Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Melanoma is the third most common skin cancer and the most dangerous among young people. Melanoma killed 7,952 people in 2004 in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fort Lewis has been undergoing a population boom. The most amazing result of the growth is how little most people are affected.

The national political conventions are just around the corner. After that comes the general election. For years the Army has campaigned to get Soldiers to register and to vote. But there are limits to how far leaders can go in encouraging voting — and there lie some lessons for us all.

As we take a well deserved holiday from our duties to celebrate the nation’s 232nd birthday, I want to take a moment to mention a subject that should be on our minds at all times — the safety and well-being of our Soldiers.

We live in hiking heaven. But you’ll never know that unless you get out and look for it.

I remember reading an article decades ago that speculated about how expensive gasoline would have to get to induce Americans to significantly alter the way they drive. I don’t remember the figure the author gave, but I think we might have reached the real tipping point.

Leaders bear no more important responsibility than the welfare of their subordinates. That responsibility doesn’t end when those subordinates go home and take the uniform off.

The Guardian has received many inquiries about last week’s article, “Lessons of Baqubah now on DVD,” most asking how to get copies of the DVD, like this one:

Saturday is an important day — the Army’s 233rd birthday. I hope Soldiers care.

The 6th of June used to be one of those days everyone could identify. Now, it seems to be fading into the historically obscure. That’s a shame.

A few months ago I was in the middle of an interview with a therapist when she popped out with a notion I could not believe.

Sometimes I open my e-mail and I am overcome by it. While I’d be delighted to write a thank-you note to any military family, I read this and wondered how a note from a stranger could possibly equal the feeling that a 9-year-old put into a recent letter?

No one is immune to the effects of deployments. However, deployment may increase the intensity of the experience for you, your spouse or child, resulting in some form of behavioral health issues. These issues can range from anxiety, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and may even lead to thoughts of suicide.

Not long ago, somebody asked me to name the hardest thing I’d encountered as governor. I didn’t even have to think before answering. The most difficult, heart-wrenching experiences have been the many funeral services my husband, Mike, and I have attended to honor the brave Washingtonians who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

FORT RUCKER, Ala. — Summertime is not the time to give safety a vacation. The time between Memorial Day and Labor Day marks the period when our Army's troopers, their families and our civilian teammates are traditionally exposed to the year's greatest risk from accidental mishaps and fatalities. These 101 Critical Days of Summer are when more of us are traveling, participating in water sports and enjoying the numerous outdoor activities and thus, increasing our exposure to potential off-duty tragedies.

One of the great wonders about the Army is the level of volunteer spirit.

Last week was Pride Week. We took time out to celebrate all the wonderful aspects of life in the Army and at Fort Lewis.

Today is Fort Lewis Safety Day. While this is an occasion set aside to concentrate on safe practices safety really does need to be central to all we do, 365 days a year.

There is an awful lot to feel good about at Fort Lewis. And everyone here should be proud of that fact.

The old line used to go “If the Army had wanted you to have a family, it would have issued you one.”

Today we are introducing something new for military families. The Family Advocacy Program, in collaboration with the Victim Advocate Program, will use space in the Northwest Guardian to offer members of the Puget Sound military community an opportunity to overcome some of life’s problems with a new program: “Ask an Advocate.”

Let me make a disclaimer right at the start: I am not an expert on child rearing. But I am a dad. And with the parenting thing almost at an end — my son is half way through college — things seem to have worked out pretty well. So, on the basis of 20 years of first-hand experience I have a full set of opinions, for whatever they are worth.

Next week, students across the state of Washington will take the second half of the annual WASL tests. For Fort Lewis parents the test will bring out a variety of feelings. For some the test will engender something like dread, or others nothing but indifference. Both these extremes are wrong in their reactions.

Editor’s note: Last week Street Talk asked members of the community what they would like people to know about Soldiers they don’t see in the news. This commentary appears in the April edition of Desert Raider, published by 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment in support of 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division currently deployed in Iraq. It gives a deployed Soldier’s take on what he sees on the networks.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. That is the sort of label that might be easy to ignore; after all, April probably carries five or six other labels, too, just like every other month. But child abuse is too ugly to ignore — and when we find it, we should do something about it.

The major league baseball season has begun.

The role of women in the Army has changed over the last few decades. Men in the Army need to do a better job of catching up with the change.

I followed a Soldier down the sidewalk this week and was struck by the appearance of his uniform. To an old Soldier like me, it didn’t look very sharp.

What does it take to be an Army spouse? The same things it does to be any kind of spouse — only more so.