Army nurses board evacuation trucks, February 12, 1945 after they were liberated from Santo Tomas University in Manila, Philippines, where they had been imprisoned by the Japanese for almost three years. Most of the 55 prisoners of war suffered symptoms of malnutrition and starvation such as beriberi and had endured malaria, dysentery and other serious diseases. They all survived and managed to care for not only their fellow prisoners, but their own rescuers. (Photo courtesy of the National Archives)

The ‘Angels of Bataan’

30 March 2012

They called themselves the Battling Belles of Bataan, but to the GIs fighting a desperate and doomed battle for the Philippines in 1941 and 1942, and later to their fellow civilian internees, they were, simply, angels.

Soldiers negotiate obstacles during the Cultural Support Assessment and Selection program. The U.S. Army Special Operations Command's cultural support program prepares all-female Soldier teams to serve as enablers supporting Army special operations combat forces in and around secured objective areas. The Army is working to improve women's health throughout the Army, thus contributing to force readiness. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Klika, USAJFKSWCS)

Improving women’s health in the Army

16 March 2012

The Army's surgeon general discusses health issues unique to female Soldiers, and how quality care and access to that care promotes force readiness.

Sgt. Maj. Patrick Fensom (left), deputy commandant of the David K. Thuma Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Fort Bragg, N.C., stands beside Sgt. 1st Class Rodrigo Mendoza, a Special Forces NCO and instructor for future Special Forces officers at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Fensom and Mendoza met in Bolivia in 1997, when Mendoza was a Bolivian Army corporal, during a Joint Combined Exchange Training exercise. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika, SWCS Public Affairs)

Where this brotherhood began

13 March 2012

In 1997, eight Special Forces Soldiers traveled to Bolivia to train and advise a battalion of Bolivian Army rangers. That experience would define the next 14 years of then-Bolivian Army Cpl. Rodrigo Mendoza's life.

Staff Sgt. Leigh LaFosse poses with her clarinet. LaFosse decided to audition for "Pershing's Own" while working on her doctorate in music. She thought she would return to academia after serving, but discovered she enjoyed being a member so much, that she intends to spend her career with the band. (Photo courtesy of The U.S. Army Band)

Anatomy of a ‘Pershing’s Own’ audition

12 March 2012

A United States Army Band, "Pershing's Own" Soldier shares what it was like to audition for the elite musical ensemble, and her experiences during her first year with the band.