By SCOTT FONTAINE, Tacoma News Tribune

TACOMA, Wash. - Family, friends and veterans groups filled the airport terminal to greet Jordan Olson. They held balloons, American flags and banners. Hugs and handshakes abounded.

For the Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier, on leave from the war in Afghanistan, Saturday's homecoming was nothing short of a hero's welcome.

Lt. Col. Danny Dudek paced the dew-covered grass at Watkins Field in Fort Lewis, Wash., inspecting his troops during a ceremony marking a change of command for his unit.
The sight of an officer marching past with the aid of hand crutches was not lost on the hundreds of wounded and injured soldiers of the Warrior Transition Battalion whom Dudek now commands.

The hot dogs sizzled on a barbecue pit while two Marines wearing camouflage pants and T-shirts soaked up some sun.
Another in workout clothes sat nearby, leaning back in a folding chair and smoking a cigarette.

A mild traumatic brain injury can be frustrating. Patients often look normal but can have a wide range of symptoms, including headaches, fatigue, irritability and memory loss.

James Clark looked big for his age as a teenager and ran with an older crowd. So when his friends reported to the draft board, he followed. It was 1943, and the country needed troops. Young men were supposed to report when they turned 18.About a month later, Clark received his orders for basic training.The U.S. Army had just drafted a 13-year-old.

Boonie wasn't quite sure how to react. At first, he just looked at the plastic contraption attached to his leg. And when he wanted to walk away he limped off on three legs. After all, it takes a while to adjust to a new prosthetic -- especially if you're a goat.

For centuries, Indians across the Pacific Northwest navigated the area's waterways on canoes. While much has changed for the dozens of tribes in the region, a two-week event hopes to keep the tradition alive.

Jimmy Chen likes to think big and make things happen. The Flight of Hope program is the result.

I wish I could write that "I Lost My Love in Baghdad" is a tragic love story. Or that the author, Newsweek's Michael Hastings, writes a complicated tale of impulse and responsibility and how the two became tangled in the fog of war.