By Fred W. Baker III, American Forces Press Service Americans must recognize the sacrifices and struggles of today’s troops and their families and work harder to reintegrate them into their communities, the nation’s top military officer said yesterday. The past nine years of war and multiple combat deployments have stressed the force, leaving in their […]

By JEFF HEMMEL, Tribune correspondent Most serious competitors sweating through Bay area triathlons and road races do so stripped down to the latest in featherweight shorts and hyperlight shoes. Not Dianne Villano. She pulls on U.S. Marine Corps combat boots and camouflage utilities – boots ‘n’ utes – a regulation pack and sometimes a helmet. […]

By VICKI SMITH (AP) MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A West Virginia innkeeper who started letting military families stay free for Veterans Day in 2008 has recruited 400 inns across the U.S. and Canada as part of an initiative to offer free rooms this fall. B&Bs for Vets is a way to thank active and retired military […]

Forty female Marines volunteered to go to the highly segregated southern Pashtun region to try to connect with the half of the population inaccessible to male Marines By Gretel C. Kovach, Sign On San Diego MARJAH, Afghanistan — Sgt. Vanessa Jones and her teammates filed through the countryside with a squad of U.S. infantrymen and […]

I heard this story on NPR this morning on my way to work.  I couldn’t have explained the emotions any better than this Army wife.  It brought tears to my eyes.  These raw emotions can only be truly understood by another military wife, child or parent. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ By Georgie Hanlin, NPR Members of the Army’s […]

by Dan Witters, Gallup.Com Young who have served in foreign war twice as likely to report chronic pain as never-deployed This article is the third in a special multipart series on the wellbeing of the American military. Part one covered active duty military and veteran wellbeing. Part two looked at wellbeing among deployed versus non-deployed. […]

By Amy Hotz, Star News Operation Salsa Drop is under way. (We just hope they don’t drop the bottles on concrete.) Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn is on a mission to deliver jars of three of their top-selling salsas to troops overseas. The idea came to owners Amy and Jay Muxworthy in early April when Pvt. […]

By HENRY BREWSTER, New York Times Reports from Baghdad after a coordinated attack by Al Qaeda on May 10 were grim. The bombing was the latest in a series of large-scale attacks by Sunni extremists that began last August after a long and uneasy period of relative peace in the capital. The news of this […]

This summer, more than 600 museums in all 50 states are offering free admission to active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 31, 2010, through Labor Day, September 6, 2010 to show their appreciation for those who are serving this nation. Here’s some basic information, but please check the FAQs for […]

By Matthew D. LaPlante, The Salt Lake Tribune She never doubted her decision to serve in the Army. Not as she watched the spotlights dance across Baghdad Airport Road while fellow soldiers urgently searched for hidden bombs. Not as she trembled in a crowded bunker through an extended barrage of mortar explosions. Not when a […]