YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The Honshu Chapter of the National Defense Transportation Association is offering scholarships to high school seniors in mainland Japan.

The organization hasn’t determined the number of awards or amounts but predicted four to eight scholarships from $250 to $1,000 will be awarded. Applications, available at all Department of Defense Dependents Schools in Japan, must be returned by e-mail to alan.ouellette@usfj.mil no later than April 21.

Phone NDTA Scholarship Committee chairman Alan Ouellette at DSN 225-4714, Lt. Col. Mark Harris at DSN 225-4708 or Lt. Col. Dale Wronko at DSN 225-4711 for more information.

Miller jury continues deliberationsCAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea — A court-martial jury remained in deliberations early Wednesday evening over the fate of Pvt. Brandon I. Miller, whose trial began Tuesday at Camp Casey.

Miller, of the 2nd Infantry Division’s 4th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, is charged with four counts of unauthorized absence, failure to obey an order, resisting apprehension, insubordinate conduct toward a noncommissioned officer by assault and two counts of communicating a threat.

Judge Col. Patrick J. Parrish threw out two Article 92 counts of underage drinking and one count of violating curfew due to lack of evidence at his trial Tuesday.

III MEF Marine killed in Afghanistan accidentCAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A III Marine Expeditionary Force Marine died March 13 in a non-hostile vehicle accident in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced recently in a news release.

Lance Cpl. Nicholas R. Anderson, 21, of Sauk City, Wis., was killed in the accident. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, III MEF, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

The accident is under investigation, according to the release.

Bonus to join Marine Corps Reserve increasedCongress has raised a bonus to entice active-duty junior Marine Corps officers to join the Marine Corps Reserve from $6,000 to $10,000, officials said.

In another change, servicemembers who previously were enlisted in the reserve components of any branch of the service now will be eligible for the bonus.

Last year, servicemembers with prior reserve experience were excluded from the bonus program.

Started last year, the program offers the bonus to officers ranging from second lieutenant to captain for a three-year commitment in the Marine Corps Reserve, said Col. John A. Nicholson, who is in charge of the bonus program.

The program has netted 28 junior officers in its first year and has a target of attracting between 23 and 25 officers this year, Nicholson said.

MARADMIN 113/06, which can be found at www.usmc.mil, has further information about how to apply for the bonus.

Yokota accident halts traffic; no one injuredYOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The driver of an 18-wheeler struck a telephone pole near Building 955 on Tuesday afternoon, adding an unexpected real-world wrinkle to the base’s Operational Readiness Inspection, which is being conducted this week by Pacific Air Forces.

Yokota officials said the driver, who was not identified, wouldn’t face any charges. No one was injured.

The accident occurred at about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday and snarled traffic for about three hours along Airlift Avenue, the base’s main thoroughfare. Emergency responders sprinkled a white, absorbent material on roads in the area to soak up excess vehicle fluids.