WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen joins children in sand table play at the Pentagon Child Development Center. Cohen and movie director Rob Reiner recorded a video message to military parents on the importance of the first three years of life.

WASHINGTON - Active duty, Guard and Reserve service members convicted of domestic abuse must surrender their military and personal weapons, DoD officials said.

WASHINGTON - The following outlines the elements of "misdemeanor conviction of domestic violence" as the term applies to the firearms restriction recently added to the Gun Control Act of 1968.

FORT LEE, Va. - The Defense Commissary Agency announced the winners of this year's Best Commissary Awards during ceremonies recently at the American Logistics Association's 50th Annual Convention in Philadelphia.

WASHINGTON - Military personnel across the services cited similar issues and concerns to the executive committee of the Defense Advisory Committee for Women in the Services during an information-gathering mission to the Western Pacific in July.

WASHINGTON - The cost of NATO enlargement may not be as high as originally estimated, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen told legislators Oct. 21.

WASHINGTON - A U.S. congressman, two generals, an artist, an infantry regiment and a squadron of Mexican combat pilots were recently extolled here by the American GI Forum.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Generations of women veterans, their families and friends gathered at several events spanning four days to honor the past, present and future of women in the military.

ARLINGTON, Va - Ruth E. Randolph thought financial woes would prevent her from being here among throngs of people witnessing the dedication of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.

WASHINGTON - Reservists will receive only 5 percent of their mobilization insurance benefit until Congress passes the 1998 Defense Authorization Act, DoD officials said.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William Cohen has ordered a 30-day review of security and accountability procedures for small arms and ammunitions.

WASHINGTON - Army Gen. Henry H. Shelton received his official welcome as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during an Oct. 15 Pentagon ceremony.

WASHINGTON - Public comments on rules for environmentally safe transfers of military training ranges to civilian use are invited at a series of DoD regional meetings starting this month.

ON THE ROAD TO TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - As the air-conditioned tour bus bobbed and swayed along the narrow, uneven highway leading south out of Kazakhstan, Army Col. Ralph Bruner recalled a 9-year-old conversation.

WASHINGTON - Iraq will bear the consequences if it continues to violate the southern no-fly zone, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen warned.

WASHINGTON - Military athletes, get ready. The Armed ForcesSports Office announced the 1998 Armed Forces Championship calendar.

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon said the existence or use of chemical weapons at two sites in Kuwait during the Gulf War was unlikely.

WASHINGTON - Defense officials expressed disappointment with a September draft report from the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses deeply critical of the DoD investigation.

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials must focus on what to accomplish before the NATO Stabilization Force mission ends in Bosnia, said Defense Secretary William S. Cohen.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - Six years ago, senior military officers typically seen here were Soviets. This was, after all, capital of a Soviet republic.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - Envoys, attaches and delegations on hand for CENTRAZBAT '97 not only observed the Central Asian Battalion training but got a first-hand look -- and taste -- of the region's history and culture.

ARLINGTON, Va. - A consolidation aimed at reducing sites, reducing manpower and increasing information processing efficiency has been completed six months ahead of schedule.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Postal Service will officially issue a stamp honoring military women Oct. 18, at Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery the same day the Women in Military Service for America Memorial is dedicated at the gateway to the cemetery.

FORT MYER, Va. - "In the years to come, no matter what I do, no matter where I go, no matter what I will become, in my heart I will always remain one of you -- a soldier."

SHIMKENT, Kazakhstan - After 8,000 miles in the air and two aerial refuelings, the Central Asian Battalion arrived Sept. 15 from Fort Bragg, N.C., in clear skies above their homeland, aboard U.S. Air Force C-17s and accompanied by members of the 82nd Airborne Division.

WASHINGTON - The United States military is the envy of the world, but America must invest more -- in people and equipment -- to keep the armed forces ready, said Army Gen. John M. Shalikashvili.