David Wasson

VASILIEVKA, Kyrgyzstan – The youngsters at Solnyshko preschool in this impoverished village near the border of Kazakhstan were excited to see the American men and women from the nearby air base.    They giggled and clapped their hands. Fidgeted in their seats. And waited as patiently as any preschooler is able when the promise of gifts and perhaps even candy is just a few formalities away. “They’re always happy when the Americans come,” the school’s principal, Manzura Kushbaeva, said through an interpreter.

From 'need to know' to 'need to share'

SOMEWHERE OVER AFGHANISTAN – Staff Sgt. Aaron McLaughlin eased the KC-135’s fuel boom toward the fully armed fighter jet pushing up beneath the tanker’s tail. Within moments the two aircraft were linked high above the rugged battlefields of Afghanistan as thousands of gallons of aviation fuel pumped into the F-15E Strike Eagle.

When a full bladder is a good thing

`Gunslingers' on patrol over Afghanistan

Relics of Soviet past

Turkish surprise

Bonding with Americans

Welcome to Manas

Preparing for winter

Don't forget your earplugs

An attack at a Spokane Valley home early Sunday left a woman dead, one son on life support and a second son with a slashed neck. The suspected killer, identified as 39-year-old Jan DeMeerleer, was found dead in his Northwood-area home hours after the attack in Spokane Valley from an apparent suicide.