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The roles women play in society have changed dramatically in the last century, but nowhere has the glass ceiling continued to be broken again and again as in the US military. Since I first enlisted in the military 21 years ago I have seen women begin flying combat missions, serving on ships of the line and not just support vessels and have seen them lead combat missions on the ground in Iraq.

On Friday Lieutenant General Ann Dunwoody accomplished something no other woman has ever done: She earned her fourth star.

Ann Dunwoody was promoted to four-star general in front of a standing room only crowd at the Pentagon Friday morning that erupted in cheers after the Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey, and Dunwoody’s husband, retired Air Force Colonel Craig Brotchie, pinned her stars on her uniform.

“Thirty-three years after I took the oath as a second lieutenant, I have to tell you this is not exactly how I envisioned my life unfolding,” she told a standing-room-only auditorium. “Even as a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was teach physical education and raise a family.”

“It was clear to me that my Army experience was just going to be a two-year detour en route to my fitness profession,” she added. “So when asked, `Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, to say nothing about a four-star?’ I say, `Not in my wildest dreams.’

“There is no one more surprised than I — except, of course, my husband. You know what they say, `Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.’”

Congratulations ma’am. Another pane in the glass ceiling shattered.

Here’s a sign of how far we’ve come from the days of FDR’s series of fireside chats. President-elect Barack Obama plans to take his weekly radio address to the nation online to the place where he’s assured of reaching the masses: YouTube.

Obama taking weekly presidential radio address to YouTube
CHICAGO (AP) — The presidential radio adress is coming to the Internet.
President-elect Barack Obama plans to tape a weekly address for YouTube Internet viewers. For years, presidents have recorded the addresses just for radio listeners.
A four-minute address from Obama will be posted tomorrow through a YouTube link on his transition Web site, www.change.gov. He’ll continue the videos when he takes office in January.
Obama won’t be the only one in his administration taking a starring role online. An Obama spokeswoman says transition leaders and policy advisers will also appear in videos on a regular basis. Other officials, such as Cabinet members, could also take part.

Of course, while you’re checking out the President-elect’s YouTube vids, you can always stop by and pay us at visit on KXLY’s YouTube channel.

Dear President-elect Obama,

I have some student loans but I make regular payments on them. I have a mortgage locked in at a great APR with a bank that has proven to be quite stable recently all things considered. I have the usual run of monthly bills to Qwest, Avista, Comcast, City of Spokane, that sort of thing and when it comes down to it the only thing about my personal finances that sucks eggs right now is my 401k.

My family is weathering this economic crisis reasonably well all things considered, but I’d like to free up some income to put into savings so I’d like to ask you if I could have a bailout too.

I think that if the Fat Cats on Wall Street or up in Motown can get a bailout then maybe I could get one. I don’t have Michigan’s governor campaigning for my bailout, but I could ask my wife to maybe throw in a good word … she’s from Alabama which hopefully you won’t hold against her since Alabama was solidly in McCain country on November 4th.

There’s all this talk about helping Wall Street and Main Street and I wanted to say that I don’t live on Main Street but I live pretty close to Ray, which is one of the main north-south arterials on the South Hill. So that’s sort of a Main Street. Does that qualify me for help?

Oh yeah … I’m a pretty hard worker, I pay my taxes, I vote, I served in the military, I don’t break laws, I support the cattle industry by eating red meat and up until five months I was a supporter of Big Tobacco like you. In other words I’ve done a lot of things to support our country those Fat Cat CEOs aren’t willing to do so maybe I’m worth the credit risk.

If you give me the money I promise that ABC’s Brian Ross won’t catch me in Scottsdale, Arizona enjoying a lavish week-long getaway. I might go to Sun City West, but only because that’s where my in-laws live.

And here’s the kicker: I’m not going to cost you $700 Billion. I won’t even cost you a million dollars. Heck at this point I’d settle for lunch.

Anyway … I just figured I’d get in line since everyone seems to be asking you for money.

Thanks for your consideration Mr. President-elect. Good luck with the dog search.

~Rob

I got an e-mail from a buddy of mine this morning who served with 2nd ANGLICO in Vietnam who lamented that while he and I were both working in our respective offices today, professors at Berkeley were enjoying their day off.

I guess that’s the way it goes.

For many today isn’t a commemoration of the armistice that brought an end to the first of two of the 20th Century’s worldwide cataclysms. No for many Americans, today is just a day off. It’s a paid holiday to spend raking leaves or relaxing in the warm comfort of hearth and home. It’s a mattress sale, a car sale, a 20-percent off at your favorite retailer. It’s a political photo op at the American Legion.

Here’s the true meaning of today.

Today is a day of remembrance for the doughboys who huddled in muddy trenches in France with dirty faces, muddy boots and impeccably clean Springfield ‘03 rifles waiting for the next German advance.

Today is a day to remember the sailors who hefted powder bags from the magazines and into the breeches as they fervently prepared for another broadside across Ironbottom Sound.

Today is a day to remember the airmen who braved flak, fighters and the bitter cold five miles up over occupied Europe.

Today is time to recall the Marines that dug ever deeper into the red clay on Hills 881 North and South as ordinance fell down like steel rain around them.

Today is about honoring the servicemen for helping preserve our union, to protect retailers’ rights to have their discount sales, to protect the politicians who legislate whether or not our veterans get decent health care benefits, and to make sure that those who protest against the military will continue to enjoy that freedom which is offered up the Bill of Rights but defended by the very people they detest.

To everyone who has served, in war and peace, thank you for your service. I for one am grateful for the millions of you who have stood watch while the rest of America peacefully slumbered.

This is a pic of me and my former commanding officer Colonel Willy Buhl a few years back. It was August of 2004 and we hadn’t seen each other in a few years. I was serving as an infantry squad leader with the Army Guard in Baghdad; he was the CO of the Thundering Third Herd in Fallujah.

The Marine Corps is a small, tight-knit brother / sisterhood of warriors. I hadn’t seen Col. Buhl in years - we’d served together back in the early 90s - but here we were at a chance meeting in an Army Forward Operating Base in a combat zone talking like the old friends we are.

That brotherhood, that cameraderie, is one of the defining elements that sets the Marine apart from his peers and today, as is the case every November 10th for the last 233 years, that cameraderie shines the brightest as today is our birthday.

So before I publish the order of the day, I want to extend a hearty happy birthday to every Teufelhund out there in the community. Thank you for your service and Semper Fi.

MARINE CORPS ORDERS
No. 47 (Series 1921)
HEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS
Washington, November 1, 1921

759. The following will be read to the command on the 10th of November, 1921, and hereafter on the 10th of November of every year. Should the order not be received by the 10th of November, 1921, it will be read upon receipt.

(1) On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name “Marine”. In memory of them it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.

(2) The record of our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world’s history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation’s foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and in the long eras of tranquility at home, generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

(3) In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term “Marine” has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

(4) This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the corps. With it we have also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as “Soldiers of the Sea” since the founding of the Corps.

JOHN A. LEJEUNE,
Major General Commandant
75705–21

Today voters from all across the nation will make their mark in one of the most important elections in recent history.

To keep track of all of the issues and the latest headlines on the 2008 Election, you know you can count on the KXLY Broadcast Group to be your source for complete election coverage.

Starting at 4 p.m. ABC News and KXLY 4 HD News will begin their non-stop coverage, watching every state and the current trends throughout the night as polls close from Maine in the east to Hawaii in the west. From Seattle to Spokane KXLY 4 HD News will have its news crews out with the candidates on Election Day to get their reactions as the race returns start coming in.

In Seattle, McKay Allen will be with Governor Christine Gregoire and the State Democratic Party while right across Lake Washington in Bellevue Sally Showman will be with the Republican Party and gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi.

In Spokane, Erik Loney will join Congressman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and other Republicans as they watch the returns at the Davenport Hotel while across the Spokane River at the Inn at the Park Tania Dall will be with the Democratic Party as they cheer on their candidates.

Annie Bishop will be out on the streets talking with local voters about the election while Tori Brunetti will be watching the returns come in at the Elections Center in downtown Spokane. Back at the KXLY4 studio Melissa Luck will be following local races and ballot measures.

Online, KXLY4 HD News will have continuous coverage on KXLY.com where our Internet news team will be hosting a live video webcast and a live interactive blog starting late Tuesday afternoon and running until late in the evening.

If you’re traveling you can also tune into our coverage on the radio at KXLY 920 AM, where KXLY 920’s Mike Fitzsimmons will have news and analysis from 3 p.m. well into the evening.

Back at the KXLY studios in downtown Spokane Robyn Nance and Dave Erickson will bring all the resources of KXLY together to help bring you the most concise, accurate and timely news on election night.

Remember that the one place you can go to for complete election coverage on television, on radio and online will be the stations and sites of the KXLY Broadcast Group.

For more Election Day coverage please see:

• Make It Count - Latest elections headlines
• Election 2008 Races and Returns
• Elections videos and candidate interviews
• KXLY.com's Twitter page
• Voter Information Guide
• US Senate Map
• US House of Representatives Map
• Washington Secretary of State's Elections Site
• Idaho Votes

KXLY4 HD News, long the pioneer in new media in the Spokane area, has started a new, independent community news site specifically for the region’s Hispanic community.

Nuestra Comunidad is the brainchild of Good Morning Northwest anchor Mike Gonzalez. Gonzalez, a native of Miami, Florida, has found since his arrival in Spokane that the strong and growing Hispanic community across the Inland Northwest was under-represented online. Without any online gathering place where people could get the latest news and information geared specifically to the Hispanic community Gonzalez set the wheels in motion to bring together people of similar interests.

In addition to Gonzalez bringing his voice and perspective to “Our Community” through interviews with members and leaders of the area’s thriving Hispanic community he’s working to assemble a list of regular contributors to the site from across the region including La Voz Hispanic News in the Tri-Cities and money advice from Spokane-area financial advisor Ty Barbery among others.

Nuestra Comunidad includes a variety of features geared towards bringing the Hispanic community closer together including:

1. Latest news and information of interest to the community.
2. Tips and advice on money management.
3. Events Calendar where people can submit and track activities going on across the region.
4. A community guide and professional guide with various non-profit organizations in the community that promote the advancement of the Hispanic community.
5. Business Directory where business owners can add their business listings free of charge.

Nuestra Comunidad, launched in October, is a partner site to KXLY4 HD News’ growing list of websites which include:

Get involved in Our Community.

If you’d like to become a contributor or get involved in Nuestra Comunidad, please contact Mike Gonzalez at (509) 329-4400 or mikeg@kxly.com.

If you’d like to submit an event for the calendar or if you have any questions about submitting your business to the business directory, contact Rob Kauder at (509) 329-4400 or robk@kxly.com.

If you’d like to advertise on Nuestra Comunidad or any other of our community of sites, please call Debbie Sieverding at (509) 329-4202, or e-mail her at debbies@kxly.com

Last year Kerry and I went with fellow KXLYer Jeff Humphrey and his family on what is officially called the “North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club Excursion Train Ride.”

We call it “The Leaf Train” for short.

This year, Kerry’s parents were up from Phoenix. Natives of New Jersey with a long interlude in Huntsville, Alabama, they were hoping to catch a glimpse of the changing of the seasons, something that they don’t see much of down in Sun City West. There’s no better place to take in the autumn colors than the two hour drive north from Spokane to catch the Leaf Train.

For the uninitiated, the North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club has been running trains every fall from Ione north to Metaline Falls and back since 1981. For a handful of weekends, as the leaves turn from green to shades of pale yellow and burnt orange, the train heads 10 miles up the valley toward the Canadian border and back.

With each ride hundreds of people swaddled in winter clothing - it’s not exactly warm on The Leaf Train, especially if you’re sitting in one of the open cars - clamber aboard with kids and cameras to spend an hour and a half taking in some of the greatest scenery of the Inland Northwest.

Pictures really don’t do the ride justice … you really need to see it for yourself. Unfortunately if you weren’t on the train with us this last weekend you missed out and won’t get a chance to take the Leaf Train until next fall.

While you’re waiting for the next trip out of the station, check out the video I shot on one of the last runs of the Leaf Train this season.

Republican Vice Presidential Sarah Palin likes talking about Joe Six Pack. Both Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama spent a lot of time Wednesday night talking about Joe the Plumber.

Unfortunately, with our economy in the dumps those are pretty much the only two Joes we hear very much about these days.

Too bad there aren’t any more debates because here’s one other Joe that both candidates - and the American people as a whole - should probably spend a little bit more time talking about.

GI Joe.

Check out this handy guide to help people prepare for the Digital TV transition in February 2009: