Stars and Stripes is being recognized by a military reporting organization for distinguished reporting in its 2004 military journalism contest.

Stripes’ “Ground Truth” series, published over seven days, was written from a survey of nearly 2,000 servicemembers and dozens of interviews to assess the conditions and morale of troops in Iraq.

The winner in the category, print overseas reporting, circulation less than 100,000, was James Kitfield, National Journal, who was embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division during the taking of Baghdad.

Military Reporters and Editors (MRE) recognizes outstanding military and national defense coverage by print and broadcast journalists in large and small markets.

Sailors rescue mariners in Persian Gulf

USS Seattle sailors rescued the crew of a sinking ship Sunday night in the northern Persian Gulf.

The master of an Indonesia-flagged cargo ship, the Edha II, made a distress call after the ship began taking on water, according to a 5th Fleet news release.

Seattle sailors rescued four crewmembers by helicopter off the cargo ship’s deck before it sank and retrieved eight more from a life raft in the water. All 12 crewmembers made it safely aboard the Norfolk, Va.-based Seattle, where they received medical treatment.

The Seattle deployed to the Persian Gulf on June 7.

U.S. employee falls dead in barracks dining hall

MANNHEIM, Germany — A civilian employee of the 293rd Base Support Battalion’s directorate of logistics was pronounced dead Monday after collapsing in the Spinelli Barracks dining facility.

A German physician at the scene pronounced the employee dead, according to a 293rd BSB news release.

The name of the employee is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The cause of death is being investigated by German authorities in cooperation with the U.S. Army’s military police.

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