Military Personnel

The U.S. commander in Afghanistan has prepared a request for more troops to serve as advisors for Afghan military units, a sign that Washington and its allies are trying to speed up the hand-over of combat operations to the Afghans as they prepare to withdraw, U.S. and NATO officials said. The stronger emphasis on training may keep more U.S. troops on bases next year and help reduce U.S. military casualties before presidential elections next November. President Obama's Afghan policy is already an issue.

Debating a cross Re "Marines restore memorial to fallen comrades," Nov. 12 As a Christian and a patriotic American citizen, I am offended by the installation of a cross on government property. Camp Pendleton is government-owned land, and the cross is intended as a memorial to "all military personnel sent to foreign lands. " But a cross, the universal symbol of Christianity, is an inappropriate choice to pay tribute because not all military personnel are Christians.

Some travel-related discounts and activities in honor of Veterans Day on Friday: Mountain High , Bear Mountain and Snow Summit all offer free lift tickets to military members, active and retired. Skiers are advised to dress warmly as another winter storm is approaching. . . . Of the theme parks, Knott's  offers the best deal: two free passes for military personnel, in a promotion that runs till Thanksgiving. Disney offers discounts to military personnel all year long.

Human rights activists Friday welcomed a rare prison sentence for Mexican military personnel in the killing of civilians but said they continued to mistrust the army to prosecute its own. The 14 soldiers and army officers were sentenced to long prison terms for the shooting deaths of five women and children at a checkpoint in the state of Sinaloa four years ago. The Defense Ministry, in a statement on the verdict, described the shootings as...

Navy Petty Officer Tyson Steele needed to buy a new vehicle. But like some military members who borrow money, he said he was taken for a ride on the financing. He signed a deal in December to purchase a used Chevrolet Silverado through a San Diego dealership loan at 6.9% interest, according to his attorney. A few days after Steele drove the pickup off the lot, the dealership said it was unable to secure financing. If he wanted to keep the truck, he'd have to pay 9.99% interest.

The firing of 28 TSA employees at Honolulu International Airport, announced Sunday, is one of the biggest in the agency's history. It follows a months-long probe that found bags were allowed aboard planes without being properly screened. Fifteen other employees were suspended . . . . The Air France KLM board has approved an order of 110 long-haul aircraft . The deal, still being negotiated with manufacturers, includes 43 Airbus A350-900s and 30 Boeing 787-9s . . . . Paso Robles Harvest Wine Weekend Oct. 21-23 features events at  more than 150 wineries throughout Paso Robles wine country . . . .  San Francisco's EPIC Roasthouse celebrates Oktoberfest on the restaurant's bayside patio Oct. 1, noon to 4 p.m. The $50 admission includes live music and unlimited food and  beer . . . .  Forklifts and harnesses will be used at the Oct. 10 Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay , Calif., the kickoff to the Oct. 15-16 pumpkin fest   . . . .   A $520 Halloween package at the Langham London includes tarantula cocktails and a Jack the Ripper Walking Tour . Be sure to ask for Room 333, purportedly the most haunted room in the inn . . . . Many San Diego hotels and attractions are currently offering discounts to military personnel , including 50% off oceanfront suites at La Jolla Cove Suites   . . . . Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey will be part of a new Mandarin Oriental  hotel group ad...

The impromptu tributes began on a spring day in 2007 when church bell ringers stopped their weekly practice and tolled instead for two passing coffins carrying soldiers slain overseas. The rituals ended Wednesday with a sunset ceremony, as the town of Wootton Bassett said a solemn goodbye to its unique role in honoring Britain's war dead. The bodies of slain military personnel, which had been passing through the south England market town from nearby Lyneham air base, will now return to Brize Norton military airport close to the mortuary outside Oxford and Lyneham air base is to close this year.

In a finding suggesting powerful psychiatric benefits for a component of fish oil, a study published Wednesday has linked military suicides to low levels of docosahexaenoic acid and found that service personnel with higher levels of DHA in their blood were less likely to take their own lives. The study, published this week in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, looked back at the medical records of 800 U.S. servicemen and women who took their own lives between 2002 and 2008, and compared them with the records of 800 service personnel -- matched for age, gender and rank -- who had no history of suicide attempts.  Men whose records showed they had low levels of DHA in their blood were 62% more likely to have been suicide victims than those with the highest levels.