Gary Warner

Pacific Northwest

State Political Reporter at eomediagroup.com

Pacific Northwest Reporter at Stars and Stripes

Pacific Northwest reporter for Stars and Stripes as of August 2023. Former Pittsburgh Press, OC Register, EO Media Group.

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Articles

Veterans forced to call off attempt at Grand Canyon hiking record

3 weeks ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

Retired Marine Sgt. Kirstie Ennis and Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Kevin Bittenbender on a warm-up hike for their attempt to set a world record for the “Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim” trail at Grand Canyon National Park. The effort fell short Monday, April 21, 2025, as time ran out and darkness made continuing unsafe.
Air Force selects sites for upgraded North American air defense radar

3 weeks ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

Base gate at Mountain Home Air Force Base near Boise, Idaho. The lands acquired for the new radar systems would be controlled from the base. (U.S. Air Force photo) Three locations in Oregon, and one each in Idaho and Nevada have been selected as potential sites for a part of a $400 million modernized radar system to detect air and space attacks in North America, the Air Force disclosed.
Veterans who each lost part of a leg in Afghanistan try for new world record with Grand Canyon hike

3 weeks ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Kevin Bittenbender and retired Marine Sgt. Kirstie Ennis on a warm-up hike for their April 2025 effort to set a Guinness Book of World Records benchmark for amputee hikers attempting the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim Trail at Grand Canyon National Park.
Coast Guard commander, top enlisted leader in San Diego fired

1 month ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

Capt. James Spitler, left, and Master Chief Petty Officer Michael Dioquino, formerly the top officer and top enlisted leader, respectively, at Coast Guard Sector San Diego. (U.S. Coast Guard) The commander of Coast Guard Sector San Diego has been fired more than five months after service leaders temporarily removed the officer from his post amid an investigation into “unfair treatment of individuals” under his command. Coast Guard Rear Adm.
Navy rejects plan to move electronic attack jets from NAS Whidbey Island to California

1 month ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

Navy Lts. Zach Miller and Keith Henzer climb out of a EA-18G Growler at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., in December 2024.
‘A warrior and a healer’: Green Beret’s family receives Silver Star seven years after his death in Niger ambush

1 month ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

Army Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black was posthumously awarded the Silver Star on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, for his bravery during an ambush in Niger in 2017. (U.S. Army) PUYALLUP, Wash. — A Green Beret killed in a 2017 ambush by Islamic militants in Niger was awarded the Silver Star on Tuesday, the culmination of an about-face by the Army over the controversial incident in the War on Terrorism. Brig. Gen.
USS Ronald Reagan goes into dry dock, expected to emerge in late 2026

1 month ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

The USS Ronald Reagan arrives at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., in August 2024. The aircraft carrier went into a 17-month maintenance at the shipyard in March 2025. (Gary Warner/Stars and Stripes) BREMERTON, Wash. — The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan has begun a maintenance stint that will keep it from deployment for 17 months, Navy officials said.
Green Beret killed in 2017 firefight in Niger to be awarded Silver Star

1 month ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

Army Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black will be posthumously awarded the Silver Star on April 8, 2025, for his bravery during an ambush in Niger in 2017. (U.S. Army) TACOMA, Wash. — Body camera footage from a Green Beret killed in a 2017 ambush in Niger has led the Army for the second time to award the unit’s medical sergeant posthumously for his bravery during the firefight seven years ago. Staff Sgt. Bryan C.
Navy to spend $300M to prepare NB Kitsap as a homeport for Ford-class aircraft carriers

1 month ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford sails in formation with the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Winston Churchill, USS Mitscher, USS Mahan, USS Bainbridge and USS Forrest Sherman in the Atlantic Ocean on Nov. 12, 2024. (U.S. Navy) BREMERTON, Wash. — The Navy will spend up to $300 million to modernize Naval Base Kitsap so it can serve as the first Pacific homeport of the new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers.
JBLM to build more than 200 new homes to help tackle housing shortage

1 month ago | stripes.com | Gary Warner

Artist rendering of the 212 new duplex-style homes to be built at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (Liberty Military Housing) TACOMA, Wash. — Joint Base Lewis-McChord broke ground this week on 212 new homes that base officials hope will ease a housing crunch in and around the military base in a rapidly growing region of Washington state. “About 70% of our residents live off the installation, and to me, that is unfortunate,” Army Col.