WASHINGTON - The Defense Department's top doc met with the top

WASHINGTON - President Clinton's signature Aug. 17 on the

BALTIMORE, Md. - When more than 350 Military World Games athletes and officials stepped off the plane Aug. 18 at Baltimore-Washington International Airport they were greeted by a crowd of yelling, flag-waving supporters courtesy of the USO.

WASHINGTON - After scoring two successive hits with a prototype Theater High-Altitude Air Defense System, DoD is poised to speed up development of the anti-missile system.

WASHINGTON - An Aug. 5 agreement signed by DoD and Air Transportation Association officials is "a huge step forward" in improving air travel safety for military and civilian personnel.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre presided over an Aug. 11 "virtual" ribbon-cutting ceremony here officially opening the Joint Task Force - Computer Network Defense operations center.

WASHINGTON - More than 9,100 have been confirmed dead and as many as 35,000 people may be trapped under wreckage as a result of the earthquake that struck northwest Turkey Aug. 17. Turkish authorities reported more than 25,000 people are injured.

WASHINGTON - The 1999 Defense Almanac is alive, well and running at www.defenselink.mil/pubs/almanac/.

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany - As DoD forces in Europe responded to the latest call for U.S. assistance -- the Aug. 17 earthquake in Turkey -- military medics here and throughout the European Theater prepared to lend a hand. Just as they always do.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department and National Cancer Institute have expanded access to clinical trials for DoD health care beneficiaries.

WASHINGTON - Many service members are not sure what "optempo" and "perstempo" are, except they know they don't like them high.

WASHINGTON - One of warfare's guiding principles has always been that a weakened enemy is a more easily defeated enemy.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is looking at changing the way it provides support to local and state agencies during terrorist incidents and natural disasters, Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre said recently.

WASHINGTON - The proposed pay raise, pay table reform and changes to the retirement system will have a positive influence on military retention rates, but officials are still concerned about the effects of operations tempo, said Vice Adm. Patricia A. Tracey.

WASHINGTON - Service members and DoD civilians can sign up to

WASHINGTON - and done so "humanely as well as efficiently, she emphasized.

WASHINGTON - DoD is working with Congress to create three new special pays and to beef up others, DoD officials said.

WASHINGTON - Beware. Be careful. But don't be overly alarmed. Depleted uranium, found in some ammunition and armored vehicles, is a potentially toxic heavy metal, but defense officials say limited exposure is not dangerous.

ZAGREB, Croatia - Air Force Capt. Kimberley Markland won the first medal for the United States Aug. 12 by winning the bronze in the marathon at the 2nd Military World Games here.

WASHINGTON - All service members will undergo training

WASHINGTON - Progress restoring order and infrastructure in Kosovo may be "slow and inconsistent, but the trend is encouraging," according to the American sector commander.

ZAGREB, Croatia - Team U.S.A. has a successful new set of faces competing in the 2nd Military World Games' naval pentathlon here. Navy Lt. Julie Ann House and Ensigns Bridget E. Stamp and Lynn R. Rodrea began the competition Aug. 10 by claiming the best obstacle course time.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen presented the Defense Department's highest civilian award to director Steven Spielberg at an Aug. 11 ceremony here.

WASHINGTON - Defense officials recently announced the range of fees for school-age child care programs for the 1999-2000 school year.

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - One thing all the Army medics here

WASHINGTON - If you ask Rosanne Hynes whether U.S. forces in Europe will be able to execute their NATO responsibilities and overseas missions come Jan. 1, 2000, despite the millennium bug, her answer is an unequivocal "yes."

ZAGREB, Croatia - The U.S. armed forces women's volleyball team rallied back from a 2-0 game deficit but came up short against the Netherlands 3-1 in its opening round match Aug. 10 at the 2nd Military World Games here.

ZAGREB, Croatia - Army boxers Pfc. Jason Franco and Spc. James Webb won their opening bouts here at the 2nd Military World Games Aug. 10, while the U.S. team lost one of its best to an injury.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Two brothers are rowing for gold in the same boat at the 2nd Military World Games in Zagreb, Croatia.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - An Air Force intelligence analyst and a Coast Guard aviation mechanist are trying to pedal to a medal in the 2nd Military World Games in Zagreb, Croatia.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Army Spc. Louis Davis has kicked and punched his way to a second-degree black belt in taekwondo. Now he's trying to use his skills to help the United States capture top honors in the 2nd Military World Games in Zagreb, Croatia.

WASHINGTON - It wasn't a plan or decision that brought about the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but war.

SPRINGFIELD, Va. - A drawing by 11-year-old Cecilia Javier titled "My Military Family" will be featured on this year's Military Family Week poster.

ZAGREB, Croatia - The closest the United States has come to winning a medal at the 2nd Military World Games here is a 5th place finish by 2nd Lt. Erica Hemmy in the women's 5,000-meter swim.

WASHINGTON - Bradley was known as the "GI's General" during World War II because of his concern for the ordinary soldier.

ZAGREB, Croatia - A spectacular ceremony bathed in lights and steeped in the brotherhood of 8,000 military athletes opened the 2nd Military World Games here Aug. 8.

ZAGREB, Croatia - Despite its best efforts, the U.S. men's volleyball team fell to Bulgaria Aug. 9 in the opening round of action in the 2nd Military World Games here.

ZAGREB, Croatia - Marine Cpl. Orlando Cordova Jr. and Army Spc. Preston "Swamp Monster" Hartzog won their opening boxing bouts Aug. 9 at the 2nd Military World Games here.

FORT MYER, Va. - President Clinton thanked the 14 men who have served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at an Aug. 9 armed forces tribute ceremony here.

WASHINGTON - "We are the only police around," the American sector commander in Kosovo told Pentagon reporters Aug. 5.

WASHINGTON - Federal workers soon will be able to use up to 12 weeks of accrued sick leave annually to care for ill family members.

WASHINGTON - A year-long DoD-wide study recently released by the Pentagon may greatly improve the way reserve component forces are trained, organized and utilized into the new millennium.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - America’s military athletes were given a rousing send-off here Aug. 4 before boarding a flight to Zagreb, Croatia, to compete in the second Military World Games, Aug. 5-17.

WASHINGTON - U.S. service members assigned to NATO are employees of the United States and cannot use the foreign earned income exclusion to escape taxes on their military pay.

WASHINGTON - Rising costs and concerns for patient safety and health have led DoD to redesign its pharmacy system.

WASHINGTON - The space in the Arlington, Va., office complex is mostly empty right now -- wired -- but still awaiting people, phones, computers and other equipment. By early September, the emptiness will be transformed into a hub of activity as DoD's Year 2000 Decision Support Activity comes on line.

WASHINGTON - British defense leader George Robertson will succeed Spain's Javier Solana as NATO secretary-general and chairman of the North Atlantic Council, alliance officials announced Aug. 4 in Brussels, Belgium.

HOWARD AIR FORCE BASE, Canal Zone - Lance Taylor's eyes watered when he talked about the friends he will leave behind and about the hundreds of Panamanians who have turned to him time and again for help. He'll miss them, but more importantly, he's concerned for their welfare once the United States has gone.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - About 220 National Guardsmen from across the nation are training here through mid-August to help civilian authorities rapidly react to potential terrorist incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.

WASHINGTON - Nobody knows exactly how many land mines are still buried in war-torn Kosovo. A host of nations, including the United States, is working on the problem, hoping against time that mines and other unexploded ordnance don't accidentally hurt or kill civilians, especially the children.

FORT CLAYTON, Canal Zone - The U.S. Army's presence in Panama officially came to a close here July 30 with the casing of the colors during ceremonies on the pristine parade ground.

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen has personally extended the hand of defense cooperation to the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia.

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Wherever he travels, William S. Cohen makes time to talk with America's men and women in uniform.

WASHINGTON - The Uniformed Services Employment and Re- employment Rights Act of 1994 has been amended to protect the rights of reservists returning from active duty to government jobs.