COVER STORYIn memory of MaupinBy the time they laid Staff Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin to rest, he had become one of the iconic figures of Operation Iraqi Freedom, though not in the way he or anyone else envisioned. The passage of time, two disturbing insurgent videos of a captive Maupin and an effective campaign by his parents to keep the military and public focused on the case made him one of the most widely known American prisoners of war since Vietnam. • Story
In the hands of a doulaDerived from the Greek word for a "woman of service," doulas provide emotional, physical and informational support for women before, during and after childbirth. From massages during labor to help with breast-feeding afterward, doulas offer a range of nonclinical services. • Story
A rough road to travel: Troops guard artery linking Khost and GardezInsurgents have good reason for targeting the bridge. It’s part of a narrow, axle-grinding path between Khost city and Gardez that is the only main route linking Khost province with the rest of Afghanistan. The road’s narrow, bumpy surface deters all but the most determined drivers. American leaders have made repaving the so-called KG Pass Road a national priority to bring Khost and other previously neglected areas back into the fold with the rest of Afghanistan. • Story and photo gallery
Pilot facing discharge under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policyFor almost two decades, he kept his sexual orientation a secret from military officials. But the tip began a yearlong review that culminated in a recommendation for discharge earlier this week, under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Fehrenbach, an 18-year airman who has served overseas tours in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, said he felt compelled to share his story with the press after that because of the White House’s reluctance to confront the issue of homosexuals serving openly in the military. • Story
Thousands of 2nd ID soldiers come together for ‘living insignia’About 5,000 members of the 2nd Infantry Division came here from bases all over the peninsula Thursday to be photographed as part of a "living insignia," or human re-creation of the patch worn by those in the division. In doing so, the 2nd ID was repeating something done 84 years earlier, in November 1925, when a comparable number of division soldiers gathered on a parade field at Fort Sam Houston in Texas to pose for a similar photograph. • Story
Landmark mosque’s reconstruction overshadows Iraqi cityRecently a symbol of sectarian hatred — Iraq’s civil war started in earnest after a bomb ripped apart its golden dome in Feb. 22, 2006 — the mosque is now touted as proof that reconciliation between the country’s main religious groups is possible. Still, tensions between the city’s Sunni residents and the Shiite-dominated central government overseeing the rebuilding illustrate the fragility of the sectarian peace that has held, for the most part, in Iraq. • Story
Remembering Maj. Hutchison, oldest soldier killed in IraqSteven Hutchison wanted to be a grunt again. He wanted to help train Iraqi infantry units. He wanted back in the fight. He called the Army and told them he’d like to rejoin. They’d take him, but they wanted him to do a year with a headquarters unit in Afghanistan before going back to infantry. • Story
Spouse CallsA weekly column in Stripes’ Scene magazine by Terri Barnes, a military wife and mother of three who lives and writes in Germany. • This week’s column • Terri Barnes’ blog
About the U.S. editionFor the first time since the Civil War, Stars and Stripes is returning stateside. The U.S. edition, available to local newspapers as a supplement, features some of the best content from the week’s daily overseas editions ... the top military stories from several news bureaus within Stars and Stripes’ three theaters — Europe, Pacific and Middle East — as well as coverage of military issues from the Pentagon and Capitol Hill.
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