Stripes Monthly Update: December 2009

Volume 4, Issue 2 – December 2009 Walmart backs off extra charge for APO shipping Earlier this week Stripes reported that some large retailers were inflating costs to ship to APO addresses. Now, less than 48 hours after the story broke Walmart has backed down from its policy of charging U.S. service members more to ship gifts to APO addresses than stateside customers must pay. Army stop-loss pay: When will you get your money? Jeff Schogol has been trying to answer reader's questions regarding stop-loss pay, with a series of blog posts on the Stripes Central blog.   Serving in Iraq Book If gift giving is on your mind and you would like a truly unique present for that special someone, Stars and Stripes can help. For a beautiful photo book that chronicles our military presence from 2003 through 2008, consider "Serving in Iraq," available at StripesStore.com Or you can purchase one of the many unique images taken by one of our reporters, past or present, at our Stripes photo archive
European Christmas markets   Courtesy photo   Stripes' staff put together a schedule of Christmas markets in Europe. If you're the type that enjoys finding smaller, unknown markets "Europe Traveler" blogger Karen Bradbury found a gem in St. Wendel's Christmas market. Troops fear corruption outweighs progress Courtesy photo   Tomorrow, Afghanistan's homegrown soldiers might be ready to take over the fight against the Taliban, so that American forces can begin to come home as President Barack Obama hopes. But today, they are far from ready. Read article and view Photo Gallery. Most-read stories on Stripes.com this month: Four U.S. teens arrested in crash near Yokota Task Force Paladin wages war against Afghan IEDs Air Force nixes tattoo policy after two weeks Troops combat Taliban’s new weapon of choice – secondary bombs 2nd ID commander mulls curfew, drinking changes If gays can openly serve, will straights still want to? Bahrain base commander is relieved of command Air Force plans to reduce ranks by 3,700 'Don't tell me there isn't a God' Army may separate short-term soldiers   Who's been Spotted? View holiday photos, uploaded by users on Spotted, our community photo site, or upload your own photos to share with the military community. Stripes Big Game Giveaway   Didn't get your favorite video game for Christmas? Don't worry, you still have time to enter and win one of 31 games! Thank you for reading Stars and Stripes monthly update. Please, add the "From" address above to your address book to ensure proper delivery of this newsletter. If you would like more information about these or other topics, please email our Marketing Department. You may also write us at: Stars and Stripes Marketing Department, 529 14th Street NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC 20045. Unsubscribe: Follow this link if you do not want to receive any more mailings from Stars and Stripes. Update: Click on this link to update your preferences. Send: Click this link to forward this message to a friend.