Marine Corps Cpl. Kevin Boyd, son of Phillip Boyd of Gibsonia, assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, recently joined Iraqi Security Forces to provide security for elections in Najaf, Iraq.Boyd is a 2001 graduate of Hampton High School of Allison Park and joined the Marine Corps in June 2001.---

Gary Shreve, son of ValJean Stewart of Butler and Gary Shreve of Gibsonia, entered the Navy's delayed entry program in July 2004 and shipped to basic training at Great Lakes, Ill., on Feb. 1.He is a 1997 graduate of Butler High School.---

Staff Sgt. William Fleske IIhas returned from one year with the Army Reserves at Camp Anaconda in Balad, Iraq.He is a 2003 graduate of Slippery Rock University and a 1998 graduate of Slippery Rock High School.Fleske, son of Bill and Jill Fleske of Slippery Rock, is attached to the Army Reserve Transportation Unit in Franklin.---

Navy Lt. Douglas Pegher, son of Patricia and James Pegher of Mars, recently received his master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.Pegher, a 1989 graduate of Pine-Richland High School joined the Navy in September 1997. In 1993, he received a bachelor's degree from Edinboro University.---

Butler resident, Spc. Aaron Bender,serving with the Army National Guard Headquarters Battatlion, 1st Battalion 107th Field Artillery, 28th Infantry Division Artillery, New Castle, arrived home Thursday after a 12-month military police engagement under Operation Iraqi Freedom 2. The HHB New Castle unit was attached to and deployed with Hermitage's 107th PA Regiment A Battery on Dec. 29, 2003.Bender plans to continue his pursuit of a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Edinboro University.He is the son of Gene and Linda Bender of Butler.