Remains of missing 1991 Gulf War pilot found

Navy Times just reported today that the remains of Navy Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, an F/18-18 Hornet pilot who became the first casualty of the 1991 Persian Gulf War when he was shot down over Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991, have been found.

Quoting Rear Adm. Frank Thorp, the Navy's top spokesman, the newspaper said the remains were found in early July by Marines stationed in Anbar province on a tip from an Iraqi citizen.

“The Iraqi citizen stated he knew of two Iraqi citizens who recalled an American jet impacting the desert and the remains of the pilot being buried in the desert,” Thorp told Navy Times.

“One of these Iraqi citizens stated they were present when Captain Speicher was found dead at the crash site by Bedouins and his remains buried.”

Thorp said the remains were recovered over several days during the past week and were positively identified by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

"Positive identification was made by comparing Capt. Speicher's dental records with the jawbone recovered at the site," the paper quoted Thorp as saying. Forensic investigators also expect a DNA match from samples taken from Speicher's family to be made in the next day or two.

Speicher, a lieutenant commander at the time he was lost, was promoted twice over the years he was listed as missing.

All three of Fort Lewis's Stryker Brigades deploy this year

Fort Lewis's 4,000 member 5th Stryker Brigade, the post's newest and which had never been deployed, left for Afghanistan last month, becoming the first Stryker brigade ever to serve there.

Four thousand more soldiers from the 4th Stryker Brigade are preparing to leave in September for Iraq for their second tour, and some observers predict it will be the last American brigade sent there.

Meanwhile, the 3rd Stryker Brigade last week began readying for its third tour of duty to Iraq, casing its colors last Friday as it mobilized to leave.

The deployments will leave the 30,000-soldier post at about half its Army population this year. Other smaller units from the post also are expected to deploy to war zones this year.

With the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq, the missions are expected to change. The News Tribune talks about some of the changes in its FOB Tacoma blog, and caught up with a 3rd Stryker Brigade soldier, Staff Sgt. Jason Hill, who is preparing for his third trip to Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Defense Department's public relations folks released some videos of the 5th Stryker soldiers landing at Kandahar July 13.

Washington National Guard soldiers begin returning from Iraq

Nearly 150 citizen soldiers from the Washington National Guard's Seattle-based 81st Brigade Combat Team, which went to Iraq last September, are scheduled to arrive at McChord
Air Force Base Wed. July 29 shortly before noon.

They are the vanguard of the entire 4,000 member brigade -- 2,400 of them from Washington -- who are expected to arrive home throughout the next two weeks.

Gov. Chris Gregoire and Maj. Gen. Timothy J. Lowenberg, the state's Adjutant General, together will welcome home the first arrivals.

After arriving at McChord, the soldiers will be taken to Wilson Gym on North Fort Lewis for a welcome home ceremony and to be released to their families and friends.

The 81stwas federalized on Aug. 18, 2008. After undergoing pre-deployment training at the Yakima Training Center and Fort McCoy, Wisc., they deployed to Iraq -- the brigade's second tour of duty there since 2004-2005.

Missions for 81st units in Iraq typically focused on convoy security, force protection, provincial
reconstruction and base operations.

To learn more about the Washington National Guard, see http://www.washingtonguard.org

Washington's 81st Brigade heading home from Iraq

This in from the Washington National Guard Monday:

Citizen soldiers from the Washington National Guard's 81st Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Seattle, are beginning to travel home from their second deployment to Iraq.

The 3,300 citizen-soldiers will complete their demobilization process at Fort McCoy, Wisc. and begin traveling one plane load at a time back home to Washington state. The first plane load
could arrive home as early as July 25.

Soldiers of the 81st will return to either McChord Air Force Base or Fairchild Air Force Base depending on where the soldier lives.

Upon arrival, they will be greeted by a brief welcome-home ceremony. It is anticipated that the entire brigade will have returned in its entirety by the end of the first week
of August.

"We are all delighted to have the 81st back home and honor them. Their service and dedication as soldiers is a shining example to our state and nation," Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a press release.

"Visiting the 81st in Iraq was a life changing experience for me and I've been working diligently to ensure they have access to the programs and support they need upon their return."

The demobilization process, a comprehensive approach to facilitate a soldiers reintegration as the rejoin families and reenter civilian life, typically takes about 6 days for a soldier to complete.

During the process soldiers receive briefings about transition to civilian life, pay and benefits, in addition to undergoing medical and dental evaluations.

The 81st entered federal active duty on August 18, 2008. After conducting pre-deployment training at the Yakima Training Center and Fort McCoy, they deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Missions for 81st units in Iraq typically focused on convoy security, force protection, provincial reconstruction and base operations.

The 81st is headquartered in Seattle but is comprised of units from around the State of Washington and a battalion from the California Army National Guard. Approximately 2,400 soldiers from Washington and about 900 from California comprised the deploying force of the 81st. The 81st previously served in Iraq from March 2004 to March 2005.

For more info, see http://www.washingtonguard.org