WASHINGTON — In a message to the Defense Department workforce, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday he had “very reluctantly” decided that a historic budget shortfall necessitates up to 11 unpaid furlough days for most of the department’s civilian employees between July 8 and the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30.

Soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s 42nd Military Police Brigade gathered to mourn and remember 25 of their fallen comrades during a Pierce County law enforcement memorial May 8 at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood.

Ed Saylor is in a league of his own that was once 80 Army Airmen strong.

Dennis Lewis grew up near sandy beaches in San Diego, Calif., but the Joint Base Lewis-McChord staff sergeant didn’t play volleyball on the beach. In fact, he played just about every sport except volleyball.

Black Friday happens twice at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

“It was really just a culmination of exhaustion and accomplishment more than anything, just to know, after all that hard work, it was finally over,” Spc. Auzdon A. Anothen said about how he initially felt when he finished the Boston Marathon April 15.

Space-available travel on Air Force cargo and charter aircraft is still a great way to save on travel expenses, as my wife and I relearned recently by catching the “Spirit of Freedom” flight from SeaTac Airport to Yakota Air Base, Japan.

I think most would agree that professional athletes must be at the top of their game if they are going to compete and be successful. However, can we in contrast apply the same paradigm to Soldiers? I would say, “Yes.” It’s not too far of a stretch to place Soldiers and professional athletes in the same category.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan – Soldiers with Combined Task Force 2-23 (2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment) contended in the Top Tomahawk competition that began March 29 at FOB Spin Boldak.

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Ten contestants from throughout Regional Command – South tested their physical limits through a fitness challenge in the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division’s Dragoon Games in Kandahar, Afghanistan, March 24.