For the fifth consecutive year, nonprofit, online Western Governors University has been named to Military Advanced Education's 2012 Guide to Top Military-Friendly Colleges & Universities.

WGU Washington is a state-endorsed university established by the legislature last year. WGU Washington is one of three state partnerships with Western Governors University and shares the same educational model.

A proposed overhaul of the military retirement system has emerged as the No. 1 financial worry of  military families, easily surpassing the economy and related issues in a ranking of top money concerns, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index.

Seventy-one percent of middle-class military families (senior NCOs and commissioned officers in pay grades E-6 and above with household incomes of at least $50,000) said government cuts to military retirement benefits concerned them the most. The economy came in second at 54 percent, followed closely by the cost of gas at 51 percent.

Curtis Costner has taken on the role of CEO and owner of Sands Costner & Associates, a full-service advertising and design agency in downtown Tacoma.  The company has relocated its offices to 1117 Broadway, Suite 401. Rachael Costner will continue to serve on the board.

John W. Hulbert Jr. has joined TwinStar Credit Union as business operations manager. He has more than 20 years of experience as a commercial lender and team leader with various commercial banks throughout the Northwest. Hulbert graduated from St. Martin's High School in Lacey and attended St. Martin's College before graduating from Central Washington State in 1970. He has completed Northwest Intermediate Banking School and Northwest Commercial Lending School at the University of Portland.  He also is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber presented the 33rd annual John H. Anderson Military Citizen of the Year Award to Sgt. 1st Class Luis Jimenez. Jimenez is currently the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 593rd Sustainment Brigade's Supply and Services Section at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.


In addition to multiple community volunteering efforts, Jimenez is a member of the Lions Club, Kiwanis Club and Knights of Columbus.

Washington's military veterans will be among the first in the country to benefit from on-demand transportation options and upgrades funded by a new federal grant program. The grants aim to meet the transportation needs of veterans with disabilities and those who live where options are limited.

Washington State Department of Transportation will receive three grants totaling more than $737,000 to be distributed to selected veterans transportation projects. The three grants administered by WSDOT, along with a fourth grant awarded to Pierce County, totaled nearly $1 million to improve affordable, accessible transportation options for veterans in Washington.

The long-term financial confidence of military families is beginning to unravel, reflecting concerns over the economy and a proposed overhaul of the military retirement system.

The First Command Financial Behaviors Index reveals that just 37 percent of middle-class military families (senior NCOs and commissioned officers in pay grades E-6 and above with household incomes of at least $50,000) are extremely or very confident  that their financial situation will improve over the next year, down from 41 percent in the first quarter.

Employers announced plans to shed 115,730 workers from their payrolls in September, making it the worst job-cut month in more than two years. Heavy reductions planned by the military accounted for a large portion of September job cuts, signaling what may lie ahead as the federal government seeks across-the-board cuts in spending.

September job cuts were 126 percent higher than the 51,114 announced in August, according to the latest report on monthly job cuts released today by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. They were 212 percent higher than September 2010, when employers announced just 37,151 job cuts. Last month's total is the highest since April 2009, when 132,590 job cuts were announced.

The economy is taking a toll on the fiscal optimism of middle-class military consumers, with many families cutting spending, increasing savings and moving to more conservative investments.

Survey findings of the First Command Financial Behaviors Index reveal that 39 percent of middle-class military families (senior NCOs and commissioned officers in pay grades E-6 and above with household incomes of at least $50,000) say they have become more conservative with their finances as a result of recent economic volatility. That compares to 34 percent among members of the general public with similar incomes.

It cannot be good news for South Sound retail merchants, but a consumer study of military-related families finds active plans to reduce their spending this late summer.

Roughly half of military families making at least $50,000 a year will be in the market for school clothes and supplies this year. And 32 percent of them say they plan to spend less during the traditional back-to-school shopping season, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index.

The U.S. Department of Justice today finalized a $253,784 civil settlement with optometrist Craig F. Rouse, who operated eye clinics on military bases in Washington, Alaska, Texas and Florida.

The clinics primarily provided services to active duty and retired military personnel and their dependents, many of whom received health benefits from the Department of Defense TRICARE program.

The Warrior Transition Battalion will open the doors to its new $53 million barracks during a ceremony hosted by Madigan Healthcare System at 10 a.m. Monday.

With 204, two-bedroom suites, soldiers will enjoy individual sleeping quarters in the new barracks while sharing a common living area, kitchen, and laundry facilities. Depending on the suite, bathrooms will either be shared between two residents or private to one resident.

MultiCare Health System is one of the nation's Most Wired health care organizations for the third year in a row, according to Hospitals & Health Networks magazine.

Tacoma-based MultiCare is one of the few health systems in the nation to have a complete electronic health record system. Madigan Army Medical Center was the only other hospital in Pierce County to earn the distinction.

The Moyer Foundation, which recently partnered with the USO and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors to extend its Camp Erin children's grief program to four U.S. military instillations, featured Joint Base Lewis-McChord as the first site.

"It's all about the kids," said foundation president and former Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer, who co-founded the organization with his wife, Karen. "We know that the kids are all feeling the same thing, but the loss might be in different stages. The important thing is that they know that they're being heard. And that they know it's OK. It's OK to feel what they're feeling."

Eight members of the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, the state's only Air Force Reserve flying unit, were honored during a red-carpet screening of the 3-D IMAX film "Rescue" at the Tacoma Galaxy Theaters last night.

The movie, which features on-the-job training and rescue scenes for each of these squadron members and others, traces the their emergency preparation routines in air, land and sea drills – and how they came into play to serve and save victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

In just four years the U.S. Small Business Administration's Patriot Express Pilot Loan Guarantee Initiative has provided more than $633 million in SBA-guaranteed loans to 7,650 veterans to start or expand their small businesses.

Patriot Express, a pilot loan product, with streamlined paperwork and based on the agency's SBA Express program, offers an enhanced guaranty and interest rate on loans to small businesses owned by veterans, reservists and their spouses.

Americans have more confidence in the military and in small businesses than in any other national institution, according to a new Gallup survey. According to the respondents, Americans' confidence levels in these institutions was greater than even their faith in the police, public schools, or health care organizations.

Last night, President Barack Obama announced plans for a significant withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan during the next year. That means many happy families here in the South Sound – particularly around Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Still, though, there are many unresolved issues. Dave Dittmore, who yesterday was protesting war crimes and misuse of federal funds in front of the Tacoma Union Station Courthouse, said the president is "just trying to take the middle ground."

Help in starting new careers and seeking new jobs after being relocated is now available to military spouses and civilian defense workers residing in Pierce and Thurston counties.

The majority of a $4.8 million grant will help 600 displaced military spouses who relocated to Joint Base Lewis-McChord with their husbands or wives. Additionally, the grant will provide training and job-seeking assistance to 225 Department of Defense civilian workers who were laid off as a result of the merger of the two military bases in early 2010.

Military-sponsored events around the region are a key way that Joint Base Lewis-McChord is actively growing its presence in the South Sound.



Carly Michael, the corporate sponsorship director for the base's Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation office, is in charge of coordinating many of the 140 annual happenings that bring soldiers and the public together.


What is the only privately owned pet care and boarding facility on an American military installation?

 The surprising answer is The Pet Brigade, at the South Sound's Joint Base Lewis McChord.

"We won the contract with the government. We're the ones that built the new building," said owner Regis Jackson. "They own the soil, but we own the facility. And we did it because it's a great opportunity to give back to the community."