OBERAMMERGAU, Germany - This Bavarian village is a place where time has stood still.

WASHINGTON - U.N. weapons inspectors may soon be returning to Iraq, but that doesn't mean U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf should begin packing their bags.

BETHESDA, Md. - Although telemedicine has been highly touted as a revolutionary means of extending the reach of health care providers, only a handful of specialties routinely use the technology for patient treatment.

WASHINGTON - What season begins with the vernal equinox?

WASHINGTON - "Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace." Amelia Earhart

BRUSSELS - Three alleged Bosnian Serb war criminals indicted by the International Crimes Tribunal for Yugoslavia have surrendered to NATO stabilization forces in Bosnia.

BRUSSELS - NATO has extended the stabilization force mission in Bosnia indefinitely, alliance officials announced here Feb. 20.

BETHESDA, Md. - Last Christmas, 20 sailors aboard the USS Enterprise saw their newborn babies for the first time. The loneliness of serving in the Persian Gulf, at least 3,000 miles from home, was instantly relieved by the surprise family reunions.

BETHESDA, Md. - Dr. (Cmdr.) Nancy Bakalar studied her patient carefully, seeing him from her perspective as a Navy psychiatrist. She watched how he held his body, saw the military creases in his uniform shirt, the shine on his shoes.

WASHINGTON - You never know, when it's your time to go. A sudden death can send a normal family spinning out of control. You should tell your family what your wishes are, if the unexpected occurs.

OBERAMMERGAU, Germany - Learning one nation's military acronyms is hard. Imagine being assigned to NATO or SHAPE, where military personnel from 16 allied nations, plus 28 Partnership for Peace countries now work.

WASHINGTON - Enrollment should begin this summer for DoD's trial run at delivering health care to beneficiaries over the age of 65.

WASHINGTON - They wear the uniforms of their respective service branches. But the nation's three military surgeons general share a common vision for TRICARE.

WASHINGTON - When he was a teen-ager, Air Force Gen. Lloyd W. "Fig" Newton's father asked him and his brothers, "What's the most important four-letter word in the English language?"

WASHINGTON - It took the Navy 135 years from the date the Union Navy began enlisting African Americans in 1861 to promote a black man to four-star admiral.

WASHINGTON - When 17-year-old Johnnie E. Wilson enlisted in the Army in 1961, he had not the slightest inkling he'd still be wearing Army green 37 years later. He was just trying to earn money and GI Bill help for college.

GARMISCH, Germany - Venture out into the vast unknown? Leave base where everyone speaks English? Stray from the safety of the barracks, the comfort of Burger King?

OBERAMMERGAU, Germany - They said he was mad, but since his death more than 110 years ago, 1.5 million people have come to southern Germany to see the fruits of Bavarian King Ludwig II's madness.

GARMISCH, Germany - Imagine working at a place where every day is a holiday. That's the way it is for Marc J. Jannsen, operations manager at Armed Forces Recreation Center Europe.

GARMISCH, Germany - Snowy peaks, crisp, mountain air, the aroma of wood smoke, people in lederhosen and Alpine caps. Who can resist the lure of Bavaria?

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William Cohen assured the American public Feb. 18 service members "are prepared to do whatever is necessary in order to contain the [Iraqi] threat."

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - They schlep their gear -- tripods, lights and videocams; cameras and lenses, film and flash; notebooks, tapes, recorders and, their ubiquitous laptops.

WASHINGTON - DoD and AT&T made Valentine's Day even sweeter for troops calling the United States by cutting rates up to 50 percent beginning Feb. 14, according to Pentagon officials.

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces will act unless Iraq's Saddam Hussein allows U.N. inspectors free and unfettered access to suspected weapons sites, President Clinton said during a Pentagon speech Feb. 17.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Anthony C. Zinni said if he were Saddam Hussein right now, he'd be "nervous."

AL JABR AIR BASE, Kuwait - The United States plans military action if diplomacy fails to end the standoff with Iraq, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen told service members here Feb. 10.

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON - Commanders are confident. Troops are ready for action. The world is waiting. Will the United States launch air strikes in response to Saddam Hussein's failure to comply with U.N. resolutions?

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military has an acceptable level of readiness and is ready to execute U.S. national security strategy, the nation's top military man told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

WASHINGTON - Force protection and access to health care are among seven objectives Defense Undersecretary Rudy de Leon outlined Feb. 9 at the 1998 TRICARE worldwide conference.

WASHINGTON - By now, everyone in the armed forces should be aware that Iraq may harbor chemical and biological weapons or the means to build them. And it may not be the only country with such capabilities.

WASHINGTON - "When it comes to the subject of race, whites are talking to whites, blacks to blacks and Hispanics to Hispanics. But we aren't talking to each other."

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen told U.S. forces assembled in the Persian Gulf their mission is vital, the danger is real, Saddam Hussein must be stopped.

MONTEREY, Calif. - Anyone who's ever tried to maneuver a surfboard can attest to the difficulty of keeping balance and direction while being pummeled by waves. Research on submersible vehicles at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., may soon have that problem beat.

WASHINGTON - Deadline is April 1 to enter the U.S. Naval Institute's 5th annual Colin L. Powell Joint Warfighting Essay Contest.

DOHA, Qatar - Military strikes against Iraq are imminent if diplomacy fails and Saddam Hussein continues to deny U.N. weapons inspectors unfettered access.

WASHINGTON - Military health patients won't notice anything different immediately, but in the long run, the new TRICARE Management Activity could improve DoD health care services.

MUNICH, Germany - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen promised Italian authorities full cooperation in investigating a Feb. 3 accident involving a U.S. plane that killed 20 people at a ski resort in northern Italy.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Canada and Denmark during the first week in February became the first NATO allies to ratify the admission of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to the security alliance.

MUNICH, Germany - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen called on world allies to help enforce U.N. resolutions against Iraq. Failure to do so, he said, undercuts U.N. credibility.

MUNICH, Germany - The United States is sending another 2,200 Marines and five warships to the Persian Gulf to join what Pentagon officials describe as the "robust" American and British force already assembled there.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - The United States would still like to see diplomacy end the crisis with Iraq, But the United States is ready and able to strike if military action is necessary.

WASHINGTON - A long-awaited demonstration of DoD's plan to provide health care to military retirees 65 and older is finally going to happen, officials told delegates to the worldwide TRICARE conference here Feb. 9.

WASHINGTON - We are well into the new year. Now is the time to start keeping one of your New Year's resolutions. You know, the one about exercising regularly and losing those extra pounds from the holidays.

WASHINGTON - When St. Valentine was beheaded for marrying soldiers to their sweethearts, his last thought was probably not "Wow, someday lovers will give each other candy because of me."

WASHINGTON - The United States will not agree to a "no-strike" policy against Iraq during the ongoing Winter Olympic Games in Japan.

WASHINGTON - DoD is watching how often military personnel deploy and how the tempo affects quality of life, the department's personnel chief said.

WASHINGTON - It's a long way from the jungles of Vietnam to the Pentagon's "Hall of Heroes." And it's been almost 30 years since events led Roy Judkins from one to the other.

WASHINGTON - As was the case last year, the president's fiscal 1999 budget for the defense health program includes funding for health care to beneficiaries over age 65.

WASHINGTON - Diplomacy is the best solution to the current Iraq impasse, but if it fails Defense Secretary William S. Cohen promised a "significant" air campaign.

OBERAMMERGAU, Germany - Learning one nation's military acronyms is hard. Imagine being assigned to NATO or SHAPE, where military personnel from 16 allied nations, plus 28 Partnership for Peace countries now work.

MONS, Belgium - A U.S. Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler aircraft on a low-level training mission in northeast Italy severed a gondola cable at a ski resort Feb. 3, sending 20 passengers to their deaths.

OBERAMMERGAU, Germany - The NATO School here used to teach NATO policies and procedures only to military students from the 16 allied nations. Today, its student body includes military from Partnership for Peace countries, Russia and other non-NATO nations.

WASHINGTON - Air Force Maj. Robert H. Lawrence, the first African-American astronaut, was honored recently by NASA 30 years after he died in a plane crash.

WASHINGTON - Eating properly can be puzzling. So many new reports surface each month about food, snacking, nutrition and vitamins, it's hard to keep up with the latest evidence on a healthy diet.

WASHINGTON - Despite Food and Drug Administration claims to the contrary, defense health officials said the use of a vaccine against tickborne encephalitis given to soldiers in Bosnia in 1996 was safe and effective.

WASHINGTON - "Shape, respond and prepare" is the mantra Defense Secretary William S. Cohen keeps repeating about the fiscal 1999 DoD budget.

CAMP BONIFAS, South Korea - With armed soldiers and the tall fence of the Demilitarized Zone as a backdrop, Secretary of Defense William Cohen braced freezing temperatures Jan. 21 to tell a throng of reporters why the United States needs land mines here.

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan - "You are our warriors, and you are our great diplomats," Defense Secretary William Cohen told the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Independence during a stop here Jan. 21. The ship and its battle group had just been given sailing orders to the Persian Gulf.

WASHINGTON - A strong military and diplomacy are flip sides of the same coin, President Clinton said Jan. 29 in a speech amplifying his State of the Union national security remarks.

WASHINGTON - BRAC. It's a four-letter word many in his audience may not have wanted to hear again, but Defense Secretary William Cohen used it repeatedly in his Jan. 29 address to the U.S. Conference of Mayors here.

WASHINGTON - Service members will get a 3.1 percent pay raise and the DoD modernization program is on track if Congress approves the president's fiscal 1999 budget request.