The Scottsdale Fire Department’s first training academy is nearing its end, and 18 of the 19 recruits who persevered the last 15 weeks will have a new title. After Friday, they will be firefighters.

New recruits are being sought by the Chandler Mustangs Young Marines, a group of boys and girls from age 8 to 18 who learn survival skills on camping trips, visit military bases, participate in veterans parades, and are taught honor, respect and discipline.

WASHINGTON - Alone among the military services, the Army fell short of its 2005 recruiting goals - not just the active-duty Army but also the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard.

The prized athlete in Washington’s football recruiting class won’t be a Husky this season.

 With the economy in tatters, many Americans are considering taking a tour on the battlefield rather than trying their hands in the ruthless job market.

What began as a group of more than 1,500 applicants for the Scottsdale Fire Department’s first recruiting class has been pared down to a group of 19 diverse and dedicated men following their dreams of becoming firefighters.

In the beginning, there were 145. Each had a different story, a different background, a different perspective and yet they all shared one thing.

December 28, 2004

December 28, 2004

When Jason Dudley hears the news of U.S. troops dying in Iraq, the Marine wonders why he is back in Scottsdale.

A little-noticed provision — little-noticed because we were not yet at war in Iraq — in the 2002 No Child Left Behind law required schools to provide military recruiters with the names and addresses of their students.

March 23, 2005

Lance Cpl. Gregory Koestner, 28, of Mesa has graduated from Marine Corps recruit training with the distinction of being named Company Honorman, a title given to a company's top recruit.

KANEOHE, Hawaii - Teens looking to hook up with a friend on the popular Web community MySpace may bump into an unexpected buddy: the U.S. Marine Corps.

Marine Staff Sgt. Raymond J. Plouhar was described by his Scottsdale widow as someone willing to do anything for his country. He believed in it, served it, protected it and died for it.

Marine Staff Sgt. Raymond J. Plouhar was described by his Scottsdale widow as someone willing to do anything for his country. He believed in it, served it, protected it and died for it.

The only thing the Mariners can't limit with Ken Griffey Jr. as he begins his return to Seattle is his humor — already in midseason form.

RAMADI, Iraq - As the Marine Corps shrinks its footprint in Iraq's western desert, Iraqi community leaders here are publicly voicing worries about what will happen once the Americans are gone.

RAMADI, Iraq - A bomb blast killed at least 15 people and wounded 56 Monday in the main market in the predominantly Shiite city of Hillah, police said.

Soldiers return from war greeted with hugs from excited family members, but Marine Christopher Dawson of Queen Creek received something extra: old-fashioned fanfare as his community welcomed him home from Iraq on Memorial Day.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Efforts to form a unity government suffered a new setback Sunday when Iraqi leaders postponed a parliament session after failing to agree on a prime minister.

When Jason Dudley hears the news of U.S. troops dying in Iraq, the Marine wonders why he is back in Scottsdale.

Gilbert teen Toan Ngo remembers well his past and hard work that’s led to the honor he received this week — a $150,000 military scholarship — and his future as a Marine.