WASHINGTON - Transformation across the armed forces is happening much faster than expected when the concept was announced two years ago, the Defense Department's director of force transformation told lawmakers during recent testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.

WASHINGTON - With Reserve and National Guard forces now critical elements in the global war on terrorism, the Defense Department's senior reserve affairs adviser told a Senate subcommittee here today that the country must do more to care for Reserve and Guard members and their families.

WASHINGTON - Despite the many pressing demands on the nation and its resources, the United States must pay more attention to traditional and emerging threats in the Latin American and Caribbean region of the world, Army Gen. James T. Hill said in March 24 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.

WASHINGTON - Acting on a tip from an Iraqi informer, coalition forces raided a suspected insurgent safe house in Baghdad and captured two men March 30.

WASHINGTON - The largest rotation of U.S. forces since World War II continues in Iraq, Defense Department officials said today.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department's logistics organization has procured myriad vital supplies for service members deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom, a senior U.S. military officer noted here March 30.

FORT BELVOIR, Va. - "You could have pushed me over with a feather."

WASHINGTON - Five U.S. soldiers and four civilians were killed in separate attacks today in Iraq, coalition officials reported during a Baghdad news briefing.

WASHINGTON - A new Defense Department reporting system has begun so members of all seven reserve components can register their employers.

WASHINGTON - The United States is at war and needs to be "ready on all fronts," President Bush told Wisconsin first responders in Appleton today.

WASHINGTON - A U.S. official working with an international group of specialists searching post-Saddam Iraq for weapons of mass destruction said today that more work needs to be performed before arriving at any conclusions.

WASHINGTON - Change is the only constant in U.S. European Command -- that's the not-so-subtle message of the organization's commander in prepared testimony for the House Armed Services Committee March 24.

WASHINGTON - Iraqis training for leadership positions within the new Iraqi Ministry of Defense told reporters here today they look forward to building a military that transcends ethnic and political differences to protect Iraq's people and its constitution.

WASHINGTON - A recent spike in attacks against coalition forces in Iraq has left two more coalition soldiers dead, a coalition military spokesman said today at a Baghdad news conference.

WASHINGTON - President Bush welcomed seven new NATO members at a March 29 White House ceremony, noting the alliance "is made stronger by their presence."

WASHINGTON - Scientific innovations developed by the Defense Department and in the private sector are helping to prosecute the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq while helping DoD to realize its transformation goals for tomorrow.

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff thanked the new Italian chief of defense at the Pentagon today for Italy's staunch and ongoing support for the war on terror.

WASHINGTON - With the help of special operations forces, the United States has made significant progress in the war on terrorism a Defense Department official told the Senate Armed Services Committee March 25.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In what has become almost a nightly ritual, soldiers from A Troop, 1st Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment, lined up their vehicles on a quiet side street in the sleepy town of Abu Ghuraib, Iraq, just before initiating a cordon-and-search mission March 17.

WASHINGTON - After enduring decades under a corrupt state-run economy, the Iraqi people are poised for an economic renaissance through reconstruction projects funded by an $18.4 billion American grant, senior U.S. and Iraqi officials announced today in Baghdad.

JUTIAPA, Guatemala - Exercise New Horizons 2004 kicked off here March 27 during a ceremony attended by Guatemalan President Oscar Berger, U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala John Hamilton and other Guatemalan and U.S. dignitaries.

WASHINGTON - Civilian militia members were scheduled to lay down their arms today in a ceremony in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - Military police killed four anti-coalition suspects in Mosul, Iraq, March 28 after stopping a car matching the description of a vehicle used in a drive-by shooting earlier in the day, Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials said in a news release.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department's top civilian today said he supports the 9/11 commission's investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, while noting the necessity of preventing future terrorist acts.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military will upgrade its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles while retiring its Peacekeeper missile force, a senior officer told a Senate subcommittee March 25.

WASHINGTON - Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz presented the Purple Heart at the Pentagon today to a soldier wounded when the Al Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad came under attack by Iraqi insurgents last October.

ARLINGTON, Va. - World War II veteran Dorothy Constance Stratton wasn't able to attend a March 24 birthday celebration the Coast Guard hosted in her honor at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial here.

WASHINGTON - The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation named Reserve and Guard forces and their employers as the "Citizen of the Year" earlier this week during its annual Circle of Honor dinner at the New York Stock Exchange.

WASHINGTON - The American military must stay on the offensive if it wishes to end terrorism, Vice President Dick Cheney told airmen and their families at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, today.

WASHINGTON - The man in charge of safeguarding the United States against a ballistic missile attack warned members of the House Armed Services Committee's Strategic Forces Subcommittee on March 25 that in the coming years the country will face a ballistic threat from a variety of sources.

WASHINGTON - A new Army report reveals that soldiers committed suicides at elevated rates during 2003, with those deployed to Iraq and Kuwait experiencing the greatest increase.

WASHINGTON - Any report on specific changes to U.S. troop levels based in various parts of the world is speculation, because the department still is working with friends and allies around the world on those levels, senior Defense Department officials said at a Pentagon news conference today.

WASHINGTON - Some 2,200 Marines and sailors of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit will follow long-established plans and deploy shortly to Afghanistan, Joint Staff officials said here today.

WASHINGTON - World War II was a "radio war."

WASHINGTON - A 1st Infantry Division soldier was killed and two others were wounded today by an improvised explosive device near Baqubah, Iraq, according to a Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release.

MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan - A team of 20 soldiers works relentlessly behind the scenes to maintain a firm foundation of around-the- clock logistical support to the Jordanian Medical Field Hospital.

WASHINGTON - The emotional reunions are almost over, with all but a few hundred of Fort Campbell's 20,000 troops now home from Iraq. Yellow ribbons are slowly coming down from trees and telephone poles around the Kentucky post at the Tennessee border, and around the surrounding communities. Many military families have left town while units enjoy block leave. Those who have stayed pack local restaurants at night, celebrating their newfound togetherness.

WASHINGTON - Although the complete Land Warrior System - a modular, integrated fighting system that includes everything an infantry soldier wears or carries on the battlefield - is not due to be fielded until 2007, troops in the field already benefit from several of its components.

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - The communications platoon from Headquarters Company, 6th Marine Regiment, held a two-day communications exercise, or CommEx, recently at Camp Bulldog here.

WASHINGTON - The Coalition Provisional Authority's senior official today announced the coming creation of several new Iraqi-run government departments.

WASHINGTON - Both the Clinton and Bush administrations "cared deeply about the challenge of terrorism" and were committed to disrupting the al Qaeda network, the nation's director of central intelligence told the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States here today.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military still has too many bases and other infrastructure, a senior Defense Department official said here March 23.

WASHINGTON - Striking al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan earlier in the year would not have prevented the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told a special commission here March 23.

WASHINGTON - A new provincial reconstruction team in Khowst opens March 25, bringing the total of PRTs in the country to 12.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Emerging issues pertaining to military and civilian women highlighted discussion at a Defense Department forum here March 23.

WASHINGTON - A new monument under construction at Fort Campbell, Ky., will honor soldiers who have served in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) throughout its history, including those who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq in support of the war on terror.

WASHINGTON - For soldiers of the Army Reserve's 3397th Garrison Support Unit, the war on terror begins about 150 miles from their unit headquarters in Chattanooga, Tenn. at the front gates of Fort Campbell, Ky.

WASHINGTON - Thirteen British soldiers were wounded by a grenade attack and one was injured by the crowd during March 22 protests in Basra, Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials announced in a news release.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is working as quickly as possible to implement enhanced Tricare healthcare benefits for reserve component sponsors and their family members, according to defense officials.

WASHINGTON - On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was meeting with members of Congress. He stressed to them that the United States had to be prepared for the unexpected.

WASHINGTON - The White House in the early days of the Bush administration was fully aware a terrorist attack in America was possible, and terrorism was a major concern for the president, Secretary of State Colin Powell told members of a special commission here today.

WASHINGTON - The troop level in Haiti has risen to 3,300, and members of the Multinational Interim Force now are stabilizing parts of the troubled country beyond the capital of Port-au-Prince, Defense Department officials said here today.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld joined other high-ranking officials in the Bush administration March 22 in disputing claims made by a former White House counterterrorism official.

WASHINGTON - For 18,000 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) recently returned from a year in Iraq -- and for some, more months in Afghanistan -- there's no place like home.

WASHINGTON - Thanks to a partnership between Northwest Airlines and the nonprofit Fisher House Foundation, travelers can donate their miles from the airline's WorldPerks frequent-flyer program to help service members wounded or injured on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - Violence continues in Iraq, and coalition forces continue their efforts to kill or capture enemies of the coalition and the Iraqi people.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department's top transportation and supply organizations have joined forces to fix a combat supply system that at times didn't perform well during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

WASHINGTON - In his weekly radio address to the nation today, President George W. Bush told the American people that the war on terror isn't a figure of speech, "it's the inescapable calling of our generation."

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told CNN's Larry King that it's important the American people understand what a wonderful job the American military is doing in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - The military is going to prefer charges against six soldiers accused of abusing detainees at the Abu Gharib prison, coalition officials announced today in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - President Bush met with wounded service members and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here today.

WASHINGTON - Although the security situation in Iraq has been difficult, U.S. and coalition forces have made much progress since Operation Iraqi Freedom began one year ago, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.

WASHINGTON - Transforming the military's joint training capabilities sounds simple, but the task is not easy, Pentagon officials told the House Armed Services Committee here March 18.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Much-needed donations for the rapidly growing Afghan National Army have arrived at Kabul International Airport here.

WASHINGTON - The United States will not shrink from its task of giving Iraqis a country that is based on democracy, freedom and individual rights, Secretary of State Colin Powell said today in a briefing from Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - Whether al Qaeda's second-in-command is, indeed, surrounded in a firefight near the Afghanistan border in Pakistan remains unknown, the president's national security advisor said in television interviews today.

WASHINGTON - One year after combat operations began against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, now more than ever is the time for the international community to pull together against terrorism, said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

WASHINGTON - The war on terrorism is "an inescapable calling of our generation," President Bush said today at the White House.

WASHINGTON - As reports of explosions in Baghdad scrolled across the bottom of the television screen today, the Coalition Provisional Authority administrator told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that the majority of Iraqis do not blame the United States for terrorist acts.

WASHINGTON - In a war on terrorism, intelligence is everything.

WASHINGTON - As the threats shift in Baghdad, coalition forces are shifting to counter them, said Army Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey during a press conference today in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - Seventeen Kosovars have been killed in the worst outbreak of ethnic violence in that province since NATO forces arrived in 1999, NATO officials said.

WASHINGTON - In the week that marks the one-year anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz commented on various aspects of the operation in a series of radio interviews March 16.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Excitement rippled through the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) parade field as President Bush promised thousands of soldiers just returned from Iraq that the United States won't stop short in waging the war on terror.

WASHINGTON - The "Thunder Runs" of the war in Iraq seemed to come from nowhere. One day the fighting was far to the south, and seemingly the next, soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division were liberating Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - Calling the present "a crucial hour in the history of freedom," President Bush today lauded the U.S. Army's "Screaming Eagles" for their service in Iraq.

ANDREWS AFB, Md. - Air National Guard Col. Linda McTague has gotten pretty good at regarding herself through the eyes of others. She does not see a pioneer for women's achievements when she looks in a mirror. But she realizes that other people consider her to be a role model a pioneer for what women can accomplish in this country's military service. And she strives very hard to live up to those expectations, as well as to her own.

WASHINGTON - Though the United States always will seek cooperation from allies in the global war on terror, there's a difference between leading a coalition of many nations and submitting to the objections of a few, Vice President Dick Cheney said in California today.

WASHINGTON - History has shown that appeasement doesn't work, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said here today.

WASHINGTON - A withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq would encourage global terrorists that their strategy of violence and mayhem is working to undercut U.S.-coalition resolve, DoD's No. 2 official recently noted on cable news shows here.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Home along with his soldiers after a one- year deployment in Iraq, the commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) called the division's experiences in Operation Iraqi Freedom "a roller coaster" of highs and lows.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - One year ago today, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) was at Camp New Jersey, the division's holding area in Kuwait, awaiting orders to move north and cross into Iraq at the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

WASHINGTON - The United States cannot defend against every terrorist threat, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a Philadelphia radio audience March 16.

WASHINGTON - An explosion at a Baghdad hotel today killed at least 27 people and wounded at least 40, according to news reports citing U.S. military officials at the scene.

WASHINGTON - Despite all obstacles, the United States remains committed to the establishment of a free, democratic Iraq, a senior State Department official said here March 15.

ARLINGTON, Va. - As most Maryland residents put away their winter clothes and start their annual spring cleaning, 232 members of the Maryland Army National Guard packed their warmest winter gear and equipment and traveled halfway across the globe to participate in some extreme cold-weather training with Japan's northern army.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department continues to work with Russia, former Soviet states, and other countries to prevent the proliferation of deadly weapons of mass destruction and to keep them out of terrorists' hands, a senior DoD official told a Senate Armed Services Committee panel last week.

WASHINGTON - Sixteen years ago today, 5,000 innocent Iraqi civilians perished under a barrage of mustard gas; nerve agents sarin, tabun and VX; and possibly cyanide.

WASHINGTON - The world must stand shoulder to shoulder against terrorists, President Bush and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said here today.

WASHINGTON - A translator for coalition forces in northern Iraq was killed and two family members were injured today in an attack in Mosul, Iraq.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Four Puerto Rico Air National Guard members were saluted as heroes at the National Guard Bureau headquarters here March 15, nine days after helping to save the lives of other water taxi passengers in the Baltimore harbor.

WASHINGTON - Nothing can take the place of meeting foreign military leaders in their countries as the United States seeks to build military-to-military ties, said Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers.

WASHINGTON - Editor's Note: This article corrects factual errors contained in a March 14 AFPS article titled "Six Soldiers Killed in Roadside Bomb Attacks."

WASHINGTON - U.S. troops may have traded shots with Iranian guards during a March 14 incident near the Iraq border, a senior U.S. official said at a Baghdad news conference today.

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar - Staff Sgt. Matt Hayden was reasonably sure in early March that he could be home in Rhode Island instead of pulling military police duties here, near the capital city of Doha, where he was completing his year of active duty as a National Guard soldier helping to fight the global war against terrorism.

WASHINGTON - The June 1 deadline for applications is fast approaching for volunteer organizations to enter the "Newman's Own Award" competition that offers a share of $50,000 in grants to winners.

WASHINGTON - It isn't clear who was behind the brutal attack in Spain that killed 200 and wounded more than 1,400 people, but National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said today that in the global war on terrorism, this is just more evidence of the lengths to which terrorists will go to try to intimidate free people.

WASHINGTON - On the one-year anniversary of the war in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told television viewers today he stands behind the president's decision to go to war, although weapons of mass destruction, one of the justifications for the invasion, have not been found.

WASHINGTON - As new evidence points to the possibility that al Qaeda is responsible for the March 11 bombings in Madrid, Spain, America's top diplomat today noted in a television interview here that no country is immune to terrorism.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The arrival of the Marines here on the same day that Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned as Haiti's president prevented many Haitian deaths here, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti said here March 13.

WASHINGTON - The Coalition Provisional Authority announced a new policy today to tighten border security in Iraq, an effort officials say will help stem the flow of terrorists and foreign fighters entering the country.

SANTIAGO, Chile - Chile's role in the Multinational Interim Force in Haiti was among the topics the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff covered during a press conference here March 12.

BUENOS AIRES - It is still too soon to say definitively who launched the terrorist attacks in Spain March 11 that killed almost 200 people and wounded more than 1,400, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a press conference here March 12.

WASHINGTON - Operation Mountain Blizzard has successfully ended in Afghanistan, and Operation Mountain Storm has begun, coalition officials in the Afghan capital of Kabul announced in a news release today.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In another move toward a democratic society, a dozen Iraqi nationals have learned the meaning of a free press and the role of the media.

WASHINGTON - Leadership isn't about power. It's about responsibility and what you do with the authority that's been entrusted to you.

WASHINGTON - Eleven-year-old Ashley Pearson had no idea how much excitement she'd stirred up when she sent a letter to President Bush earlier this year asking what she could do to help save the county and telling the troops that she believes in them.

WASHINGTON - With the approach of the one-year anniversary of the Iraqi war on March 19, the secretary of defense thanked members of the military community today for transforming lives, not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in America too.

WASHINGTON - U.S. special operations troops have become a key military weapon in the war on terrorism, DoD's top special operations official told U.S. House of Representatives' members here March 11.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department and other federal agencies may soon be able to implement new drug testing for its work force that will include testing hair, sweat and saliva to detect drug abuse.

WASHINGTON - President Bush helped break ground March 11 for a memorial honoring victims of the World Trade Center attacks, after reminding America to remain vigilant against terrorism and condemning yet another horrific terrorist incident earlier in the day in Madrid.

WASHINGTON - Defense officials are examining how best to adjust force posture to meet future threats and hope to come to some conclusions in coming months, a top official looking at the problem said.

WASHINGTON - Clear facts have yet to emerge as the FBI and Iraqi police continue investigating the March 9 murder of three Coalitional Provisional Authority workers, two of whom were Americans who worked for the Defense Department, officials reported today in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department has been working on plans over the past year to integrate the business operations of the services' separate exchanges.

WASHINGTON - At least three sailors were killed and dozens more were injured after a bus carrying Navy people to a wreath-laying ceremony collided with a tractor-trailer today about 20 miles north of Beaufort, S.C.

WASHINGTION - Two Task Force All American soldiers were killed and another was injured when their vehicle was struck March 11 by an improvised explosive device, Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials reported today.

BUENOS AIRES - Today's terrorist attack in Madrid, Spain, is a terrible tragedy and another unfortunate reminder that all nations must work together to defeat such extremism, Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said here today.

ASUNCION, Paraguay - Building better military-to-military ties topped the agenda as Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers met with Paraguayan leaders here today.

WASHINGTON - American troops serving in designated combat zones in support of the war against terrorism continue to get a tax break from Uncle Sam.

WASHINGTON - As Iraq's security force continues to grow, so will its responsibilities, and that's the basis for local control, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, Combined Joint Task Force 7 commander, told reporters today during a Baghdad press briefing.

BRAZILIA - Haiti, terrorism, Brazil's shoot-down policy and military relations between the United States and Brazil were among the subjects in a series of high-level meetings here March 10 for Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

MANAUS, Brazil - How about this for an air tasking order: Design an information and telecommunications set-up that protects 52 million square kilometers of territory. Put in it a data management system and a data bank that will allow people to track more than 2 million species of plants and animals. Finally, it is not to be solely a military tool, but one that many different civilian agencies will use as well.

WASHINGTON - Enthusiasm is building at California Motor Speedway in Fontana, Calif., as 21 unmanned ground vehicles prepare to face off against the clock this weekend while traversing 200 miles of rugged terrain.

WASHINGTON - Multinational troops in Haiti will assist national police in maintaining the peace and to disarm citizens bearing arms illegally, the U.S. officer in charge of the nine-day-old operation said here today.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned March 9 here that progress toward democracy in Iraq should not be interpreted as a sign that the terrorist threat is under control and that the military can now endure budget cuts.

WASHINGTON - Iraq's reconstruction is proceeding smoothly and on schedule, the U.S. head of reconstruction in Iraq told Pentagon reporters today.

WASHINGTON - Two Defense Department civilians and an Iraqi translator were killed in a March 9 attack in Hillah, Iraq, coalition officials said today.

WASHINGTON - Anti-coalition forces in western Iraq are "pretty much in disarray," Army Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., commander of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, told journalists today during a Baghdad press conference.

WASHINGTON - In a show of support of deployed Guardsmen and reservists and their employers, Tyson Foods has announced plans to put the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve logo on all products the company ships to military facilities worldwide.

WASHINGTON - A new, free guide being offered by the National Fatherhood Initiative is designed to help service members maintain their important role in their children's lives during military deployments.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Marines in Haiti who shot and killed an armed Haitian and wounded another in Port-au-Prince on March 8 operated "well within the rules of engagement," the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Pentagon reporters today.

WASHINGTON - Al Qaeda operatives flushed out of Afghanistan and other locales have likely cast their eyes on the continent of Africa as a source for new recruits and funding, a senior U.S. military officer said March 8.

WASHINGTON - Though al Qaeda's leadership structure has been seriously damaged, the organization remains "as committed as ever to attacking the U.S. homeland," the nation's top intelligence official said today on Capitol Hill.

WASHINGTON - Coalition Provisional Authority administrator L. Paul Bremer III signed a letter approving the Iraqi interim constitution late March 8, CPA chief spokesman Dan Senor said today in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - The United States will provide technical support for the trial of Saddam Hussein, but the Iraqi people will have the primary role in bringing the deposed dictator to justice, a senior U.S. official said today.

WASHINGTON - Military deployments and other activities that keep service members away from home are upping stress levels among men and women in uniform, a new Defense Department survey reveals.

WASHINGTON - Insurgents operating against the coalition and Iraqi security forces have become "desperate and isolated" in their attempts to stop progress, the commander of the latest task force to arrive in Iraq said today.

MANAUS, Brazil - You'd be hard-pressed to find similarities between the Amazonian jungles of Brazil and the mountains of Afghanistan, but there are some.

WASHINGTON - First lady Laura Bush told military wives at Fort Hood, Texas, last week that she knows what it's like "having your life turned upside-down because the man you love wants to serve the country he loves."

WASHINGTON - Though the signing of an interim Iraqi constitution was not originally scheduled for today International Women's Day -- the civilian administrator in Iraq called the signing a significant way to honor "the resilience, achievements and the promise of the women of Iraq" and a reminder of "how much further we need to go in pursuit of women's rights."

WASHINGTON - The Iraqi Governing Council celebrated today what council president Mohammed Bahr al-Ulloum called "a historic moment, decisive in the history of Iraq" by signing an interim constitution in Baghdad.

WASHINGTON - The Al Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad absorbed multiple hits from an insurgent rocket attack March 7, while Iraqi Civil Defense Corps forces seized an arms cache in Duluiyah the same day, according to Combined Joint Task Force 7 press releases.

TIMBUKTU, Mali - Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Stuttgart, Germany, are training African soldiers along the outer reaches of the Sahara Desert in support of the global war on terrorism.

WASHINGTON - The Afghan government and coalition officials are working together over the coming week to promote women's rights, while coalition forces continue to round up more munitions in the country.

WASHINGTON - Coalition officials realize that democracy "is messy" and are not discouraged that the Iraqi Governing Council did not sign the Transitional Administrative Law March 5, said officials in Baghdad today.

WASHINGTON - The Iraqi people are making "excellent progress" toward democracy in spite of the terrorist attacks that attempt to derail the process, President Bush said in his weekly radio address today.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is set to replace all of its substandard military family housing units by 2009, a senior DoD official told a congressional committee March 3.

WASHINGTON - The nation's top military officer discussed the global war on terror and operations in Haiti, and pitched public service to members of the U.S. Senate Youth Program today.

WASHINGTON - The dirigible, or airship, may be employed as a tool to detect potential attacks against the United States, DoD officials told House subcommittee members March 4.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government historically has granted posthumous citizenship to non-U.S. citizen service members killed in the line of duty during wartime.

WASHINGTON - The coalition's civilian administrator dismissed suggestions today that the March 2 attacks on Shiia pilgrims in Baghdad and Karbala have driven a wedge between coalition forces and the Iraqis.

WASHINGTON - Baathists, Islamic radicals, and foreign fighters in Iraq have adjusted their sights in their efforts to torpedo the establishment of a democratic government in that country, a senior U.S. military officer said here today.

WASHINGTON - Terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a shadowy figure affiliated with al Qaeda who is helping to plan and carry out anti-coalition attacks in Iraq, Defense Department officials said here today.

WASHINGTON - Every Thursday, and some Saturdays, volunteers at Fort Lewis, Wash., lug sewing machines to the Army Community Service building so they can create quilts for children of those deployed in the war on terrorism.

WASHINGTON - The coalition against terrorists is engaged in a war to ensure the will of the many prevails against the wishes of a few, said Defense Department leaders before the House Armed Services Committee today.

WASHINGTON - Transforming joint training in the Defense Department is a continual journey, Paul W. Mayberry, deputy undersecretary of defense for readiness, said at the Defense Transformation Efforts and Opportunities Conference here last week.

WASHINGTON - The coalition's civilian administrator and top military officer today vowed to press on toward a free, democratic and sovereign Iraq despite recent attacks designed to create sectarian discord and derail the process.

WASHINGTON - Seven soldiers who lost legs during incidents in Iraq will get the chance this weekend to schuss down the slopes of Vail, Colo.

WASHINGTON - Coalition officials in Iraq today struck down rumors surrounding the capture of would-be, failed bombers connected to the March 2 attacks that killed scores and injured hundreds of Shiia pilgrims in Baghdad and Karbala.

WASHINGTON - Iraq will continue its march toward democracy in spite of today's bloody attacks, White House and coalition officials said.

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department's top money manager told Senate officials March 1 that DoD wants to transfer about $1 billion within its budget to fund three security, humanitarian and reconstruction programs in Afghanistan and Iraq.

CONCORD, N.C. - Jeff Silver of Forrest City, N.C., has followed a dream of working for a NASCAR team for the last seven years.

WASHINGTON - At least 143 Iraqis were killed in terrorist attacks today in Baghdad and Karbala, coalition officials said at a Baghdad news conference.

WASHINGTON - President Bush today marked the one-year anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security with a speech praising the department's accomplishments and people.

WASHINGTON - Though reserve component forces are going through a stressful time, the Defense Department is working hard to improve the situation, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told Guard and Reserve leaders here today.

WASHINGTON - Governors will be able to call on at least 50 percent of their National Guard forces for homeland defense missions and other state emergencies because of a plan to realign Army and Air Guard units during the next few years, the chief of the National Guard Bureau promised in late February.

WASHINGTON - Between 1,500 and 2,000 Marines will deploy to Haiti as part of peacekeeping operations in that nation, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon news conference today.

WASHINGTON - More than 200 Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., have landed at Port-au-Prince airport and are setting up to provide security in the Haitian capital, Defense Department officials said today.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - Tennessee Army National Guard Spc. Michael Parson speaks with authority about two things that matter most to National Guard troops involved in the war against terrorism these days: serving in the Army's total force and the extent to which some civilian employers are supporting the troops.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - Spc. Michael Speed is about to become one of the new sheriffs in town. So are Spcs. David Dillivan and Billy McCormick. So are nearly 200 more Army National Guard artillery soldiers from Tennessee who, this month, will join active Army military police forces a long way from their homes.

WASHINGTON - The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is teaming up with local Chambers of Commerce to salute local employers who have demonstrated exceptional support for their employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve.

WASHINGTON - Iraqi police nabbed two persons Feb. 29 who were apparently preparing to launch a rocket-propelled-grenade attack on a local council meeting in Bajar, northern Iraq.