FORT LEE, Va. - Enlisted service members cleared the air about commissary hours, food stamps, crowded stores and a host of other matters when the Defense Commissary Agency top sergeant asked for their thoughts.

WASHINGTON - Fifty years ago on July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 and set in motion the racial integration of America's armed forces.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - This summer, the NATO-led stabilization mission in Bosnia known as SFOR enters a new, open-ended phase.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The military has for at least five decades led the way in improving racial harmony in America. But even that leadership isn't free from blemish, Fred Pang told about 500 attendees in a panel session at DoD's Worldwide Equal Opportunity Conference.

SYDNEY - The security alliance between Australia and the United States and the U.S. military presence anchor peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Defense Secretary William Cohen said en route here July 27.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Have you ever changed the oil in your car and wondered why the engineers made it so darned hard to do?

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen directed the services to standardize good order and discipline policies among the services. He also clarified guidance intended to assist commanders as they contemplate charging service members with adultery.

VIENNA, Austria - Talk about a history: For more than 400 years, Lipizzan stallions have performed before kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers. Known as Lipizzaners, the horses have survived Napoleon's advances and two world wars.

WASHINGTON - The Army Manpower and Personnel Integration program, MANPRINT for short, considers the human-machine interface in seven areas during the creation of a new weapon system.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen directed the services to standardize good order and discipline policies among the services. He also clarified guidance intended to assist commanders as they contemplate charging service members with adultery.

WASHINGTON - Stuck to the sweaty chest of a soldier humping through a hot, humid jungle or subjected to sub-zero temperatures in an Arctic ice storm -- DoD's new digital dog tag will have to brave these varied conditions and more.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William Cohen signed the 1998 DoD Human Goals Charter July 24, reaffirming the department's long-term commitment to equality.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - "At a time when we should be opening more doors to minorities, too many places are closing them," Deputy Defense Secretary John H. Hamre told more 1,100 attendees at the third biennial DoD Worldwide Equal Opportunity Conference here July 26.

WASHINGTON - Our nation was founded on the principle that the individual has infinite dignity and worth. The department of Defense, which exists to keep the nation secure and at peace, must always be guided by this principle. In all that we do, we must show respect for the serviceman, the servicewoman, the civilian employee, and family members, recognizing their individual needs, aspirations, and capabilities.

WASHINGTON - One Friday night in late May 1970 Donald Preiss was preparing for a night of fun when bearers of devastating news knocked on his door.

WASHINGTON - The second team of DoD investigators to enter North Korea this year recovered three sets of remains believed to be those of American servicemen missing since the Korean War.

FORT LEE, Va. - Commissary shoppers will see bigger savings and more choices as stores expand the Super Saver program and test the popularity of "value brand" items.

WASHINGTON - A quality of life initiative to improve military housing has not gone as fast as defense officials wish, but it is making headway and is starting to pay off, said Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon July 23.

WASHINGTON - Military retirees over age 65 began enrolling July 15 in TRICARE Senior Prime at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Wash.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. and Greek defense chiefs discussed Kosovo, the Balkans, Cyprus and Greek-U.S. cooperation during a recent Pentagon meeting.

WASHINGTON - Iran tested a medium-range missile July 22 capable of hitting U.S. service members in the Persian Gulf as well as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey and Israel.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William Cohen departed here July 27 on a 10-day trip to Sydney, Australia; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Manila, Philippines.

WASHINGTON - "The sea never changes, and its works, for all the talk of man, are wrapped in mystery."

WASHINGTON - What is a tsunami?

BRUSSELS, Belgium - In the past, the Defense Department's mission was clear-cut: maintain strong forces capable of defeating any and all challengers. Today, its mission extends far beyond simply preparing for the battlefield.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Defense Reform Initiative is making good progress, despite its share of setbacks, according to Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The six-nation Contact Group is sending observers to Kosovo even as NATO officials here accelerate their planning options to quell violence in the Serbian province.

WASHINGTON - I heard an Air Force staff sergeant the other day complaining to a friend that he never gets to read Airman, his service's official magazine. He said somebody always takes home the few copies his office gets before he sees it.

WASHINGTON - If you're a military retiree enrolled in the TRICARE retiree dental plan, your spouse and children may also be eligible for plan coverage.

WASHINGTON - Quality medical care for all beneficiaries and healthier lifestyles that prevent illness and injury top the list of concerns of DoD's new health leader.

WASHINGTON - The remains of Vietnam-era casualties Marine pilot Capt. John B. Sherman of Darien, Conn., and Army Staff Sgt. Robert F. Preiss Jr. of Cornwall, N.Y., were confirmed recently and will be returned to their families for burial.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - NATO's top civilian leader recently saw the Ukrainian factory where the Soviets once built SS-18 long-range nuclear missiles, and he said his visit highlighted the growing NATO-Ukraine partnership.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Progress in Bosnia may herald a peaceful, new century, according to NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe.

WASHINGTON - Survivor Benefit Plan participants may now drop the program because of a public law passed recently.

WASHINGTON - What is the oldest state constitution still in effect?

WASHINGTON - Although Homecoming '99 is still more than a year away, the Overseas Brats association is urging former Department of Defense Dependents Schools students to make plans now.

WASHINGTON - When President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948, he began a process that ultimately would create a racially integrated armed forces.

WASHINGTON - The Military Sealift Command plans to see 19 ships completed by 2001 that will provide some 5 million square feet of cargo space. Of the total, 14 are new construction and five are conversions of commercial vessels.

WASHINGTON - "There is no glory like those who save their country."

WASHINGTON - More than 1,500 reserve component service members have helped in efforts to contain wildfires burning in Florida.

WASHINGTON - Army athletes smashed their way to first place in all but one division of the Army Invitational Racquetball Championships at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, May 18-21.

WASHINGTON - Navy athletes garnered their second consecutive All-Armed Force Triathlon Championship title June 6 at the Naval Air Weapons Station, Point Mugu, Calif.

SAN DIEGO - The Army swept the men's and women's competitions here recently to dominate the Armed Forces Track and Field Championships.

WASHINGTON - Veterans enrolled in the active duty or reserve component versions of the Montgomery GI Bill will see a 20 percent increase in monthly education payments beginning Oct. 1.

WASHINGTON - The military services are searching intensively for Asian Pacific Americans recipients of the Army's Distinguished Service Cross or Navy Cross for gallantry in action during World War II.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - It seemed like a grand idea: Locate letters sent by Americans from the Korean War and withdraw DNA from the saliva on the envelopes. Then, you could try to match the DNA with samples from recovered remains.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Ten minutes by car from this Washington suburb is a deep-freeze warehouse containing foolproof identifications of more than a million soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

WASHINGTON - Defense leaders unveiled a mural celebrating the 25th anniversary of the All Volunteer Force during a Pentagon ceremony July 7.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Defense experts are gearing up to face a new danger threatening America and its allies -- cyberattacks.

WASHINGTON - Pauline Harrison couldn't harness her emotions or fight back tears during ceremonies christening a Navy ship in her son's name.

WASHINGTON - Which country's army was the last to disband carrier pigeon service?

WASHINGTON - "I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances."

WASHINGTON - Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, built in 1931, is the oldest building used for NHL games. What team plays in the second oldest building?

WASHINGTON - She can't help it.

WASHINGTON - Growing up in a poor area of Terre Haute, Ind., Robert Jones said he feared ending up working on a factory production line. He couldn't fathom that as a livelihood.

WASHINGTON - Sierra Military Health Services Inc. has released a toll-free telephone number and address for persons filing medical claims in TRICARE Region 1.

WASHINGTON - Active duty and retired military members and their families can get their medical prescriptions filled three easy ways.

WASHINGTON - What are my health care options? What's being done to make sure my medical record is available when I'm deployed? Where can I learn more about breast cancer protection and diagnosis? Whom do I call to get dental care?

WASHINGTON - A new health adviser to Defense Secretary WilliamCohen and a director for TRICARE began performing their new duties in June.

WASHINGTON - Kosovo is a land inhabited by ethnic Albanians andyet regarded by Serbs as sacred.

WASHINGTON - DoD's senior spokesman said July 2 he welcomed CNN's retraction of its recent story alleging the U.S. use of sarin nerve agentin Laos in 1970 and the network's apology to veterans of the militaryaction in question.

WASHINGTON - It's summer, a time when service members frequently pack up their family households and head for new assignments.

MOUNT VERNON, Va. - The U.S. military must follow the exampleof George Washington and confront the challenges and threats of our time,Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre said during a ceremony here July 4.Mount Vernon, 13 miles south of Washington, D.C., was the home of theformer general and president for much of his adult life.

WASHINGTON - The Army detonated 80 nonself-destructing land mines June 30, the last of more than 3.3 million once stockpiled in the United States.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Before Bernard Rostker, DoD special assistant for Gulf War illnesses, arrived here June 17 to meet with veterans and family members, he sent an advance team of medical officers to meet with local Army doctors and nurses.

WASHINGTON - DoD scientists have determined the remains of the Vietnam Unknown are those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen announced June 30.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Defense Department is taking more steps to protect service members and folks at home from the growing threat of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, according to John Hamre.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - No one really knows what will happen afterthe clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 1999. How will the DefenseDepartment's 30,000 computer systems react as Jan. 1, 2000, begins ticking?

BRUSSELS, Belgium - For nearly 50 years, East and West Berlin stood divided by the infamous Berlin Wall. Today, the city stands united, a testament to hope and freedom.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A U.S. F-16 fighter jet attacked a radar site in the southern no-fly zone of Iraq June 30 after the Iraqis lit up patrolling British Tornado aircraft.