WASHINGTON - The Defense Department has granted approval for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service to sell prepaid phone cards to the general public for donation to Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom service members.

WASHINGTON - The new Iraqi brigade being formed to restore peace to Fallujah won't instantly solve the problems in the city, the commander of U.S. Central Command said today from his forward headquarters in Qatar.

WASHINGTON - A new Army program will help severely disabled soldiers and their families cut through red tape so they can more easily tap into services available to them through the military and Department of Veterans Affairs.

WASHINGTON - Military operations won't bring stability to Afghanistan, the U.S. general in charge of operations in that region said today. But such operations set the stage for ensuring the success of the Afghan national government, which, in turn, will speed reconstruction and a return to normalcy.

WASHINGTON - Both chambers of the U.S. Congress have adopted a resolution calling for Americans to recognize and honor U.S. service members during May's National Military Appreciation Month.

WASHINGTON - Acknowledging that the road to a free and sovereign Iraq is "bumpy," Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld pointed to a year of progress and said the Iraqi people have a "wonderful opportunity."

WASHINGTON - American officials are "appalled" by photos of U.S. soldiers allegedly mistreating Iraqi prisoners, and are urging the Iraqi people to not let the images taint their view of coalition forces.

WASHINGTON - Service members who don't have access to the Stars and Stripes newspaper but do have access to a computer can now go online to read or download an exact replica of the paper at no charge.

WASHINGTON - Commanders on the ground in Iraq are getting all the armored protection they determine necessary to do the job, the operations chief for U.S. Central Command told Pentagon reporters today.

WASHINGTON - Stronger leaders are being sought for Iraqi law enforcement and military units that haven't performed up to expectations, the top U.S. general in the Middle East said today.

WASHINGTON - The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is putting together the first battalion of a new Iraqi brigade being formed to restore and maintain order in the western city of Fallujah, a coalition military spokesman announced at a Baghdad news conference today.

WASHINGTON - Some might say he's got it all: a military retirement, a happy marriage spanning almost 50 years and a successful medical practice in Fayetteville, N.C.

WASHINGTON - U.S. and coalition efforts in Afghanistan are paying off in that formerly Taliban-controlled country, a senior U.S. official told House Armed Services Committee members today.

WASHINGTON - They never met him. But, for more than five decades, a sister and brother in Meersen, Holland, have painstakingly tended the grave of a young American who died defending democracy in Nazi Germany.

WASHINGTON - A total of 10 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq April 28 and today, Pentagon officials said.

WASHINGTON - The presidential nominee tabbed to replace former DoD Comptroller Dov. S. Zakheim told a Senate committee April 27 that she'd look into pay problems that have plagued some National Guard members deployed overseas in the war against terrorism.

WASHINGTON - As the June 30 handoff of sovereignty to an Iraqi government approaches, extremist elements within Iraq are becoming more desperate to derail the process, President Bush said April 28.

WASHINGTON - The government's new plan to counter a bioterrorism attack on the United States was announced at an April 28 news conference here.

WASHINGTON - Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz asked a House appropriations subcommittee here today for more flexibility in how funding for security assistance programs in Iraq is spent.

WASHINGTON - Winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi and Afghan people is much more than just a slogan for the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne).

WASHINGTON - There is no better example for the need for Fisher Houses than Hilario Bermanis.

WASHINGTON - The way the stalemate in Fallujah, Iraq, is ultimately resolved either through a negotiated agreement or through military force "will resonate throughout Iraq" and "deal a blow to all the insurgents across the country," the operations chief for U.S. Central Command told Pentagon reporters today.

WASHINGTON - Six soldiers to be tried for abusing detainees at a Baghdad prison fall far short of representing their military comrades who are serving honorably at the facility, a coalition spokesman told reporters in Baghdad today.

WASHINGTON - Coalition forces continue to "rigidly adhere" to the cease-fire that took effect in Fallujah, Iraq, April 9, despite graphic televised images that coalition officials called "a series of defensive responses" to attacks by insurgents within the city.

WASHINGTON - A U.S. military AC-130 Spectre gunship fired on suspected insurgent positions in Fallujah today, attacking weapons storage sites used by anti-coalition forces.

WASHINGTON - The surviving Witmer sisters, Charity and Rachel, today decided to complete their active military duty elsewhere than Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Negotiating with Fallujans to try to defuse the situation in the Iraqi city is "worth a try," defense leaders said during a press conference today.

WASHINGTON - The Multinational Interim Force in Haiti has begun planning for a follow-on force June 1 no matter what form it takes, officials in Haiti said.

WASHINGTON - Coalition officials announced today the formation of a commission to compensate Iraqis who were fired, wrongfully imprisoned or otherwise persecuted by deposed dictator Saddam Hussein.

WASHINGTON - Coalition officials in Baghdad today defended the U.S. Marines' decision to call in a strike on a minaret in Fallujah April 26 after determining that insurgents were using it to launch attacks with small- arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

WASHINGTON - The nominee for U.S. ambassador to Iraq today singled out the challenge facing the United States in Iraq: Establish the conditions by which the Iraqi people can pursue their interests and celebrate their differences through legitimate political channels, rather than through violence and retribution.

WASHINGTON - In the changed world after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Saddam Hussein's threat to the United States and the world couldn't be ignored any longer, President Bush said today in Minneapolis.

WASHINGTON - A series of Combined Joint Task Force 7 news releases provided details of various recent operations in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Millions of dollars in reconstruction projects are available for Fallujah once security is re-established in the troubled Iraqi city, a Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release reported today.

WASHINGTON - They like to think of themselves as the "18- wheeler trucks" that supply the front lines in the war on terror.

WASHINGTON - Coalition and Iraqi forces soon will conduct joint security patrols in the troubled town of Fallujah, senior officials said today in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - Coalition officials in Kabul, Afghanistan, provided details today on some weekend operations and upcoming community events.

WASHINGTON - Acknowledging that problems persist in the military mail system, Defense Department officials said they are taking steps to improve the process.

WASHINGTON - City representatives in Fallujah have agreed to allow joint patrols by Iraqi and U.S. forces to begin in the city April 28, senior coalition officials said during a news conference in Baghdad today.

WASHINGTON - Officials from the Coalition Provisional Authority's Program Management Office have embarked on a seven-city tour of central and northern Iraq to meet with local leaders and to discuss and begin work on the reconstruction projects slated for their areas.

WASHINGTON - The coalition has fulfilled almost all aspects of the agreement in Fallujah while anti-coalition forces there have fulfilled almost none, coalition officials in Baghdad said today.

WASHINGTON - A tiger-striped Iraqi kitten that wiggled its way into the hearts of a U.S. Army unit has made its way to the United States, thanks to a host of volunteers and two animal welfare groups.

WASHINGTON - He was so moved by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, that he turned down a $3.6 million professional football contract to become an Army Ranger.

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon Memorial Fund campaign was officially launched here April 22 during a Capitol Hill ceremony.

WASHINGTON - The vast majority of Iraqis want to live as a free, democratic and peaceful country, said the top coalition official in Baghdad today, but they must work with the coalition to make this a reality.

FORT A.P. HILL, Va. - Maj. Gen. Daniel Long Jr. sounds like a man with two sets of eyes when he talks about the Virginia Army National Guard outfit he has commanded since August 2002.

WASHINGTON - The largest-ever class of future Air Force combat controllers is training at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., to provide critical skills required in the war on terror.

FORT HOOD, Texas - A war against terrorists, the capture of a fallen dictator, the introduction of e-mail to a battle zone and the first war of the century have earned the soldiers of Operation Iraqi Freedom a unique place in history, the commander of the Army's 4th Infantry Division said here April 22.

WASHINGTON - The policy prohibiting hardcore Baathists from gaining government, military and teaching positions in the new Iraq is a good one and hasn't changed, the Coalition Provisional Authority's chief spokesman said in Baghdad today.

FORT HOOD, Texas - The flag of the Army's 4th Infantry Division was uncased here April 22 in ceremonies marking the official return of Task Force Ironhorse to the nation's largest military base.

WASHINGTON - Defense Department officials want thousands more service members to invest in their future through the Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP.

WASHINGTON - Army Lt. Col. Ed Dorman, deputy commander for the 507th Corps Support Group, admits he "broke the heart" of one of his best young officers when he told him he would be staying behind at Fort Bragg, N.C., when the unit deployed to Southwest Asia.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld appealed to American newspaper editors here today to tell the whole story about the global war on terrorism.

WASHINGTON - It's a matter of "days not weeks" for Fallujans to demonstrate they are serious about honoring the agreement they made earlier this week, Coalition Provisional Authority spokesmen in Iraq said today.

WASHINGTON - A certain amount of lawlessness has always been a part of life in Fallujah, Defense Department officials said recently.

WASHINGTON - Singapore's deputy prime minister reaffirmed his county's commitment to the war on terror and vowed to continue working closely with the United States "to uproot this menace to modern society" after a meeting today at the Pentagon.

WASHINGTON - The United States is not going to "cut and run" from Iraq, President Bush told newspaper editors here today.

WASHINGTON - A series of terror bombings in the southern Iraqi city of Basra today killed 38 civilians while wounding 98, according to a senior U.S. military officer.

WASHINGTON - The scope and scale of projects being undertaken by provincial reconstruction teams throughout Afghanistan are among the best defenses against terrorism in the region, according to the commander of the 18th Airborne Corps.

WASHINGTON - The National Endowment for the Arts is offering a series of writer's workshops led by accomplished authors to help troops and family members in telling their wartime experiences.

WASHINGTON - The Department of Defense is a good steward of America's environmental heritage, a top DoD official said.

WASHINGTON - Even as coalition and Iraqi officials are trying to move forward with peace talks in Fallujah, U.S. Central Command reported today that insurgents attacked coalition forces from a mosque in the city April 18.

WASHINGTON - Ensuring the safety of the public is a government's top responsibility, President Bush said April 19. And the USA Patriot Act allows governments at all levels to protect their citizens.

WASHINGTON - Current military doctrine needs an overhaul to better address the challenges confronting U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, the commander of the 18th Airborne Corps told the American Forces Press Service last week at the corps headquarters at Fort Bragg, N.C.

WASHINGTON - A new exhibit at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in downtown Fayetteville, N.C., features hundreds of vivid photos and artifacts that show the contributions of airborne and special operations soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - There is "no intention" to keep the 20,000 American soldiers extended in Iraq any longer than 90 days in the country and 120 days in the theater, Defense Department officials said today.

WASHINGTON - The biggest problem facing Iraq is that fear of the former regime still pervades the country, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said here today.

WASHINGTON - The war on terror isn't a conflict limited to Afghanistan and Iraq, but rather, "a national war for our survival as a nation," according to the commander of the Defense Department's largest warfighting organization, the Army's 18th Airborne Corps.

WASHINGTON - U.S., coalition and Iraqi officials have agreed "to implement a full and unbroken cease-fire" in the city of Fallujah, chief Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor said today in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - Iraq's Transitional Administrative Law offers hope for the country's future, and outlaws who oppose it will not be allowed to "shoot their way to power," the Coalition Provisional Authority administrator told the Iraqi people in an April 18 nationally broadcast address.

WASHINGTON - Before his resignation took effect last week, the Defense Department's former comptroller cited transformation as the main focus during his three-year tour.

WASHINGTON - Former regime elements and radical elements in Iraq will "clearly go to any lengths" to halt progress toward democracy, said Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard Myers on CNN's "Late Edition" today.

WASHINGTON - It was probably predictable that insurgents would try to prevent the transfer of power to Iraqis on June 30, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said on ABC's "This Week" today.

WASHINGTON - A week after coalition forces unilaterally suspended offensive military operations in Fallujah, the overall situation in and around the city remains unchanged, a coalition spokesman said today at a Baghdad news conference.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. strategy in the global war on terror boils down to changing the way terrorists live, rather than changing the way U.S. citizens live, the undersecretary of defense for policy said in an April 14 speech in Chicago.

WASHINGTON - Intelligence successes in U.S. Central Command have led to the capture of suspected terrorists and interdictions of drug shipments off the Horn of Africa, a senior CENTCOM official said today.

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. and British leaders today pledged their nations' continued support for a free and democratic Iraq despite all obstacles.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The Pakistani offensive on their side of the Afghan border is having a "disruptive effect" on terrorist operations in Afghanistan, said the commander of the Combined Forces Command, Afghanistan, today.

MOSUL, Iraq - The threat facing members of the coalition's Task Force Olympia here remains the same, but the people responding to it are Iraqis, not Americans.

WASHINGTON - Marines surrounding the volatile Iraqi town of Fallujah may be in an offensive operational pause, but that doesn't affect their ability to defend themselves, a top U.S. Central Command officer said today in Doha, Qatar.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Golf superstar Tiger Woods traded in his green jacket for an Army battle dress uniform and his golf spikes for combat boots this week to follow in his father's footsteps and train with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

WASHINGTON - The standoff between U.S. and coalition forces and insurgents at the Iraqi city of Fallujah can't continue much longer, the Coalition Provisional Authority's chief spokesman said today in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - Further military action may be necessary in the city of Fallujah, where despite a cease-fire and strained negotiations, insurgents still are shooting at Marines, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during an April 15 news conference in Baghdad.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) has left a reminder to the Americans working here why what they do is so important.

WASHINGTON - The number of suicides in Iraq has the full attention of Defense Department health officials, who are asking soldiers suffering from combat related stress to seek medical assistance.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Jeffrey Wershow died in Iraq in July. A year after the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Wershow became a National Guard icon.

WASHINGTON - Two new military commands will stand up in Iraq May 15, replacing the current coalition military organization.

WASHINGTON - Another U.S. soldier faces a general court-martial in connection with abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison, military officials announced today at a Baghdad news conference.

WASHINGTON - It's been a long time coming - some 59 years after the war - but soon visitors wandering about the National Mall here will see the new memorial dedicated to the nation's World War II veterans.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Balloons, hand-painted "welcome home" signs, ear-to-ear smiles and a few tears greeted airmen and a small group of soldiers who returned here April 14 following deployments in Southwest Asia.

WASHINGTON - America is at a crossroads that is no less dangerous than the threat of the Cold War, but will emerge victorious, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said here today.

WASHINGTON - About 20,000 soldiers now in Iraq and Kuwait will serve at least 90 days past their originally scheduled tours of duty, senior DoD leaders said here today.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Task Force Baghdad, made up mostly of the 1st Cavalry Division, has assumed responsibility for Baghdad and its environs from the 1st Armored Division.

WASHINGTON - Senior leadership in the Defense Department approved the plans for the new National Security Personnel System, Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England, who is heading the project, announced here April 14.

WASHINGTON - Iraqi citizens who will vote in January's elections will need to be educated about the new system, a senior United Nations official said in Baghdad today.

TALLIL, Iraq - A visit with foreign members of the coalition force in Iraq was the first stop for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff here today.

WASHINGTON - U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi emphasized today that Iraqi elections scheduled for January 2005 are "the most important milestone" for the country in its progress toward sovereignty.

WASHINGTON - A three-judge panel of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq tried and convicted three Iraqi men today for actions against coalition forces, Combined Joint Task Force 7 announced in a news release.

WASHINGTON - Four Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force died in recent fighting in Iraq's Anbar province, and a roadside bomb south of Baghdad claimed the life of a 1st Infantry Division soldier.

WASHINGTON - Coalition forces in Afghanistan have found and seized more weapons, officials said at a news conference today in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

WASHINGTON - The United States will continue in its commitment to an independent, free and secure Iraq, and the United States "must not waver" despite "a tough, tough period," President Bush said at an April 13 news conference.

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived here today for talks with Kuwaiti leaders.

WASHINGTON - When Lt. Cmdr. Rhonda Fleming-Makell, 41, ends her terminal leave June 30, she will step into American history books as the first African-American woman to retire as a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard's 214-year history.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of U.S. Central Command held discussions about the situation in Iraq here today.

WASHINGTON - Coalition officials said today the whereabouts of as many as 40 hostages in Iraq from 12 countries are unknown.

WASHINGTON - The security situation in Fallujah, Iraq, remains stable, and coalition forces there are engaged in a "robust hunt" for al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, believed to be in or near the city, coalition officials said today.

MANAMA, Bahrain - People around the world are going to have to realize the coalition effort in Iraq is a long-term project, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.

MANAMA, Bahrain - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived here today on a long-planned trip to consult with allies in the region.

ARLINGTON, Va. - A new, landmark alliance between the Kingdom of Jordan and the Colorado National Guard may be one more step toward bringing peace and stability to the Middle East.

MANAMA, Bahrain - Events in Iraq dominated the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's news conference following meetings with Bahraini leaders here.

WASHINGTON - Egypt's senior leader today told President Bush it's paramount to transfer sovereignty to an Iraqi government "as soon as possible."

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is seeking out technology suitable for use in combating terrorism, a senior DoD official said here April 8.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department stands ready to assist authorities at the federal, state and local levels in the event of another terrorist attack on the homeland, a senior DoD official said here April 8.

WASHINGTON - Readers of Careers and the Disabled magazine have chosen the Defense Department as public-sector employer of the year.

WASHINGTON - Combined Joint Task Force 7 today reported coalition forces casualties sustained April 10 and 11 in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Coalition Provisional Authority and Iraqi officials are continuing negotiations with insurgents in Fallujah and southern Iraq, CPA officials said in Baghdad today.

WASHINGTON - Two American soldiers and seven U.S. contractors are missing following an attack on a convoy in Iraq, the top two U.S. generals in the region said today from Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - Iraqis, not the U.S. military, will ultimately solve security problems within their country, the top American general in the region said today.

WASHINGTON - A "poison" that built up through Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq is responsible for the recent wave of violence in the country, the coalition's civilian administrator said today.

WASHINGTON - The commander of coalition forces in Iraq said today that continuing to build Iraqi security forces is key to a successful transfer of sovereignty.

WASHINGTON - President and Mrs. Bush visited Fort Hood, Texas, today to observe Easter with the families of deployed soldiers.

WASHINGTON - Both crewmembers of an Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter died today when insurgents shot down their helicopter near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Sporadic gunfire continues in Iraq despite the coalition's offer of a cease-fire in Fallujah, coalition officials said today at a Baghdad news conference.

WASHINGTON - Coalition officials in Afghanistan today provided details on recent weapons seizures and other activities at a press briefing in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

WASHINGTON - Delaying the scheduled June 30 transfer of sovereignty in Iraq because of recent violence would play into the enemy's hands, President Bush said today in his weekly national radio address.

WASHINGTON - DoD officials testified before the Senate Armed Services Strategic Subcommittee April 7 on plans to transform intelligence programs within the department.

WASHINGTON - Coalition forces today unilaterally suspended offensive operations in Fallujah, Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi Governing Council, officials in Baghdad reported.

WASHINGTON - Although the rules of engagement specifically identify mosques as protected structures, Iraqi insurgents forfeited that protection when they used a mosque in central Fallujah, Iraq, April 7 to launch attacks on U.S. forces, the commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade told reporters at Camp Pendleton, Calif., today.

WASHINGTON - It's peak mosquito season in Iraq, and U.S troops deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom are taking steps to protect themselves against malaria.

WASHINGTON - Senior U.S. officials decided to focus on the al Qaeda-Taliban connection in Afghanistan rather than on Iraq shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told the 9/11 panel here today.

WASHINGTON - Security conditions in southern Iraq prompted the coalition's civilian administrator to issue a statement today promising the best possible effort to protect Arbaeen pilgrims while urging them to be vigilant and careful.

WASHINGTON - Although the U.S. government was aware of the al Qaeda threat, senior policy makers had received no warning that the terrorists would use planes as bombs to attack the homeland, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told the 9-11 panel here today.

WASHINGTON - Coalition forces are working to pacify Fallujah and other parts the Sunni Triangle area, and they are destroying the militia led by Muqtada al-Sadr in the central and southern areas of Iraq, the commander of coalition forces in Iraq said today.

WASHINGTON - National Guard and Reserve leaders met before a Senate subcommittee reviewing the fiscal 2005 military budget here April 7.

WASHINGTON - Navy and Army ROTC members, as well as students, faculty and staff at Old Dominion University and the local community are lapping the school's perimeter in Norfolk, Va., during a six-day "Run for Freedom" to honor every U.S. service member killed during the war on terror.

WASHINGTON - Marines in Fallujah, Iraq, used air support today to break through the wall of a mosque complex that insurgents were using to fire on them, a U.S. Central Command news release reported.

WASHINGTON - Defense Department officials met this week with hundreds of vendors to discuss plans for implementing technology common among today's retailers to revolutionize the supply chain to the battlefield.

WASHINGTON - The Mahdi Army, a militia group led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, is losing influence among Shiia in Iraq, a Defense Department official said here today.

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials in Baghdad today vowed to defeat insurgents and restore order in Iraq after a third day of countrywide attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces.

WASHINGTON - The coalition is facing a "test of will" in Iraq, and it will meet that test, Defense Department leaders said at a press briefing today.

WASHINGTON - Life in Afghanistan, "the first theater in the war against terror," is looking up, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad noted here April 5.

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces have been conducting raids in Fallujah and have captured a number of high-value targets, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in Norfolk, Va., today.

WASHINGTON - With increased U.S. Marine deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is stepping up fund- raising so it can honor its pledge to award scholarships to all children of Marines killed in combat during the war on terror.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Richard Childress Racing and Bobby Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion, joined forces with Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve at the Texas Motor Speedway April 3 in the first of a NASCAR "Dream Team" lineup of drivers.

WASHINGTON - Four Marines with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed April 5 as a result of enemy action while conducting security and stabilization operations in Iraq's Anbar province, a Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release reported today.

WASHINGTON - Mindful that terrorist groups use the drug trade to fund operations, the Defense Department is helping local governments fight narco-trafficking in Colombia and Afghanistan, senior U.S. officials noted on Capitol Hill April 2.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Haitian leaders and received briefings on the U.S. efforts in the country during an April 5 visit to the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department will try for a third time to get three provisions of the DoD Readiness and Range Preservation Initiative passed by Congress.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Central Command officials are studying all aspects of the recent surge of violence in Iraq, and believe they are prepared to counter it. The command has not requested any additional forces for operations in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - An Iraqi judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of anti-coalition Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr in connection with the death of Ayatollah Sayed al Khoei last year, coalition authorities revealed today.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Twelve people gasped for breath and sucked down water as Staff Sgt. Thomas Leonard paced back and forth in front of them.

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - The collaboration of the United States military and three coalition partners is increasing engineering productivity at the air base here with every passing month.

WASHINGTON - The closer the return of sovereignty comes in Iraq, the more enemies of democracy will challenge the coalition, President Bush said today in Charlotte, N.C.

WASHINGTON - Spanish and Salvadoran troops in Najaf came under attack from gunmen hiding in a crowd of protesters, coalition officials said in Baghdad today.

WASHINGTON - Coalition Administrator Paul Bremer announced the men who will head Iraq's national defense structure and announced the formation of a new Iraqi intelligence agency during a Baghdad press conference today.

WASHINGTON - The Navy is "moving out smartly" on its transformation journey, the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command said at the Annapolis Naval History Symposium April 1.

WASHINGTON - The United States continues to whittle down its stockpile of chemical weapons as part of fulfillment of an international treaty, U.S. officials told the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities April 1.

WASHINGTON - More than 3,700 Korean soldiers will deploy to either Irbil or As Sulimaniyah provinces this summer, Korean officials announced April 1.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The huge vessel looks quite out of place among the small yachts and sailboats at a shallow pier. Neighborhood people on their morning jogs and dog walks looked amazingly at the HSV 2 Swift on its four-day port call here March 30.

WASHINGTON - The four civilian security specialists killed in a March 31 insurgent attack in Fallujah, Iraq, are being mourned by their company.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Students of the city's 14th of July Girls' School received an unexpected gift when soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, handed out 500 backpacks loaded with school supplies, candy and other items.

WASHINGTON - The "horrible, bestial" acts of a few people in Fallujah shouldn't obscure the significant gains the coalition has made in Iraq, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt during a phone interview from Baghdad today.

WASHINGTON - A letter signed by Defense Department leaders asks DoD civilian employees to be patient as teams work to make the new National Security Personnel System a reality.

WASHINGTON - The world's most successful defense alliance welcomed seven new countries into the organization today.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military's top officer in South Korea says plans are in motion to move 2nd Infantry Division troops away from the north- south border region and most other forces out of the capital city of Seoul.

WASHINGTON - An axiom in war, business and politics is that you reinforce success. That's what officials in Colombia and the United States want to do as part of the effort to defeat the threat posed by narcoterrorists.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is making steady progress in establishing a common set of business standards and practices that eliminates duplication and promotes information sharing, Pentagon financial and information officials told members of Congress March 31.

WASHINGTON - Mercurial North Korean leader Kim Jong-il heads the world's fifth-largest military and continues to act as if he might use it to subjugate his southern neighbor, the commander of U.S. forces in South Korea told the House Armed Services Committee here March 31.

WASHINGTON - Three U.S. military personnel were injured today when a roadside bomb disabled their humvee in Iraq's Anbar region, the coalition's military spokesman said at a Baghdad news conference today.

WASHINGTON - A "deliberate, precise, overwhelming" response awaits the insurgents who killed four American contractors and five U.S. soldiers March 31, the coalition's military spokesman said at a Baghdad news conference today.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy of 2020 will have unmanned underwater reconnaissance vehicles, the service's deputy chief of naval operations for resources, requirements and assessments, said here March 31.

NORFOLK, Va. - For its accomplishments and contributions to Operation Noble Eagle and the overall security of the United States, Standing Joint Force Headquarters-Homeland Security, a component command of U.S. Northern Command, received the Joint Meritorious Unit Award and the Global War on Terrorism Medal in a March 26 ceremony here.

WASHINGTON - Calling transformation his primary concern, Navy Adm. Thomas B. Fargo told the House Armed Services Committee March 31 that sustaining and supporting the war on terrorism is the U.S. Pacific Command's highest priority.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Naval services have the opportunity to play leading roles in the transformation of the U.S. military, the Defense Department's director of force transformation said here March 31.

WASHINGTON - Universal outrage and a commitment to staying the course in Iraq followed the brutal murders of four U.S. civilian contractors and five soldiers in Iraq March 31.

WASHINGTON - The United States and Kuwait pledged today to stand by each other, marking the pledge with a Pentagon ceremony in honor of Kuwait being designated a major non-NATO ally of America.