MILITARY DIGEST

MILITARY DIGEST
VETERANS
Reserve officers to meet
WARREN -- The Reserve Officers Association meets at 6 p.m. Thursday at the National Packard Museum, 1899 Mahoning Ave. N.W., as part of a joint meeting with the Navy League, Merchant Marines and the Tri-State and Trumbull County Marine Corps League Detachments.
Memorial committee
STRUTHERS -- The Committee to Erect a Struthers Veterans Memorial meets at 7 p.m. Monday at VFW Post 3538, 157 Lowellville Road. Call (330) 755-9092 for information.
BASIC GRADS
Army: Pvt. Joseph P. Valimont (Champion High School, '96), son of Daniel R. and Claudia J. Valimont of Champion, and a 2001 graduate of the University of Akron.
Navy: Seaman Recruit Amelia E. Richardson (Indian Creek High School, Wintersville, '02), stepdaughter of Kathy L. and daughter of Roger Richardson of Steubenville.
PROMOTIONS
Navy ensign
Navy Ensign Christopher L. Wells, son of Roberta A. and Timothy L. Wells of New Castle, Pa., was commissioned after completing the 13-week Officer Candidate School at Naval Aviation Schools Command, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla. Wells is a 1997 graduate of Shenango Area High School of New Castle, and a 2003 graduate of University of Pittsburgh, where he received a bachelor of science degree.
Coast Guard ensign
Coast Guard Ensign Robert A. Bixler, son of Bob and Patti Bixler of Howland, was promoted to his current rank upon graduation from the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., with a bachelor of science degree in management.
While at the academy, he served as a company commander and earned four varsity letters for playing football. This past season, he tied the academy's single game receptions record with 11 catches for 132 yards and one touchdown. Bixler, a 1999 graduate of Howland High School, played intramural sports, was a mentor in the Big Brother Program of Connecticut and the Genesis Club at the academy, and participated in a Habitat for Humanity project. He is a member of the academic fraternities Sigma Iota Epsilon and Alpha Lambda Delta, and was Cadet Management Association president. He is stationed in Miami, Fla.
DEPLOYED
Naval Southern Command
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Kevin P. McLain, a 1986 graduate of Mohawk High School, Bessemer, Pa., is on a six-month deployment to the Naval Forces Southern Command area of responsibility, which includes the Caribbean Sea, Eastern Pacific and Southern Atlantic. He is aboard the destroyer USS Stump, home-ported in Norfolk, Va.
Marines in Liberia
Several area residents assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Camp Lejeune, N.C., went ashore to Roberts International Airport and the Freeport of Monrovia in Liberia to provide support for West African forces. They include: Lance Cpl. Michael J. Yarina Jr., son of Michael J. Yarina of Canfield; Lance Cpl. Kristopher J. Conaway, son of Alice A. Conaway of Niles, and John Conaway of Mineral Ridge, and a 2000 graduate of Mineral Ridge High School; Pfc. M.S. Fleming, son of Debbie L. and John E. Fleming of Canfield, and a 2001 graduate of Canfield High School.
XItems of note for the Military Roundup can be sent to The Vindicator, Regional Desk, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501-0780, or e-mailed to alcorn@vindy.com.