Tagged: Joint Base Lewis McChord

"Very disappointing." That's how Oregon Senator Ron Wyden describes a series of Army investigations into the treatment of injured Oregon National Guard soldiers last year. Those inquires conclude the Oregon troops were not treated as second class soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Fifty soldiers from Joint Base Lewis McChord have killed themselves since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some committed suicide on-base, others off and still others while deployed overseas.  Leaders at JBLM say they’ve dramatically stepped up efforts to combat suicide. But they admit it’s not easy to change Army culture.

It was national news when a Washington-based soldier just back from Afghanistan died in a shootout with police in Salt Lake City. That was in August. Around the same time another soldier from the same brigade also died violently. But his death didn’t get much notice. It happened on a dark two-lane road in rural Wisconsin.  

Apple Cup weekend for football rivals, tough travel expected for game road-trippers,  and allegations of Army spying on an Olympia anti-war group lead today's news headlines.

Apple Cup in White

Snow covers the stands in Pullman today, but the field has been cleared in preparation for tomorrow's renewal of the rivalry between WSU and the UW. If the Huskies win, they'll finish the season at 6 and 6, and earn their first trip to a bowl game since 2002.  

A pre-trial hearing is scheduled to continue Tuesday morning for one of the five Washington-based Army soldiers charged with war crimes while deployed to Afghanistan.