Military

Prompted by potential problems with employee security background checks at a Virginia military day care, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has ordered a review of all 283 Defense Department child development centers across the globe.

An Army general will face court-martial on a series of sexual misconduct charges, but the Army on Tuesday refused to say what crimes he is being charged with as he heads to his arraignment next month. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair finished preliminary hearings last month, in which he initially faced a long list of charges including forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, violating orders, engaging in inappropriate relationships and adultery.

Hundreds of people gathered to witness a graduating class from the San Diego Veterans Treatment Review Calendar, better known as the San Diego Veterans Court.

Former National Football League players spoke out at Camp Pendleton earlier this week about the emotional challenges they faced leaving the NFL. The players hoped to help Marines getting ready to leave the military and transition to the civilian world.

A White House petition with more than 20,000 signatures is calling for the freedom of Marine veteran Jon Hammar. Hammar, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been jailed in Mexico for more than four months for possessing a firearm, even though he declared the gun to Mexican Customs agents.

The Marine Corps' sponsorship contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship expired on November 30, and the Marines have chosen not to renew that contract. The Marines had used their relationship with the UFC as a recruitment tool.

The Swedish Navy says it has discovered in the Baltic Sea a World War II era Soviet submarine that sank in 1941. Civilian scuba divers were the first to spot the sub on the seabed.

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye died Monday after a uniquely American life defined by heroism in war and decades of service in the Senate — and a lifelong love of Hawaii symbolized by his last utterance: "Aloha."

There are an estimated 1.8 million female veterans in the United States right now. Roughly 25,000 of them live in San Diego County. Women leaving the service have unique needs, and the Department of Veterans Affairs is working to keep up with those challenges.

Members of the USS Makin Island First Class Petty Officers Association joined other military and local volunteers to help distribute 3,000 presents to needy families at Cajon Valley Middle School in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon on December 16.