WASHINGTON - A 4th Infantry Division soldier was killed and three others were wounded today when their convoy was hit in a rocket- propelled grenade and small-arms attack north of As Suaydat in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Few occasions are more joyous or stressful than the birth of a child, said David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, as Defense Department officials launched the new family-centered care initiative at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., Aug. 27. The new TRICARE Management Activity program offers expectant mothers and their families standardized services from the first obstetric visit through birth and follow-on pediatric care. This includes inviting fathers and children to participate in prenatal visits and the birth of the child, as well as reserved parking spots -- "stork parking" -- for expectant and new mothers.

TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq - Troops from the 28 countries that have committed forces to support the international coalition in Iraq have begun assuming more and more duties. Dutch and Italian forces are working together to provide internal airfield security at this air base in southern Iraq.

NEAR AN NASIRYAH, Iraq - Because he finds it difficult to communicate with the Iraqis, Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bob Szakal holds on to a little beige book a friend from civil affairs gave him.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Postal Service and the Military Postal Service Agency process about 2 million pounds of mail a week for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some items make it to the recipient faster than others, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Lomax, agency chief of plans and policy, said here today.

MOSCOW - Air Force Staff Sgt. Nancy Primm now knows what it's like to be famous.

WASHINGTON - Sabotage continues to hurt efforts to improve Iraq's infrastructure, but coalition forces are working to secure oil and electric lines so progress can be made, said Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez from his headquarters in Baghdad, today.

WASHINGTON - Despite predictions to the contrary, Americans are continuing to volunteer for the military, and those already in service are re- enlisting at a vigorous rate.

WASHINGTON - Two U.S. soldiers were killed and five others were wounded today in separate bomb attacks in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - President George Bush vowed today to continue the almost two-year-old war against global terrorism.

WASHINGTON - Editor's Note: The figures used in the percentage mobilized among the 1.2 million Ready Reserve and the number of mobilizations in the past 13 years have been corrected.

SOUTHERN IRAQ - Helping Iraqis re-establish normalcy in cities that have survived two wars in 12 years isn't something that happens overnight.

WASHINGTON - American service members are making "an amazing difference" in the lives of Iraqis, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said Aug. 25.

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti - Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker visited the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa here Aug. 22 and 23 to meet with and to congratulate Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen on a job well done.

WASHINGTON - One American soldier was killed and two were wounded in Iraq by an improvised explosive device Aug. 26, according to a U.S. Central Command news release.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told service members at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, today that only two options faced the United States in its war on terror: Fight the terrorists where they live today, or fight them in America tomorrow.

WASHINGTON - The outcome of U.S-coalition efforts to resuscitate Iraq's economy and help its citizens establish a representative government may mark a turning point in the war against global terrorism, senior U.S. officials said Aug. 24 on Sunday talk shows.

WASHINGTON - Two 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment soldiers died Aug. 23 in separate incidents according to U.S. Central Command news releases.

WASHINGTON - The terrorist attacks in Baghdad and Jerusalem will serve as an added spur in the war on terror, President Bush said during his radio address Saturday.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army Sgt. 1st Class Wilbert Davis now share something with baseball greats Cal Ripken Jr., Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan. They are now both members of the Little League World Series Hall of Excellence.

WASHINGTON - The 2003 tests results show Defense Department school system students scored consistently higher than the national average on a standardized test. But Joseph Tafoya, director of the Department of Defense Education Activity, is already looking at ways to improve the upcoming school year's curriculum for even better results in the future.

WASHINGTON - One American soldier was killed and six were injured in Iraq Aug. 21 during a fire at a Baghdad small-arms shooting range, according to a U.S. Central Command press release.

WASHINGTON - Americans can be proud of the work U.S. soldiers are doing in Iraq, said 5th Corps Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth O. Preston during a video teleconference from Baghdad today.

WASHINGTON - During her travels to South Africa to visit friends, Sterling Gill listened to those who had to fight to protect their borders during a recent border war with Angola.

WASHINGTON - What started out as a simple visit with her aunt who works in the Pentagon, led to access most Washington reporters only dream of for an aspiring young reporter from New York.

WASHINGTON - Securing and rebuilding Iraq "is not an American-only mission by any stretch of the imagination," the American general in charge of coalition forces in the region said in the Pentagon today.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said bringing change to a department as large as the Pentagon will be tough, but change is important so that the military is not "stuck back in the 20th century."

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - American military planners believe the current level of U.S. forces in Iraq is sufficient to accomplish the mission, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here Aug. 20.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld praised the U.S.-Honduran military partnership here Aug. 20, saying that Honduras, along with two other Central American nations, is sending troops for peacekeeping duty in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Iraq's Gen. Ali Hassan al- Majid, the infamous "Chemical Ali," has been captured and is in the custody of coalition forces, according to a U.S. Central Command news release.

WASHINGTON - Fewer than 5,000 spots remain before registration for the 19th Army Ten-Miler closes. The cutoff is 18,000 runners for the Oct. 5 event.

WASHINGTON - Two separate attacks today have claimed the lives of two Americans in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - The attacks on U.S. and coalition forces are coming from a mixture of "different elements," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said during an interview with National Public Radio Aug. 18.

WASHINGTON - The United States' work with the United Nations to help build Iraq will go forward, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civil administrator in Iraq, said today.

BOGOTA, Colombia - A U.S.-Latin American aerial drug interdiction program that had been conducted over the skies of countries like Colombia has been reinstated, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced here Aug. 19.

WASHINGTON - The bombing of the United Nations building in Iraq confirms the worldwide terrorist threat is real, said U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Soldiers got a first look at their newest boss, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the 35th Army chief of staff, Aug. 18 when he visited troops here. His visit was part of his tour of Afghanistan.

BOGOTA, Colombia - The Colombian government and its military have made great progress in fighting narcoterrorists in the past year, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters here today.

WASHINGTON - The United States will "continue this war on terror until all the killers are brought to justice," President Bush said in extending his sympathies to the families of those killed or injured in today's attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - Military men and women and their families will have front-row seats to a free concert to kick off the 2003 National Football League season here Sept. 4.

WASHINGTON - American service members have deployed to locales across the globe for months at a time since the advent of the war against global terrorism.

WASHINGTON - Being a combat photographer in three wars was "a beautiful job," said Peter Ruplenas. "It was dangerous as all hell, but we were too busy to be scared."

ABOARD USS CARL VINSON - An aircraft carrier's flight deck during flight operations is widely recognized as one of the most dangerous places to work. So the sailors and Marines of USS Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing 9 are constantly on the lookout for dangers. For them, crew safety is paramount on the deck's four-and-a-half acres of sovereign U.S. territory.

WASHINGTON - When the People's Republic of China announced a 17.5 percent or $3 billion increase in spending for defense modernization in March of 2002, it brought the publicly reported total to $20 billion according to a Pentagon report.

WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials have no intention of lowering total compensation for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Defense Department's top personnel officer said Aug. 14.

WASHINGTON - Decked out in a heavily starched, sharply creased khaki Army uniform and highly polished black shoes, Bob Barfield, 69, was the epitome of a proud soldier as he strolled around the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

WASHINGTON - Another milestone in the Pentagon Memorial project, which will honor the 184 lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, was reached today as military officials signed a contract to construct the memorial.

WASHINGTON - The overall impression you get from the government and military in Colombia is the absolute determination to finally crush the narcoterrorists and reclaim the country.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Want to see why military-to-military contacts are important? Go to Central America.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers concluded a whirlwind tour of Central America by thanking the people of the Dominican Republic for their contribution to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

WASHINGTON - The ongoing war against global terrorism makes U.S. military transformation efforts an imperative goal, DoD's top civilian and uniformed officer said here today.

WASHINGTON - Gernilee Carter, 58, was only 5 years old when her brother, Donovan "Don" Carter, then 18, became one of the first casualties of the Korean War when he was killed on July 12, 1950.

WASHINGTON - Doing more with less (power) may seem unusual, but that's exactly what the WolfPack program strives to accomplish.

WASHINGTON - The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on America inaugurated the first conflict of the new century, President George Bush told U.S. sailors and Marines at a southern California military base today.

WASHINGTON - U.S. troops fighting their way into Baghdad April 8 were justified when they fired a tank round at a local hotel, an incident that killed two television cameramen, a recently concluded U.S. Central Command investigation determined.

WASHINGTON - A poster by award-winning cartoonist Mort Walker, creator of "Beetle Bailey," is helping to send a message to military families that there is a place for them to stay while loved ones are being cared for at military and Veterans Affairs medical facilities.

WASHINGTON - Explosive devices apparently planted by pro-Saddam insurgents killed two U.S. 4th Infantry Division soldiers and injured three in two separate incidents in Iraq on Aug. 12 and 13, according to U.S. Central Command news releases.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - "The significant event is these countries, dealing so long with instability, are now exporting stability to Iraq," said Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers during a press conference here Aug. 12.

BOGOTA, Colombia - "The air of optimism here is palpable you can really feel it," said Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers at a press conference here Aug. 12.

WASHINGTON - Roughly 200 more American troops could move into the West African nation of Liberia in coming days if rebel forces keep their pledge to move out of the country's capital city. About 100 American service members are currently in Liberia.

WASHINGTON - Last year the Military Child Education Coalition had only enough money to send one student of military parents to the U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.

WASHINGTON - The acting chief prosecutor for military commissions is seeking hard proof linking detained enemy combatants to war crimes when selecting cases for trial.

WASHINGTON - One U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry soldier was killed and two were injured today in Iraq when their convoy encountered three improvised bombs, according to a U.S. Central Command news release.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The future posture of the U.S. armed forces will have to change in order to secure the country's global interests, said DoD's director of force transformation here recently.

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti - Task Force Rawhide has replaced Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, as the guard force for the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa here.

BOGOTA, Colombia - The government of Colombia has turned the corner on the war against narcoterrorists, and the vice president sees the nation beginning a new phase.

BOGOTA, Colombia - Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers began a three-day visit to South and Central American Aug. 11 by highlighting the successes leaders here have achieved in the war on terrorism.

WASHINGTON - The military strategy of "shock and awe" used to stun the Iraqi military in the opening campaign of Operation Iraqi Freedom might be used by the Chinese if military force is needed to bring Taiwan back under communist control.

WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs is asking an independent commission to review a plan devised to reshape the way the department handles veterans' health care.

WASHINGTON - Coalition forces on patrol in Afghanistan captured three enemy troops and killed one after a brief Aug. 9 firefight, according to a Coalition Joint Task Force 180 news release.

WASHINGTON - An American soldier from the 4th Infantry Division was killed in an "improvised explosive attack" that wounded two others late Aug. 10. Three other American soldiers have died in Iraq in the past several days. Despite these deaths, coalition forces continue to make progress throughout the country.

WASHINGTON - During a change of command ceremony in Kabul today, NATO assumed strategic command, control and coordination of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The force had been under the leadership of Germany and the Netherlands.

WASHINGTON - President Bush praised the progress coalition military and civilian personnel have been able to make in Iraq, but said that 100 days is not enough time to undo the legacy of Saddam Hussein.

WASHINGTON - One hundred days after major combat ended, the United States and coalition partners are making "good progress" in Iraq, President Bush said. But, he acknowledged, "We've got a lot more work to do."

WASHINGTON - A Marine unit facing combat runs into opposition. The call goes out for fire support. In the past, the call would likely have gone to a Marine artillery unit or air asset.

WASHINGTON - Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade are "doing a better than great" job providing security across northern and western Iraq, the brigade's commander said today.

WASHINGTON - The nation's citizen-soldiers wear two hats. While maintaining civilian jobs, these men and women also serve in the armed forces.

WASHINGTON - Recent terrorist bombings of a major hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, and at the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad underline the need for nations to unite to fight global terrorism, the senior U.S. diplomat said here today.

WASHINGTON - Improvements in the security situation in Iraq have allowed local commanders to become more focused and more sophisticated in their actions against the remnants of the former regime, Pentagon officials said today.

WASHINGTON - Coalition forces uncovered arms caches and more Iraqi civilians are beginning to work with forces to create stability in the country, said a Combined Joint Task Force 7 spokesman in Baghdad Aug 6.

WASHINGTON - Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge helped the Coast Guard celebrate its 213th birthday today by applauding the service for its efforts in the war of terrorism and welcoming the service as part of the "new team."

WASHINGTON - American forces have found Russian fighter jets buried in the Iraqi desert, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in an Aug. 5 press briefing.

WASHINGTON - In 1987 more than 300,000 U.S. troops were stationed throughout Europe primarily to prevent a Soviet invasion, U.S. European Command's deputy commander noted here Aug. 5.

WASHINGTON - The Armed Services Blood Program needs eligible Type O blood donors to support ongoing military operations worldwide and to replenish the military's frozen blood reserves.

WASHINGTON - Harter family members have served in the armed forces during this nation's conflicts ever since the Revolutionary War. Earl W. (Sandy) Harter Jr. has continued this line of service to his country through both military and civilian service.

WASHINGTON - If needed, DoD will ask Congress to authorize more soldiers. But first officials at the department would like to see if there are other ways to handle deployments and not raise the troop ceiling, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon news conference Aug. 5.

WASHINGTON - The campaign goal to raise $1 million for a Sept. 11 victim's memorial at the Pentagon is hundreds of thousands of dollars short. The campaign, which started July 21 ends Aug. 8.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld stressed the progress the coalition is making in Iraq in the security, political and economic spheres.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army is deploying two medical teams overseas - one to Germany and the other to Iraq -- to examine a spate of pneumonia cases within the U.S. Central Command region that apparently killed two soldiers.

WASHINGTON - Coalition forces continued operations against Baath Party loyalists, the Fedayeen Saddam and former regime supporters with raids, patrols and captures throughout Iraq, coalition officials said today.

WASHINGTON - The United States will pay Iraqi claims for damages that are caused by the negligent or wrongful acts of U.S. soldiers, coalition officials said in Baghdad Aug. 3.

WASHINGTON - A photo of a woman searching for family among skeletal remains wrapped in white linen hung above the podium where Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz gave the keynote address Aug. 2 for victims of Saddam Hussein's regime.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is asking DoD personnel to "step up" financially for a worthy cause.

WASHINGTON - The People's Republic of China would prefer to resolve the issue of Taiwan's independence peacefully, even as leaders of the communist country seek military options to enforce its policy of "One China," cites a Defense Department report.

WASHINGTON - A DoD official spoke today about coalition plans to let contracts for a cellular phone system and to reconstruct the telecommunications system in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff came away from his just-concluded Iraq and Afghanistan visit pleased with the progress the coalition is making in both countries.