Local News

Adam Ashton/The News Tribune

An Army judge on Thursday handed down the toughest sentence he could to a soldier who murdered five fellow service members at a Baghdad combat stress clinic four years ago.

Sgt. John Russell will serve life without parole for shooting to death two care providers, two patients and an escort at the clinic in Baghdad’s Camp Liberty on May 11, 2009. (more…)

Documents obtained by USA Today give a state-by-state breakdown of the furloughs and financial impact related to the military, if Congress does not alter the current sequestration plan scheduled to take effect next month.

In terms of Army cuts, Washington state would be hit 11th-hardest hit in the nation. At Joint Base Lewis-McChord, if Congress changes nothing, a $341 million annual cut would be ordered, according to the Army.  More than 11,000 jobs statewide would be affected by furloughs (of more than 200,000 nationally), a figure that the Army says includes, not only immediate civilian furloughs, but jobs related to military spending. President Barack Obama has exempted military personnel from furloughs.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress on Wednesday that if the cuts take effect in March 1, he may be compelled to furlough the “vast majority” of the Defense Department’s 800,000 civilian workers.
More from The Associated Press: Panetta also said the across-the-board spending reductions would “put us on a path toward a hollow force,” meaning a military incapable of fulfilling all of its missions.

In a written message to employees, Panetta said he notified members of Congress on Wednesday that if the White House and Congress cannot strike a deficit reduction deal before March 1 to avoid the furloughs, all affected workers will get at least 30 days’ advance notice.

The furloughs would be part of broad spending cuts the Pentagon would implement in order to achieve $46 billion in reductions through the end of this budget year, which ends Sept. 30. More cuts would come in future years as long as the automatic government spending cuts, known as sequestration, remained in effect.

In the event of sequestration we will do everything we can to be able to continue to perform our core mission of providing for the security of the United States, but there is no mistaking that the rigid nature of the cuts forced upon this department, and their scale, will result in a serious erosion of readiness across the force,” Panetta wrote.

Pentagon officials have said their furloughs would be structured so that nearly all 800,000 workers lose one day of work per week for 22 weeks, probably starting in late April. That means they would lose 20 percent of their pay over that period.

The Pentagon has begun discussing details of the furloughs with defense worker union officials.

House Speaker John Boehner put the blame on Obama and said he agrees with Panetta that automatic spending cuts would devastate the military.

Boehner released a copy of Panetta’s letter formally notifying Congress that the Pentagon will have to consider furloughing a large portion of its civilian workforce if sequestration kicks in.

The furloughs contemplated by this notice will do real harm to our national security,” Panetta wrote in his congressional notification letter, adding that it would make troops less ready for combat and slow the acquisition of important weapons.

The man accused of dumping emaciated puppies in the woods near Joint Base Lewis-McChord failed to appear in court on Friday, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Authorities are looking for Christopher Merrick who’s charged with animal cruelty.

When the puppies were discovered, their ribs were protruding, their paws were swollen and some were bleeding from open sores. Merrick’s mother, Lori Merrick, told KOMO-TV that after their dog gave birth to a litter of nine puppies, her son had attempted to drop off the unwanted animals at the Tacoma Humane Society.  According to court documents, Merrick decided not to leave the dogs when he found out there was a substantial fee.

Lori Merrick said her son gave the puppies to an acquaintance, who said he would find homes for them.

Officials at the Tacoma Humane Society said they work with owners who can’t afford the fee, to help prevent animals from being abandoned.

One of the puppies died, but the others are doing well in new homes.

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales (AP Photo/DVIDS, Spc. Ryan Hallock, File)

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

A soldier from north Florida has been killed in Afghanistan.

The Associated Press

ROCHESTER, N.Y. –  A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier from upstate New York has died of wounds suffered in an attack on his unit in Afghanistan.  Staff Sgt. Nicholas Reid, of Rochester, died Thursday at hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. He was 26.

The Defense Department says Reid was wounded Dec. 9 by an improvised explosive device.

Reid enlisted in the Army in 2006. He served with the 53rd Ordnance Company of the 3rd Ordnance Battalion, and had been deployed from JBLM. This was his second deployment to Afghanistan.

The Associated Press

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD – A C-17 pilot who was charged with dereliction of duty and reckless endangerment in a paratrooper’s death has been found not guilty at his Air Force court-martial.

Staff Sgt. Frances Kriss says a panel of officers found Capt. Jared Foley not guilty of all charges Friday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The 17-year veteran could have faced more than two years in prison if convicted for approving an airdrop without command approval on July 10, 2011, at Fort Harrison’s Marshall Field in Montana.

Sgt. Francis Campion of Holidaysburg, Pa., was blown off course and landed on a building outside the drop zone and died. Campion was training with the West Virginia National Guard.

Foley serves with the 62nd Airlift Wing at Lewis-McChord, which operates 51 of the C-17 transport jets.

Staff Sgt. Wesley R. Williams, 25, of New Carlisle, Ohio, died Dec. 10 in Kandahar, Afghanistan (JBLM photo)

A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier, Staff Sgt. Wesley R. Williams, died in Afghanistan Monday when his unit was attacked with a roadside bomb.

Williams, 25, of New Carlisle, Ohio, was serving in Kandahar province with JBLM’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. He’d served in the Army since 2005.

Williams deployed to Iraq as a rifleman from September 2009 to August 2010 and was sent to Afghanistan as a squad leader in November.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal with four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal (2nd award), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Iraq Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon (Numeral “3”), NATO Medal, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, and Parachutist Badge.

After learning that Annalicia Herrera couldn’t see the Clydesdales because she is blind, Jim Damico, one of the handlers, lifted her up to feel how big the horses are during a Sunday appearance at the Smokey Point Walmart in Arlington. (Colin Diltz / Seattle Times)

The Budweiser Clydesdales are in Western Washington this week making appearances at several venues. Unfortunately, the horses cannot be seen at the Puyallup fairgrounds where they’re staying, because of the fairgrounds schedule. Note that the horses do not appear when it’s raining.

– Thursday, 2 to 4 p.m. Walmart, 310 31st Ave. S.E., Puyallup

– Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. main P.X., Joint Base Lewis-McChord. This appearance is open only to those with base access.

– Saturday, 1 to 3 p.m. Walmart, Bonney Lake

The Clydesdales are visiting the Northwest as part of a military-appreciation tour. This team of 10 horses, based in Fort Collins, Colo., is on the road 320 days a year, making appearances in the West. Eight of the horses are used to pull the beer wagon while two of the horses are alternates, said Roman Raber, assistant supervisor with the Budweiser team.

The tallest horse on the team is 19.2 hands or 61/2 feet tall near the base of his neck. The horses weigh up to 2,300 pounds and eat 30 to 40 pounds of hay a day plus grain and supplements. They drink 20 to 30 gallons of water a day or twice that in hot weather, Raber said.

Staff Sgt. Rayvon Battle / Department of Defense photo

Staff Sgt. Rayvon Battle, a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier from Rocky Mount, N.C., died Nov. 13 in Afghanistan.

Battle, 25, served with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Kandahar province. He arrived in Afghanistan earlier this month, and the cause of his death is under investigation, according to a base official.

Battle joined the Army in June, 2005, and came to Lewis-McChord in November of that year. He deployed twice to Iraq before serving in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 38th Engineer Company, and deployed to Afghanistan as a squad leader.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal with 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster.

Battle was the first soldier from the 4th Stryker Brigade to die during the unit’s deployment to Afghanistan, according to a base official. Since the start of this year, 33 Lewis-McChord soldiers have died in Afghanistan.