WASHINGTON - Theirs are stories of days and nights fighting and slogging through muddy fields in Europe, of bloody assaults and mind-and-body-numbing cold on the Korean Peninsula, of tense and lonely watches at sea between fierce battles in the South Pacific.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate's special committee investigating the Year 2000 problem recently released its 100-day report proclaiming the millennium bug will cause little more than isolated, minor inconveniences in the United States when Dec. 31 turns into Jan. 1, 2000.

WASHINGTON - The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments are conducting two new studies on the possible treatment of illnesses reported by thousands of Gulf War veterans.

WASHINGTON - Congress has passed a continuing resolution that would fund the federal government at fiscal 1999 rates through Oct. 21 while legislators continue work on fiscal 2000 appropriations bills.

DARWIN, Australia - The United States will expand its support to the international forces assembled to restore order in East Timor.

WASHINGTON - Everyone wins in the military compensation portion of the fiscal 2000 Defense Authorization Bill, said Navy Capt. Elliott Bloxom, DoD director of compensation.

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen's first order of business as he heads for Australia is to learn firsthand what progress is being made in the beleaguered Indonesian province of East Timor.

WASHINGTON - Military retirement reform often headed the list of concerns when Defense Secretary William S. Cohen spoke to service members. Retirement was also a top priority for the Joint Chiefs of Staff when they testified before Congress last fall.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen will meet with U.S. troops in Darwin, Australia, Sept. 29 during a nine-day visit to Australia and Southeast Asia.

SEVEROVDINSK, Russia - Army Maj. Ron Alberto has to be one of the military's most frequent fliers. The 16-year veteran ordnance officer travels the international airways with one thought in mind -- destroying Soviet-era nuclear submarines.

WASHINGTON - Nine-year-old Carlos Noriega watched transfixed as the first man walked on the moon in 1969 and thought that was "the greatest thing" someone could do. He dreamed of being there himself someday.

WASHINGTON - Bosnia set the standard and now military officials are turning their attention to improving quality of life for American service members in Kosovo.

WASHINGTON - Special, in-depth feature and news articles produced by the American Forces Information Service have a new home on DefenseLINK.

WASHINGTON - The last active duty U.S. support troops are leaving Haiti, but this does not mean the end of U.S. interest in and concern for the Caribbean island nation.

TORONTO - The Defense Capabilities Initiative, the latest concept sweeping NATO, is key to meeting 21st century security challenges, alliance leaders meeting here Sept. 21 and 22 said.

WASHINGTON - As much as possible, DoD follows nationally established health care guidelines for treating substance abusers.

WASHINGTON - "Dear Service Member, I just want to say thanks for ...".

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. - A record number of U.S. military commissaries closed as Hurricane Floyd took aim at and traveled up the Atlantic Coast states.

TORONTO, Canada - NATO's 19 defense ministers gathered here Sept. 20 to 22 to discuss peacekeeping operations in the Balkans, lessons learned in Kosovo and future defense capabilities.

TORONTO - NATO's 19 member nations aim to create a more coordinated, effective, modern alliance by embracing the Defense Capabilities Initiative, according to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen.

BALTIMORE, Md. - Running his way to a spot on the U.S. team in the recent Military World Games in Zagreb, Croatia, had a special meaning for Sandu Rebenciuc. It gave him the chance to see his parents for the first time since he defected from Romania 11 years ago.

TORONTO - NATO nations need to spend their defense dollars more wisely as they prepare for future challenges, according to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen.

WASHINGTON - No matter where Serb forces moved in Kosovo, they were under the eye of NATO forces.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Service members listen to countless hours of training each year, participate in surveys, and discuss sexual harassment issues among themselves regularly. Yet sexual harassment is still a very real problem, said Air Force Capt. Eric Davis. Davis is an equal opportunity and sexual harassment command advisor with Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services here.

Sept. 21, 1999 - Get those Christmas cards and packages in the mail early this year, Postal Service officials recommend.

WASHINGTON - What are some indicators that a child might be having vision problems? Are eye care benefits available to family members under TRICARE? How can parents make sure their children's eyes are protected from safety hazards?

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 1999 - More than 470,000 military retirees and eligible family members have enrolled in the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program since its inception in 1998. Many of those enrolled, however -- and many who are undecided about enrolling -- don't fully understand how the plan works, program administrators said.

MOSCOW - American service members have stood vigilant for years against a possible Russian missile attack, and this year, Russians will stand watch with them -- on U.S. soil.

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Va. - Eleven long-stem yellow roses provided exclamation points at the end of the phrase "Honoring and Keeping Faith with America's Missing Servicemen."

WASHINGTON - The United States will contribute limited, but essential assistance to the Australian-led U.N. security force in East Timor, President Clinton announced here Sept. 16.

WASHINGTON - As the East Coast braced for Hurricane Floyd, DoD helped local authorities evacuate coastal areas and prepared to support recovery operations in the wake of the massive storm.

WASHINGTON - A joint Army-Air Force quartet recently defeated teams from 14 other countries in Warsaw, Poland, to win America's first CISM modern pentathlon championship in 15 years.

ARLINGTON - Grades and test scores aren't the only measures of a school educational program. Students' success in later endeavors must count for something, too.

SEVERODVINSK, Russia - U.S. and Russian officials at the Zvezdochka Shipyard here showed Defense Secretary William S. Cohen the fruits of their labor Sept. 14 -- massive mounds of scrap metal, miles of twisted cable and barrels filled with copper bits.

WASHINGTON - "Hundreds" of U.S. service members will participate in any peacekeeping operation on East Timor, President Clinton said Sept. 14 during a news conference in New Zealand.

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. - Cars, shopping sprees, trips. Those are just a few of the side benefits of shopping at the local commissary. Just ask Linda C. Prejeant of Panama City, Fla.

MOSCOW - Hours after a bomb blast destroyed an eight-story apartment complex here Sept. 13, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen publicly condemned the attack and offered U.S. help.

WASHINGTON - Some time in the next 10 years, Hispanic Americans will become the nation's largest ethnic group.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military will provide logistical and other support to an Australian-led international peacekeeping force in East Timor, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said Sept. 12.

WASHINGTON - DoD's Federal Voting Assistance Program is looking for 350 volunteer service members from five states to take part in a pilot online voting project during the year 2000 presidential election.

MOSCOW - U.S. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and Russian defense officials are working together here to reaffirm the two nations' efforts to draw down the Soviet-era nuclear arsenal and to counter potential Year 2000 computer glitches.

WASHINGTON - TRICARE systematically tracked patient concerns in 1999, streamlining enrollment, improving claims processing and steadily improving patients' number one bug-a-boo, access.

WASHINGTON - What went right? What went wrong? How can we do even better next time?

WASHINGTON - The Department of Defense Education Activity plans to nearly double the number of counselors and psychologists in its schools by June 2000 to help students deal with increasing stresses in military family life.

WASHINGTON - When service members deploy to world trouble spots, it's tough on the spouses and children they leave behind.

WASHINGTON - There was neither a Pentagon ceremony nor so much as a cake cutting. Instead, as the second anniversary of the total force integration initiative approached, DoD's reserve affairs chief marked the event with his third trip to the Balkans for another firsthand progress report.

WASHINGTON - A combined ceremony will be held Sept. 17 at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery to honor former POWs and missing servicemen and to dedicate an inscription on the crypt of the Vietnam Unknown.

WASHINGTON - The United States is prepared to support any Australian effort to provide security in East Timor, President Clinton said Sept. 9.

WASHINGTON - The problems in East Timor have strategic ramifications for the United States, said Marvin Ott, professor of national security policy at the National Defense University here.

WASHINGTON - Want to tell the Pentagon brass what you think of military life? You may just get the chance to speak your mind.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Let me say this straight up -- I hated the old M-17 protective mask. That's why the proposed Joint Service General Purpose Mask is such a pleasant surprise.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - It will be the lightest, most comfortable protective mask service members have ever used, Army Col. Steven V. Reeves said.

WASHINGTON - Smaller classes in lower grades and full-day kindergarten overseas are among the changes many schools within the Department of Defense Education Activity saw when students began classes for the 1999-2000 school year.

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary William S. Cohen pointed to the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft parked on the Pentagon parade field and said, "This is the revolution in military affairs in action."

WASHINGTON - DoD is not planning to provide peacekeeping troops to East Timor, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said Sept. 8.

WASHINGTON - Four senior Vietnamese government researchers spent a week here recently gathering information that might help them find the remains of up to 400,000 of their missing countrymen.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton signed into law a program designed to help veterans, particularly the disabled, develop small businesses.

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - A friendly rivalry constantly raises the question as to what branch of service "soars" above the rest. An Army squad left no doubt they're in the stratosphere at the Women's Armed Forces Softball Tournament here Aug. 25-27.

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - An old sports adage says offense entertains but defense wins games.

WASHINGTON - Service members and DoD employees traveling on official business soon will be able to call up their personal travel card accounts on the Internet.

WASHINGTON - As TRICARE Prime, the DoD managed health care plan, moves toward the DoD goal of not only treating but preventing sickness and injury, military medical facilities are looking to two tools to help out: Health Enrollment Assessment Reviews and patient medical records.

WASHINGTON - American service members are helping Turkey recover from the killer earthquake that killed more than 14,000 people and injured 27,000 others.