United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

Tacoma News Tribune journalist Mike Gilbert reported Tuesday morning on his FOB Tacoma blog that "Fort Lewis officials say they've completed the movement of all of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division's vehicles and cargo containers from the Port of Tacoma back to the post."[1] -- A Fort Lewis spokesman said that 260 Strykers, 400 other vehicles, and about 700 cargo containers "were successfully and safely moved to the installation using both military and civilian transport." -- Arrests of port militarization resistance activists during the week it took to move the war matériel from the USNS Brittin to Fort Lewis totaled 12 (according to Tacoma and Lakewood police) or 15 (according to Olympia PMR). -- (Those detained included Joe La Sac, a noted Tacoma videographer, who was arrested shortly after midnight Tuesday and held in Pierce County Jail till about 5:00 a.m., according to PMR sources; his video equipment was confiscated. Earlier, one of the PMR activists was Tased by a Tacoma police officer.) -- The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer also posted an AP squib announcing the completion of the equipment's movement mid-day Tuesday.[2] -- Mike Barber of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer posted an entry on his Now Hear This military blog Tuesday morning quoting PMR sources and mentioning that "An anti-war event, Unity Rally to Demilitarize Our Ports and Communities, is scheduled for Saturday, August 9th at 4:00 p.m. at Schuster Parkway. Information can be found at www.olypmr.org."[3] -- Candace Heckman of the Post-Intelligencer also posted a note about the arrests of PMR activists on a blog.[4] -- Robert Whitlock posted 26 photos of PMR demonstrations at the Port of Tacoma on the night of Aug. 4-5, 2008, with commentary.[5] -- "I don't think there are any incriminating photos — except of the police officers and the Port of Tacoma enabling an illegal war," he said. -- Meanwhile, in a harbinger of future events, the Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, WA) and the News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) reported Tuesday that the USNS Brittin, which has been onloading and offloading war matériel in the Pacific Northwest in recent years, will be based at Bremerton "for two years as part of a Pacific Command requirement to preposition three LMSRs on the West Coast. It will be kept in a reduced operating status, ready to be activated. A small military and civilian crew of about 13 will maintain the ship and keep its propulsion system ready to go."[6,7] -- (According to the web site Global Security, this civilian crew is in the employ of the defense contractor General Dynamics.) ...

Fort Lewis officials say they've completed the movement of all of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division's vehicles and cargo containers from the Port of Tacoma back to the post.

The operation occurred without the significant public disturbances that marked the return of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division's equipment last November at the Port of Tacoma, and the departure of 4th Brigade's trucks through the Port of Tacoma in March 2007.

Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek said Tuesday that 260 Strykers, more than 400 other vehicles and about 700 cargo containers "were successfully and safely moved to the installation using both military and civilian transport."

Detective Tom Williams, a Tacoma police spokesman, said Tacoma officers arrested three persons near the port during the six nights of protests. Lakewood police arrested another five near freeway overpasses leading to Fort Lewis, he said.

UPDATE: Lakewood police spokeswoman Heidi Hoffman said her department's officers made nine arrests, all on the freeway ramps and overpasses. There were three on Friday, three early Saturday and three Sunday night.

The Port Militarization Resistance version is here. (http://www.olypmr.org/#news) The protesters said there were 15 arrests; we could not immediately account for the difference.

TACOMA, Wash. -- Tacoma and Lakewood police say 12 demonstrators were arrested since last weekend protesting a ship unloading Fort Lewis equipment at the Port of Tacoma.

Members of the Port Militarization Resistance object to the use of the port to support the Iraq war.

Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek (peek) said Tuesday that all 260 Strykers, more than 400 other vehicles and about 700 cargo containers were transported.

The equipment belongs to the 4-2 Stryker brigade -- 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division - which has returned from Iraq.

FIFTEEN ARRESTED IN ANTI-WAR PROTESTS OUTSIDE FORT LEWIS AND PORT OF TACOMA
By Mike Barber

Ongoing anti-war protests at the Port of Tacoma and at Interstate 5 exits near Fort Lewis have resulted in 15 arrests in the last week, protest organizers say.

Bands of protesters have been gathering in at the Port of Tacoma since last Wednesday, where equipment from the 4,000-member 4th Stryker Brigade that served in Iraq for 15 months before returning this spring was offloaded from the USNS Brittin and is being returned to the base.

Members of Port Militarization Resistance and other anti-war groups are focusing their efforts against the war upon the use of the Ports of Tacoma and Olympia for deploying and redeploying military equipment to Iraq.

The group said six arrests of demonstrators have taken place outside the Port of Tacoma, and nine arrests were made at various exits off I-5 as demonstrators late Friday and early Saturday moved closer to the gates of Fort Lewis.

Authorities did not return phone calls seeking information about the number of arrests or types of violations cited.

A press release from Port Militarization Resistance said the actions [will continue] while the equipment is being returned to Fort Lewis.

An anti-war event, Unity Rally to Demilitarize Our Ports and Communities, is scheduled for Saturday, August 9th at 4pm at Schuster Parkway. Information can be found at www.olypmr.org.

Organizers of anti-war protests at the Port of Tacoma and at Interstate 5 exits near Fort Lewis report that 15 of their people were arrested over the weekend.

P-I Reporter Mike Barber reports in his military blog that the arrests were apparently made by various police agencies, which have yet to confirm the identities of the suspects. "Bands of protesters have been gathering in at the Port of Tacoma since last Wednesday, where equipment from the 4,000-member 4th Stryker Brigade that served in Iraq for 15 months before returning this spring was offloaded from the USNS Brittin and is being returned to the base.

"Members of Port Militarization Resistance and other anti-war groups are focusing their efforts against the war upon the use of the Ports of Tacoma and Olympia for deploying and redeploying military equipment to Iraq."

"The group said six arrests of demonstrators have taken place outside the Port of Tacoma, and nine arrests were made at various exits off I-5 as demonstrators late Friday and early Saturday moved closer to the gates of Fort Lewis."

BREMERTON -- The big ship that tied up at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on Friday afternoon is the Military Sealift Command's USNS Brittin.

It's what's called a large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off (LMSR) class ship and is used to transport military equipment and supplies.

The Brittin will remain here for two years as part of a Pacific Command requirement to preposition three LMSRs on the West Coast. It will be kept in a reduced operating status, ready to be activated. A small military and civilian crew of about 13 will maintain the ship and keep its propulsion system ready to go. When ordered to activate, the Brittin can be fully crewed with 30 members and ready to sail in four days.

LMSRs have been the primary movers of military equipment during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Brittin and its sister ships in the Bob Hope Class are 950 feet long and have a cargo capacity of 380,000 square feet, almost eight football fields.

BREMERTON -- The transport ship that has been unloading military equipment this week at Port of Tacoma will be based at Bremerton for the next two years.

The Brittin is a 950-foot long roll-on/roll-off ship. It will be on reduced operating status with a crew of 13 at Bremerton when it is not activated.

The Brittin carried more than 900 vehicles and hundreds of cargo containers for a Stryker brigade, the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, after it returned to Fort Lewis from the Iraq war.

Some members of the Port Militarization Resistance group have been protesting the ship at Tacoma.