WASHINGTON - A 3.7 percent military pay raise, TRICARE changes, military modernization and lifetime medical benefits are just some of the aspects of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 that President Clinton signed into law Oct. 30.

WASHINGTON - Pay provisions in the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 emphasize the importance of quality of life to DoD, starting with an across-the-board 3.7 percent raise for service members beginning Jan. 1, 2001.

WASHINGTON - Service members currently receiving food stamps may soon be eligible for a special DoD subsistence allowance.

WASHINGTON - Military members will be able to create their own retirement nest egg by using the Federal Employees Thrift Savings Plan beginning next year, DoD officials said.

WASHINGTON - The Cohen Initiative to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of service members living off- base has been approved, and service members will start seeing the results Jan. 1.

WASHINGTON - Kuwait and Saudi Arabia join Bahrain, Qatar and Yemen as having the highest level of threat against U.S. military in the Middle East region, Pentagon spokesperson Kenneth Bacon said Oct. 31.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Central Command officials have declared Threat Condition Delta, the highest threat level, in Bahrain and Qatar, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said Oct. 24.

WASHINGTON - Pentagon leaders and top commanders around the world talked force protection for more than an hour during an Oct. 26 video teleconference.

WASHINGTON - "AFIS On Assignment" is a weekly publication of the American Forces Information Service.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Central Command officials have declared Threat Condition Delta, the highest threat level, in Bahrain and Qatar, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said here Oct. 24.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Commissary Agency is once again teaming with the producers of a popular show touring U.S. military bases to ramp up support for a holiday letter writing campaign.

WASHINGTON - NATO and the European Union are going to have to work closely together, but "NATO remains the indispensable anchor for European security," said Frank Kramer.

WASHINGTON - Carl Brashear's mama always said he was a daredevil. But even she would never have guessed just how right she was.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Did you know you can ship a boat to your next duty station at government expense as part of your household goods? You can!

WASHINGTON - Essential, yet unheralded, Navy divers work deep beneath the seas to save lives, recover remains and salvage equipment. It's a dangerous job, physically demanding, infinitely challenging.

WASHINGTON - Up until now, few outside the Navy have ever heard of retired Master Chief Petty Officer Carl M. Brashear. But no good story goes untold, and that's definitely the case for this unsung Navy hero.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton, Defense Secretary William Cohen and 5,000 other people joined the family members of the 17 deceased sailors from the USS Cole Oct. 18 for a special memorial service at Naval Base Norfolk, Va.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Oct. 12 explosion that ripped the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, occurred nearly an hour earlier than originally thought, according to Navy officials.

WASHINGTON - DoD's new Educational Opportunities Directorate hopes to provide for "quality education" of all 870,000 children in the military family - - not just the 110,000 who attend DoD schools.

WASHINGTON - The incidence of service members using illegal drugs is at a 20-year low, evidence that DoD is winning the war against drug abuse in its ranks -- a conflict that began during the Vietnam War.

WASHINGTON - "AFIS On Assignment" is a weekly publication of the American Forces Information Service.

WASHINGTON - A DoD panel will examine the terrorist attack against the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, to see what commanders can do to prevent such attacks, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said Oct. 19.

MANAUS, Brazil - Nations of the Western Hemisphere need to band together in a cooperative effort to help combat drug trafficking, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said here Oct. 17.

MANAUS, Brazil - U.S. service members can expect more contact with the Argentine and Chilean military in the future because of agreements signed here Oct. 17.

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. - Even the sky seemed to mourn during the Oct. 18 memorial service here for the victims of the Oct. 12 explosion that ripped the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen.

WASHINGTON - Ely S. Parker was a 19th- century American Indian of exceptional intellect and ability who admirably served his country, and his people, in war and peace during a period of great change.

NEW YORK CITY - More than $22,000 will be available next year to the children of active duty and retired members through the Cmdr. William S. Stuhr Scholarship Fund.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. inquiry is under way into the Oct. 12 terrorist bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen told reporters here Oct. 16.

MANAUS, Brazil - Defense ministers from throughout the Western Hemisphere gathered here in the Amazon rain forest in mid-October for the fourth Defense Ministerial of the Americas.

WASHINGTON - Navy divers have recovered the remains of six sailors killed in the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen Oct. 12. This leaves six sailors still missing.

WASHINGTON - Thirty-three sailors wounded in the terrorist attack on the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, returned Oct. 15 to Norfolk, Va.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Transportation specialists at the Military Traffic Management Command here have made a smart move that's saving big bucks and boosting customer satisfaction.

WASHINGTON - Three more sailors have died in an apparent terrorist attack against the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen. This brings the death toll to seven. Ten more sailors are missing.

WASHINGTON - Dick Taylor, Norman Hatch, Donald Honeyman -- you may not know their names or faces, but you've probably seen their work.

WASHINGTON - Five military communities will be recognized for their exemplary anti-drug awareness and education programs at an Oct. 23 Pentagon ceremony.

WASHINGTON - Three more sailors have died in an apparent terrorist attack against the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen. This brings the death toll to seven. Ten more sailors are missing.

WASHINGTON - International security is to economic interest as oxygen is to the body, according to Walt Slocombe.

WASHINGTON - Eighteen individuals were recognized in a Pentagon ceremony Oct. 11 as Outstanding DoD Employees with Disabilities.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Calling himself "an aberration," Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky said he's moved more than a dozen times in more than three decades, and "I haven't had a real bad move. But some were frustrating.

WASHINGTON - DoD's Family Advocacy Program aims to prevent physical, sexual and emotional abuse in military families, protect victims when abuse occurs and treat all family members involved.

WASHINGTON - Five sailors are dead, 35 injured and 12 missing following a terrorist attack Oct. 12 on the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen.

WASHINGTON - "AFIS On Assignment" is a weekly publication of the American Forces Information Service.

WASHINGTON - What happens when Capt. Jones beats his wife and neighbors call the police? Or when Sgt. Smith's wife clobbers him with a baseball bat?

WASHINGTON - When a soldier murdered his live-in girlfriend last year at their residence outside a military base, civilian authorities blamed the military for failing to protect the woman.

WASHINGTON - Unseen wounds. Untold stories. Unresolved issues. Left untreated, domestic violence festers, only to flare up again and again.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army Community Service Family Advocacy Program provided the following facts and hints in observance of National Domestic Violence Month, October.

THESSALONIKI, Greece - Against the backdrop of historic changes in Yugoslavia, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen told defense ministers of southeast Europe Oct. 9 that old dividing lines must go.

BIRMINGHAM, England - NATO defense ministers focused on the changes in Yugoslavia during their informal Oct. 10 meeting here.

BIRMINGHAM, England - The United States must develop a clearer, "more positive" vision of the NATO- European Union partnership, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said Oct. 10 to NATO defense ministers here.

TUNIS, Tunisia - The Middle East and Iraq dominated "friendly and far reaching" bilateral defense talks here Oct. 7 between Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and Tunisian officials.

THESSALONIKI, Greece - The United States will help Yugoslavia introduce economic and political reforms, but the size of the U.S. troop commitment to the region will remain the same, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said here Oct. 8.

WASHINGTON - Sailors and Marines ashore and at sea will be able to exchange information instantaneously and securely thanks to a new integrated computer system that will be implemented worldwide during the next few years.

WASHINGTON - Over the next several years, DoD officials expect "smart cards" to replace the identification cards of all active duty military, Selected Reserve personnel, DoD civilian employees and eligible contractors.

WASHINGTON - DoD officials still feel strongly that the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program is necessary to protect U.S. forces, but they are examining different ways to acquire needed stocks of the vaccine.

WASHINGTON - What happens if a terrorist sarin gas attack occurs in New York or Washington or Los Angeles -- or all three at once? Who is to respond?

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - A group of people at this small base in rural Maryland are working hard to ensure U.S. service members are safe from environmental threats even in the most remote overseas locations.

WASHINGTON - An enhanced TRICARE Retiree Dental Program went into effect Oct. 1 that covers more than 100 new procedures and expands beneficiary eligibility criteria.

WASHINGTON - Everybody has good intentions when selecting and sending gifts, but good intentions will carry one only so far if packages arrive too late or damaged.

WASHINGTON - Creating job opportunities for military spouses and exiting service members is a top priority of DoD's new partnership with corporate America.

WASHINGTON - Military retirees asked for a more comprehensive dental plan, and now they have one.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen will travel Oct. 6-11 to Tunisia, Greece and England for talks on bilateral matters, multilateral actions and NATO affairs.

WASHINGTON - "AFIS On Assignment" is a weekly publication of the American Forces Information Service.

WASHINGTON - Delivery delays of the 2000-2001 influenza vaccine throughout the United States have activated a priority immunization program in DoD and the Coast Guard.

SYDNEY, Australia - La Tasha Colander-Richardson anchored the U.S. women to victory in the 4x400-meter relay event Sept. 30 to close the ring on the Games for Army wives.

WASHINGTON - "What's your computer password?" the helpdesk person asked the young NCO.

WASHINGTON - All services met their fiscal 2000 recruiting goals, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen announced Sept. 28.

WASHINGTON - "AFIS On Assignment" is a weekly publication of the American Forces Information Service.

WASHINGTON - Unprecedented Guard and Reserve deployments over the last decade -- and no let up in sight -- are worrying civilian employers concerned about the impact of that situation on their workplaces, according to a recent DoD study.

WASHINGTON - "The only thing I feel very happy about is that I came back from two wars without being wounded," said Rafael Miranda, an 81-year-old resident here at the Soldiers' and Airmen's Home.

WASHINGTON - Are there legal restrictions placed upon DoD military and civilian employees' political activities because of their unique roles as public servants?