WASHINGTON, April 28, 2000 - Robert L. Stein II knows the kind of effort that's going to be required to study, and ultimately, combat domestic violence in the military.

WASHINGTON - Starting May 1, with some exceptions, DoD personnel must use the government travel card for expenses arising from official government travel.

WASHINGTON - Fixing TRICARE, moderating the tempo of operations and housing are top DoD quality of life priorities for the fiscal 2001 Defense budget request, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Henry Shelton said April 26.

WASHINGTON - This spring marks the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces on April 25, 1975, marking the tragic end to U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia.

WASHINGTON - Months of combat couldn’t steel World War II American GI’s for the sights they witnessed when they liberated the Nazi death camp at Nordhausen, Germany, on April 11, 1945.

WASHINGTON - Military medical experts are facing a new kind of epidemic, one that doesn’t involve a disease but can affect patients’ health nonetheless -- missing medical records.

WASHINGTON - DoD is revamping and simplifying its permanent-change-of-station process to make it easier, faster, less expensive and less stressful for more than 700,000 service members and their family members who move around the world each year.

WASHINGTON - The contractor that manages TRICARE in the Northeast has launched a groundbreaking ombudsman program to improve customer service.

WASHINGTON - Japanese American veterans of World War II are the cornerstone of the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism, but the memorial that's scheduled to be dedicated here on Nov. 9, 2000 is not just a veterans memorial, said Cherry Tsutsumida.

WASHINGTON - Marine investigators looking into the April 8 crash of an MV-22 Osprey in Arizona that killed 19 Marines have ruled out a problem with the aircraft's transition from plane to helicopter mode and are now waiting for data from the craft's "black box."

WASHINGTON - Secretary of Defense William Cohen proposes to solve a long-standing housing allowance "equity issue" in a way that probably could make more military families eligible for food stamps.

WASHINGTON - Now's your chance to have your say. DoD officials want to know how you would solve the problem of homosexual harassment in the military.

WASHINGTON - Federal agencies are collaborating in a major study into long-term health effects of the anthrax vaccine used by DoD, Deputy Defense Secretary Rudy de Leon testified April 13 before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

WASHINGTON - DoD healthcare experts are planning several ways to improve and expand pharmacy services for active and retired service members and their families.

WASHINGTON - Standing on the deck of the carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Persian Gulf it is easy to understand why America still needs a military.

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - The Army women's basketball team won all six of its games in dominating style to capture the Women's Armed Forces Basketball Championship April 11 for the ninth year in a row.

WASHINGTON - DoD is expanding its smoking ban to include clubs, bowling alleys and other morale, welfare and recreation facilities.

WASHINGTON - DoD anthrax experts are increasing their efforts to get service members and their families "good, credible information before they get disinformation" from other sources.

WASHINGTON - Recycling events, awareness festivals, base cleanups and other activities are slated throughout the military to mark the 30th anniversary of Earth Day April 22.

WASHINGTON - There will be no increase in the number of U.S. troops in Kosovo, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said here April 13.

WASHINGTON - DoD officials want to know what motivates service members to leave the military, so they’ve decided to ask.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Some 36,400 service members and their spouses and DoD civilians will receive surveys to assess their information needs and how they access news about the department.

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2000 - DoD is responding in several ways to President Clinton’s call for a 50-percent reduction in preventable medical errors within five years.

WASHINGTON - Marine Corps officials here announced April 12 they have recovered the bodies of 19 Marines killed when their MV-22 Osprey crashed in Arizona April 8.

WASHINGTON - House representatives voted 397-0 April 10 naming American GIs as the "Person of the Century" in their Concurrent Resolution 282 with the Senate.

CAMP DOHA, Kuwait - Defense Department leaders are concerned about “overdeployment” of U.S. service members and are working to alleviate the problem, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said April 8 during a troop talk here.

WASHINGTON - The Marines have sent a colonel to Arizona from Marine Corps Headquarters here to head the service's investigation into the deadly April 8 crash of an MV-22 Osprey.

MANAMA, Bahrain - The best efforts of the U.S.-led Maritime Interdiction Force to stop Iraqi oil smuggling in the Persian Gulf will be for naught if Iran continues to allow smugglers to use its territorial waters.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Saudi Arabia expressed an interest in buying 24 F-15S "Eagle" aircraft from Boeing's McDonnell-Douglas Division, a defense official said.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - U.S. troops will not reduce troop levels in the area, contrary to news reports.

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait - As you walk into the Kuwait POW Committee Office here, you are surrounded by memories. Memories stolen by Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War and not returned since.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - The bottom line to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen is the Cooperative Defense Initiative could save thousands of lives throughout the Persian Gulf region.

WASHINGTON - Whether you're traveling to central London or the African plains this summer, you may want to check the travel section on the State Department Web site home page.

WASHINGTON - Defense officials are standing firm in maintaining the privacy of the general officers involved in the latest sexual misconduct allegations drawing media attention.

ABOARD THE USS JOHN C. STENNIS, Arabian Sea - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen praised the warriors of this aircraft carrier April 7, a day after they flew bombing missions against Iraq.

WASHINGTON - The Women in Military Service for America Memorial is perhaps the largest and best-known tribute to women's contributions to the nation's defense and defenders. It's also only one of hundreds of its kind.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Army Spc. Kevin Lash may not realize it, but he is truly a soldier of the future.

WASHINGTON - Building and operating a National Missile Defense System will cost taxpayers an estimated $30.2 billion by 2026, Pentagon officials announced here April 4.

WASHINGTON - Military authorities at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe are assessing whether NATO's Kosovo Force is adequate for its peacekeeping mission.

WASHINGTON - Retired Army Gen. John H. Tilelli says he considers himself lucky twice over. He's had the privilege of serving his country for 37 years, he said, and now he will serve America's service members as head of the USO.

MANAMA, Bahrain - “It’s a lot better for me to have you close, because I take advantage of every chance I have to look into the faces of the people who are serving us.”

AMMAN, Jordan - The U.S. military exercise program with Jordan will grow, said Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, adding bilateral and multilateral military exercises would make the Middle East a more stable place.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii, has a worldwide mission ranging from the rice paddies of Southeast Asia to the deserts of the Middle East and the glaciers of Tibet.

DOHA, Qatar - Iran, Iraq and the Cooperative Defense Initiative were among the main points of discussion April 5 between Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and the Amir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar.

WASHINGTON - DoD experts on Gulf War illnesses head to Germany in April on a four-day whirlwind trip that will include briefings in 14 towns and a town- hall meeting in Heidelberg.

DOHA, Qatar - The U.S. Central Command is negotiating with Qatar for rights to use the air base at Al Uedid as a site for a U.S. air expeditionary force, DoD officials said here April 5.

WASHINGTON - Even though it was hot, damp and dirty in the village of Don Phu, Vietnam, the American military men and women who volunteered to go there said they loved it because they were doing something worthwhile.

CAIRO - The United States will sell Egypt ground-based versions of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to- Air Missile system to replace aging Russian weapons, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said during an April 4 press conference here.

WASHINGTON - At age 18, Linda A. Murakata was a single parent fighting the stigma of being on welfare. At the end of each month, she never had enough money for food or the bare necessities for herself and her infant daughter.

Washington - Navy Dr. (Cmdr.) Linda A. Murakata is the granddaughter and great-great-niece of turn-of-the-century African American Army "Buffalo Soldiers."

ABUJA, Nigeria - Mention the possibility of a military coup d’etat in the United States and people laugh.

ABUJA, Nigeria - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen announced a $10 million effort to help strengthen Nigeria's democracy and to "reprofessionalize" its military.

ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and U.S. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen will discuss a proposed security assistance program for a country many consider the “anchor” of West Africa.

JERUSALEM - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak met here April 3 to discuss the Middle East Peace Process, the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon and U.S. opposition to Israeli arm sales to China.