The U.S. Navy has released a new environmental impact report that calls for the placement of firing ranges on Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, according to Stars and Stripes. Initially, officials had considered placing the ranges along Route 15 in the country's Pagat coastal area, a region cherished for its indigenous graves and archeological sites. The report also advised extending the construction process from seven years to 13 to reduce the relocation's impact on Guam's citizens and infrastructure.

A plan that garners unanimous support
The Navy's latest recommendation seems to be beneficial for all parties involved.

For the U.S., moving to Anderson Air Force Base would circumvent the need to acquire 688 acres of non-federal land, which was part of the original plan. Additionally, the Navy's report could encourage the relocation of 4,700 Marines and their families from Okinawa, Japan to Guam. Compared to Okinawa, Guam has fewer people and lower demand for power and potable water, the draft's authors noted. Finally, stretching out the construction of the new base to 13 years is expected to improve the plan's feasibility and reduce the military's footprint.

Meanwhile, the relocation of American troops to Guam would serve to mitigate tensions in Japan. According to The Associated Press, Okinawa hosts more than half of the U.S. servicemen stationed in Japan, much to the ire of local citizens. The move to the Andersen base would be a major step in the realignment of troops in the Pacific, which is why Japan has agreed to pay $2.8 billion of the estimated $8.6 billion required for the Guam redevelopment, Stars and Stripes noted.

The revised plan should come as good news to many Guamanian people who staunchly opposed the Navy's intention to move to Pagat. For Guam officials, the Navy's new recommendation indicates a sign of cooperation between the U.S. military and Guam's residents.

"The administration is pleased," said Mark Calvo, director of the Government of Guam Military Buildup Office, as quoted by Stars and Stripes. "Our concerns were heard, and they're adapting. This is a major milestone in moving forward with the relocation of Marines to Guam."

Where the construction plan stands 
According to Calvo, the public will have 60 days to address any concerns about the Navy's proposal, and a final environmental impact statement will be drafted about a year later. Construction of the Andersen base is contingent upon Congress' willingness to unfreeze funding for the relocation.

The U.S. Navy has deployed multiple helicopters and the USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship, to assist in the search for survivors of a sunken South Korean ferry. CNN reported that at least 179 passengers have been rescued, but authorities estimate that 287 people are trapped inside the ship. While it is uncertain whether any of the missing individuals are still alive, authorities are operating under the belief that there are survivors that have yet to be found.

Navy joins an already extensive search effort
The ferry began to sink April 16 near Jindo, an island off the southwestern coast of South Korea. More than 450 people, many of whom were elementary school students, were on the ship as it traveled from Incheon, South Korea toward Jeju Island. Already, approximately 170 ships and 512 divers are involved with the search effort. 

According to Stars and Stripes, Lt. Arlo Abrahamson, spokesman for the commander of Naval Forces Korea, said two MH-60 helicopters are searching an area 6 to 17 miles from the site of the incident. This endeavor was requested by the South Korean commander leading the search effort. Initially, two Navy helicopters carrying lifeboats were sent to the disaster site but were later recalled.

The Bonhomme Richard's call to action
Just prior to joining the search effort, the Bonhomme Richard had been performing routine operations in a region west of the Korean peninsula. The ship's commanding officer Capt. Joey Tynch wrote that his team received a call for assistance around noon on Wednesday. The Bonhomme Richard promptly redirected its course and headed toward the disaster site at full speed. 

"When we were alerted to the accident, we immediately diverted to the scene to render assistance," said Capt. Heidi C. Agle, according to a Navy news release. "However, the efficiency of the Korean response eclipsed the immediate need for our assets. We are standing by to provide support as requested by the on-scene commander."

Stars and Stripes noted that the search could become more difficult due to high currents and inclement weather conditions. Nonetheless, the Bonhomme Richard appears to be well-prepared to assist the rescue effort. About 3,000 sailors and Marines are aboard the ship, and the vessel is equipped with MV-22 Osprey aircraft, MH-60 helicopters and small boats designed to conduct search operations. 

Selflessness is one of the defining shared qualities among servicemembers. Upon joining the military, an individual makes a commitment to serve his or her country – an inherently unselfish act. During his service in Afghanistan, Kyle J. White, a former Army sergeant, exemplified selflessness in his efforts to save his teammates' lives while risking his own to do so. His gallantry will be formally recognized May 13, when President Barack Obama will award him the Medal of Honor.

Sgt. White's display of altruism
On November 9, 2007, White's team of U.S. and Afghan National Army soldiers was ambushed by a Taliban group in Aranas, Afghanistan, according to Stars and Stripes. His team was at a significant disadvantage – the enemy force outnumbered them and was more heavily armed.

White recounted the incident to ARNEWS, stating that, "There was one shot, you know, down into the valley, and then it was two shots, and then it was full-automatic fire and rocket-propelled grenades … it was coming from multiple directions."

After an RPG explosion knocked him unconscious, White woke up to find that 10 members of his 14-person team were missing. They had been forced to find cover from enemy fire by sliding down a nearby cliff. Meanwhile, White realized that Spc. Kain Schilling – one of the four soldiers remaining on top – had been shot in the upper right arm. The two men found cover under a tree, and White applied a tourniquet to Schilling's wound to stop the bleeding. When Schilling was shot in the leg shortly afterwards, White came to his rescue again, using a belt as a makeshift tourniquet to wrap around Schilling's leg.

White also made valiant efforts to save the lives of Sgt. Phillip Bocks and 1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara, but unfortunately, both men succumbed to their injuries. Today, the surviving team members commemorate their sacrifices by wearing a stainless steel wristband with their names engraved on it.

White boasts an impressive resume
According to a White House news release, White will become the seventh living recipient of the Medal of Honor for service in Afghanistan or Iraq. The award will add to his already impressive list of accolades, which includes the Purple Heart, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal and the Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster.

The U.S. military is in a state of high alert following an episode of heavy gunfire at an airport in eastern Ukraine. The Washington Times reported that the Ukranian government had deployed army troops to the airport in an effort to reclaim control from pro-Russian militants. According to the news source, the mayor of Kramatorsk stated that the Ukranian military has occupied the airport and is blocking its entrance.

U.S. military supports Ukraine's efforts
The U.S. has responded by providing tacit support to Ukranian troops, The Associated Press reported. White House spokesman Jay Carney explained that this is not the preferred plan of action, but it is crucial that the Ukranian government responds to the situation in order to maintain law and order. The AP noted that the U.S. will continue to back diplomatic and economic measures to mitigate tension in eastern Europe.

According to The AP, Russian state television indicated that as many as 11 people had been killed in the standoff at the Ukranian airport. Much of the gunfire seemed to have been warning shots.

Kiev is in the midst of carrying out an "anti-terrorist operation" against pro-Russian separatists, The Washington Times stated. Ukraine's interim president Oleksander Turchinov asserted that the military plan is intended as a means of protection and will occur in a gradual manner. 

"It will be conducted step by step, responsibly, cautiously," Turchinov said, as quoted by The Washington Times. "The aim of these actions is to protect the citizens of Ukraine, to stop terror, to stop criminality, to stop attempts to tear Ukraine to pieces."

Airport incident causes international worry
The incident has raised concern that the Russian government could cut off Kiev's access to gas supplies, which would disrupt gas service to the European Union. On Tuesday, German energy company RWE began delivering to Ukraine, indicating a reversal of the standard east-west flow through a single European pipeline. Despite this conspicuous change, Russian exporter Gazprom has promised to act as a reliable supplier to the EU.

Gunfire at the airport occurred in the immediate wake of an alarming incident in which a Russian fighter jet made close-range passes near the USS Donald Cook over the Black Sea. According to The Washington Times, President Barack Obama spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday – a day before the airport standoff – and both leaders agreed to do everything possible to prevent violent conflicts.

Edward Lychik is not the type of person to let adversity stifle his ambitions. With the help of a prosthetic leg, the 23-year-old former Army combat engineer will run the Boston Marathon April 21.

A tale of perseverance
After being shot by a recoilless rifle during his service in Afghanistan, Lychik's leg was amputated at the hip socket, The News Tribune reported. Doctors informed him that, in the best case scenario, he would be able to walk again using crutches. Lychik rejected this verdict and proceeded to consult his physical therapist, Alicia White, about running again.

At first, White and Lychik's prosthetist, Bob Kuenzi, were noncommittal toward the veteran's dream. After the seventh time Lychik insisted that he wanted to run again, White finally spoke with Kuenzi about this possibility.

"I never said, 'No, you can't,' but there was nothing I could find anywhere that indicated it could be done with his level of amputation," Kuenzi told The News Tribune. "I told him to walk first, then we'd work on it."

Just a few months after this conversation, Lychik was walking again. The next step was to design a leg suited for running. Lychik and Kuenzi toyed with various prototypes before developing an effective solution – a prosthetic leg secured by a belt around the veteran's waist.

Once this prosthesis was created, it did not take long for Lychik to completely defy his doctors' expectations. According to MyFoxHouston, he took to the track mere days after his first fitting and soon ran an impressive 8-minute mile. To Kuenzi's astonishment, Lychik announced that he wanted to participate in the 12-mile, 28-obstacle Tough Mudder​ event. He finished the competition with his Wounded Warrior team and began to consider running a full marathon.

Lychik shares his story with young students
In addition to pursuing the personal goal of finishing the Boston Marathon, Lychik intends to share his incredible story with elementary school students.

"This leg is a tool for me to inspire others," Lynch told The News Tribune. "If I can do things on one leg, what can you accomplish with two? The leg isn't a burden, it might be a gift. My life is just beginning."

The veteran's first speech last week was a huge success. He developed an instant rapport with students at Maplewood Elementary School in Puyallup, Wash., and even did pushups with four of the kids.

Lychik's ambitions appear to be limitless. In addition to expanding his speech campaign to other schools, he is thinking of running a 100-mile ultramarathon.

Washington will join Colorado in the coming months as the second state in the U.S. to open retail storefronts that sell marijuana. While Federal law still prohibits the sale, possession and use of the controlled substance, the Obama administration has made it clear that retailers and recreational users in those two states will not be prosecuted according to Federal statutes.

When it comes to servicemembers stationed in Washington, however, they are still prohibited from marijuana use, according to Military.com. An official from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., said in an interview that the Armed Forces' policy on the substance has been made very clear to soldiers stationed at the installation. Regardless of the legality applied to civilians, troops are still prohibited from any indulgences.  

No pot for soldiers
It may not come as a surprise to many that servicemembers will not be allowed to partake in Washington's progression toward legalized recreational marijuana use, and Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza is taking care to make the military's policy clear to the troops under his command at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

"Our soldiers understand what's legal," Lanza said in an interview, as quoted by Military.com. "From our perspective, marijuana or any type of illegal drug is something that's not tolerated."

Lanza's comments join a similar prohibition on marijuana use for National Guardsmen in Washington. Moreover, the Armed Forces do not distinguish between medicinal and recreational uses of the substance. Even new recruits who enlist after Washington makes marijuana use fully legal for civilians are not grandfathered in to any kind of lax policy.

No smoke over the Rocky Mountains
Servicemembers in Washington will be similarly prohibited from marijuana use as their counterparts in Colorado, which is almost a year ahead of the former state in terms of an established retail market for the substance. In Colorado, it is not only legal to buy and sell marijuana, but individuals may also grow a small number of plants for their own personal use.

Rep. Mike Coffman, R.-Colo., told The Colorado Springs Gazette that servicemembers should be afforded the same rights as other citizens of the state.

"We're the first state to step out with legalization of marijuana, but the military isn't stepping out with us," Coffman told the paper in a telephone interview.

In conversations with military officials, Coffman was told that marijuana is banned on grounds that it could decrease the combat readiness of its troops, though off duty soldiers are prohibited from recreational use just the same.

The Pentagon's continuing efforts to cut costs associated with military spending have put many different possible sources of revenue in the spotlight. From cost of living adjustments to base closings, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is looking at any and all ways to recoup money from the Armed Forces' budget.

According to Stars and Stripes, commissaries are the latest focus of the Pentagon's efforts to tighten the military's purse strings. Despite earlier promises that the base outlets would remain safe from cuts and closures, Pentagon officials are now discussing eliminating and drawing back on commissaries at bases across the country.

Cutting down on commissaries
When the Pentagon submitted its 2015 fiscal year budget in early March, critics pored over its contents to find what branches of the military would be hit the hardest. Now, it appears that the current $1.4 million earmarked for subsidies to commissaries that are used to keep costs low for servicemembers would be decreased over a three-year period to only $400 million. Due to the loss of the subsidies, the current 30 percent level of savings enjoyed by military personnel would decrease to around 10 percent.

These cuts would not affect commissaries located at foreign bases, as Pentagon officials believe the cost of living for those soldiers is high enough to warrant the lower prices. 

"We are not shutting down any commissaries. We recommend gradually phasing out some subsidies but only for domestic commissaries that are not in remote locations," Hagel told a group of senators in early March, as quoted by Stars and Stripes.

Hagel may have spoken too soon, however, as Frederick Vollrath, assistant secretary of defense for readiness and force management, told members of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel that closing commissaries is not out of the question just yet.

"It's a possibility [but] I don't know what the probability is," Vollrath told the committee Mar. 26.

Additional cuts to health care
The budget cuts and possible closures of commissaries at bases across the country are not the only changes servicemembers may have to stomach, as The Washington Post reported that the new budget would also increase fees associated with the military's Tricare health care coverage program.

Hagel said that the benefits and coverage of the Tricare program would not be affected, but that the enrollment and maintenance fees would be increased to cover gaps in the budget.

Life after military service can pose many difficulties for former servicemembers. The order and schedules they lived under for years are taken away all at once, and the stresses of their duties may have left them with psychological issues that often go undiagnosed and untreated. While some fortunate servicemembers have supportive families to return to, others end up living on the streets or, even worse, in prison.

While the subject of incarcerated veterans may be uncomfortable for some, social workers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have made it their mission to increase support programs available to servicemembers struggling with life after service. When it comes to former soldiers in prison, veterans benefits entitle them to transition programs that can help them get back on their feet and working to put their military skills to good use in positions of steady employment.

Getting a clear picture
The exact number of incarcerated veterans is difficult to identify. Some people in prison may falsify military service and others simply cannot be found by the current VA system. According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics that was compiled in 2004, 10 percent of prisoners at the state level reported past military service. Of that number 54 percent served during a wartime period, though only 20 percent reported experiencing combat duty.

Regardless of the nature of their time in the military, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration explained that veterans often experience complicated mental issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder that leads to high rates of unemployment and homelessness – almost 75 and 25 percent, respectively, among incarcerated veterans.

The most common offenses include misdemeanors of driving under the influence, assault, possession of an illegal substance, theft and other minor traffic violations.

Connecting veterans with help
The picture may seem bleak for incarcerated veterans, but various programs seek to match veterans struggling with life after military service, such as the one that Jim Haskell, Veteran Reentry Specialist for the VA, works for. Haskell works to identify veterans in the Maryland prison system and advocates for their rehabilitation and release from incarceration, Stars and Stripes reported.

"Because so many people with mental health conditions and substance abuse conditions are winding up in the judicial system, it's really incumbent upon us to reach out to them and make sure that they're getting the proper services that they need," Haskell told Stars and Stripes. "Basically, that's what we do, is connect veterans to those services."

Haskell travels into prisons across the state to meet with different veterans serving time for past criminal offenses. Rather than providing them with pamphlets of information, Haskell sets up mental health evaluations and presents the results to judges and parole officers to lobby for more lenient forms of treatment. The hope, Haskell said, is that veterans are removed from the punitive justice system and placed into programs that can give them a better chance at rehabilitating their lives.

Former Air Force nuclear missile mechanic Williams Ames remembered meeting Haskell for the first time upon his most recent arrest in 2011. 

"Just hearing somebody from the VA, I was like, 'Damn, I'm glad now,'" Ames told Stars and Stripes. "I figured this was maybe an opportunity to get my life back in order."

With Haskell's help, that is exactly what Ames did. In 2012, the former servicemember was moved into a veterans re-entry group at the Maryland VA Medical Center and then a residential treatment facility in Baltimore. Ames now works as a cook in the same facility where he began his journey toward rehabilitation and has plans to find full-time employment as a line cook after he completes his program.

For Haskell, Ames' journey is all in a day's work.

Each soldier has his or her own way to relax in between drilling and other duties. Some may chat with friends, while others play video games to unwind after a long day. However, a large majority of soldiers supplement these relaxation activities with tobacco use.

According to statistics from the American Lung Association, 30 percent of members of the Armed Forces smoke, with 9.5 percent of those qualified as "heavy smokers." In the Navy, the overall rate for smokers is 31.2 percent. Due to these high numbers, Navy officials are now considering a branch-wide ban on tobacco use while on bases or ships, the Navy Times reported. Though no official policies have been made public yet, a prohibition on cigarettes and chew would be the latest move by the Navy to cut down on tobacco use by its sailors.

Orders from on high
According to the Navy Times, Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Flaherty indicated that high-level discussions had taken place regarding top officials' opinions on ways to combat high rates of tobacco use among sailors in the Navy. Cmdr. Tamara Lawrence, a spokeswoman for Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, said that the potential drawback on the prevalence of smoking and smokeless tobacco would be the latest in a long line of initiatives aimed at improving the physical fitness of sailors.

"Tobacco use is the most avoidable public health hazard in the Navy and Marine Corps," Mabus wrote in a statement to the Navy following the revocation of subsidies for tobacco products on base commissaries in 2012. 

While the Marine Corps is not expected to be affected by any subsequent decision on tobacco products, neither Mabus nor his spokeswoman would confirm their exemption.

Fighting against tobacco use
Stars and Stripes outlined the vast number of steps the Navy has taken over the years to discourage the use of tobacco by sailors. In the 1990s, smoking breaks were eliminated for troops and separate areas were established apart from non-smoking sailors on ships and submarines. Smoking in the latter was abolished outright in 2010.

The Navy has also fought a back-and-forth battle with Congress over the sale of tobacco on its ships and bases. After Capt. Stanley W. Bryant of the USS Theodore Roosevelt banned all tobacco sales on his ship, a group of Congressmen legally required the commissaries restocked with products and moved the authority on smoking to the Morale, Welfare and Recreation department.

Mabus' most recent efforts may see similar pushback from Congress and the tobacco lobby.

Serving in the military is often a full-time job for servicemembers and their families. Between daily training for the soldier and caring for children for the spouse, there may be so many things to take care of for parents in a military family that all they can do to make it through the day is keep their heads down and soldier on.

However, when the time comes for a spouse in the military to transition to life after service, that routine can be turned on its head. Roles that each parent has grown comfortable in will no longer work in civilian life, and the sometimes troubling question of employment now looms large in both adults' minds. Millions of families have made the switch to life after the military, though, so keeping calm and thinking over options is often the best way to approach one of the biggest transitions of a military family's time together.

Thinking about relocation
When a spouse is active duty, military families are normally used to moving around. Children adapt to making friends in new cities and spouses find ways to connect with each initially unfamiliar community they find themselves members of. When the time comes to leave the a military installation, however, most families fail to think about life after service outside of the Armed Forces bubble, according to Military.com.

"We weren't going to move back to the middle of Iowa, so we just stayed [in North Carolina]," Melanie, the wife of a soldier stationed at Camp Lejeune, told Military.com.

Melanie believed that her family would only be compensated to move back to her hometown where her husband was initially recruited. When she and her husband compared employment opportunities between North Carolina and Iowa, the former seemed like an easy choice for them.

But with so many other military families choosing the same path, Melanie's family found the job market around Camp Lejeune clogged with job seekers with the same skills as her husband. Moreover, local businesses only seemed interested in hiring people from the area.

Rather than stay attached to the network of bases, Military.com recommended taking advantage of the service's willingness to pay a fraction of a family's relocation costs. A common misconception is that the military will only pay to move a family back to where the servicemember was originally recruited, but anyone interested in moving to a different locale – one where their job skills are in high demand – can have the mileage from their current location to their hometown applied to a different location instead. Families merely have to pay the remainder of travel expenses.

While that balance may still be a hefty sum, the overall economic benefit for a family may be a net positive if the move brings them to a city rife with job opportunities.

Networking with military skills
Even if a family moves to a new city for life after service, simply hoping for employment often is not enough. Military OneSource recommended working on networking skills through transition assistance programs. Talking to other recently transitioned families can lead to job opportunities that are not advertised through normal means, and putting a face to a name usually results in job placement at a higher rate than sending out resumes over the Internet.

However, it can be easy for a former military spouse to grow discouraged when he or she finds out that skills gained in the military are not as highly valued in the private sector as they were in the Armed Forces. On the contrary, companies prize leadership and teamwork skills just as much as technical ones, and former military members have those traits in spades.