WASHINGTON - While China seeks to benefit from trade and technology "interactions" with the United States, Beijing leaders still believe the U.S. poses a "significant," long-term challenge, according to a DoD report released to Congress July 30.

WASHINGTON - Defense officials are committed to fulfilling requests from the federal 9-11 Commission, a senior official said in the Pentagon today.

GARDEZ, Afghanistan - It looks like the Alamo, complete with the Lone Star flag flying over it.

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - While her husband addressed military affairs, Mary Jo Myers toured various places around Afghanistan July 30 to get a feel for the shape the country and its people are in.

BAGRAM Air Base, Afghanistan - Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Bagram Air Base July 30 as part of his tour of Middle Eastern and Asian coalition military operations.

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - They travel all over the world, from the United States to Egypt to Kosovo, working side by side with troops, searching trucks, buildings and people for narcotics and explosives. These canines lifelines for military safety are here protecting the coalition forces and the surrounding area from threats of terrorism.

WASHINGTON - A free and democratic Iraq will show other countries in the region that "prosperity and dignity are found in representative government and free institutions," President Bush said at the White House this morning.

WASHINGTON - After nearly a half century of federal service, William I. Lowry has learned to expect the unexpected.

WASHINGTON - Six enemy combatants now being detained by DoD will be evaluated to determine if any should be charged and tried for war crimes under military commissions, two senior U.S. military lawyers told the American Forces Radio and Television Service recently.

WASHINGTON - While there are no guarantees that America can prevent another terrorist attack on U.S. soil, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said the "American people are more secure and better prepared today than ever before."

WASHINGTON - U.S. and other coalition forces in Iraq can't defend themselves everywhere all the time, so they've been going on the offensive, a top Defense Department spokesman said today.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Joint Chiefs chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers continued consultations in South Asia with meetings with his Pakistani counterparts here today.

WASHINGTON - Iraqis are providing more tips to U.S. and coalition forces searching for Saddam loyalists in Iraq, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz told a U.S. Senate committee here today.

NEW DELHI, India - Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers discussed the continuing war on terrorism with his Indian counterpart here today and quashed rumors that his visit was related to U.S. pressure for India to provide troops for operations in Iraq.

NEW DELHI, India - The area within Tikrit, Baghdad and Ar Ramadi "is still a war zone," said Joint Chiefs chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers during a press conference here today.

WASHINGTON - Nominees to lead two important leadership positions faced tough questions concerning present troops strength in Iraq, lengths of deployments and the stress those deployments are having on service members and their families today.

GROTON, Conn. - Quoting late educator Horace Mann, Adm. Walter F. Doran told the audience July 24 at the 5th annual Military Child Education Coalition conference that "the surest way to scatter a mob is to start a speech on education."

WASHINGTON - "The Korean War will not really end until every American is brought home or accounted for."

WASHINGTON - Fifty years ago on July 27, the signing of an armistice ended three years of bloody fighting on the Korean peninsula - a conflict in which almost 37,000 U.S. service members gave their lives.

BALAD, Iraq - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff visited the "pointy end of the spear" in Iraq July 27.

WASHINGTON - Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said security continues to be a real problem in Iraq, but that help from other nations and the Iraqi people is on the way.

DOHA, Qatar - A U.S. Central Command official estimates the number of anti-coalition forces in Iraq to number between 4,000 and 5,000.

WASHINGTON - The King (of Comedy) is dead. Long live the King.

DOHA, Qatar - Saddam Hussein is on the lam and if he is still in Iraq the United States will get him, said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, yesterday.

WASHINGTON - Members of Iraq's medical community - with U.S. and allied help - are determined to restore their nation's health care system after decades of abuse and neglect by Saddam Hussein's regime, DoD's top medical official said here today.

GROTON, Conn. - Many things have changed for the better for military people over the past decade or so, but moving a family is still one of the greatest stresses for service members, spouses and children, the superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy said July 23 at an educators' conference here.

GROTON, Conn. - Army Gen. Tommy Franks said he wasn't surprised when Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay were killed in a pitched battle in Iraq. The general who led international coalitions in Afghanistan and Iraq even predicted the demise of the pair's father.

WASHINGTON - The July 22 deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay at the hands of U.S. forces who were tipped of by an Iraqi citizen is bringing forth intelligence information that has led to weapons seizures and the arrests of Saddam loyalists.

WASHINGTON - "If this was a real event you wouldn't be standing here," the director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency told reporters being given a close-up view of a large-scale chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training exercise in the Pentagon's south parking lot July 24.

WASHINGTON - Many Americans from around the country have responded to the events of Sept. 11 with support for those who lost loved ones in the attack. For some, this support has come in the form of needle and thread.

WASHINGTON - American forces in Iraq are making important contributions to ensure that country's successful transition from dictatorship to democracy, the U.S. military's senior officer told a Senate committee here today.

WASHINGTON - The regime of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein is out of power forever in Iraq, but the United States remains engaged in the war against global terrorism, the U.S. military's top civilian said here today.

WASHINGTON - For decades, terrorists have waged war against the United States. Now, America is waging war against terrorists, Vice President Richard Cheney said today.

PORT OF SHUAIBA, Kuwait - Soldiers in Kuwait have started studying Arabic twice a week thanks to a fellow American soldier who grew up speaking Arabic in Alexandria, Egypt.

GROTON, Conn. - In only five years, the Military Child Education Coalition has grown into an organization of international presence, a former Groton schools superintendent told attendees July 22 at the organization's 5th annual conference here.

WASHINGTON - The head of reconstruction efforts in Iraq said progress continues to be made in the country and the deaths of Hussein brothers Uday and Qusay is a "statement and a restatement of the partnership that has emerged between the Iraqi people and the coalition."

WASHINGTON - Defense officials have come up with a troop-rotation plan for Iraq that will give the commander of U.S. Central Command "the force he needs to decisively defeat those elements that threaten security," the acting Army chief said July 23.

WASHINGTON - The deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein sent "a very clear signal to the Iraqis that the Hussein family is finished and will not be returning to terrorize them again," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

WASHINGTON - The killing of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay by U.S. forces July 22 was another indicator that the United States is making progress in Iraq, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told Pentagon reporters today.

WASHINGTON - President Bush today urged nations around the world to contribute "militarily and financially" toward building a free and secure Iraq.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - The defense department's top civilian declared here July 22 that he's not at war with the U.S. Army.

WASHINGTON - U.S. military officials in Iraq believe a coalition missile barrage at roughly 1 p.m. local time July 22 struck the fatal blow to Uday and Qusay Hussein.

WASHINGTON - "It's great to be home," Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch told hundreds of well wishers who lined the streets of Elizabeth, W. Va., today to welcome the former POW home.

WASHINGTON - Fourteen non-profit organizations today received a total of $50,000 in grants for programs they created to improve quality of life for military members, their families and communities.

WASHINGTON - Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, the first of the rescued prisoners of war from Operation Iraqi Freedom, was discharged from Walter Reed Army Medical Center July 22, her 102nd day of care at the largest medical facility in the Department of Defense.

WASHINGTON - Travel and adventure. For 17-year-old Mike Dougherty of Milwaukee, Wis., this was reason enough to enlist in the armed services.

WASHINGTON - At 5:30 a.m. each day, Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell starts off his morning with the daily traffic.

WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein's sons Qusay and Uday were killed today in a "fierce gun battle," U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, announced at a news briefing in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - A team of 21 U.S. Marines arrived in Monrovia today to add a level of security to the U.S. Embassy in Liberia's capital, Defense officials in the Pentagon said.

Washington - Family members and defense officials alike intend to ensure that those who died at the Pentagon Sept. 11, 2001, are remembered.

WASHINGTON - America and Europe are "both more secure and more effective" when they work together, President George W. Bush said today during a press conference with his Italian counterpart.

WASHINGTON - Several attacks and an accident in Iraq over the past three days have left five American soldiers dead and another six hurt.

WASHINGTON - American special operations forces killed roughly two dozen enemy forces after being attacked in Afghanistan July 19. While, elsewhere, nine coalition troops have been wounded in recent days.

WASHINGTON - Susan Brewer made a startling discovery during a "Support Our Troops" rally on the National Mall in April. She found out that wounded service members returning from Iraq only have the clothes on their backs and that's if their garments haven't been cut off for medical procedures.

WASHINGTON - Despite repeated hit and run assaults on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq by "bitter- ender" Saddam supporters, security and reconstruction efforts in that country continue forward, the senior U.S. administrator in Iraq said July 20.

WASHINGTON - An Iraqi militia is being formed to assist U.S. and coalition forces in rooting out and destroying Saddam loyalists who've been attacking coalition forces and obstructing reconstruction efforts, the senior U.S. administrator in Iraq said July 20.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thanked about 20 of the nation's top business leaders today for their support of employees serving in the National Guard and reserves.

WASHINGTON - Defense Department officials are looking hard at recommendations regarding rebuilding Iraq that a team of post-war reconstruction experts made in a report released July 17.

WASHINGTON - It's all about building a first-rate personnel system to complement a first-rate military, said David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

MIAMI - Possibly the most honored person at the NAACP's 28th Annual Armed Services and Veterans Affairs award dinner July 16 was not a high- ranking dignitary or any of the scheduled awardees.

MIAMI - NAACP president and chief executive officer Kweisi Mfume told an audience of military and Defense Department personnel that he envies those who wear the military uniform.

WASHINGTON - DoD's military and civilian personnel systems need to be as flexible as the fighting forces they support, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wrote in a Washington Post commentary today.

WASHINGTON - The United States and Britain are opposing the ideology of terrorism with a belief in freedom and liberty, President Bush said during a White House press conference today with his British counterpart.

MIAMI - A top DoD official told the NAACP that DoD's "made great strides in the representation of African-Americans in our armed forces, but we recognize we still have room for growth, particularly in general and flag officer ranks."

WASHINGTON - The values of liberty and freedom are America's and Great Britain's best weapons against terrorism, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a joint meeting of Congress July 17.

WASHINGTON - "We can either fight this battle against terrorism at home, or we can fight it abroad," U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid said July 16. "Our soldiers have to know in their heart of hearts that they've got to fight it abroad."

WASHINGTON - BMW of North America has donated six BMW R 1100 RT-P ("P" for police) authority motorcycles to the Defense Department's police force, which enables the Pentagon law enforcement agency to create its first motorcycle unit.

WASHINGTON - Air Force Maj. Jim Ewald had just finished a close-air support mission over Baghdad when his A-10 Thunderbolt II was hit by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile April 8. It physically moved the plane "like the hand of God," Ewald said during a Pentagon interview July 16.

WASHINGTON - Three days into Operation Iraqi Freedom, Air Force Lt. Col. Dave Kennedy got a new mission: Go to Tallil air base in Iraq and ready it for A-10 Thunderbolt II missions.

WASHINGTON - U.S. and coalition forces are facing organized opposition by Baathist remnants throughout Iraq, U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid told reporters at the Pentagon July 16.

MONTEREY, Calif. - States affiliated with foreign countries should strengthen those bonds. States that have not forged similar international alliances might want to think about doing so.

ST INIGOES, Md. - The popular idea of unmanned aerial vehicles is that they are like aggrandized radio-controlled planes, good only for reconnaissance and scouting.

WASHINGTON - An American soldier was killed in an attack on a convoy west of Baghdad today. Three other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

WASHINGTON - President Bush has proposed legislation to Congress that would improve benefits for former prisoners of war, responding to the needs of Operation Iraqi Freedom POWs.

WASHINGTON - Today, there's no visible reminder of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. The destroyed section of the building has been rebuilt. Its gray stone facade has been meticulously restored.

WASHINGTON - Soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division will be home "by September," DoD officials said.

WASHINGTON - Purple Heart recipients from previous conflicts get a chance to attend the 2003 Army- Navy football game for free.

WASHINGTON - The citizens of Iraq moved closer toward establishing a democratic government of their own choosing with the July 13 assembly of the Iraqi governing council, the senior U.S. administrator in Iraq noted recently.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The refurbished Armed Forces Recreation Center Shades of Green on Walt Disney World Resort won't open till March 1, 2004, instead of the originally planned Dec. 15, 2003, date.

WASHINGTON - The Defense and Labor departments are combining forces to improve the lives of service members, their families and veterans re- entering the civilian workforce by sharing of information on job training and employment programs.

WASHINGTON - Any large-scale deployment of American troops to Liberia would not be under U.N. control, President George W. Bush said at the White House today.

WASHINGTON - Iraq has taken a first step toward self-government after decades of tyrannical rule by Saddam Hussein's regime.

ST INIGOES, Md. - The "Jumbotron" video screen had "Welcome to UAV Town, USA" emblazoned across at site of the unmanned aerial vehicle flight demonstration today.

WASHINGTON - Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion volunteers stepped up recently to help out the family of an Illinois Air National Guardsman deployed overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

WASHINGTON - There were 97 major base closures and 55 major realignments during previous base realignment and closure actions in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995, according to DoD documents.

WASHINGTON - A 3rd Infantry Division soldier was killed and six others wounded in Baghdad early July 14 when their convoy was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades, U.S. Central Command officials said.

WASHINGTON - The closer coalition forces get to completely dismantling the remnants of Iraq's ousted Baath government, the "more vicious" attacks on American forces in that country are likely to become, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

WASHINGTON - It was the first time Julie Curtis-Win and her father had done something together in a long time. Both avid gardeners, they signed up for Texas A&M's Horticulture Master Gardener class.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Central Command has been at the "leading edge of the global war on terrorism" for the past two years, according to Tommy Franks, the U.S. Army general who led the U.S. offensive against terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is making joint training a priority as it moves ahead with transforming the way U.S. forces prepare for war.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Families of service members still missing from the Vietnam War are "the essence of America's strength," according to the general in charge of finding those missing troops.

WASHINGTON - Stella Garrison was watching the Marine Corps TV channel at Camp Pendleton, Calif., when she saw an advertisement about nominations for the "Marine of the Year" competition. She thought her husband met the prerequisites for the honor, and she was right.

WASHINGTON - President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stand firm in their conviction that Saddam Hussein's regime posed a threat to world peace.

WASHINGTON - Two American soldiers died in separate attacks in Iraq July 9. A third soldier was wounded.

WASHINGTON - The United States "will stay the course" in Iraq, President Bush said today in Gaberone, Botswana, following a meeting with President Festus Gontebanye Mogae.

WASHINGTON - The foundation of American policy in Iraq is that the country belongs to the Iraqis, and the United States will turn over control of the country as soon as possible, Douglas Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy, said yesterday.

WASHINGTON - A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a coalition forces' perimeter at Fallujah, Iraq, early July 9, and two more former Saddam Hussein-regime officials are in U.S. custody.

WASHINGTON - President Bush said the United States is firmly committed to peace in Africa and said America would support peacekeeping efforts in Liberia.

FORT DETRICK, Md. - The next-generation anthrax vaccine, based on a decade of work at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, is now moving into not one, but four clinical trials.

WASHINGTON - The maturation of the joint force concept was at the heart of the successes American arms achieved during Operation Iraqi Freedom, former command leader Army Gen. Tommy Franks said today before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

WASHINGTON - Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld worked to dispel the impression that Saddam Hussein loyalists are operating freely throughout Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Forty-four civilian community leaders from across the country were "wowed" by their experiences during a weeklong Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, June 7 to 13.

WASHINGTON - The Iraqi people can now speak their minds openly, according to Emad Dhia, an Iraqi-born American who's just spent eight weeks in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - Anti-coalition insurgents mounted several attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq July 8, and dropped mortar rounds on an American supply depot north of Baghdad July 7, a Coalition Joint Task Force-7 spokesman said today.

WASHINGTON - President Bush said during a quick media opportunity in Senegal that the United States will participate with the Economic Community of West African States and the United Nations in any humanitarian mission to Liberia. "We're now in the process to determine the extent of our participation," Bush said.

WASHINGTON - Iraq's electrical system and other key infrastructure was all but ruined after years of neglect under Saddam Hussein's rule, but reconstruction efforts are improving life for the country's citizens with each passing day, U.S. officials in Baghdad said July 7.

WASHINGTON - Iraqis need to see Saddam Hussein and his sons dead or in custody before they feel safe, said Emad Dhia, director of the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council, during a Pentagon press conference today.

WASHINGTON - Two Americans died yesterday following attacks and another died as a result of an explosion early this morning. All three were members of the 1st Armored Division and all the attacks took place in Baghdad.

FORT DETRICK, Md. - When top DoD officials mandate anthrax or smallpox vaccinations for service members, a small group of dedicated logisticians at the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency spring into action. Their job? Make sure the vaccine gets where it needs to go and arrives in pristine condition.

6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TAMPA, Fla. - Army Gen. John P. Abizaid assumed command of U.S. Central Command from Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks today during a ceremony at the St. Pete Times Forum.

WASHINGTON - Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who steps down as commander of U.S. Central Command today, said coalition forces will continue to move forward with establishing security in Iraq, by "working with Iraqis" despite an increasing number of U.S. casualties.

WASHINGTON - A total of 16 soldiers were wounded in a mortar attack against a logistics post near Balad, Iraq, July 3, U.S. Central Command officials said, Saturday.

WASHINGTON - President Bush honored the U.S. military for its role in safeguarding freedom at home and providing freedom abroad during a speech at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, yesterday.

WASHINGTON - One soldier died and another was wounded in separate July 3 incidents in Iraq, according to a U.S. Central Command news release.

WASHINGTON - More than 1,000 hometowns across the nation will join the Defense Department this Fourth of July in recognizing hometown heroes and honoring the men and women who have served in the war on terrorism.

WASHINGTON - Anyone who attacks U.S. troops "will be found and brought to justice," President Bush said at the White House July 2.

WASHINGTON - Security operations designed to corral Saddam-regime sycophants remaining in Iraq continue, according to a U.S. Central Command news release July 2.

WASHINGTON - Army Lt. Gen. John P. Abizaid is set to receive his fourth star and to take over U.S. Central Command from outgoing commander Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks at ceremonies in Tampa, Fla., July 7.

WASHINGTON - By signing the Declaration of Independence 227 years ago, our Founding Fathers embarked on a bold experiment in democracy, and committed our Nation to principles of freedom. These principles define who we are as Americans, and have withstood many challenges in the years since.

WASHINGTON - The Fourth of July marks the 227th anniversary of the birth of our nation, the day when brave and dedicated patriots made manifest their love of liberty and founded a nation based on freedom. And from that day to this, the world has never been the same. As Lafayette put it, "Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country." Indeed it does. For more than 200 years, America has stood for freedom.

WASHINGTON - Saddam-regime die-hards will not deter America's commitment to assist the Iraqi people in establishing a new, prosperous, free Iraq, said President Bush July 1 at a White House ceremony.

WASHINGTON - A bomb manufacturing class being taught inside the Al Hasan Mosque in Fallujah was apparently the cause of the early July 1 explosion there, according to U.S. Central Command officials.

WASHINGTON - The anti-terrorism measures contained in new U.S. maritime regulations issued July 1 are designed to improve security at the nation's ports and waterways, America's homeland security chief said.

WASHINGTON - With right hands and voices raised, 30 military personnel from each branch of the armed forces repeated the oath of re-enlistment in the White House East Room today.

WASHINGTON - The remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime are not only attacking coalition forces, but also the infrastructure all Iraqis rely on, said the presidential envoy to Iraq today.

WASHINGTON - Six U.S. soldiers were wounded in two separate attacks in Iraq today, said Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials.