operation Military Family: How to Strengthen Your Military Marriage and Save Your Family." I haven't read it or even seen it, so can't make a recommendation.
You can check him out at www.operationmilitaryfamily.org.
Navy guys I would think get more used to coming and going because they do it whether there's a war or not. During a war, it's probably harder on soldiers and Marines because those deployments seem to be longer and they have bullets flying at them.
Let me know if you'd be interested in me putting together a local story about the relationship probelms that can come with deployments.

Military Life: Whidbey Sailor Killed

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:32:36 -0800

Don't know if we got this in the paper, since it's not in our circulation area, but thought some of you might be interested.
Explosive Ordnance Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin R. Bewley, 27, of Hector Ark., died Monday in Salah ad Din Province in Iraq. He was permanently assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11 in Oak Harbor.
Anybody who wants to make a donation for the family can do so at any Navy Federal Credit Union. Use this information: EODMUU-11 Memorial Fund ICO Kevin Bewley, access number 478693.