Benefits
Many active duty service members (ADSMs) may eventually retire from their branch of the uniformed services. If you're an ADSM, are you prepared to make the transition to civilian life? If you retire, you and your family will still qualify for TRICARE. But, it's important to note you must actively
Health
A new study finds that the national economic burden of PTSD goes beyond direct health care expenses and exceeds the costs of other common mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression. The researchers estimated the cost of PTSD at $232.2 billion for 2018, the latest year for which data were
News
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD - "This is the most exciting thing I've done since I crashed my plane in Europe in WWII," said retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Clayton M. Hays upon his arrival on May 21 to the Joint Base Lewis-McChord garrison headquarters. Hays, who turns 100 mid-June, traveled with
News Front
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD - Joint Base Lewis-McChord's 36th Annual Volunteer Recognition Ceremony brought out some old and new faces. Volunteers with over 20 years of service to those with under one year of service, came together to celebrate with each other. "Volunteers help to build a healthy community through their service,"
Health
For more than eight decades, the US Family Health Plan (USFHP) has been proud to serve active-duty family members, retirees and their dependents, and Reserve/Guard members on active-duty orders who are under the age of 65. PacMed, a multi-specialty physician group and a not-for-profit organization, has administered US Family Health Plan
Explore
Summer may seem far off on the gray days when it is still raining, but we're in fact only about three weeks away. And while we're firm believers that it's never a bad time for ice cream, summer is arguably the best time to enjoy a scoop. So if you're
Military Life
It has been one year since Bill Moore, director and CEO of the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), stated in Feb. 2022 DeCA press release that the agency's is to be, "The grocery provider of choice for our eligible patrons - delivering a vital benefit exclusively for our military community and
Focus
I Corps' Command Sgt. Maj. Shawn Carns leads by what a Sgt. Gonzales taught him long ago. "When I first came into the Army, I had a rough time; I was struggling to find my way; I wasn't sure what to do as a private," began the native of Indiana, PA.
Entertainment
Tom Cruise had his breakthrough moment in 1983's Risky Business and planted his flag as an A-list headliner with Top Gun in 1986, and he's never NOT been a major movie star (with a carefully cultivated image) ever since. Now comes the much-delayed, highly anticipated Top Gun: Maverick, and the
News Front
The State of Washington knows the value of the lessons learned by members of the Washington National Guard (WNG) in protecting property and lives in preparation for this summer's wildfires. Last Sunday instructors with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) instructed approximately 200 members of the Guard during a field exercise
News Front
After turning left off Eighth Ave. E and driving a few hundred yards, Ron Grantham made another left turn onto a dirt road leading into Training Area 15. After bouncing down the road for a few hundred yards, Grantham stopped the truck and got out to inspect a pile of garbage
News Front
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD: Patriot Express flights to Japan will operate out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord beginning May 16, 2022. The Patriot Express (PE) is a Department of Defense contracted commercial charter mission, which provides support for official-duty travelers and their family members to overseas locations. PE usually operates out of Seattle-Tacoma International
News Front
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD - It was a rainy Thursday morning when Maj. Jessica Maxim was dropping her children off at the Rainier Elementary school on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. She heard a horn blaring in the parent drop-off line which she Initially thought was just another impatient parent, until she saw a
Explore
As the days grow a bit warmer and longer, the idea of stay/daycation may begin to sound like a pretty good idea. If so, then perhaps a short trip to Olympia or beyond is something to consider. The region is characterized by a "handcrafted" way of life. Local artists create one-of-a-kind experiences for
Entertainment
They really could have called this one Downton Abbey: Same Old Familiar Faces, and I mean that in the best way possible, because it's been such an unexpected treat to have not one but two feature-length continuations of the Crawley Family Saga. For while Julian Fellowes' meticulously appointed, wickedly funny,
Family
FORT LEE, Va. - The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) is implementing shopping limits on select specialty baby formula items as the agency works with its distributors to increase supply levels. Since May 13, in conjunction with established WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program purchasing limits at state level, commissaries have placed
News Front
Sarin gas was responsible for the sickening of approximately 250,000 American soldiers who served during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War according to a recently released study. Following the conflict, nearly one-third of all who deployed reported unexplained chronic symptoms. In the following years, veterans who sought medical help at the Department
Focus
Maj. Ryan Dykes approaches whatever he does in a non-stop manner. "It's hard for me to sit and not be doing something," the Washington Army National Guard operations officer and full-time administrative officer (AO) for the 420th Chemical Battalion at the Yakima Readiness Center began. "I think this is why I
Family
The COVID-19 pandemic has been extraordinarily challenging for even the most resilient kids. The lockdowns and countless precautions have resulted in isolation and a loss of normal opportunities for children to just be children. What can parents and the broader military community do to restore a sense of normality? How can
Entertainment
From Operation Crossbow (1965) to Enigma (2002) to The Imitation Game (2014) to Hacksaw Ridge (2016), we've seen so many movies shining the spotlight on real-life heroes, many of them not hugely well-known, from World War II. Time and again, just when we think there can't possibly be a made-for-Hollywood
