WASHINGTON - Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is encouraging federal employees to participate in the Department of Agriculture’s fifth annual “Feds Feeds Families” campaign by bringing non-perishable food items to their offices through August for distribution to local food banks.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. - The Black Forest fire is keeping at least 150 Colorado National Guard members busy, including fathers who were away from home fighting fires during Father's Day.

SONSONATE, El Salvador - Army Sgt. Francis Buor, a water purification engineer with the Wisconsin National Guard, is performing humanitarian missions in El Salvador as part of the Beyond the Horizon 2013 multinational exercise.

WASHINGTON - A combined Afghan and coalition security force arrested two extremists during a search for a Taliban leader in the Sar-e Pul district of Sar-e Pul province.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Defense Department officials are weighing resource priorities and moving toward the decision phase for the fiscal year 2014 budget, said Mike McCord, the Pentagon’s principal deputy comptroller.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel welcomed Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon to the Pentagon during Yaalon’s first official visit to Washington since taking office.

WASHINGTON - The Army’s Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base in the southern Colorado Springs area opened their shelters to accommodate military families, Defense Department civilians and other authorized common access card users affected by the Black Forest fire.

WASHINGTON - Leaks to the public about a classified National Security Agency terrorist surveillance program that collects data from the phone calls of Americans already have jeopardized national security, the NSA director told a Senate panel June 12.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - Airmen from the Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing flew their first aerial firefighting support missions of the year June 12, dropping fire retardant on the Black Forest fire in Colorado’s El Paso County.

AL QUWEIRA, Jordan - Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s amphibious assault vehicle platoon had its first bilateral training event of Exercise Eager Lion 2013 in Al Quweira, Jordan, June 12, conducting a live-fire shoot in their AAVs with members of the Jordanian armed forces in their own light armored mechanized vehicles.

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colorado Springs, Colo. - Air Force Capt. Marshall Klitzke, who has been an active mountain climber since he was a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, reached the summit of Mount Everest with six other Air Force climbers on May 20.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A combined Afghan and coalition security force arrested an enemy operative during a search for an al-Qaida facilitator in the Behsud district of Nangarhar province.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department has established the world's first brain tissue repository to help researchers understand the underlying mechanisms of traumatic brain injury in service members, Pentagon officials announced.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - Personnel and equipment from Colorado-based military installations are assisting local, state and federal authorities in battling the ongoing Black Forest Fire in the southern part of the state.

TAMPA, Fla. - Maintainers across the military take pride in keeping aircraft, vehicles and weapons systems well-oiled and ready to go whenever the mission calls. A major initiative is underway at U.S. Special Operations Command to better maintain what Navy Adm. William H. McRaven, the Socom commander, calls the most important system of all: the operator.

WASHINGTON - The White House in a statement condemned Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria for multiple uses of chemical weapons against Syrian citizens, and pledged increased aid to opposition forces there.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - More than 140 personnel from the Colorado National Guard are continuing to assist civil authorities with firefighting support at the Black Forest fire in El Paso County, Colo.

WASHINGTON - Now that the existence of classified National Security Agency data-gathering efforts have been leaked to the public, Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the head of U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA, said he wants the public to understand the programs “so they can see what we’re doing and what the results of it are.”

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel helped the Army celebrate its 238th birthday at the Pentagon with a cake-cutting ceremony and a reminder that after 238 years, the service, perhaps unique among militaries, continues to have “the astounding confidence and trust of the American people.”

WASHINGTON - Pentagon Comptroller Robert F. Hale said the across-the-board cuts, costs for the war in Afghanistan that were higher than expected, and continuing resolutions that have in recent years replaced approved budgets have left Pentagon planners unable to make long-term course corrections.

FORT LESLEY J. MCNAIR, D.C. - In an era of burgeoning social media and budget uncertainty, competence and character are vital to maintaining public trust and confidence, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told National Defense University graduates.

WASHINGTON - Navy Secretary Ray Mabus would like to see the number of different camouflage uniforms in the military come down, and said he would support an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Bill for fiscal year 2014 that would mandate a single camouflage uniform for all the services.

WASHINGTON - Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said his service has been taking steps for years to combat the scourge of sexual assault in the ranks and it is making progress.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Two sisters from Lumberton, N.C., Army Cpl. Victoria P. Stokes and Army Spc. Alisa M. Matthews who are deployed together at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, said they gain strength from each other as they face similar challenges.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed five extremists after being fired upon during a search of a senior Taliban leader in the Archi district of Kunduz province.

PANAMA CITY, Panama - With tough budgetary choices ahead and the looming prospect of even deeper cuts, a senior official at the U.S. Embassy in Panama called the engagements being conducted during Beyond the Horizon 2013 a smart investment that promotes regional partnerships and by extension, regional security.

WASHINGTON - The threat of a cyberattack that would disrupt or deny connectivity is one of many information technology challenges the Defense Department faces, the Pentagon’s chief information officer said.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - Federal assistance is being provided in the effort against fires currently burning in southern Colorado.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - Personnel from the Colorado National Guard are continuing to assist civil authorities with firefighting support at the Black Forest fire in El Paso County, Colo.

WASHINGTON - Spending defense money on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the United States and overseas is a critically important part of U.S. foreign policy that clearly in the national interest, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress.

BETHESDA, Md. - Wounded warrior amputees at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., got a chance to share the wisdom and experience they’ve gained through tough rehabilitation and prosthetic fittings with a man who lost a leg during the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings.

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is maintaining a fiscal balancing act that must eventually teeter into a potentially dangerous loss of combat power if Congress doesn’t act to stabilize defense budgets, department leaders told the Senate Budget Committee.

WASHINGTON - The fiscal year 2014 defense budget request significantly increases the Defense Department’s cyber capacity -- an area where it lacks authority but has most of the assets, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the Senate Budget Committee.

WASHINGTON - While the Defense Department tries to minimize the effects of sequestration, it is, at a minimum ,"embarrassing to be doing this, in the eyes of friends and foes alike," and at a maximum, unsafe, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a group in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON - To increase stewardship and optimize service members’ educational experiences, Defense Department officials have developed a multifaceted quality assurance program to improve tuition assistance, said Frederick E. Vollrath, the assistant secretary of defense for readiness and force management.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - Two Air Force Reserve Command Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped C-130s and aircrews from the 302nd Airlift Wing based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., have been requested to support firefighting efforts for southern Colorado fires.

BETHESDA, Md. - Air Force 2nd Lt. Jennifer Szatkowski came to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center here for a dental exam, she discovered a decorated paper bag she'd fashioned for a patriotic project years ago in elementary school in Wisconsin.

KABUL, Afghanistan - An combined Afghan and coalition security force killed four extremists and wounded another during a search for a senior Taliban leader in the Sayyidabad district of Wardak province.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - The Colorado Army National Guard and Fort Carson are assisting civil authorities with firefighting support at the Black Forest fire in El Paso County, Colo.

WASHINGTON - For the Navy, cyber has an inherently military operational aspect, and the service is shaping its dedicated workforce to be 80 percent uniformed and only 20 percent civilian employees and contractors, said Navy Vice Adm. Michael S. Rogers, commander of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and U.S. 10th Fleet.

MEDETE, Panama - As soldiers and airmen wrap up the final weeks of humanitarian assistance projects in isolated regions of Panama during Beyond the Horizon 2013, they’re leaving behind a long-term impact.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel hosted Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, Foreign Minister Eda Rivas and Defense Minister Pedro Cateriano at the Pentagon.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Service members or anyone who bears the invisible scars of post-traumatic stress now have high-tech access to online resources to fight stress, depression and other psychological health concerns, a Defense Department official said.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Service members and veterans transitioning from the military to Veterans Affairs for treatment or between military treatment facilities now have access to greater consistency in psychological health and traumatic brain injury care.

WASHINGTON - North Korea remains a dangerous and unpredictable country, and the United States needs to be prepared for every option and contingency, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told a Senate panel.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is reviewing all of its contracts, and DOD contractors will share the burden of spending cuts, including the furloughs facing the department’s civilian workforce, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told senators.

AMMAN, Jordan - Thousands of service members from 19 countries are participating in Eager Lion, an annual multinational exercise held in and around Jordan.

WASHINGTON - Sequestration and the need for another base closure and realignment commission headlined Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed five extremists during a search for a senior Taliban leader in the Khugyani district of Nangarhar province.

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - At his retirement ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Air Force Senior Master Sgt. David Maldonado was joined by six siblings who are all in the Air Force.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department needs to be thinking now about how to best recruit a workforce skilled in science and technology, which will be increasingly vital to national security, said Reginald Brothers, deputy assistant secretary of defense for research.

SONSONATE, El Salvador - U.S. and Latin American troops partner in Panama and Colombia during Beyond the Horizon 2013, an annual U.S. Southern Command-sponsored humanitarian civic assistance exercise that includes medical, dental, veterinary services and engineering projects.

MEDETE, Panama - U.S. service members in Panama are helping impoverished citizens there through the provision of general medicine, dentistry, optometry, pediatrics, dermatology, obstetrics and gynecological, and pharmacy services as part of U.S. Southern Command-sponsored Beyond the Horizon 2013 medical exercises.

CAMP RAPID, S.D. - Pennsylvania Army National Guard Capt. Frank Brown is leading his soldiers as they set up a communications network as part ot the Golden Coyote military exercise held in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

WASHINGTON - A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed two extremists during a search for a senior Taliban leader in the Warduj district of Badakhshan province.

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. - What differentiates Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command from Army, Navy and Air Force cyber operations is its focus on the forward-deployed nature of America’s expeditionary force in readiness, the command's commander said.

WASHINGTON - During their two-days of informal talks in Rancho Mirage, Calif., President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jingpin agreed that North Korea must denuclearize, and that the United States and China will work together to resolve cybersecurity and other issues.

WASHINGTON - Despite what some media outlets are reporting, surveillance activities carried out by the U.S. government under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act are lawful, James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said in a statement.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jingpin said their two countries need to develop better military-to-military relations and improve cybersecurity cooperation during a session with reporters at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping both highlighted the importance of the U.S.-China relationship during their remarks made before the start of their informal talks at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

WASHINGTON - Maj. Gen. Michael T. Harrison Sr. was suspended of his duties as the commanding general of U.S. Army Japan and I Corps (Forward) due to allegations that Harrison failed in his duties as a commander to report or properly investigate an allegation of sexual assault.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met with Bahraini Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the Pentagon. The two leaders discussed issues of mutual concern.

WASHINGTON - President Obama said we celebrate the legacy of the American flag and honor the brave men and women who have secured it, as he designated June 14 as Flag Day and the week beginning June 9 as National Flag Week.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department wants to provide secure access to information from any device, anywhere and anytime, but the priority is security, the department’s principal deputy chief information officer said.

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. - Afghanistan veteran Marine Corps Sgt. Efrain Melecio is slated to attend Officer Candidates School before starting studies at the University of Arizona in the fall, where he plans to major in psychology to someday help people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

WASHINGTON - Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., commander of the International Security Assistance Force, released a statement where he offered his condolences to the families and friends of the seven Georgian service members who were killed in southern Afghanistan.

YASY CANY, Paraguay - Life in Yasy Cany, a small farming district in Paraguay's Canindeyú Department, is tough, and it shows on the faces of its 30,000 residents.

WASHINGTON - Despite U.S. and allied successes against terrorists, Al-Qaida isn't going away soon, the assistant defense secretary for special operations and low intensity conflict said.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Military women are an integral part of the armed forces and efforts are underway to combat and eliminate sexual assault in the ranks, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said at the 2013 Joint Women’s Leadership Symposium.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - High grass creates an ideal habitat for ticks, and also provides the potential to cause serious human and animal disease.

WASHINGTON - The Air Force has appointed the service's first female chief scientist to lead the way in the technology and science fields.

SONSONATE, El Salvador - When 1,400 members of Joint Task Force Jaguar prepared for a four-month mission in El Salvador as part of Beyond the Horizon 2013, they went through many of the same procedures they’d follow for wartime deployment to a disaster response in the homeland.

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Haqqani leader and three other insurgents during an operation in the Matun district of Khost province.

BRUSSELS - The United States will be the largest single contributor to the follow-on NATO operation that will replace the International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan in 2015 and beyond, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said at NATO headquarters.

WASHINGTON - Special operations forces cost less than 2 percent of the Defense Department’s budget, but the service they provide far outperforms that investment, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter said.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel welcomed President Obama's decision to select United Nations ambassador Susan Rice as his new national security advisor, saying in a statement, he looks forward to working with Rice.

WASHINGTON - A new biosurveillance division at the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center is working to fill gaps at the convergence of battlefield biodefense and health surveillance.

WASHINGTON - The United States is considering a request from Jordan to leave Patriot anti-missile batteries and F-16 fighter jets in the country following the end of Exercise Eager Lion.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Cyber Command has called on the services to contribute teams of cyber operators to ensure U.S. military freedom of action, defensively and offensively, in cyberspace.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has met with Spanish Defense Minister Pedro Morenes in Brussels.

WASHINGTON - While there's no shortage of doctrine on how the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps provide value to the nation, special operations forces aren’t restricted to any of the traditional doctrines, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command said.

BRUSSELS - NATO defense ministers have met to cement the alliance’s commitment to a "train, advise and assist" mission for Afghan forces after U.S.-led NATO forces leave in 2014, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan - The military has an instructional manual for almost everything, but Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Scott Wray knows experience can not be found in any document.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed three extremists and arrested a Taliban facilitator and another extremist in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss cybersecurity and other topics when they meet this week for informal talks in California.

SONSONATE, El Salvador - National Guard, reserve and active-duty soldiers and airmen working side by side with their counterparts from four other militaries are building a lot more than four new schoolhouses in El Salvador.

WASHINGTON - Partnerships have been U.S. Southern Command’s cornerstone throughout its 50 years of existence and will continue to be vital to its mission, Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly, Southcom’s commander said.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Southern Command and its predecessors have played a critical, stabilizing role since 1941, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in Miami, during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the command’s founding.

BRUSSELS - NATO will form quick-reaction cyber defense teams to protect its own networks and aid allies who come under attack, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, following the first meeting NATO’s defense ministers have conducted on cyber.

WASHINGTON - Commanders must be a part of any solution to the crisis of sexual assault in the military, service leaders told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

BRUSSELS - NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels will discuss a new direction for operations in Afghanistan, alliance cyber defenses and a possible Libya training mission, Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO supreme allied commander for Europe, told reporters.

WASHINGTON - Military leaders look forward to working with Congress to combat sexual assault in the ranks, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

BRUSSELS - It's too early to predict what level of troop support Afghan forces will need after 2014, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., NATO’s top Afghanistan commander said in Brussels.

FORT MEADE, Md. - The court-martial of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of releasing a trove of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website while stationed in Iraq, has opened on Fort Meade, Md.

WASHINGTON - People are at the core of the Defense Department’s Better Buying Power 2.0 acquisition program, the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition said.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed five enemy fighters who opened fire on them in Kunduz province.

SAN ANTONIO - Paralympic swimmer Army Spc. Elizabeth Wasil doubles as a model of resilience and as a poster soldier for the Army Strong Bands campaign.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - U.S. Northern Command recently activated staff to support flood response efforts in Iowa.

WASHINGTON - Sequestration spending cuts could continue into 2014, and the impact of the deep cuts will fall disproportionately on small businesses, the Pentagon’s top acquisition official told a Navy industry forum.

WASHINGTON - The Veterans Affairs Department is improving access for veterans to mental health services, President Barack Obama said in remarks that opened the National Conference on Mental Health.

WASHINGTON - Shortly after arriving in Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel issued a statement saying he was “deeply saddened” to learn of the death of New Jersey U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

BRUSSELS - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Brussels to join NATO and partner defense ministers for discussions on topics including Afghanistan, cybersecurity, a possible Libya training mission and collective defense.

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Army 1st Lt. Samuel Oh once thought he'd be a civilian pharmacist, but he now serves as a strength management officer responsible for all force structure, manpower, personnel and administration requirements for the 3rd Sustainment Brigade in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - Defense Department officials encourage parents and students to consider various strategies for financing college education, the director of the Pentagon’s office of family policy and children and youth said.

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - U.S. Special Operations Command is developing a new plan that will operationalize the way the command provides manpower and capability in support of the new defense strategic guidance.

WASHINGTON - An Afghan quick-reaction force killed 20 enemy fighters and detained another while responding to an attack on a local police checkpoint in the Orgun-e district of Paktika province.

CHANGI NAVAL BASE, Singapore - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stepped aboard the Navy’s first littoral combat ship, the USS Freedom, currently docked in Singapore.

SINGAPORE - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has met with his counterparts from Singapore and Malaysia following a key address to political and military leaders at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

SINGAPORE - The United States welcomes “a strong and emerging and responsible China,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said during a question-and-answer session following his speech in Singapore at the 12th Annual Shangri-La Dialogue.

SINGAPORE - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met separately with a number of his counterparts from the Asia-Pacific region while attending the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

SINGAPORE - The United States is committed to a strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific and aims to strengthen its ties in the region, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told an audience of Pacific leaders at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.