By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2012 - For a sense of what's ahead for combat rations, check out offerings at one of the many sit-down chain restaurants that have sprung up like mushrooms around the country and outside many military bases.

Food scientists at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center near Boston look to Applebee's, TGI Friday's and other popular chain eateries for inspiration in their quest to provide warfighters the kind of food they'd seek out at home if they weren't deployed, explained Jeremy Whitsitt, technology integration analyst for the center's Department of Defense combat feeding directorate.

From a National Center for Telehealth and Technology News Release

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash., Jan. 18, 2012 - The Defense Department launched a new website today for children experiencing the challenges of military deployments.

The highly interactive website, http://www.MilitaryKidsConnect.org, was created by psychologists at DOD's National Center for Telehealth and Technology here. It helps children of deployed parents cope with the stress, changing responsibilities, and concern for the safety of their parents, officials said.

By Elaine Sanchez
American Forces Press Service

SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 6, 2012 - Military researchers here have developed a cutting-edge cancer vaccine that's slashing breast cancer recurrence rates and giving some survivors a better shot at a cancer-free future.

After more than a decade of research and testing, the cancer vaccine, dubbed E-75, soon will move on to its final phase of testing to earn Food and Drug Administration approval, said Army Col. (Dr.) George E. Peoples, director and principal investigator for the Cancer Vaccine Development Program at San Antonio Military Medical Center here.