Some government employees had to shell out money Wednesday when they tried to fuel up government vehicles at Esso gas stations in Germany and their Army and Air Force Exchange Service fuel cards were denied.

The transactions were denied after five units had their government fuel cards turned off as a result of outstanding bills, officials said.

The cards have since been turned back on and the problem has been fixed, said AAFES spokesman Lt. Col. David Konop in an e-mail.

He said 43 transactions were denied, and all the drivers will be reimbursed.

Sesame show focuses on children of woundedWASHINGTON — The Sesame Workshop next month will air a new special for military families, this one focused on the adjustments facing children whose parents are seriously injured in combat.

The program is the latest in a series of pre- and post-deployment specials starring Sesame Street star Elmo, as he and his friends experience the challenges that a parent’s military service can bring.

The latest one, "Coming Home," co-stars actress Queen Latifah and singer John Mayer. It also features interviews with troops who lost limbs and suffered other serious injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. The troops’ children are interviewed as well.

Military families received a early preview of the new special at a Pentagon viewing Wednesday morning.

The special will air April 1 stateside on PBS stations. Armed Forces Network officials said they will air the program next month on AFN stations worldwide, but no date has been set.

U.S. missile intercept test is a successHONOLULU — The military’s ground-based mobile missile defense system successfully shot down a medium-range ballistic missile during a test in Hawaii, the Missile Defense Agency said Tuesday.

It was the first time the military fired two interceptors at one target using the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, a program designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in their last stage of flight.

The drill followed through on a test that was planned for last September but had to be aborted when the target malfunctioned shortly after launch.

On Tuesday, the target missile was fired from a vessel off the island of Kauai.

Soldiers with the Army’s 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade then launched two interceptors from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai’s west coast.

Two interceptors were used to increase the chances of success. The Missile Defense Agency coordinates U.S. missile tests in cooperation with the Army, Navy and Air Force.

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