Cpl.

Marcus Ward, a 2002 alumnus of Butler High School, was featured in an April article on squad leaders by the Marine Corps News Service.The 20-year-old corporal, currently in Iraq, is a squad leader with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines Regiment.He stated about the job of squad leader, "Our job is to guide and direct our Marines, make tactical decisions for the squad and enforce the rules."Ward also said that squad leaders for the battalion ensure their Marines receive serviceable gear, good living conditions, physical conditioning, proper training and supervision; but their greatest task is during combat, when squad leaders are responsible for the lives of their Marines.He explained, "Their lives depend on your decisions and how well you handle yourself under pressure."---

Air Force Airman <B>Lindsay Fortuna</B> has arrived for duty at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M.Fortuna is a response force member assigned to the 377th Security Forces Squadron.She is the daughter of Kay Mainhart of Saxonburg and Joseph Fortuna of Tarentum.The airman is a 2004 graduate of Deer Lakes High School.---

Army Pvt. <B>Joseph Myers Jr.</B> of Butler currently is assigned to Fort Gordon, Ga., where he is receiving advanced training in communication technology. He took basic training at Fort Benning, Ga.Myers attended Kittanning High School till 2003 and received his GED.He is the son of Joseph and Susan Hooks Myers Sr. of Kittanning.Myers and his wife, Janelle Marshall Myers are the parents of a daughter. They make their home in Butler.---Lt. Col. <B>David Brant</B>, son of Rosemarie and Bill Patterson of Mars and Glenn Brant of Strongsville, Ohio, is deployed to Iraq in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.Brant, a Greensburg Salem High School graduate, is serving as an executive officer with a combat support hospital.Having been recently selected to attend the Army's Senior Service College, he will serve as a principal Army Fellow upon his return.Brant, formerly of Cranberry Township, makes his home in Chesapeake Va., with his wife, Nicola and two children.