WASHINGTON - President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore met at the Pentagon Jan. 29 with senior U.S. military commanders from around the globe.

WASHINGTON - DoD is not concerned about mergers in defense industries but will step back and examine the situation, the department's top acquisition official said during a recent interview.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A historic agreement between city leaders and DoD has kept alive a decades-old trauma care service that benefits both.

WASHINGTON - The total strength of the armed forces on Nov. 30, 1996, was 1,465,619. This is a decrease of 1,367 from Oct. 31, 1996, and a decrease of 43,728 from Nov. 30, 1995.

WASHINGTON - William S. Cohen and his wife, Janet, are welcomed by a military honor cordon as he makes his first entrance into the Pentagon as secretary of defense. Cohen was sworn in Jan. 24 by Vice President Al Gore in a White House ceremony and went to his new office later in the day.

WASHINGTON - Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston (left) Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, Army Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, Deputy Defense Secretary John White and DoD's White House Liaison Charlie Duncan await President Clinton's arrival at the Pentagon. The Jan. 29 call was Clinton's first visit to the Pentagon since Cohen's confirmation as defense secretary Jan. 24. Shalikashvili and Ralston are chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively. Master Sgt. Stephen Barrett, USA

WASHINGTON - Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee, silver screen star Denzel Washington and President Bill Clinton all took advantage of the programs offered by Boys and Girls Clubs of America when they were young. Military youth can now do the same.

WASHINGTON - The mobilization insurance program has problems, but beneficiaries will be paid, misleading news reports to the contrary, said DoD spokesman Air Force Maj. Tom Schultz.

WASHINGTON - Shortly after being sworn in by Vice President Al Gore Jan. 24., Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen sent a message to the field.

WASHINGTON - Nell Hayes, a Freedom of Information specialist at the Defense Special Weapons Agency, recently worked at home while recovering from a serious auto accident.

WASHINGTON - Flexitime, flexiplace, telecommuting -- family friendly programs and policies are expanding throughout the Defense Department.

WASHINGTON - The spread of weapons of mass destruction presents the gravest threat the world has ever known, said William S. Cohen, the new defense secretary.

WASHINGTON - In his first interview after being confirmed as secretary of defense, William S. Cohen pledged to visit the troops in the field as often as he can.

WASHINGTON - Thousands of U.S. service members worked long, hard hours to support the presidential inauguration Jan. 20.

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces will leave Bosnia at the end of the 18-month stabilization force mission, William S. Cohen told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his Jan. 22 confirmation hearing.

WASHINGTON - DoD will not tolerate sexual harassment in the military and will hold accountable people throughout the chain of command, said William S. Cohen in discussing challenges he faces as the new secretary of defense.

WASHINGTON - DoD's health plan must avoid the shortcomings and legitimate criticisms of civilian managed care programs, DoD's top doctor warned defense health care providers.

WASHINGTON - The Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron will perform at 35 events in 23 states as the team enters its 51st season this year. The team will also perform in Canada.

WASHINGTON - Thousands of Retired Reserve policyholders who carry Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance will be affected by a program merger early this year according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials are scheduled to dedicate a Hall of African-American Military Heroes and Contributors Corridor on Feb. 19, 1997, as part of Black History Month activities.

WASHINGTON - The Senate unanimously confirmed William S. Cohen as the 20th secretary of defense Jan. 22.

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials are calling for a global treaty banning the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel land mines.

WASHINGTON - Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman told more than 1,000 medical commanders, administrators and nurses here TRICARE is OK so far, but there's room for improvement.

WASHINGTON - William S. Cohen was sworn in as the nation's 20th Secretary of Defense on January 24, 1997, in a White House ceremony. His nomination was announced in White House ceremonies on Dec. 5, 1996, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Jan. 22, 1997. He previously served three terms in the U.S. Senate for the State of Maine (1979-1997) and three terms in the House of Representatives from Maine's Second Congressional District (1973-1979).

RICHMOND, Va. - Attention, storage activities and retail end-level users. Are you incurring high disposal costs from your hazardous shelf-life materiel? Are shelf-life materiels going to waste in storage? A new DoD resource will help you to manage shelf-life materiel.

WASHINGTON - Saying goodbye to the nation's military men and women is one of the hardest things Bill Perry said he's had to do since becoming the 19th U.S. defense secretary.

WASHINGTON - With military fanfare and pageantry, President Clinton and the U.S. armed forces bid the 19th secretary of defense farewell.

WASHINGTON - About 11,900 junior enlisted service members and their families receive food stamps, according to a 1995 DoD report.

WASHINGTON - About 8,900 U.S. troops are now in Bosnia, including two engineer battalions dismantling IFOR base camps.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William J. Perry said farewell Jan. 14 to President Clinton and the nation's armed forces at Fort Myer, Va.

WASHINGTON - At any given time, one in four military doctors (12,000 currently) attends graduate school as a DoD medical center resident.

WASHINGTON - Tears streamed down Vernon Baker's face as President Clinton hung the Medal of Honor around his neck during White House ceremonies honoring seven African-American World War II veterans denied the medal until now.

WASHINGTON - Officials at the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee released the names of units marching during the inauguration of President Bill Clinton here Jan. 20.

WASHINGTON - More than a million African Americans served in the military during World War II. Not one received a Medal of Honor for valor during that conflict.

WASHINGTON - NATO Secretary General Javier Solana recently met with U.S. Defense and State Department officials prior to starting charter negotiations with Russia.

WASHINGTON - Service members living in cost-of-living areas 8 percent above the national average will now receive a stateside cost-of-living allowance. Previous eligibility threshold was 9 percent.

WASHINGTON - Illnesses suffered by veterans of the Gulf War have taught DoD valuable lessons, according to the department's chief medical officer.

WASHINGTON - Responding to the president's advisory committee final report on Gulf War veterans' illnesses, DoD officials described to reporters Jan. 8 what steps it has or will take to further its ongoing investigation.

FORT LEE, Va. - A new, cooperative promotion will mean an opportunity for military and DoD civilians to save money at ski resorts this winter.

WASHINGTON - The military has been in the forefront since the beginning of global observances of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, said Steve Kline

WASHINGTON - When news of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination aired on Armed Forces Radio Network in Germany in April 1968, Leonard F. Stegman was "outraged as to why;" and questioned, "What prompted someone to do something like this?"

WASHINGTON - Steve Kline of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta praises Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis J. Reimer as "a staunch supporter of the King observance."

WASHINGTON - Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy still affects civil rights, human rights and other political issues in America and countries around the world, according to Steve Kline of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.

WASHINGTON - The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity's dream of honoring its most illustrious brother is on its way to becoming reality. Congress authorized the nation's oldest and largest Greek-letter African-American fraternity to build a memorial to their frat brother -- Martin Luther King Jr. -- in the nation's capital.

WASHINGTON - Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, marks the nation's 12th observance of a legal holiday honoring slain civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr.

WASHINGTON - The old saying goes that charity starts at home.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton extended the life of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses for nine months to act as an independent check on DoD's investigation.

FORT LEE, Va. - In these days of little time to waste, why do people wait until their order is bagged before they start writing the check? Why does the cashier have to enter every coupon by hand? Why does it take five swipes to scan a price? Why don't commissaries take credit cards?

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - For Army Dr. (Capt.) John Johnson, TRICARE Region VI medical outreach allows him to see the kinds of ailments he'll take care of when he completes his residency.

WASHINGTON - When preparing for the present or the future, one often draws information from the past. History helps guide people through trouble spots, finds common ground and prepares better ways to meet current challenges.

WASHINGTON - As part of the Air Force's 50th anniversary celebration this year, the service's Thunderbirds jet demonstration team will perform at 36 events in 22 states. The team will also perform in the United Kingdom.

NEW YORK - Children of active duty or retired military personnel have until Feb. 25 to apply for a 1997 Cmdr. William S. Stuhr Scholarship

WASHINGTON - The White House and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies recently announced the program for President Clinton's second inauguration Jan. 20.

WASHINGTON - When Bill Clinton recites the oath of office Jan. 20 and begins his second term as president, the military will again play a large part in the cermonies.

BAD KREUZNACH, Germany - Yellow ribbons sprouted from fences and trees. Second and third story barracks windows bore tall white, cutout letters spelling "WELCOME HOME!" and "AMERICAN HEROES!"

WASHINGTON - During the past year, more than 10,000 members of the Guard and Reserve have been called to active duty to support the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, and Defense Department officials say that number is likely to increase in the months ahead. They point to Operation Joint Endeavor as a textbook example of the critical role the reserve components play in U.S. military operations.

BRUSSELS - Russian leaders are not yet ready to accept a NATO liaison office in Moscow, Russian Defense Minister Igor Rodionov said here recently.