Rolling Stone writer now denied permission to join US troops in Afghanistan.  And, departing troops pack millions of items while leaving Iraq.

Rolling Stone writer denied embed permission

WASHINGTON — The author of the Rolling Stone article that ended the military career of Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former top commander in Afghanistan, has been denied permission to join U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

How the U.S. reshaped an Afghan prison’s image

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — In an outdoor field, inmates at the Detention Facility in Parwan play soccer in the shadow of the transport planes, shipping containers and thousands of troops that cram this major hub of the Afghanistan war.

US sending big helicopters to help flood relief

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says it’s sending six helicopters from Afghanistan to help ferry relief supplies or refugees in flood-ravaged Pakistan.

Departing troops pack millions of items in Iraq

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — Everything from helicopters to printer cartridges is being wrapped and stamped and shipped out of Iraq. U.S. military bases that once resembled small towns have transformed into a cross between giant post offices and Office Depots.

Investigators blast Arlington contracting

Army contracting officials have produced a scathing report on Arlington National Cemetery that documents the “questionable or improper” spending of millions of taxpayer dollars, supposedly used to pay contractors and purchase supplies at Arlington. The Army probe found little proof of services rendered for some contracts and payments.

Groups Challenge Order to Kill Awlaki

Two civil rights groups filed a court challenge Tuesday saying the U.S. government illegally placed Yemeni-American Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki on a hit list and froze his assets.

Pentagon questions drug study on troops

WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense is investigating whether 80 wounded American service members in Iraq were improperly used as subjects in a test of a possible treatment for brain injuries, according to the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General.

DoD’s Quest for a Malaria Vaccine

This month we profile the United States Military Malaria Vaccine Program, which hopes to unravel the major complexities of the malaria parasite to develop a vaccine that will control, and someday eradicate, malaria.

Heroism in ambush may yield top valor awards

With no air or artillery support, the Marines of Embedded Training Team 2-8 were trapped deep in a kill zone in eastern Afghanistan. Their radios worked only sporadically, and dozens of insurgents fired on them repeatedly from three sides.

Al-Qaida Plants Another Flag as US Exits

BAGHDAD — Suspected al-Qaida militants killed 5 Iraqi soldiers in a brazen dawn attack Tuesday at a western Baghdad checkpoint and planted the terror group’s black banner before fleeing the scene, officials said.

Supreme Court Asked to Stop Gitmo Trial

WASHINGTON — The Army lawyer defending the last Western captive at Guantanamo turned to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday in a last-ditch bid to stop the upcoming war crimes trial of alleged Canadian terrorist Omar Khadr.