WASHINGTON - DoD is expanding eligibility for the new Armed Forces Service Medal to service members assigned throughout Italy.

CAMP H. M. SMITH, Hawaii - Off-duty American servicemen looking for a "good time" in Thailand take heed: HIV/AIDS there is predominately a heterosexually-transmitted disease.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - They don't carry weapons, but they do wage constant war. They don't hold sick call, but they help keep service members healthy and ready to perform their duties.

WASHINGTON - In the 15 years since the epidemic began, health organizations estimate between 2.5 million and 5 million people have died from AIDS. During this same time frame, malaria killed nearly 50 million.

WASHINGTON - A Navy petty officer died violently this summer in her quarters at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. The 28-year-old mother of two toddlers was murdered by her estranged husband, who then killed himself.

WASHINGTON - Based on a Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey, August 1995, following are facts about domestic violence:

WASHINGTON - Two Defense Department civilians and a family member were among the 230 people killed in the Trans World Airlines Flight 800 explosion July 17 off Long Island, N.Y.

WASHINGTON - American military planners now have a a joint forces road map to follow.

WASHINGTON - It's been a frustrating road for U.S. military athletes competing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. As the Games begin the second week, armed forces athletes have yet to earn a medal in Olympic competition.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Since he started visiting military bases with the services' top NCOs about three years ago, Defense Secretary William J. Perry has put DoD's focus on improving quality of life, and that's where he intends to keep it.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton and defense leaders expressed outrage following reports of Nazi swastikas painted on barracks doors at Fort Bragg, N.C.

WASHINGTON - DoD is redefining its policy toward extremist activities by service members.

WASHINGTON - Knowing answers to basic questions will help troops deployed to Operation Joint Endeavor prepare their income taxes.

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii - Air Force Dr. (Col.) Dennis Stuckey led a triservice team to Australia and Thailand in July, where they combed cities for highquality civilian dentists.

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii - By early fall, the Air Force will have added 23 dentists and 46 dental technicians to bases in the Pacific. They'll join a continuing DoDwide effort to aggressively pursue expanded family dental care at all overseas locations.

WASHINGTON - Military mountain cyclists will compete at the third annual National Military Mountain Bike Championships Oct. 12-13 at Snow Summit, near Big Bear Lake, Calif.

WASHINGTON - Although income tax time is months away, those deployed to operations Joint Endeavor and Able Sentry may have questions about their tax status. These questions may range from their tax-exempt status to adjusted filing deadlines.

WASHINGTON - Sending 20,000 U.S. service members -- including hundreds of medics -- to Bosnia last year could have completely disrupted health care services in Western Europe. That didn't happen, DoD's top doctor said.

WASHINGTON - Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Stephen Joseph called customer focus the No. 1 priority for the military health services system.

WASHINGTON - Using NATO forces to seek out and arrest indicted Bosnian war criminals is not part of the military mission outlined in the last year's Dayton peace agreement, U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said July 17.

WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials have shifted into high gear to thwart terrorism in the Middle East and elsewhere. They aim to be ready for any contingency, including attacks by chemical and biological weapons.

WASHINGTON - Finding a job isn't easy if you move every few years. It's tough to gain seniority when you're always a new hire.

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia are on high alert due to threats of further terrorist attacks, according to Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William J. Perry was supposed to board the first helicopter departing from the USS Merrimack in the Mediterranean. Somehow, the chopper lifted off carrying DoD's senior enlisted chiefs, but not the secretary.

WASHINGTON, DC - Defense officials said the first of nearly 4,200 Reserve and National Guard soldiers called to active duty last December for Operation Joint Endeavor are coming home.

WASHINGTON, DC - She's flown in Navy F-18s and with the Air Force Thunderbirds and admits she is a "thrill seeker." But always her visits to military units and government agencies have one purpose -- "to give people access to places that they'll never otherwise get access to."

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan - Minutes after the Air Force C-141 transport aircraft rolled to a stop on the tarmac at this strategic military base south of Tokyo, Air Force Capt. Brian Cramer pulled up in a blue pick-up truck and began supervising post-flight activities.

WASHINGTON - The mission is vital and the deadline is short for a newly created anti-terrorist task force.

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii - The 374th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan, may be the only unit of its type in the Pacific Theater, but it doesn't act alone.

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan - The huge, gray Air Force C141 transport aircraft sat at the end of the taxiway, poised for takeoff. The highpitched wail of its four jet engines drowned out conversation on board.

WASHINGTON - A U.S.-led international program to help train and Bosnian Muslim-Croat federation defense forces is set to start in Sarajevo, President Clinton announced July 9.

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces may move out of Riyadh and other urban areas of Saudi Arabia as part of an intensified DoD anti-terrorist effort in the wake of the bombing in Dhahran.

WASHINGTON - How big a problem is sexual harassment? Who does it? Where? When? And what can be done to stop it? These are questions DoD officials set out to answer with a 1995 survey sent to 90,000 active duty service members -- 65,000 women and 25,000 men.

WASHINGTON - NATO forces in Bosnia can be proud of six months of success, but the second half of the year-long peace mission may become somewhat more turbulent, according to U.S. Defense Secretary William J. Perry.

BARKING SANDS PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, Hawaii - A few snores; rustlings of restless men and women trying to get comfortable on the cold, stiff cots; the high-pitched hum of mosquitoes zeroing in on exposed ears; the thundering, crashing surf.

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii - Army and Air Force medics deployed to Laos in July and August will encounter a rugged, hostile environment, primitive living conditions, and the threat of tropical diseases.

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii - A 14member humanitarian assistance team will arrive in Vientiane, Laos, July 16 to begin turning over more than $1 million in excess medical equipment to the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

WASHINGTON - DoD peacekeeping and humanitarian and refugee affairs have been consolidated under a new agency.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton recently named four military officers to begin 1996-97 White House Fellowships. The four are among 18 people awarded fellowships over the next year.

WASHINGTON - Defense Commissary Agency officials are alerting service members of a scam promoting free grocery programs at agency stores. The scam -- which targets young, enlisted married couples -- could cost those troops over $2,000.

WASHINGTON - Newly assigned members to the Joint Chiefs of Staff must now earn the right to wear the Joint Staff Identification Badge on their uniforms. Beginning June 4, completion of the Joint Staff Training Program is a badge prerequisite.

WASHINGTON - The only thing as bad as putting up a "GP Medium" is taking one down.

WASHINGTON, DC - The Armed Forces Sports Office released its list of DoD athletes and officials slated to attend the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. The games begin July 19.

WASHINGTON - "We will not be driven out of Saudi Arabia; we will not be intimidated by terrorists," Defense Secretary William J. Perry said after visiting the site of a brutal attack at a U.S. military housing complex in the Middle East.

WASHINGTON - The United States will not rest in its efforts to capture, prosecute and punish those responsible for the terrorist bombing at Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, according to President Clinton.

DALLAS - "Why did you send my daddy away just before Christmas?" the little girl asked the general.

WASHINGTON, DC - The Air Force has identified all 19 airmen killed in the terrorist bombing of Khobar Towers near King Abdul Aziz Air Base, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, June 25.

WASHINGTON, DC - The Fourth of July is the most American of holidays. We spread our picnics across lawns and parks, we wave the flag, we march in parades. We fill the July skies with the thunder and lightning of fireworks, and we rejoice with family and friends in marking the birth of our country 220 years ago.