WASHINGTON - Service members returning home from Southwest Asia for rest and recuperation leave can now get discount fares for connecting flights after they arrive at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

WASHINGTON - About two years ago, Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi declared that U.S. military veterans who had served in the Persian Gulf region during the 1990-91 Gulf War are eligible for VA care if they've been diagnosed with a rare neurological disease that killed a famous baseball player.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Joint Task Force that participated in stability operations in Liberia is pulling out, Defense Department officials said.

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - When service members near the end of their enlistment term must decide whether to stay in service, an understanding of entitlements and benefits can prevent a hasty decision.

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti - U.S. Marines and soldiers trained alongside host-nation and French military forces here Sept. 24 during a live-fire training exercise that included helicopter operations.

OMAHA, Neb. - Applying the operational experience gained during the global war on terrorism to flesh out the use of space forces in theater operations is one challenge facing the new U.S. Strategic Command as it observes its first anniversary Oct. 1.

WASHINGTON - A new Web-based system will integrate all of the services' military personnel and pay systems, DoD officials announced today.

WASHINGTON - Congress has sent the fiscal 2004 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill to President George W. Bush for his signature.

WASHINGTON - The tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, dictate that the war on terror needs to be fought on the offense -- and rebuilding Iraq is part of that, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told a national television audience Sept. 28.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department's unquenchable quest to make troops less vulnerable and more lethal has led to a concept called "horizontal fusion."

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department's information technology community honored its top performers in a Sept. 25 ceremony at the Pentagon.

WASHINGTON - Whenever someone mentioned the sons or daughters they lost in war, their faces reddened and a glassy sheen filled their eyes. Some of them lost their composure, and tears crept down their saddened faces.

WASHINGTON - All nations must join in confronting the threat of terrorism where it arises, President George W. Bush said Sept. 27 in his weekly radio address.

WASHINGTON - The $20 billion reconstruction portion of President Bush's $87 billion supplemental for Iraq is "an important part of the war against terrorism in Iraq," Ambassador L. Paul Bremer said at the Pentagon today.

WASHINGTON - U.S. combat troops in Iraq are trained to obey established rules of engagement designed to protect their lives as well as those of Iraqi noncombatants, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said Sept. 25 at a Baghdad news conference.

WASHINGTON - Congress has sent the fiscal 2004 Defense Appropriations Bill to President Bush for his signature.

WASHINGTON - It takes money to take the fight against global terrorism directly to the terrorists, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here Sept. 25.

DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. - Much like New York on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, it was a beautiful day in Atlanta -- sunny skies, temperatures in the 70s, a light breeze. Sept. 25, 2003, was a perfect day to call in sick -- but not if you were one of Georgia's first responders.

WASHINGTON - After many meetings at United Nations headquarters in New York this week, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said world leaders are putting aside past differences to help the Iraqi people.

MOSUL, Iraq - Silver screen star Bruce Willis and his blues band visited the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in northern Iraq Sept. 25.

WASHINGTON - U.S. and coalition efforts in Iraq are "difficult, costly and dangerous," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sept. 25. But the work, he stressed, "is worth the risk, and it's worth the cost, because if the coalition succeeds then we deal terrorism a powerful blow."

WASHINGTON - Some came wanting little more than those creature comforts they said they took for granted before deploying to Iraq: long, hot baths, fast food restaurants and shopping malls.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Terrorism may be the greatest threat the United States has ever faced, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers told the Defense Combating Terrorism Conference here recently.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The American people understand the war on terrorism will be long and expensive, but they will stay the course, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at the Defense Worldwide Combating Terrorism Conference here recently.

WASHINGTON - An award-winning California filmmaker has launched a Web site where children can express their patriotism, send messages to the troops and learn how to help others around the world.

WASHINGTON - National Guard and Reserve forces "have been absolutely essential" to the war on terrorism, the commander of U.S. Central Command told the Senate Appropriations Committee during a Sept. 24 hearing about the fiscal 2004 supplemental funding request for Iraq and Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - Brave young Americans who liberated Iraq from the clutches of one of the bloodiest, most sadistic tyrants in modern history created the possibility of a major victory in the war on terrorism, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz told the House Armed Services Committee here today.

WASHINGTON - In coming months, more new Iraqi civil defense forces will be assisting U.S. troops in security/stabilization efforts in that country, the U.S. Central Command chief told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee here today.

WASHINGTON - The plan to win the peace in Iraq will succeed, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wrote in a Washington Post column today.

WASHINGTON - Service members and Defense Department civilians on 12-month orders in Iraq and Jordan supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom now have a rest and recuperation leave program that will allow them to take up to 15 days, excluding travel time, to visit family or friends in the United States or Europe.

WASHINGTON - A satellite picture in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's office starkly illustrates the difference between North and South Korea.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is continuing its investigations into two cases associated with the confinement facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in which an Air Force translator is charged with espionage and an Army chaplain is being held pending charges.

WASHINGTON - Acknowledging that $87 billion is "a great deal" of money, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told the Senate Appropriations Committee here today that the cost would be "far greater" if the United States sends a message to terrorists that "we're not willing to spend what it takes" to win the global war on terror.

FORT DETRICK, Md. - For many people, a summer road trip is a chance to exist on fast food, listen to nonstop radio programming and sightsee. But for 65 soldiers from the 48th Combat Support Hospital at Fort Meade, Md., a road trip in July was a chance to try out and evaluate medical equipment the Army may field in the future.

FORT DETRICK, Md. - College engineering majors took their future degrees on road trips this summer to help plan the Army's future healthcare facilities.

WASHINGTON - When Hurricane Isabel battered the East Coast from Sept. 18 to Sept. 20, the devastating storm caused Defense Department officials to cancel this year's POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremonies at the Pentagon, which had been scheduled for Sept. 19, the day of the national observance.

WASHINGTON - The $87 billion supplemental request for Iraq and Afghanistan should be seen in the same light as the Marshall Plan following World War II, said Coalition Provisional Authority administrator L. Paul Bremer.

WASHINGTON - Nasreen M. S. Berwari is thankful the United States led the effort to free her country from one of the most brutal governments in history.

WASHINGTON - Thanks to efforts by U.S. and coalition forces, electrical services in Iraq will be at prewar levels within a month, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee Sept. 22.

MOSUL, Iraq - The Army's 101st Airborne Division escorted the civilian leadership of the northern Nineveh province Sept. 22 on a survey of the region's industrial and power facilities, helping to broaden the Mosul- based interim government's influence here.

MOSUL - What brought Army Spc. Kevin Roice's opponent to the floor wasn't necessarily the glorious display of hooks and jabs that brought hundreds of spectators to their feet.

WASHINGTON - In his address to the United Nations today, President George Bush will defend his decision to take down the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, according to his national security advisor.

WASHINGTON - Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Lynn Fabbo said she's watched her service undergo an exciting sea change with its increased focus on homeland security.

WASHINGTON - The Department of Defense kicked off its 2003 Combined Federal Campaign for the National Capital Area today with a Pentagon ceremony.

WASHINGTON - It's not easy being a kid whose mom or dad is deployed overseas to a combat zone. It can be confusing and lonely, and sometimes, downright scary.

WASHINGTON - Acknowledging that some United Nations members disagreed with U.S. and coalition military action in Iraq, President Bush today urged the world body to put those differences aside to work together toward building a stable, secure Iraq.

WASHINGTON - Pointing to the lessons of history learned during World Wars I and II, the administrator for the Coalition Provisional Authority urged Congress Sept. 22 to support President Bush's supplemental spending request to ensure that a secure peace follows the military victory in Iraq.

INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey - Staff Sgt. John Gibson, 728th Air Mobility Squadron maintenance training manager, has spent hundreds of dollars throughout the years on bracelets. He wears them proudly, not because of their ornamentation or craftsmanship, but for their meaning.

WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs wants former prisoners of war who aren't using VA benefits to contact the department to find out if they may be eligible for disability compensation and other services.

WASHINGTON - Forced out of session by Hurricane Isabel, lawmakers got extra time to study the $87 billion supplemental spending request President Bush submitted to them Sept. 17 on the eve of the storm, which shut down the federal government here Sept. 18 and 19.

WARSAW, Poland - The Polish-led Multinational Division in Iraq has impressed U.S. military officials by its leadership, professionalism and competence, Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said here today.

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - Hershey, Elizabethtown, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg. It seems as if Pennsylvania has found a home in the middle of Kosovo.

EAGLE BASE, Bosnia - The military jobs mandated by 1995's Dayton Accords are just about completed, but stability in Bosnia is "brittle" and still requires the Stabilization Force, military officials here said.

ARTA PLAGE, Djibouti - Marines of Task Force Rawhide, 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Antiterrorism), participated in training with the French Foreign Legion, 13th Half Brigade, at the French Commando Training Center here Sept. 7-12.

WASHINGTON - The first battalion of the new Iraqi army should finish training the first week of October, according to the senior adviser for security sector and defense affairs to the Coalition Provisional Authority for Iraq.

WASHINGTON - For three decades, the volunteer U.S. military "has been a booming success -- it works," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.

WASHINGTON - Hispanic American Heritage Month raises the information level of all American citizens regarding the contribution of Hispanics to the nation's history and its defense, Puerto Rico Air National Guard Maj. Gen. Juan Garcia said during a recent interview.

PRISTINA, Kosovo - Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers had just finished answering a news conference question here on how long U.S. troops would be in Iraq when a Kosovar reporter piped up, "We want you to stay here for a hundred years," he said.

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - The chief of the National Guard Bureau visited National Guard troops on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan this month.

PRISTINA, Kosovo - The United States will continue to seek international allies to provide troops to operations in Iraq, Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said here today.

PRISTINA, Kosovo - Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers will visit American troops here and in Bosnia in the next few days to thank them for the jobs they are doing to keep peace in the Balkans.

WASHINGTON - Vowing to continue working to increase Hispanic representation throughout his department, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld praised the contributions of Hispanic Americans in a speech at the Pentagon today.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reiterated that the goal or the "end state is to have no U.S. and no international forces in Iraq because it is their country" in today's briefing with Pentagon reporters.

WASHINGTON - The remains of nine U.S. Navy crewmembers, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery in June.

WASHINGTON - It's no secret that a successful military strategy requires information from the field and powerful thinking in the board room. It may not be well known that some of the brightest minds in America's defense share their knowledge with the public.

WASHINGTON - With Hurricane Isabel sweeping across the Atlantic and expected to make landfall Thursday or Friday, military bases along the East Coast are taking steps to protect people, ships, aircraft and facilities from potential destructive winds and water.

MEXICO CITY - The top American military official arrived here today to take part in ceremonies commemorating Mexico's independence from Spain in 1810.

MOSUL - Not everyone likes playing cards. Heck, why play a simple game of blackjack when you can cruise the streets in a tank in a popular video game?

GARDEZ, Afghanistan - Making a difference in Afghanistan requires teamwork, diligence, commitment and a strong desire to be part of the community. The soldiers of the Gardez Provincial Reconstruction Team understand those values and are implementing them during their rebuilding and stabilizing efforts.

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - They come from cities all over the United States: Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, to name a few. Their mission is simple: to provide relief with laughter. For the five comedians traveling under the "Comics on Duty" banner, it's more than just doing a job.

WASHINGTON - An 82nd Airborne Division soldier was killed and three others were wounded Sept. 14 in an improvised explosive device attack on their convoy in Fallujah, Iraq.

WASHINGTON - The rebuilding of Iraq should be an international effort, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview from Baghdad today.

WASHINGTON - Emphasizing that any loss of life or injury is "regrettable," Vice President Richard B. Cheney said here today that the cost of doing nothing or being unsuccessful in the global war on terror would be far higher than getting the job done right.

WASHINGTON - The United States military "is not bogged down" in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a national television audience today.

WASHINGTON - U.S. and coalition efforts against al Qaeda since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America have put that terror network under "enormous pressure," DoD's top civilian said here Sept. 10.

WASHINGTON - President Bush and his wife, Laura, paid a Sept. 11 visit to troops being treated here for wounds received in the global war against terrorism.

WASHINGTON - The commander in chief met today with 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) soldiers at their Georgia base, praising them for their performance in the war against global terrorism.

WASHINGTON - Area Military recruiters seized the opportunity to pitch what their services have to offer at the Washington Redskins' National Football League season-opening game here last week.

WASHINGTON - Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's 1-22 Infantry Battalion raided two workshops used to make improvised explosive devices in Tikrit, Iraq, U.S. Central Command officials reported in a Sept. 11 news release.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department got the "best value" for its money when new Tricare contracts were awarded in late August to three healthcare companies to manage care for more than 8 million military personnel and their family members, the Pentagon's leading health official said here Sept. 10.

WASHINGTON - A Japanese-flagged commercial merchant vessel is suspected of carrying items related to weapons of mass destruction. Military and law enforcement assets from Australia, France, Japan and the United States trail the vessel. The Japan coast guard, working with its French, U.S. and Australian law enforcement counterparts, boards the vessel on the high seas and conducts a search.

WASHINGTON - Military children experience frequent school transitions punctuated by separations. Therefore, it's important for the Military Child Education Coalition to think globally, understand nationally and act locally "for the sake of the child," said MCEC's executive director, Mary Keller.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today accepted on DoD's behalf the U.S. flag that was flying over the U.S. Capitol during the terrorist attacks on America two years ago.

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Va. - The morning sun glistened on the Vermont granite memorial group marker in Section 64 that bears the 184 names of those killed when Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon two years ago. Beside it sat more than 400 gray steel folding chairs that row-by-row filled with family members of those who died that fateful morning.

WASHINGTON - Operation Tribute to Freedom teamed up with the National Football League to honor the nation's military forces during the season-opening game here between the Washington Redskins and the New York Jets, Sept. 4.

WASHINGTON - While emphasizing that its authenticity still remains in question, top Defense officials said today a newly released videotape depicting al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden reinforces the threat the terrorist organization continues to pose.

WASHINGTON - Two years after terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Defense leaders said America has heeded "that wake-up call to the real threat of international terrorism," and is making solid progress in the war on terrorism.

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT - A New York Army National Guard soldier, who is also a New York City firefighter, helped American soldiers engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom observe the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks against America during a memorial service here today.

BAMIAN, Afghanistan - A U.S. Army provincial reconstruction team, or PRT, sprinkled a dash of Western ideas over a culture flavored with iron-clad traditions when it hired two Afghan women to help at the PRT dining facility here.

OKLAHOMA CITY - State and local dignitaries in Oklahoma honored Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Thomas F. Hall, renaming a street in his honor Sept. 10 in his hometown of Barnsdall.

WASHINGTON - Two years after terrorist attacks thrust the United States into a war on terrorism worldwide, the military's top officer said today the Pentagon needs to make deployments and tour lengths more predictable for the men and women at the front lines of that war.

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - More than 100 soldiers found solace from the daily drag of deployed life on a dusty, improvised softball diamond, where eight teams battled for the top spot in a Morale, Welfare and Recreation softball tournament Sept. 7.

WASHINGTON - America has been on the offensive at home and overseas against global terrorists in the two years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, President Bush told FBI employees today at the agency's crime laboratory at Quantico, Va.

WASHINGTON - Precious artifacts looted from Iraqi museums shortly after the war with Iraq began slowly are finding their way back to where they belong, a Pentagon official leading the investigation into the missing items said here today.

WASHINGTON - Questions about the whereabouts of weapons of mass destruction possessed by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein may be answered within a much-anticipated report, the U.S. national security adviser said here Sept. 9.

WASHINGTON - For the Pentagon to meet the challenges of the future, it cannot be "anchored to the past," wrote Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in a commentary he provided to several newspapers around the country recently.

WASHINGTON - Reflective arrows sit at crawl-level, about a foot up from the floor, hugging the lightly colored walls. Sparkling floors lead to escalators, elevators and well-lit hallways. Renovations, completed nearly a year ago, still give the Pentagon's Wedge 1 a fresh look. Yet, for all its newness, this area will forever carry the scars of Sept. 11, 2001.

WASHINGTON - The United States and its coalition allies are "totally committed" to winning the war on terrorism, but it will take "patience, commitment, and a will to win" before victory is achieved, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the Senate Armed Services Committee here Sept. 9.

WASHINGTON - A colorful collection of quilted cloth now on display at Arlington National Cemetery illustrates that the victims and heroes of 9-11 won't be forgotten, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz noted here Sept. 9.

WASHINGTON - Cigarette smoking appears to be a contributing factor in a spate of pneumonia cases in which 19 service members within the U.S. Central Command region contracted severe cases of the disease. Two of them died.

WASHINGTON - It is important that the people of the world not forget about the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at the National Press Club here today on the eve of the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States.

WASHINGTON - Improvised explosive devices have claimed the lives of two more American soldiers in Iraq, and U.S. soldiers en route to a bridge repair mission detained 15 people, seizing weapons and cash.

WASHINGTON - Forty-four service members who have served in Liberia are sick with "malaria-like symptoms," Defense officials announced. Twelve of them have been diagnosed with the disease.

WASHINGTON - Explaining why the Pentagon will need billions of dollars to fight and win the war on terrorism, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz told the Senate Armed Services Committee today that "we don't start a job that we can't finish. And when we do start a job, we give it our best. That's the American way."

WASHINGTON - Air Force Lt. Col. Pam Hodge remembers the immediate sense of calm she felt when she heard the roar of the first fully armed F-16 fighter jet to arrive at the Pentagon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.

WASHINGTON - Military, federal, Maryland and United Service Organizations officials gathered at Baltimore/Washington International Airport Sept. 8 to celebrate a state-of-the-art security system at the USO's International Gateway Lounge.

WASHINGTON - Air Force Col. Diana Fleek sat alone on the Pentagon parade field among hundreds of gray metal chairs left empty by throngs of people who had just attended the Oct. 11, 2001, one-month anniversary of the terrorist attack on the nation.

WASHINGTON - If all goes as planned, the U.S. Marine operational presence in southern Iraq will not be needed after the first week of October, said Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, during a Pentagon briefing here today.

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - Sliding out of port on the Army's experimental heavy-lift catamaran, the U.S. Army Vessel Spearhead, peering out the window is almost the only way to get a sense of motion.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters this weekend that help from the Iraqi people will be needed if the security situation in the country is ever to improve.

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces have captured a Saddam Hussein loyalist believed to have attacked coalition forces at a children's hospital and, with the help of Iraqi citizens in some cases, continue to find and destroy weapons caches, according to U.S. Central Command officials.

WASHINGTON - Successful completion of the mission in Iraq will severely undermine the goals and strategies of terrorists, President Bush's national security adviser said today.

SHANNON, Ireland - At the heart of President Bush's speech to the country Sunday night is the idea that the war on terrorism is a war, and the United States must remain on the offensive, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sept. 8.

WASHINGTON - Saying the United States will "do what is necessary, spend what is necessary," President George W. Bush told the nation Sunday night that the war on terror must continue, and he will ask Congress for $87 billion more to wage it.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld here today to discuss the continuing war on terrorism and the way ahead for Afghan reconstruction.

GARDEZ, Afghanistan - The Afghan National Army is one key to extending the interim government's influence throughout Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld met a platoon of that army during a visit to the Provincial Reconstruction Team headquarters here today.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - American officials here took on the press for not reporting the "good news" coming out of Iraq.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Marine Corps, indeed the entire country, lost an honest-to-goodness American hero Sept. 3. Retired Gen. Raymond Davis, who earned the Medal of Honor in the Korean War, died in Conyers, Ga., at the age of 88.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - American service members can be very proud of the roles they are playing in Iraq and around the world, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.

AL HILLAH, Iraq - An assortment of uniforms greeted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld as he arrived at the headquarters of the Multinational Division South-Central here today.

MAHAWIL, Iraq - All that remains is a field filled with plastic bags of clothing and other personal effects.

WASHINGTON - The administration's national security policy is one of pre-emption and partnership, but its central goal is to promote democracy throughout the world, Secretary of State Colin Powell said here today.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - "Democracy is on the march in this country," Paul Bremer said during a press conference here today, "and it's on the march at the grassroots level where it really matters."

WASHINGTON - A little rain didn't deter thousands of military people and family members from staking out prime spots for the National Football League's kickoff concert on the National Mall Sept. 4.

WASHINGTON - Focusing on what he calls "The Five I's" is the best approach to take in Iraq, the commander of U.S. Central Command said here Sept. 4.

WASHINGTON - After years of neglect during the Saddam Hussein regime, Iraq's health care system is slowly moving ahead, the Coalition Provisional Authority's senior adviser to the Iraqi Ministry of Health said here today.

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - At least one family in a unit deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom isn't complaining much about family separation. That's because most of the family found themselves together here. A father, his two sons, and a daughter-in-law work in the same unit.

WASHINGTON - Military personnel who have been deployed or mobilized are not required to make student loan payments during their absences.

WASHINGTON - Rebuilding Iraq is an international responsibility that demands international cooperation, two congressmen reported today after recently returning from there.

WASHINGTON - The battle to secure peace in Iraq is now the central battle in the war on terrorism, according to Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz.

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - Without access to millions of gallons of fuel, Operation Iraqi Freedom missions would grind to a halt. It's the job of the Army's 49th Quartermaster Group to make sure that doesn't happen.

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait - The United States and other coalition forces will increase efforts to train and stand up Iraqi security units, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today during a tour of the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

SHANNON, Ireland - The totals of troops providing security in Iraq will go up, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have to be American troops, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here en route to the Central Command area Sept. 3.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The progress the coalition is making in Iraq is "amazing," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.

WASHINGTON - U.S. military leaders have no reason to try to "go around" civilian defense leaders to make policy, because Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other leaders take their generals' advice, the top American general said here today.

WASHINGTON - The United States is consulting with other members of the U.N. Security Council on a draft resolution that would, if adopted, establish a multinational force in Iraq and seek a plan from the new Iraqi Governing Council for its political evolution, Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters here Sept. 3.

WASHINGTON - A new requirement under the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act has made it mandatory for military government travel card users to use the "split disbursement" option when filing temporary duty travel claims, according to a press release by the Defense Finance and Accounting Office in Indianapolis.

WASHINGTON - The American Red Cross office at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here is seeking donations for patients being treated at the facility for injuries received during Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - The Texas flag that flew over the Alamo in San Antonio during last year's Sept. 11 remembrance ceremonies has added more history to its legacy.

WASHINGTON - As he prepares for his 80th birthday on Sept. 3, the creative genius behind the popular comic strip "Beetle Bailey" said he has no plans to retire his drafting pen nor Beetle and his cohorts at Camp Swampy, who have captivated readers for the past 53 years.

WASHINGTON - Outlining a series of initiatives implemented to make the country more secure, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge declared here today that the United States is at the "highest level of protection this nation has ever known."

WASHINGTON - Weekly Reader magazine is sponsoring an essay contest for children and teenagers in support of Operation Tribute to Freedom, a Defense Department program that encourages Americans to show appreciation and support for military personnel fighting the war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - Special operations forces received praise for their service as the reins of U.S. Special Operations Command changed hands in Tampa, Fla., today.

WASHINGTON - Recent bombings in Iraq prove the country is another front in the global war on terrorism, the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority said in Baghdad today.

WASHINGTON - Two 220th Military Police Brigade soldiers were killed and one other was wounded Sept. 1 when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device on a main supply route south of Baghdad, U.S. Central Command officials reported today.

WASHINGTON - Two U.S. soldiers were killed and a third was wounded Aug. 31 during initial contact with enemy fighters northwest of Shkin in Afghanistan's Paktika province.