WASHINGTON - U.S. forces evacuated nearly 900 people from Albania after civil unrest erupted following the collapse of a financial pyramid scheme. The fledgling democracy is the poorest nation in Europe, according to a DoD spokesman.

WASHINGTON - Eighteen Army and Air Force sharpshooters have been named to the U.S. National World Cup shooting team.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton reaffirmed his commitment to withdrawing U.S. troops from Bosnia by July 1998 -- just before he met with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic on March 26.

WASHINGTON - About 350 U.S. troops have deployed to Africa to prepare for a possible evacuation of Americans from Zaire.

WASHINGTON - A former cryptologic staff officer has "broken the code" on three-star rank for female Army generals.

FORT IRWIN, Calif. - Changing the way the military thinks, trains and fights is a major undertaking. Ask Maj. Gen. Paul Kern. The Army's 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) commander will readily admit change is hard.

FORT LEE, Va. - The Defense Commissary Agency is embarking on a cooperative program that allows students to earn school credit while they learn the grocery business -- the DeCA way.

FORT IRWIN, Calif. - Information, rather than military muscle, will dominate battlefields of the 21st century, William S. Cohen said after glimpsing the future at the Army's National Training Center here.

TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Hawaii - What began as TRICARE Hawaii, DoD's managed health plan for the 50th state, now delivers medical coverage to service members and their families throughout the Pacific theater.

TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Hawaii - From thousands of islands -- tiny specks in the vast Pacific Ocean -- they come seeking treatment for the rarest diseases. The United States pays their way to and from Oahu and pays, too, for the life-changing -- sometimes life-saving -- care they need. They are thankful, as the smiles on their faces reveal in the photos Army Dr. (Col.) Donald Person keeps of them.

WASHINGTON - Army earned its sixth straight wrestling title at the 1997 armed forces wrestling championships held March 22-22 at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin agreed to disagree on NATO expansion, but not let their opposing views stand in the way of other measures to improve relations.

WASHINGTON - Budget restraints and technology upgrades are changing the way the American Red Cross will support troops in the 21st century. However, Armed Forces Emergency Services officials are reassuring service members the planned upgrades will not affect their support to them.

WASHINGTON - NATO expansion will benefit Russian security as well as that of Western Europe, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recently told Russian officials.

WASHINGTON - The impetus behind acquisition reform all comes down to supporting warfighters, DoD's top acquisition official said March 14.

WASHINGTON - After 50 years of Cold War, America's former foe recently entered the Pentagon's inner sanctum.

WASHINGTON - DoD Dependents Schools students will be among the first to take nationally standardized exams as part of a campaign to make American education the world's best.

WASHINGTON - Sometimes finding a job in the federal government is like climbing an endless flight of stairs. Postings are limited and difficult to find, application forms are lengthy and confusing, and you may wait months for a response. You cross your fingers, hoping for an objective review of your qualifications.

WASHINGTON - Army boxing team members Spc. Olanda Anderson and Sgt. Bradley Martinez of Fort Huachuca, Ariz., captured medals at the 1997 U.S. National Boxing championships.

ROMULUS, N.Y. - Large flatbed trucks daily continue to enter and exit the Seneca Army Depot here. Drivers pass through security gates, then wend their way along the narrow, two-lane roads to either heavy equipment warehouses or ammunition storage areas.

WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials launched Acquisition Reform Week March 17, vowing to enhance cooperation between the department and private industry and keep the momentum for reform going.

WASHINGTON - The Armed Services YMCA has extended the deadline for its Young Readers Project contest to accommodate requests from local installation libraries. In addition, the U. S. Savings bond prizes for younger students has been increased to $500.

WASHINGTON - DoD is proposing a $140 million recruiting effort as part of the fiscal 1998 defense budget in the department's efforts to bolster enlistments.

WASHINGTON - The Joint Staff recently launched a four- tiered training initiative that mandates every DoD member receive force protection training prior to moving or serving overseas.

WASHINGTON - DoD will look at the latest allegations about the Army's handling of the sexual misconduct investigation at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., but it is the Army's responsibility to deal with it, said Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton has ordered federal agencies to take three new actions in their investigation of Gulf War Illnesses.

FORT LEE, Va. - The Defense Commissary Agency is resizing from seven regions to four in the wake of a $48.5 million budget cut.

FORT LEE, Va. - A worldwide Defense Commissary Agency promotion in April will benefit two nonprofit organizations with military connections.

CAMP DOBOL, Bosnia - As a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter carries William S. Cohen above northern Bosnia, clouds of pale gray smoke slowly waft skyward. Farmers below burn their fields, clearing old growth and detonating land mines with the fires of spring.

BRUSSELS - NATO plans to extend Europe's zone of security and stability to the East, according to U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen has proclaimed March 17-21 as Acquisition Reform Week throughout the Defense Department.

BONN, GERMANY - U.S., British and German defense officials are committed to pulling out of Bosnia at the end of NATO's 18-month stabilization force mission. "The president said the mission will end in June 1998, and I intend to see to it that directive is carried out," U.S. Defense Secretary Bill Cohen said.

WASHINGTON - TRICARE/CHAMPUS-eligible patients will gain access to new cancer therapies under an agreement between DoD and the National Cancer Institute.

WASHINGTON - Becoming defense secretary was the furthest thing from Bill Cohen's mind as he retired from the Senate. But when President Clinton called and offered him the job, he said, it was impossible to turn down.

WASHINGTON - The DoD inspector general will lead an investigation into missing chemical weapons logs from the Persian Gulf War.

MAXWELL AFB, GUNTER ANNEX, Ala. - She didn't win an election. She's not a lobbyist or a diplomat. And though she may see a few of Washington's attractions while in the area, she isn't even going as a tourist. Alma J. Bowen of the Headquarters Standard Systems Group is venturing to the nation's capital to accept the Government Employees Insurance Company's annual Public Service Award.

WASHINGTON - Over 175,000 Defense Finance and Accounting Service customers a month are finding answers to their pay questions and other DFAS-related questions right at their fingertips.

LACKLAND AFB, Texas/FORT JACKSON, S.C. - Military recruits and the nation's 20th defense secretary have something in common: They are all "trainees."

LACKLAND AFB, Texas/ FORT JACKSON, S.C. - Integrated training -- men and women training in the same units -- is working well at the two military training centers he visited Feb. 27 and 28, said Defense Secretary William Cohen.

WASHINGTON - Even with the military drawdown near completion, defense officials said they will continue offering service members early retirement and transition assistance in fiscal 1998.

WASHINGTON - DoD will enforce the "don't ask, don't tell" homosexual policy adopted three years ago, said Defense Secretary William Cohen.

WASHINGTON - Bridget Collins of Naperville, Ill., and David Forsee of Indianapolis claimed top honors at the 14th annual Blue Angel Marathon, held Feb. 22 in Pensacola, Fla.

WASHINGTON - Terrorism is more complex and a bigger international threat than ever, and military members therefore must be better prepared to protect themselves, Gen. John M. Shalikashvili warned.

WASHINGTON - "Moving soldiers is easy," said Army Brig. Gen. Wade H. McManus Jr. "It's their equipment that's hard to move."

WASHINGTON - The first DoD case narrative on Gulf War illnesses, released Feb. 25, describes U.S. military destruction of Iraqi munitions after the war. It details subsequent U. N. Special Commission inspections of the weapons storage site at Khamisiyah, Iraq, which revealed the presence of chemical weapons, and the ongoing public inquiry.

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - You graduate from Navy boot camp. You're assigned a specialty -- carpentry. You'll have to go to school to learn your new trade. What Navy installation will you go to? Surprise! You're going to the Air Force.

WASHINGTON - Service members and federal civilians who have not received their Federal Tax and Wage Statements (Form W-2) should contact the appropriate finance offices.

WASHINGTON - Waiting until the last moment before thinking about retirement might end up costing some civilian federal employees more than stress. Civilian employees with prior military service may not have as many years of federal service for retirement as they thought.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio - The first U.S. Air Force marathon, in celebration of the Air Force's 50th anniversary, will be run here Sept. 20. All levels of marathoners, including those in wheelchairs, are invited to participate.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Departments's campaign to improve service and family members' quality of life continues.

WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials are putting more money into community support programs and studying ways to make military lifestyles more consistent across the services.

WASHINGTON - When did the Army know about chemical weapons at Khamisiyah, Iraq, and what did it do about them?