Joint Base Lewis-McChord Faces Another Struggle

A 38-year-old U.S. Army staff sergeant suspected in the deaths of 16 Afghan civilians is from a base in Washington, according to Reuters. Joint Base Lewis-McChord has had a history of scandals. In 2010, five soldiers were convicted of wartime atrocities for killing Afghan civilians as part of a Stryker Brigade. There have also been record numbers of military suicides.

Here are some facts on Joint Base Lewis-McChord?

* Joint Base Lewis-McChord is the combination of Fort Lewis and McChord Field between Tacoma and Olympia, Wash. The sprawling complex was one of 12 military facilities to be combined under a base realignment process that started in 2005. The base is also bordered by Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains.

* McChord Field houses the 62nd Airlift Wing of the U.S. Air Force. Fort Lewis is home to several units, including two Stryker Brigades, military police, combat aviation, medical, engineer and surveillance units.

* The Associated Press says the accused soldier is from the 3rd Stryker Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. A Stryker Brigade Combat Team uses eight-wheeled vehicles as a special operations unit. The armored vehicles are fast and can be deployed with 96 hours of being given orders. A full division of Stryker Brigades can be ready in 120 hours.

* The 3rd Stryker Brigade, known as the Arrowhead Brigade, is an expeditionary force. It is formally known as the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.

* The commanding officer of the Arrowhead Brigade is Col. Charles R. Webster Jr. The Command Sergeant Major is Samuel Murphy.

* Fort Lewis was named for explorer Meriwether Lewis, who visited the area as part of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition. The base has an estimated 27,000 military personnel, 52,500 family members and 10,000 civilians. There are five elementary schools on the base.

* McChord Field has 7,250 active duty personnel along with 2,045 reservists. There are nearly 5,300 family members and 4,500 civilians located at McChord Field. Students are educated as part of the Clover Park School District.

* The 3rd Brigade was first formed in 1917 in response to World War I. It was stationed in South Korea from 1965 to 1992. During a three-month period in 1969, the unit stopped 56 intrusions into South Korea.

* The 3rd Brigade has been deactivated twice. The first was from 1939 to 1963. The second was from 1992 to 1995. Fort Benning in Georgia and Fort Sam Houston in Texas also served as bases for the 3rd Brigade.

* When it came back into service in 1995, it was part of Fort Lewis in Washington. In 2000 the brigade utilized Stryker vehicles. In 2003 the 3rd Stryker Brigade relieved the 101st Airborne in Iraq for a 12-month tour of duty.

William Browning is a research librarian.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/joint-lewis-mcchord-faces-another-struggle-165800379.html

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