WASHINGTON - Seville Allen's fingers glided across a silver-studded black strip below a computer keyboard. On the computer terminal above, words and sentences magically appeared.

WASHINGTON - The year 2000 computer problem could degrade DoD readiness if it is not addressed aggressively and quickly, a top DoD official told Congress, recently.

WASHINGTON - Success in Bosnia is due to having a clearly defined, well-manned, well-equipped mission that has not been micromanaged, according to the nation's senior ranking officer.

WASHINGTON - Although most U.S. service members have left Haiti, about 250 remain as part of Exercise Fairwinds, an ongoing humanitarian training mission, according to DoD officials.

NAVAL HOSPITAL BREMERTON, Wash. - TRICARE expands access to health care by sharing services among military clinics and augmenting military staffs with civilian providers.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton nominated Army Lt. Gen. Wesley K. Clark for appointment to general and assignment as commander, U.S. Southern Command.

TACOMA, Wash. - "I'm sorry, ma'am, all pediatrics appointments for the month have been filled. Please call back on the first Tuesday of next month, between 7:30 and 10 a.m. ..."

WASHINGTON - While most of the U.S. service members who helped evacuate Americans from Liberia head back to bases in Europe, about 200 will stay to protect the embassy in Monrovia, DoD officials said.

WASHINGTON - DoD's modernization plans will upgrade military readiness while supporting efforts to balance the federal budget, Deputy Defense Secretary John P. White said recently.

WASHINGTON - A five-year trial of a candidate vaccine for HIV treatment ended in failure, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command officials announced April 17.

WASHINGTON - Job description: Make sure the U. S. military is ready and strong enough to fight and win against all challengers.

WASHINGTON - Five stateside defense installations earned the 1996 Commander in Chief's Award for Installation Excellence.

WASHINGTON - The Japan-U.S. Declaration on Security signed in Tokyo will maintain U.S. presence in East Asia, said President Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto during a press conference.

WASHINGTON - Lessons learned in Desert Storm are helping DoD improve its ballistic missile defense capabilities, Defense Secretary William J. Perry told students at Georgetown University, recently.

WASHINGTON - As people throughout the world call for a ban on land mines, DoD is finding ways to use only self-destructing mines, according to a Pentagon spokesman.

MADIGAN ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Wash. - When her physician ordered Xrays, Army Maj. Marilou Nosco knew the drill: Go downstairs to radiology, take a number, put on a hospital gown, get the Xrays, get dressed, wait for the film to be developed, then carry them back upstairs.

WASHINGTON - While old enemies have laid down their swords, new foes are taking up the tools of death and destruction, according to Defense Secretary William J. Perry.

WASHINGTON - In a move to reduce the burden on the Japanese people without reducing U.S. military capability in the Asia-Pacific region, DoD is returning 20 percent of the land U.S. forces use in Okinawa.

WASHINGTON - Without American troops, the stability and prosperity of Asia could be in danger -- and so could Americas, according to President Clinton.

WASHINGTON, DC - Air Force Maj. Mark Seifert and Army Command Sgt. Maj. Debra Smith captured overall titles at the armed forces bowling championships. Nearly 50 bowlers competed in the four-day event held recently at Fort Jackson, S.C.

WASHINGTON, DC - A balanced scoring attack and tough man-to-man defense paced Navy to the 1996 armed forces men's basketball championship at Camp Lejeune, N.C., recently.

FORT LEWIS, Wash. - If people are healthier, they won't need as much medical care.

WASHINGTON - Rest and recuperation leaves for Operation Joint Endeavor troops began recently.

WASHINGTON - U.S. service members are evacuating American and third country nationals from Liberia, Pentagon officials said.

WASHINGTON - The NATO Implementation Force commander in Bosnia-Herzegovina continues to push for unconditional release of all prisoners factions hold.

WASHINGTON - Military operations are progressing well in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the commander of NATO's implementation force said, but he has concerns about how the country will proceed toward peace.

WASHINGTON, DC - Army bombed Air Force, 60-38, and cruised to its third straight armed forces women's' basketball title at Memphis Naval Air Station, Tenn.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Walter Kross for appointment to general with assignment as commander in chief, U.S. Transportation Command.

WASHINGTON - Let DoD do what it does best; let contractors do what they do best.

WASHINGTON - Thousands more than expected have signed up for TRICARE Prime, the top option under DoD's new managed health care program. This comes under the "good news, bad news" category for DoD officials. It was good so many wanted to participate, but it slowed processing procedures.

WASHINGTON - Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and those who died with him on a Croatian mountainside were "the best of America," President Clinton said during a solemn homecoming ceremony at Dover Air Force Base, Del., April 6.

TIRANA, ALBANIA - When the walls of the Soviet empire came tumbling down, the former Yugoslavia viciously turned upon itself like a mad dog biting off its own tail.

WASHINGTON - Operation Joint Endeavor service members slated for peacekeeping duties over 180 days are eligible for up to 15 days of rest and recuperation. The policy, approved March 21, affects active duty personnel, reservists and DoD civilians deployed to Bosnia and adjacent areas.

WASHINGTON - After evaluating more than 18,000 Gulf War veterans who reported illnesses following service in the Middle East, the Pentagon said there's still no evidence of a singular cause.

CAIRO, Egypt - Bill Perry has now lost two friends to the war in Bosnia, but he said their lives were not wasted because they died in pursuit of peace.

TUZLA, BOSNIA - For those who deployed to Bosnia nearly four months ago, signs of peace are evident in the flow of traffic and the whistle of a freight train.

TUZLA, BOSNIA - U.S. soldiers are now supporting the international war crimes tribunal investigating alleged war crime sites in the Srebrenica area, a DoD spokesman said.

WASHINGTON - Franklin Kramer has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.

WASHINGTON - DoD's ability to contain health care costs as it transitions from CHAMPUS to TRICARE contributed to a smaller budget request for fiscal 1997.

WASHINGTON, DC - A throng of Wisconsin National Guardsmen rushed to help residents of Weyauwega in early March after a freight train carrying propane gas derailed in the town.

ZAGREB, CROATIA - Anyone whos ever served in the military understands the catchall phrase, "additional duties as assigned." It means be prepared to do anything, anywhere, anytime Uncle Sam needs you.

WASHINGTON - The Montgomery GI Bill has entered the second decade of existence hailed as a major contributor to the success of the All-Volunteer Force, Army Lt. Gen. Samuel E. Ebbesen recently told Congress.

WASHINGTON - DoD's reserve affairs chief repudiated General Accounting Office criticism of reserve component combat abilities during recent Senate testimony.

WASHINGTON, DC - DoD is conducting a congressionally mandated survey of more than 45,000 parents to assess the education their children receive in elementary and secondary schools on stateside military installations.

WASHINGTON, DC - Three projects by the Army Corps of Engineers district in St. Paul, Minn., captured top honors at the 1996 Chief of Engineers Design and Environmental Awards competition.

ZAGREB, CROATIA - NATOs Implementation Force will no longer tolerate checkpoints in Bosnia, according to Defense Secretary William J. Perry.

WASHINGTON - "We're in good, but tight shape" is the way Deborah Lee described the fiscal 1997 reserve component budget.

WASHINGTON - Two separation programs designed to ease service members transition to civilian life will continue in fiscal 1997. DoD is also programming an additional $109 million to continue the early retirement program.

WASHINGTON - Isolation is wrong for America, the nation's ranking military officer said recently.

WASHINGTON - Results of a 1995 worldwide DoD survey of health behaviors show service members are using alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs at the lowest rates since the department began the survey in 1980.

WASHINGTON - Army Sgt. Heather Johnsen has gone where no woman has gone before.

WASHINGTON - When Carol A. Mutter joined the U.S. Marine Corps nearly 29 years ago, there were no women generals among the few and the proud. By law, women couldn't be general officers.

WASHINGTON - Multinational troops monitoring peace in Bosnia are starting a new phase of their mission, according to U.S. Army Gen. George S. Joulwan, commander of NATOs peace implementation force.