WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen swore in John J. Hamre as deputy secretary of defense July 29 in a Pentagon ceremony.

WASHINGTON - John J. Hamre didn't think he'd be nervous facing a group of U.S. senators. The DoD comptroller was well-versed in the doings on Capitol Hill. In fact, he'd been a Senate committee staff member for 10 years.

WASHINGTON - Congress has authorized DoD to pay $20 million to South Vietnamese commandos imprisoned by the North Vietnamese for taking part in U.S.-directed intelligence missions behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War.

WASHINGTON - Accolades from the president and senior Pentagon leaders hail the service and achievements of Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, who asked July 28 to step down early as Air Force chief of staff.

WASHINGTON - DoD's top two journalists received formal recognition July 23 during the annual Thomas Jefferson Awards Program ceremony at the Pentagon.

WASHINGTON - Personnel tempo and its effect on quality of life and recruiting are main concerns of President Clinton's choice as the next undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

WASHINGTON - Initial results from a new health care survey indicate overall satisfaction with military health care surpasses the national average.

WASHINGTON - NATO may be able to respond to European crises in the years ahead without American military help, NATO Secretary General Javier Solana said here July 24.

WASHINGTON - U.S. and European officials are adapting the treaty governing military forces in Europe to better fit the region's new security environment.

WASHINGTON - Ten months after estimating 20,000 U.S. soldiers may have been exposed to Iraqi nerve gas during the Persian Gulf War, DoD revised the figure to 98,910. Despite the dramatic rise in numbers, however, officials said they still cannot link reported health problems to the sarin nerve agent.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Two California firms have won DoD anti-virus software enterprise licenses, the Defense Information Systems Agency announced July 23.

WASHINGTON - The goal is simple: create a more stable, democratic, prosperous world with fewer threats to American interests.

WASHINGTON - DoD and the General Accounting Office agree more protection is needed to shield service members from terrorist attack.

WASHINGTON - Many senior defense leaders past and present oppose a bill outlawing anti-personnel land mines until those who make and supply mines agree to a ban and alternative defense measures are developed.

WASHINGTON - Wars end, but the killing and maiming go on.

DALLAS - Two new specialty catalogs -- 1997 Fall Fashion and 1997 Holiday Decorating and Entertaining -- arrive Aug. 15 in military exchanges worldwide.

WASHINGTON - As part of the Joint Strike Fighter Program, DoD, the 3M Corp. and Boeing Co., have developed a self-adhesive plastic film that may replace exterior paint on military aircraft.

WASHINGTON - The stately sailing ships of old are long gone from the seven seas, but July 21, people in Massachusetts had a chance once again to see their full-blown glory.

WASHINGTON - Without America's technical and humanitarian aid, the newly independent nation of Georgia, nestled among the Black Sea, Russia and Turkey, would not have survived.

WASHINGTON - U.S. and South Korean forces are better-equipped and more ready now than at any time in the history of the alliance, Kurt M. Campbell recently told senators here.

WASHINGTON - Taking care of family doesn't stop just becausesomeone retires from the military, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaff told a U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home audience recently.

WASHINGTON - All service members will be entitled to equal, uniform tuition assistance benefits under a new DoD policy.

WASHINGTON - About 120 soldiers from the Army's 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C., are slated to deploy July 21 to the African nations of Senegal and Uganda.

WASHINGTON - Ten U.S. POW/MIA specialists have begun joint recovery operations with North Korea to locate and repatriate remains of Americans missing in action since the 1950-1953 Korean War.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton nominated Army Gen. Henry H. Shelton July 17 to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton warned Bosnian Serbs July 15 not to retaliate against NATO forces for arresting one indicted war criminal and killing another.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Army Gen. "Hugh" Shelton is the commander in chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. He is responsible for the readiness of all active duty and reserve component special operations forces of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

WASHINGTON - There's hard work ahead for the three Eastern European nations tapped to become NATO's first new members since 1982 and for those nations seeking future membership, according to U.S. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen.

WASHINGTON - A terminal once part of the World Wide Military Command and Control System was added July 16 to the Smithsonian Institution's historical collection here.

DALLAS - The 600-page Army and Air Force Exchange Service Fall-Winter 1997 catalog will be available in exchanges everywhere starting July 29.

WASHINGTON - Wilma L. Vaught is perplexed, disappointed and baffled by the meager number of women, particularly those on active duty, who have registered with the Women's Memorial.

FORT LEE, Va. - Defense Commissary Agency will complete a reorganization and realignment of its headquarters and Operations Support Center Aug. 1.

WASHINGTON - John J. Hamre, currently DoD comptroller, was nominated Friday by the president to be the deputy secretary of defense.

MADRID - President Clinton said he will ask the Senate to ratify changes in the North Atlantic Treaty next year with hopes of approving inclusion of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic in the alliance by 1999 -- NATO's 50th anniversary.

WASHINGTON - Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic will bring significant military forces to the NATO alliance if they are accepted into full membership in 1999.

WASHINGTON - NATO formally invited the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to join the alliance during its Madrid summit July 8.

WASHINGTON - NATO expansion continues American involvement in Europe and reiterates NATO is the bedrock of U.S. security, said National Security Adviser Sandy Berger to reporters recently.

WASHINGTON - The DoD TRICARE marketing program won a 1997 Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America for successfully educating more than 8 million people about the military health care plan.

WASHINGTON - Military retirees and their families will soon have access to low-cost dental insurance similar in scope to the active-duty family dental plan.

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. - Managing nuclear weapons requires specialized education. When the services assign people to a nuclear mission, therefore, chances are they'll also sign them up for DoD-funded courses at the Defense Nuclear Weapons School here.

WASHINGTON - Members of the Selective Reserve with at least 12 months of service remaining will soon be eligible for low-cost dental insurance.

WASHINGTON - Former Kansas Sen. Nancy Kassebaum-Baker will chair a DoD advisory committee looking into military gender-integrated training and related issues.

FORT LEE, Va. - Short on time? Short on cash? Military shoppers will soon find the neighborhood bank and grocery store are the same place. The first in-commissary bank opened July 1 at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., with more to follow. Banks are also on the drawing board for commissaries at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., and Fort Hood, Texas.

DALLAS - Customers at selected Army and Air Force Exchange Service locations will soon be waking up and smelling a different kind of coffee -- Starbucks.

WASHINGTON - Entry deadline is Sept. 24 for the second annual Armed Services YMCA poster contest for children of military families.