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Protestors Outnumbered By Supporters

Phil Rashke sent us this report from the Tacoma Mall where war protestors demonstrated against the war....

Good News....the pro-military supporters at Tacoma Mall today outnumbered the "Shut the Mall" protestors three to one! Protestors never got to the front of the military recruiting station and had to do their protest speeches on a side street. Military supporters had lots of "support the troops" signs and lots of American flags. Chants like "Where are Your Flags" and "Don't Dishonor Their Names" greeted protestor attempts to read the names of the war dead. The protestors didn't have one American flag beyond an old 13 star flag....which they had to go find. By about 2:45 pm the protestors gave up and left the area.

Tacoma Police were out in numbers and did an outstanding job of making sure no incidents took place.

Additionally, lots of 28th District folks turned out to show their support for the troops and several were interviewed by Seattle TV crews.....so watch tonight's news. Same for Shelley Weber who helped organize the turnout!

Operation Homecoming tonight

The editor of several best-selling books, Andrew Carroll has joined forces with David Fischer, executive director of the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, to bring Tacoma stories from his book Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families.

The book’s title may not roll off the tongue, but the stories are touching accounts of war. Fischer explained that the book, published in 2006, was made possible through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Nationally renowned writers such as Tom Clancy worked with service members and their families across the country in workshops to develop the stories. Hundreds of stories were accepted for possible publication in the book, and Carroll was the man responsible for selecting and editing the stories.

“I’ve been aware of the project and always appreciated it,” Fischer commented. “I thought why don’t we do a salute to the book and also add our own update to it with local stories.”

For the past month, the Broadway Center accepted stories from local Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their family members, who have endured lengthy deployments. Carroll agreed to select the best local stories and edit them for inclusion in the live performance of Operation Homecoming at Theatre on the Square tonight.

Fischer expects the show to contain several local stories, but a majority of the stories will be from the national community.

[Theatre on the Square, Operation Homecoming, Saturday, March 15, 3 and 7:30 p.m., $12-$24, 915 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5894]

Protests at Tacoma Mall

KING TV has the latest on the military protests planned in Tacoma.

Protests at Tacoma Mall

We received this from a source on Fort Lewis....

(I Corps Force Protection Memo) - Recommend that DOD affiliated personnel, family members, retirees and civilians avoid the Tacoma Mall area on 15 March 2008 from 1200 to 1730 hours.

Local protest groups have announced their intention to shutdown the Tacoma Mall and the recruiting station located at the mall to call attention to the upcoming anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. They want to “Make it impossible for business as usual to continue as the Iraq War approaches its 5th year.”

Anticipated activities include distributing ant war and anti military literature, confront local recruiters or persons trying to enter their facilities, and attempts to interact with soldiers, family members and/or civilians who appear to be military or have DOD decals on their vehicles.

Recent protests against the war at the Port of Olympia have been marked by increased levels of violence. DOD personnel, family members and civilians should avoid contact, to include conversations or dialogue with protesters. Protesters may be filming activities for reporting in independent media or use in legal actions.

Commanders and supervisors should strongly encourage their soldiers, family members, and civilians to avoid the Tacoma Mall area during this time and to report incidents of violence to local police.

For incidents of violence, call 911
For non-critical information, contact Washington State Police at (253) 536-6210 or Tacoma Police Department at (253) 594-7800.

Evergreen Fleet Cruise

The Tacoma Pierce County Chamber of Commerce and Harborstone Credit Union sponsored the annual Evergreen Fleet Cruise, a chance for local businesses to show their support o fthe military by inviting key military leaders for a day on the Sound. Here are photos from the day courtesy of the Chamber.
Pictured: (l-r) David Senner, Chamber president, Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby, commander, I Corps and Fort Lewis, Rick Schmidtke, CEO of Harborstone Credit Union and David Graybill, Chamber CEO.

Patriotic Blooms

(Metro Parks Release) – For floral fireworks all month long, visit the red, white, and blue spread of browallias, petunias, and salvias at the W. W. Seymour Conservatory in Wright Park, 316 South G Street. Tuberous begonias, celosias, and sunflowers will make appearances as well.

Every month the Conservatory features a new plant display just right for the season. From exotic tropical plants to front yard favorites, the displays make for a great stop on your walk through Wright Park. At 1:00 p.m. on July 8 enjoy music featuring King Street Quintet as part of the Second Sunday music series. Performances are a regular feature on the second Sunday of the month.

The W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory is located at 316 South G Street in Tacoma’s Wright Park. Operating hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Conservatory is closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There is no admission charge but donations are appreciated. For more information, call 253-591-5330 or visit www.metroparkstacoma.org.

Thanks From Hiatt

Hiatt Pontiac, Suzuki and GMC in Tacoma members pose with the appreciation boards they collected from customers and staff for local military members. Included were a box of letters collected to send to service men and women, Hiatt collected 179 letters in all as well as all the notes on the appreciation boards. They will be sending in the letters to be distributed by A million Thanks. They will be contacting the local VFW to take the appreciation boards to them.

Mr. Smith in Washington

The Seattle Times has a feature on Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA), the man who represents the South Sound and Fort Lewis.

The Mental War

In tomorrow's issue of the Fort Lewis Ranger, our reporter Jessica Corey-Butler reports from the Tacoma Sheraton where a DoD Task Force was wrapping up study sessions on the mental health of soldiers on the battlefield. The following is the first part of her story. Pick up the Ranger on stands tomorrow for the rest.

CSM (RET) Thomas Adams, most recently serving with a Stryker Brigade from Fort Lewis said, in a powerful testimony before the Congressionally appointed Mental Health Task Force in Tacoma’s Sheraton Hotel Tuesday, “Right now, I’m not who I used to be. I worry about the guys that aren’t as strong as me.”

In the bulk of his testimony, he shared his experiences as a leader during the war effort in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. “A city is a ruthless area.”

He told of “taking down” sometimes 300 buildings in a day. He continued about “the bad shoots,” where there would be women and children killed in the course of securing a volatile room.

Adams would talk to his men about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he would tell them, “What you saw today is not normal.”

He continued in his testimony, “…those are the stories. We kill women and children. That’s absolute carnage, and each one of those (situations) is remembered.”

He added, “I think we should do some better training,” and also suggested, “we have to get rid of the stigma.”

The Task Force which heard Adam’s testimony, as well as that of others Monday and Tuesday, and which listened to informational briefings on various mental health related topics, was comprised of Department of Defense and non-Department of Defense professionals with relevant expertise in the field of Mental Health.

more tomorrow in the paper....

Art Museum & Fort Lewis

Here's a press release from the Tacoma Art Museum....

(Tacoma, WA) – Tacoma Art Museum’s Art Access Pass partnership with Tacoma Public Library and Pierce County Library System has expanded to include the Fort Lewis Library System and McChord Air Force Base Library starting January 5, 2007. The program allows library patrons to use their library cards to borrow the Art Access Pass, just like a book, video, or CD, to receive up to four free admissions to Tacoma Art Museum.

“The military families in our region play a major role in the community, and we are pleased to be able to extend this program to these libraries,” said Director Stephanie Stebich. “We hope this program will make it easier for soldiers, airmen, and their families, particularly those who are new to the area, to discover Tacoma Art Museum and take full advantage of the museum’s cultural offerings while they’re stationed here.”

Anyone with a valid library card at one of the four participating library systems can check out the Art Access Passfor up to seven days. After a week, the cards are charged an overdue fee by the library. The Pass allows up to four free museum admissions, not including children under age six, who are always admitted free.

Tacoma Art Museum also hosts Art Access Pass art-making activities at participating library branches throughout the year. These free programs feature projects for children age six and older that relate to the exhibitions on view at the museum. A full schedule of programs is available at www.TacomaArtMuseum.org or through the local library branch.

The Fort Lewis Library System is comprised of four libraries that support the Army mission, offer on-post college courses, and encourage lifelong learning opportunities. The 43,000 active-duty soldiers, family members, retired military, and civilian employees at Fort Lewis and Madigan Army Medical Center have library cards. They checked out 259,000 items in 2005 and made 356,000 visits to the libraries during that time.

The McChord Air Force Base Library provides access to information which supports the Air Force mission, education, and quality of life programs on base. The 8,000 active-duty airmen, family members, retired military, and civilian employees at McChord have library access. In 2005, they checked out 113,000 items and made 58,000 visits to the library.

Tacoma Art Museum’s mission is to connect people through art. The museum serves the diverse communities of the region through its collection, exhibitions, and learning programs, emphasizing art and artists from the Northwest. The museum’s five galleries display an array of top national shows, the best of Northwest art, creatively themed exhibitions, and historical retrospectives. In addition, there is an Education Wing for children, adults, and seniors with an art resource center, classroom, and studio for art making. Tacoma Art Museum is located near the Museum of Glass, the Washington StateHistory Museum, and historic Union Station.