Alan Bauerly and Lynn Covey graduated from the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Leader Development and Assessment Course, also known as “Operation Warrior Forge,” at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Wash.

The 33-day course provides training and evaluation in military life, administration and logistical support. The primary focus of the course is to develop and evaluate each cadet’s potential as an officer.

Cadets in their junior and senior year of college must complete the course. After successful completion of the course, the ROTC program, and graduation from college, cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army, National Guard, or Reserve.

Bauerly was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. He is the son of Dave and Kerril Bauerly, Tonganoxie, and is a 2004 graduate of Tonganoxie High School.

Covey, a student at Washburn University, is the daughter of Gary Covey, Linwood, and Debbie Covey, Ridgecrest, Calif. She is a 2002 graduate of Seaman High School in Topeka.

¢Steve Wittbrod, Lawrence, and Ken Freemyer, Tonganoxie, are among members of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 15 who were deployed to Iraq in June. They spent two months training in Gulfport, Miss. The battalion’s headquarters is in Belton, Mo.

¢Army Reserve Spec. Lavonda D. Lyles Pearson has arrived at Fort McCoy in Sparta, Wis., to complete mobilization training for units deploying overseas in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and/or Enduring Freedom.

Soldiers participate in extensive training on equipment and procedures to learn skills needed to be successful during their deployments. The training provides combat, survival and warrior skills.

The 80-day training aims to replicate the conditions that soldiers will experience overseas.

Lyles Pearson is a postal clerk normally assigned to Arlington, Texas. She is the daughter of Jarrett and Lori Pearson, Lawrence, and is a 2004 graduate of Lawrence High School.

¢The 35th Infantry Division Association will conduct its 90th annual reunion Thursday through Sept. 30 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. For more information, call Col. Robert Dalton at (785) 267-3295 or visit www.35thinfdivassoc.com.