Marines go green: Portable solar power cuts dangerous convoys in Afghanistan

A company of U.S. Marines recently conducted a remarkable three-week patrol through southern Afghanistan, replacing hundreds of pounds of spare batteries in their packs with roll-up solar panels the size of placemats to power their battle gear.

By allowing the troops to recharge their radios, GPS devices and other equipment, the green technology freed the Marines of India Company from constant resupply by road and air. And by carrying fewer batteries, they carried more bullets.

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"Alpha Dogs" Serve in Military Missions Overseas

QUANTICO, Va. | The handlers at Marine Corps Base Quantico unanimously agree that Rex is the meanest dog they have. He has put six or seven handlers in the emergency room according to current handler, Sgt. David Olszak. "But with me," says Olszak, "he's a sweetheart. He's never once tried coming up on me. But I know that if someone were to try anything with me, he'd protect me.

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Holiday Travelers Welcome Back The Vacation

This Memorial Day weekend is kicking off what promises to be the best vacation travel season since 2007.

"Workers are starting to regain enough confidence in their employment situation to ask for and actually use vacation time," John Challenger said in a written analysis. He's chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., an outplacement firm based in Chicago.

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1,000 NYC Supers Graduate from "Green School"

Earlier this week, Secretary Chu delivered the graduation address for the Green Supers program in New York City. The 40-hour program teaches building superintendents everything they need to know about green building operations and maintenance.

Victor Nazario, part of this first class of graduates who also spoke at the ceremony, said he started off with a general understanding of what that meant, but was shocked to find out how easy some of the techniques turned out to be.

“I was always under the impression that these techniques were very expensive,” Victor said. “It’s just time, it’s just dedication, and just applying it.”

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