AFP - Matthis Chiroux is the kind of young American US military recruiters love.

AP - As of Friday, May 16, 2008, at least 431 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures May 10 at 10 a.m. EDT.

AP - The door is open. But just a crack.

AFP - The United States is not trying to create incentives to bring Iran to the negotiating table but rather is seeking ways to intensify pressure to force it to change its ways, the Pentagon said Thursday.

AP - Two military helicopters were vandalized on the production line at a Boeing factory near Philadelphia, the Defense Department said Thursday as it offered a reward.

AFP - The commander of US Southern Command, Admiral James Stavridis, sought Thursday to reassure Latin American military chiefs that reinstating the US Fourth Fleet in the region posed them no threat.

Reuters - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday he wants to see major changes in three areas before he leaves the Pentagon -- unmanned aircraft, protective gear for troops and medical care for the wounded.