Smoke ’em if you got ’em, but don’t do it anywhere near an Air Force hospital or clinic. In fact, don’t bother lighting up in an installation parking lot, near a sidewalk or your kid’s favorite base playground either, according to an Air Force Times article.

An updated Air Force Instruction on tobacco use in the service says those places are now off-limits to smokers, tobacco chewers, dippers and sniffers. And don’t think you’re safe smoking electronic — or e-cigarettes — or any kind of pipe or hookah.

The Army has a rigid process for notifying a soldier’s loved ones he or she has died, one that is widely regarded as solemn, sensitive and not to be circumvented, according to an Army Times article.

Since 1966, soldiers have been dispatched to break this news in person on behalf of the U.S. military with the utmost care, face to face.

The death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of Navy commandos a year ago was a setback to al-Qaida, but the Islamic terror organization remains a potent threat around the world, intelligence experts say, according to an Army Times story.

“It’s on the defensive, but it’s far from defeated,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer now at the Brookings Institution, a think tank.

What is the DEP?
In these times, one cannot simply walk into a recruiter's office, sign some papers and ship off to basic training immediately. In general, the recruiting commands must reserve a "slot" for the recruit at basic training. Usually, such slots are booked up months in advance. It seems that everyone who e-mails me who has signed up for the Guard or Reserves thinks they are in the Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP). Truth be told, there is NO DEP for the Guard or Reserves. Once you sign the contract, you are IN! For more information, see my article entitled, " The Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP)."