Military news updates -- developments affecting the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and their members- msnbc.com

The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members. Full story

Matt Rourke / AP

Military adds armor to protect U.S. troops

Army reacts to shoddy barracks

'Surge' GIs set for U.S. homecoming

Pat Tillman’s mother still demanding answers

Green Berets stretched by two-front war

Newsvine: A soldier's view from Iraq

‘Nightly News’: Medal of Honor profiles

Sam Davis: The real Forrest Gump

Vet's message of hope

A gift to the injured

Jason Dunham: Ultimate sacrifice in Iraq

Posthumous Medal of Honor

Vernon Baker: 'Good soldier' gets his due

Ted Rubin: From concentration camp to Korea

Military analysis

Jacobs: Explosive devices threaten U.S. soldiers daily

Francona: Peace between Syria, Israel a distant hope

Jacobs: No proof in NYT report on TV military analysts

Jacobs: Lead our troops, don't manage them

Francona: Carter's Hamas meeting comes at bad time

Jacobs: Do the math to discover the outcome of Iraq

Jacobs: Petraeus report left audience wanting more

Francona: The fall of Baghdad: Five years later

Francona: Basra clashes test al-Maliki’s government

Jacobs: Who monitors ammunition middlemen?

Charity Begins at War

Part 1
From executive suite to slums of Baghdad
Tom’s journal: Called back to Army — ‘no joke’
Part 2
Training turns into ‘hurry up and wait’
Tom’s journal: Preparing for ‘very dangerous job’
Part 3
Venturing ‘outside the wire’ in Baghdad
Tom’s journal: ‘ThunderCat6’ gets his bearings
Part 4
In the end, it all comes back to garbage
Tom’s journal: 'I was minding my own business'
Part 5
Officer’s philanthropic spirit survives
Tom’s journal: Charitable work continues
Update, reader reaction
And NBC Nightly News profiles Tom's work

Timeline: Key moments since 2003 invasion

Do you remember ‘shock and awe’?

Newsvine: A soldier's view from Iraq

FirstPerson: Your images from Iraq, home

Interactive: Where is Jessica Lynch now?

How much do you recall? Take our quiz

Discuss your thoughts on the war

SEE ALL OF OUR SPECIAL SECTION

Newsvine: A soldier's view from Iraq

An Iraq Tale Vol 18: ( The Last Mission )

An Iraq Tale Vol. 17: ( A Day At The Range )

An Iraq Tale Vol 16: (A Day Without Internet)

An Iraq Tale Vol 15: (Thinking Back)

Video: Military news

Dozier shares horror of Iraq blast
May 12: TODAY's Meredith Vieira speaks with CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier about a bombing in Iraq that killed her colleagues, her own recovery and a new memoir.

Success spreading Marines thin

The two sides of the Afghan spring offensive

Soldiers, pets cremated at same facility

Segways give war vets new mobility

	Photos of soldiers who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.
	Pictures and messages from U.S. troops overseas and their friends, family at home.

Special report: Military families

John Brecher msnbc.com

War's impact at home falls hard on relative few

Video: Parents cope with children's service

Laid to rest at Arlington

Reuters

Each week in ‘The Daily Nightly,’ NBC's John Rutherford pays tribute to the men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fact file

How big’s a division? What’s a battalion?