WASHINGTON - If you've been wondering whether the Year 2000 computer problem could suddenly erase your very existence as a service member at the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31, then worry no more.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department and National Cancer Institute will soon expand the numbers and types of clinical trials open to TRICARE beneficiaries.

WASHINGTON - Each year on the third Saturday of May, America takes time out to honor you - the men and women of America's armed forces. Armed Forces Day serves a very important purpose by reminding all Americans of your willingness to serve and sacrifice to protect our nation's freedom. Because of you, America remains strong and secure.

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - When the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after being launched from Cape Canaveral in January 1986, a small defense organization here marshaled a rapid response.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Marsh birds wade slowly in the brackish swamps. An alligator, belly bloated, moves sluggishly across dry mud. Pesky flies buzz and flit from bush to bush. There's no other discernible movement.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William Cohen said the NATO air offensive continues to hammer the Yugoslav military, showing Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that he underestimated the will of the alliance to respond to the tragedy in Kosovo.

WASHINGTON - Whenever Ann Walker's brattish attitude emerged, her grandmother would often say, "You're just like your great- aunt Mary."

WASHINGTON - If you're one of the thousands of reserve component service members called to active duty in support of Operation Allied Force -- or any other operation -- you're protected by a law that can save you some headaches -- and possibly more than just a few dollars.

WASHINGTON - Air Force Master Sgt. Chuck Reger is a pro. When time is of the essence, he knows how to put out pictures.

WASHINGTON - Training troops in the field costs big bucks. Partnership for Peace and NATO military leaders recently had a chance here to try some high-tech, state-of-the-art computer simulations that may accomplish many of the same goals at far less expense.

WASHINGTON - All service members receive training in the Code of Conduct at various times in their careers. Sometimes, within the security of a motor pool or on a flight line, they may wonder why.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen has ordered 30 "KC-135 equivalents" for duty with Operation Allied Force, Pentagon officials announced April 26.

WASHINGTON - Up to 33,102 reserve component members can be called to active duty for Operation Allied Force under a presidential selected reserve call-up signed April 27 by President Clinton.

WASHINGTON - Thirty-one days into Operation Allied Force, NATO's operational commander praised the service members taking part and said their efforts have significantly degraded Yugoslavia's military and security apparatus and infrastructure.

WASHINGTON - One for all, and all for one. This collective defense pledge is at the heart of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and 19 nations renewed it April 23, 50 years after the security alliance was born.

WASHINGTON - Rogue dictators, chemical attack, terrorist bombs -- preventive defense is the name of the game. The United States and its NATO allies are determined to be ready for any contingency.

WASHINGTON - "The government is us; we are the government, you and I."

WASHINGTON - No fuel, no go. It's that simple. So, NATO intends to starve Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's tanks, armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles.

WASHINGTON - It will take vigor and patience, but NATO's air campaign will prevail over Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's forces, President Clinton said here April 24.

WASHINGTON - NATO has expanded its target list in Yugoslavia to electric power transformers supplying command and control centers near Belgrade, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said April 23.

WASHINGTON - Six major airlines have agreed to waive no-refund policies and trip-change penalties against U.S. service members whose leave travel is affected by Operation Allied Force, according to Air Force officials.

WASHINGTON - Further evidence of declining Yugoslavian army and police morale under NATO air attacks was released April 22 by DoD officials here.

WASHINGTON - NATO has the means and the will to stop the human tragedy in Kosovo, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana declared here April 22. "That will be the message of the Washington summit."

WASHINGTON - Before marking NATO's birth 50 years ago, allied leaders dealt with the issue at hand -- Kosovo.

WASHINGTON - Without the rush of morning traffic, the heart of Washington was unusually quiet early Friday, April 23, opening day of NATO's 50th anniversary summit. Concentric rings of police, Secret Service agents, traffic flares and barricades barred all but authorized vehicles from the summit site near 14th Street and Constitution Avenue.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen announced Apr. 21 that President Clinton has nominated Lieutenant General James L. Jones for appointment to the grade of general and assignment as the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps. The nomination must be approved by the United States Senate. A change of command ceremony is scheduled for June 30.

WASHINGTON - Students in Department of Defense dependent schools were among the nation's best scorers in reading in a recent congressionally mandated annual test.

WASHINGTON - A toll-free federal telephone hot line, 1-800- USAID-RELIEF is open now to direct callers to private humanitarian organizations providing relief to Kosovar refugees.

WASHINGTON - A DoD plan to improve the availability and delivery of military funeral honors for deceased veterans went before Congress April 19 for approval.

WASHINGTON - By many accounts, Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has gotten a bum rap.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton has asked Congress for $6 billion to finance continuing air operations and humanitarian missions in the Balkans.

WASHINGTON - NATO's 50th anniversary summit here was meant to celebrate the past and look toward the future. In light of the ongoing crisis in Kosovo, however, the three-day summit starting April 23 has changed its focus to the here and now.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen announced Apr. 21 that the President has nominated Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, U.S. Army, for reappointment to the grade of general and assignment as chief of staff, U.S. Army. Shinseki is currently serving as vice chief of staff, U.S. Army.

WASHINGTON - A call-up request for U.S. reserve forces to support Operation Allied Force in Europe will soon go to the president, Pentagon officials said April 19.

WASHINGTON - Four months after he first visited Central America in December 1998, Charles Cragin could see the changes taking place since Hurricanes Mitch and Georges obliterated homes, cities, mountainsides and, most of all, lives, last fall. By Easter weekend, American Guard and Reserve members were beginning to make a dent in the huge workload before them.

WASHINGTON - Television reports show the direful situation: hundreds of thousands of Kosovar refugees who have fled their homeland living in makeshift border camps in Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia. Defense Department officials estimate up to 700,000 others remain in southern Kosovo, driven from their homes and hiding from the Serbs for fear of their lives.

WASHINGTON - Good news for patients and participating civilian physicians: TRICARE is getting simpler.

FORT LEE, Va. - Reservists who don't have their Commissary Privilege Card yet may be spending up to 30 percent too much for their groceries.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton signed the executive order April 13 declaring the area around Yugoslavia a combat zone. This gives U.S. service members serving in Operation Allied Force some tax breaks.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton signed the executive order April 13 declaring the area around Yugoslavia a combat zone. This gives U.S. service members serving in Operation Allied Force some tax breaks.

WASHINGTON - Military health care quality has never been better, but it's still hard sometimes to see a doctor or get an appointment, Dr. Sue Bailey learned in Southern California March 31.

WASHINGTON - NATO officials admitted responsibility for an accidental convoy bombing that resulted in the deaths of 64 ethnic Albanian Kosovar refugees.

WASHINGTON - Harry Truman was in the White House. He had just staged arguably the biggest election upset ever in presidential politics. Junior congressmen and future presidents John Kennedy and Richard Nixon started their second terms. Joe Stalin was still absolute ruler of the Soviet Union.

RANTOUL, Ill. - "It's a combination of good planning, a singular purpose and just plain hard work," was how Ray M. Boudreaux described the success of this city in attracting business to what was Chanute Air Force Base.

WASHINGTON - Army Col. Phillip J. Gick will face the transportation challenge of a lifetime during NATO's 50th anniversary summit here April 23 to 25.

WASHINGTON - Federal civilian employees can start or change their Thrift Savings Plan accounts during the semiannual open season, May 15-July 31.

WASHINGTON - NATO's top military commander has asked the United States for 300 more aircraft for use in the Operation Allied Force air campaign against Yugoslavia.

WASHINGTON - Twice a year, federal civilian employees can begin or change deposits into their Thrift Savings Plan account. "Open season" (May 15-July 31 and Nov. 15-Jan. 31) presents a palette of choices but almost always raises questions about the investment options.

WASHINGTON - It was a busy day at the American Red Cross' Armed Forces Emergency Service Center in Falls Church, Va.

WASHINGTON - USO Centers in Europe are increasing their services to accommodate the influx of service members deployed for NATO's Operation Allied Force in Yugoslavia.

WASHINGTON - Eroding Serb army and police morale is leading to more desertions as NATO continues its air campaign in Yugoslavia, Defense Secretary William Cohen said April 12 at a news conference at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

WASHINGTON - U.S. service members taking part in Operation Allied Force will be earning tax-free pay once President Clinton issues an executive order he promised to sign April 12.

WASHINGTON, April 12, 1999 - President Clinton told service members gathered at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic "should be under no illusions that we will end [the air campaign] from weariness. We are determined to continue on this mission, and we will prevail."

AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy - Since NATO launched Operation Allied Force March 24, this Italian air base about 50 miles north of Venice has been a hub of activity as maintenance crews, ammo loaders and other support personnel ready steel gray war birds for takeoff.

WASHINGTON - Claims problems reported by patients and providers aren't likely to recur after administrative changes on tap for TRICARE take effect.

WASHINGTON - Looking for success in the military? Who better to ask for advice than the service members who rose through the ranks from E-nothings to become their services' top enlisted advisers?

WASHINGTON - Will the Year 2000 computer problem have your Thrift Savings Plan nest egg for lunch?

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. - Four "VIP" volunteers chosen for their selfless service to their communities will soon share prime space on 250,000 boxes of cereal in commissaries worldwide.

WASHINGTON - At least 30 Department of Defense overseas schools will have full-day kindergarten beginning next fall, said Director Lillian Gonzales of the Department of Defense Education Activity.

WASHINGTON - A total of 82 more U.S. aircraft will join NATO's Operation Allied Force air campaign against Yugoslavia, DoD officials announced April 10.

AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy - Defense ministers, military leaders and congressmen hailed the military men and women here supporting NATO's Operation Allied Force as "guardians of liberty."

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany - It takes about four hours for a U.S. Air Force C-130 transport to fly from here to Italy, pick up a load of supplies and carry it to Albania. Each day, 86th Airlift Wing crews here make the journey to help Kosovo's refugees.

WASHINGTON - The answer to when NATO will stop its bombing campaign against Serbia lies with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, said Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Wald, vice director of strategic plans for the Joint Staff.

WASHINGTON - Operation Allied Force pilots flew more than 400 sorties April 7, attacking 28 targets in Serbia and Kosovo, NATO officials said, and the pilots had a "major breakthrough" in attacking Serb armored vehicles in the field.

WASHINGTON - Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Eric Benken admits he was "the easiest recruit in the world." Riding home after a shift at a dead-end job, 19-year-old Benken noticed a recruiting poster emblazoned with what he jokes today he thought was a direct order: "Join the Air Force."

WASHINGTON - U.S. service members are doing an outstanding job in both the military and humanitarian missions of Operation Allied Force, said Defense Secretary William S. Cohen.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - More planes. More power. More pressure. That's what the United States and NATO have planned for Operation Allied Force.

WASHINGTON - Long before the advent of television advertising, colorful posters were the most effective means of advertising for wartime manpower and galvanizing Americans' patriotic emotions.

WASHINGTON - Each day the allied air campaign against Yugoslavia's military continues, NATO's determination to end the conflict grows stronger, according to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen.

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - It borrowed many of its ideas for improving customer service from other business success stories. Now, the 45th Medical Group pharmacy here is reaping the benefits and customers couldn't be happier.

WASHINGTON - A night of clear skies gave Operation Allied Force airmen the chance to hit many targets throughout Yugoslavia, NATO and U.S. spokesmen said April 5.

WASHINGTON - Allied air operations in Yugoslavia increased for the second day as pilots pounded fuel depots, Serb command and control facilities, air defense sites and Yugoslavian army and special police units.

WASHINGTON - Up to 22 million former and current service members and DoD civilians can start applying for certificates honoring them for their role in winning the Cold War.

WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials announced April 3 that Defense Secretary William S. Cohen had directed the Theodore Roosevelt battle group to remain in the Mediterranean to support Operation Allied Force.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is airlifting 500,000 humanitarian daily rations to the Balkans, and more are ready to go if needed, according to the Pentagon's top logistician.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen has directed 12 more F-117 stealth fighters to join NATO Operation Allied Force, Pentagon officials announced here April 1.

WASHINGTON - Newspapers nationwide are reporting severe problems in the medical community with preparing computer systems for the Year 2000 date change. Within DoD Health Affairs, however, the prognosis for Y2K compliance is much brighter.

WASHINGTON - "President Milosevic should make no mistake," President Clinton warned April 1. "The United States takes care of our own."

WASHINGTON - The Geneva Convention covers the three U.S. soldiers now being held in Serb custody, according to Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon.

WASHINGTON - Yugoslav forces abducted three noncombatant American soldiers patrolling, March 31, on the border of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Belgrade television displayed photos of their badly beaten faces.

WASHINGTON - The United States is gearing up to help the international relief effort in the Balkans, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said March 31.