WASHINGTON - A poison plot uncovered in Great Britain. Another terrorist cell revealed today in Italy. This is the latest evidence that international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction endanger the world.

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials believe Saddam Hussein has had more than enough time to peacefully disarm. Secretary of State Colin Powell sent a message today to those who think the Iraqi dictator deserves more time.

WASHINGTON - All four crewmembers of an Army MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter died following a crash in Afghanistan Jan. 30.

WASHINGTON - Life is improving in today's Afghanistan, a nation recovering from widespread damage caused by the militants who ran it for five years, a senior DoD official said here Jan. 28.

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell each met with high-level officials from countries that support America's efforts in the war on terrorism.

WASHINGTON - A 2002 General Accounting Office report states that the Defense Department has lost female personnel and will lose them increasingly unless it improves new-parent benefits.

BETHESDA, Md. - A procedure being studied now with DoD involvement may one day help correct or prevent the problems of children born with the debilitating disorder myelomeningocele and spina bifida.

WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein has the means and the will to use chemical and biological weapons. He could share them with global terrorists.

WASHINGTON - Eight European leaders strongly supported the United States in its quest to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction in letters appearing today in The Wall Street Journal and The Times of London.

WASHINGTON - About 50 influential men and women sat in a Pentagon conference room Jan. 28, awaiting briefings, chatting among themselves while perusing papers tucked inside blue folders bearing the DoD seal.

WASHINGTON - Noting that the nation is experiencing "very serious times," Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, told more than 3,000 attendees at the National TRICARE Conference that "there's much to be done in the coming year across the military health system."

WASHINGTON - One of the biggest communications problems the reserve components have is ensuring that when their members are called to active duty they know the importance of enrolling in TRICARE at their mobilization or activation stations.

WASHINGTON - The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States were watershed events that altered the American military's philosophy and role in regard to terrorism, a senior DoD official said here Jan. 28.

WASHINGTON - A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Afghanistan today. Few details are available.

WASHINGTON - Friends of World War II British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said it was easy to please him, because "the best will do."

WASHINGTON - Given more than a decade of Iraqi lies and deception, "reasonable people" ought to assume that Saddam Hussein is not going to disarm, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon press briefing today.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to go before the U.N. Security Council Feb. 5 to fill some gaps in information about problems U.N. inspectors are meeting in Iraq.

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - When Army Pfc. Christina Carde received deployment orders for Afghanistan, she was ready to go -- even though it meant leaving her 3-year-old son.

WASHINGTON - An anthrax-killing enzyme now being tested by the Defense Department may one day be used as a medical treatment against the deadly bacteria, a DoD researcher said.

WASHINGTON - Combat operations near Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, continued into the third day, although U.S. officials said the intensity is winding down.

WASHINGTON - "Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option," President George W. Bush told Congress and the nation Jan. 28 during his State of the Union speech.

WASHINGTON - Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is in a league of his own as a threat to world peace, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told business and community leaders here today.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Reservation lines are open for the Dec. 15 reopening of a new, improved Armed Forces Recreation Center Shades of Green hotel on Walt Disney World Resort here.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Special Forces and Afghan militia troops are engaged in heavy fighting against rogue guerrillas near the town of Spin Boldak, a Defense Department official said today.

WASHINGTON - Defense Department leaders need to think and act differently when determining how transformation will affect military medicine, David S.C. Chu told the 2003 National TRICARE Conference audience here Jan. 27.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.N. inspectors' report to the Security Council that Iraq is not fully cooperating with disarmament "came as no surprise."

WASHINGTON - With weapons of mass destruction, what you don't know can kill you.

WASHINGTON - After 60 days of inspections by U.N. officials, Iraq appears not to be cooperating with Security Council Resolution 1441.

WASHINGTON - Iraq's disarmament is inevitable, the Defense Department's senior policy writer told an Arab media outlet Jan. 24.

WASHINGTON - Time is running out for Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to disarm, and the United States will not shrink from war if that is what is necessary, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Switzerland Jan. 26.

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney swore in Tom Ridge as the nation's first secretary of Homeland Security at a White House ceremony today.

WASHINGTON - Iraqi troops destroyed Kuwait's oil fields during the 1991 Gulf War, and American officials are concerned Saddam Hussein will cause even more damage in Iraq if he feels threatened enough.

WASHINGTON - Several plastic containers and what appeared to be a timing device were found near a military checkpoint at the Pentagon yesterday, arousing the suspicion of a passer-by.

WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein's government has information it hasn't shared about the fate of a U.S. pilot shot down over Iraq during the Persian Gulf War, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz said here Jan. 21.

WASHINGTON - Military members serving in designated combat zones in support of the war against global terrorism get a tax break from Uncle Sam.

WASHINGTON - Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi recently announced he's seeking $63.6 billion in the president's fiscal 2004 budget request -- and suspending "better-off" veterans from health care to ensure the neediest are served.

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Armed Forces Blood Program seeks donors to help increase its stock of fresh blood.

WASHINGTON - Senior U.S. and British officials put up a united front here today in discussing the two countries' determination to disarm Saddam Hussein.

WASHINGTON - The engineers who designed and built the Pentagon some 60 years ago would never have imagined that their concrete-and-steel facility, used by thousands of military and civilian personnel, could withstand the impact of a jumbo jet traveling hundreds of miles per hour. But it did.

WASHINGTON - World War II soldier-cartoonist Bill Mauldin, creator of the classic "Willie and Joe" characters, died Jan. 22 in a nursing home in Newport Beach, Calif.

WASHINGTON - Iraq's chemical weapons arsenal is not some hypothetical problem, but a danger and a weapon Saddam Hussein has used in the past.

WASHINGTON - Since late September, the Veterans of Foreign Wars has shipped 1 million free phone cards to service members and to veterans.

WASHINGTON - More than 140 service members per month are opting for DoD's long-term vehicle storage program since it became available on May 1, 2002. Many are switching from private storage arrangements to the Military Traffic Management Command's no-cost option.

WASHINGTON - A White House report, "Apparatus of Lies," outlines the propaganda gambits and other techniques of deceit Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein employs to stymie U.N. weapons inspectors and maintain his grasp on power.

WASHINGTON - international help in recent years, and Iraq's actions are not consistent with cooperative disarmament, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said today.

WASHINGTON - The citizens of Iraq received a taste of democracy in action as the news briefing today by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard Myers was broadcast via Commando Solo aircraft to Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - He's a madman danger to the world. He's a revolutionary leader. He's a savior of his people.

WASHINGTON - Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, came under attack twice early today, a military spokesman there said.

WASHINGTON - If Saddam Hussein will not disarm, "the United States of America and friends of freedom will disarm Saddam Hussein," President Bush vowed today in St. Louis, Mo.

WASHINGTON - Top performers across the Defense Department's information technology realm recently took home DoD Chief Information Officer Award honors.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld declared yesterday he's always respected military draftees' contributions, though "not eloquently stated" comments he made earlier this month at a Pentagon briefing were misinterpreted by some reporters.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told members of the foreign press here today that there is no dichotomy in the U.S. approaches taken for Iraq and North Korea.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell urged his counterparts from U.N. Security Council member nations not to shrink away from their duties and responsibilities regarding the disarmament of Iraq.

WASHINGTON - One American contract employee of the U.S. Army was killed this morning and another wounded in a shooting attack in Kuwait.

WASHINGTON - The United States will continue to put pressure on Saddam Hussein, President Bush said today.

WASHINGTON - Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said people who believe Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is cooperating and should be given more time are engaging in "very dangerous wishful thinking."

WASHINGTON - Time is running out for Saddam Hussein to disarm, and any military solution is likely to draw heavily from the Guard and Reserve, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

WASHINGTON - Roger Clemens has pitched in front of 55,000 screaming Yankees fans. He has won deciding World Series games. What would impress him?

WASHINGTON - People are looking for certainty in respect to Iraq, but the only certainty now is that Iraq is not cooperating with U.N. weapons inspectors, said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

WASHINGTON - Air Force Gen. Richard Myers hammered away at the "T" theme via video teleconference to a San Diego industry meeting this week.

WASHINGTON - President Bush believes the discovery of a dozen empty rocket heads designed to deliver chemical weapons is a "troubling and serious" development, his lead spokesman said today.

WASHINGTON - The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously approved the nomination of former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to be the first Secretary of Homeland Defense.

WASHINGTON - A Special Forces soldier was wounded today in a firefight in far western Afghanistan. He is listed in stable condition.

WASHINGTON - A new military short-term enlistment program will begin Oct. 1 aimed at expanding the opportunities for all Americans to serve the country.

WASHINGTON - Three U.S. soldiers were injured in two separate incidents Jan. 15 in Afghanistan.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Here's bad news for folks who argue that women don't belong in the military: Recruitment and retention rates are up; their roles in the military continue to grow; and they're just as good as men at their jobs -- or better.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The U.S. focus in Afghanistan is shifting to reconstruction and long-term stability, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz stressed throughout his Jan. 15 visit here.

WASHINGTON - In a special ceremony on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Constellation last August, 170 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines swore an oath of allegiance to the United States. The same month in Kandahar, Afghanistan, four dozen more service members did the same. All became American citizens.

WASHINGTON - Military and defense officials have said the fiscal 2003 National Defense Authorization Act goes a long way toward redressing some of the modernization problems that have plagued the U.S. military.

WASHINGTON - A year ago, Ronada D. Hewitt, 11, listened to her sister Samantha read her award-winning essay during DoD's Martin Luther King Jr. Pentagon breakfast. This year, Ronada stood at the podium reading her own award-winning essay.

ARLINGTON - The Department of Defense Education Activity asked for and will receive an additional $56.6 million to improve special education programs for its students with disabilities.

WASHINGTON - Charles A. Moose told the audience at DoD's 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast in the Pentagon that he probably wouldn't be the police chief of Montgomery County, Md., if not for King's work and sacrifices.

WASHINGTON - Four new members of the Senate Armed Services Committee today said they support DoD's transformation efforts, noting another round of base closings is necessary.

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - Retired Col. Frank Steer, the oldest living graduate of West Point and a World War I veteran, celebrated his 102nd birthday Jan. 12 at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.

STUTTGART, Germany - U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones today became the first Marine to assume command of U.S. European Command here.

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz arrived in Afghanistan Jan. 14 after a 14-hour flight aboard an Air Force C-17 transport plane from Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Jan. 14 he is "sick and tired of games and deceptions" on the part of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

WASHINGTON - "The choice between war and peace will not be made in Washington, or indeed in New York," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today. "It will be made in Baghdad, and the decision is facing the Iraqi regime."

WASHINGTON - America's top military officer warned Iraq today not to use human shields if conflict with Iraq begins.

WASHINGTON - The trend started a few years ago: throngs of professional boxers, football and basketball players, skydivers, pilots, police and firefighters flocking to get laser eye surgery -- and coming out all smiles and keen sighted.

WASHINGTON - The nation will observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 20, 2003, but the Pentagon is getting an early start with a King breakfast on Jan. 16.

WASHINGTON - President Bush met with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski today at the White House to discuss issues ranging from economic relations between the two countries to the Polish government's recent decision to buy U.S. warplanes.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Gen. James L. Jones turned over command of the U.S. Marine Corps today to Gen. Michael W. Hagee during a ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy here.

WASHINGTON - The all-volunteer force took nearly a generation to come to fruition, but has since proved its worth in combat.

WASHINGTON - The Armed Services Blood Program Office has asked the military to withdraw all frozen blood supplies donated during last summer's West Nile virus epidemic to avoid transmitting the potentially fatal disease to recipients.

WASHINGTON - Some U.S. airlines are adjusting their rules so service members won't have to pay penalties if they need to alter ticket reservations because of military duty.

WASHINGTON - Volunteer community organizations have until April 30 to enter the fourth annual Newman's Own Award for Military Community Excellence competition for a share of $50,000 in grants.

WASHINGTON - An American soldier lost his right foot Jan. 9 when he stepped on a land mine at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, outside the capital city of Kabul.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Elementary school artists of military families have until Jan. 27 to enter the 2003 Armed Services YMCA Art Contest and earn a chance to win a $500 Savings Bond.

WASHINGTON - Enemy detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are providing U.S. military officials with intelligence of "enormous value," the general in charge of the facility said.

WASHINGTON - The terrorists who struck the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, are still at work trying to strike again, Vice President Richard Cheney said today.

WASHINGTON - Roughly 1,300 American and coalition troops are working to prevent terrorists from gaining ground in the Horn of Africa.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard Myers entered the Pentagon briefing room to give an update on the global war on terror.

WASHINGTON - America's top Marine general believes there should be "a distinction between transformation and basic modernization."

WASHINGTON - U.S. troops have been involved in several unrelated incidents in Afghanistan in recent days including a rocket attack and weapons cache discoveries, a coalition spokesman reported this morning.

WASHINGTON - After reviewing Iraq's declaration to the U.N. Security Council for a month, U.S. officials feel the document is "a deliberate attempt to deceive by material omissions."

WASHINGTON - Iraq will have an easier time recovering from Saddam Hussein than Afghanistan has had recovering from the Taliban, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Jan. 7.

WASHINGTON - Thousands of American service members are deploying to the U.S. Central Command area of operations.

INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey - After completing their 90-day deployment here in support of Operation Northern Watch, members of Electronic Attack Squadron 133 returned home after New Year's to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.

WASHINGTON - DoD's top health official today vouched for the integrity of the military's health records system, adding that a special task force will examine ways to make that system even more secure.

WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein is obligated to disarm for the sake of peace, and U.S. officials expect North Korea to honor its agreements, President Bush said Monday.

WASHINGTON - North Korea's recent admission that it's pursuing a banned nuclear weapons program does not put it in the same boat as Iraq, officials contend.

WASHINGTON - On the first day of the 108th Congress, President Bush said today, the nation's elected officials "have a responsibility to meet great dangers to our country wherever they gather."

WASHINGTON - The United States is not going to implement a military draft, because there is no need for it, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Special Operations Command will receive more people, equipment and greater responsibility if President Bush accepts a DoD proposal.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military is building up forces in the Persian Gulf, but that's not a sign war with Iraq is inevitable, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

ABOARD THE USS MOUNT WHITNEY, Gulf of Aden - The Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa completed a two-day exercise with maritime forces from Combined Task Force-150 here today.

RAF MILDENHALL, England - Currently, cats and dogs coming into the United Kingdom from the United States must still be licensed into quarantine, according to officials at the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

WASHINGTON - There was no mistaking that America's soldiers are firmly behind their commander in chief during a presidential visit to the Army's Fort Hood, Texas, today.

WASHINGTON - A Federal Trade Commission booklet offers guidance for people who've fallen victim to a fast-growing crime: identity theft.