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Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• Combat Operation Near Spin Boldak Continues AFPS 29 Jan 2003 -- Combat operations near Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, continued into the third day, although U.S. officials said the intensity is winding down
• AFGHANISTAN FIGHTING VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- U-S and Afghan forces are searching for survivors of a fierce battle with rebels in the southern mountains of Afghanistan. At least 18 rebels were killed in a fight with what U-S military officials say was the largest enemy force encountered in more than nine months
• Combat Still Occurs in Afghanistan as Iraq Preparations Proceed Washington File 29 Jan 2003 -- Even as the Bush administration prepares for possible military action against Iraq, combat continues to erupt in Afghanistan, Defense Department officials said January 29.
• More Seabees Deploy to Persian Gulf NNS 29 Jan 2003 -- Nearly 1,000 Seabees are now deployed to the Arabian Gulf region in support of Operation Enduring Freedom
• Florida Coast Guard forces deploying for Operation Enduring Freedom USCG 29 Jan 2003 -- The Coast Guard is preparing eight 110-foot Island Class patrol boats and support personnel to deploy to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
• Local Coast Guardsmen to deploy USCG 29 Jan 2003 -- Active duty and reserve Coast Guardsmen from around the Great Lakes region have recived orders to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom
• CG Units to Deploy for Operation Enduring Freedom USCG 29 Jan 2003 -- The Coast Guard's Atlantic Area Commander ordered the deployment of eight, 110-foot Island Class patrol boats and two Port Security Units (PSUs) comprising of about 600 Coast guard men and women, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
• U.S. Forces are back in the Philippines PACAFNS 29 Jan 2003 -- Nearly 400 U.S. soldiers and airmen of Special Operations Command, Pacific have assembled here to conduct a month-long joint combined exchange training-program.

Other Conflicts

• Ivory Coast Breakdown VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- The Ivory Coast, once considered a rock of stability in war-torn Africa, has succumbed to violence of its own. What started as a rebellion by a handful of soldiers has expanded into full-fledged civil war, setting Muslim north against largely Christian south and adding to ethnic tensions. With French assistance, a peace has been patched together, but the future of the world's largest cocoa producer remains in question.
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS / REACT VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat says he is willing to meet immediately with newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, in an effort to revive peace talks. But Mr. Sharon has rebuffed the offer, accusing Mr. Arafat of terrorism against Israelis
• IVORY COAST / UNREST VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo has put off a speech in which he was expected to explain to the nation why he accepted a peace agreement to end a four month rebel war in the West African country. Anger over the accord sparked violent protests recently by some who said it granted too many concessions to the rebels
• NEPAL/REBELS VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- Nepal, the government and Maoist rebels have agreed to a cease-fire. The government says peace talks will begin shortly. The Maoist rebellion has been raging in the mountain kingdom since 1996
• IVORY COAST-UNREST VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- In Ivory Coast, public pressure is mounting on President Gbagbo to annul a peace accord reached with the rebels who control half the country
• FRANCE / IVORY COAST VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- France says it is prepared to evacuate its citizens from Ivory Coast at a moment's notice, as concern grows about anti-French protests over a peace agreement with Ivorian rebels brokered in Paris
• IVORY COAST-UNREST VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- In Ivory Coast, public pressure is mounting on President Gbagbo to annul a peace accord reached with rebels who control half the country

Defense Policy / Programs

• Cleanup efforts continue; board members arrive Friday PACAFNS 29 Jan 2003 -- Cleanup efforts continue at the U-2 aircraft crash site near Hwa Song city, south of Seoul, until the incoming safety investigation board president makes a determination to end operations.
• PACAF's Air Operations Center participates in Fuji-Yama Sakura PACAFNS 29 Jan 2003 -- Imagine being able to coordinate an Air Tasking Order between two locations thousands of miles apart. For approximately 60 people who deployed to Yokota Air Base, Japan from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii to set-up the deployable Pacific Air Forces Air Operations Center, it's considered just another day at the office.
• Restoration of Operations at Osan Air Base PACAFNS 29 Jan 2003 -- Osan Air Base continues to play a vital role in the effort to improve chemical and biological defense capability within the Air Force and the Department of Defense.
• USS Gary gets new small arms locker Seventh Fleet 29 Jan 2003 -- Some USS Gary (FFG 51) Sailors will soon be trading in their old, low- caliber small arms for newer, more powerful large caliber weapons. With a little ingenuity to the Navy's push towards improving physical fitness onboard U.S. warships, the Oliver Hazard Perry guided-missile frigate has developed the "Gary Small Arms Repair Locker," a former berthing lounge then aerobics room which is now a high-speed muscle-building factory. The revamped compartment sports five new Nautilus-style weight machines
• Frank Cable earns fourth consecutive Battle 'E' Seventh Fleet 29 Jan 2003 -- Sailors aboard USS Frank Cable (AS 40), the fourth time seems to be a charm as the crew won their fourth consecutive Battle Efficiency award. Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet announced recently that Frank Cable was tops in the submarine tender category for 2002
• Rescuing Two Downed Pilots Part of a Day's Work For HS-3 Crew NNS 29 Jan 2003 -- Aircraft in the water. Aircraft in the water."
• Experimental Vessel Joins War on Terrorism NNS 29 Jan 2003 -- The crew of experimental vessel Joint Venture (HSV-X1) has spent the last year honing their skills and testing the capability of their new platform.
• Navy Establishes New Defense Against Terrorism NNS 29 Jan 2003 -- In the ongoing war against terrorism, the Navy unveiled its newest line of defense, as Mobile Security Group (MSG) 2 and Mobile Security Squadron (MSS) 2 were commissioned in a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk Jan. 24.
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers 29 Jan 2003 -- "In the State of the Union remarks last evening, the President made clear that Saddam Hussein poses a "serious," to quote him, "and mounting threat to our country, [and] our friends and our allies" that cannot be ignored. As the President pointed out, the Iraqi regime has not accounted for some 38,000 liters of botulism toxin, 500 tons of Sarin, mustard gas, VX nerve agent, upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical weapons, and a number of mobile biological labs designed to produce biological weapons while evading detection"
• SECRETARY RUMSFELD MEETINGS/CONSULTATIONS WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND JOINT CHIEFS 29 Jan 2003 [PDF]
• compilation of 8 weapon and ammunition seizures from 20-26 January 2003 throughout Afghanistan: 29 Jan 2003 [PDF]
• Officials test ration-drop improvements AFPN 30 Jan 2003 -- Air Mobility Command officials completed tests here Jan. 22 and 24 on how to improve one of the most effective methods of airdropping humanitarian supplies.
• New System for Access Control to Arrive Soon EUCOM 29 Jan 2003 -- Access control at Army Europe installations will undergo a major overhaul during the next 12 months. The Office of the Provost Marshal (OPM) will field a new automated Installation Access Control System (IACS) throughout the command between February and September 2003
• CSAF discusses AEF role in during current build up USAFE 29 Jan 2003 -- The Air and Space Expeditionary Force structure is a powerful tool that has enabled us to successfully support long standing contingency operations. Sustaining on-going requirements with three-month rotations has become part of our Air Force culture
• MGIT Presents Cost-Effective Way to Train Battle Groups NNS 29 Jan 2003 -- Pacific Fleet commands recently came together for a three-day experiment to test the possibility of successfully training an entire battle group pierside.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 29 Jan 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 29 Jan 2003
• Text: U.S. "Increasingly Concerned" About Kyrgyz Reform Process Washington File 29 Jan 2003 -- The United States is "increasingly concerned about the constitutional reform process underway in the Kyrgyz Republic," State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said January 29, adding that the referendum scheduled for February 2 "will not permit adequate time for public discussion of the government's draft constitutional amendments."
• Chinese army engineer contingent to be deployed in UN mission in DR of Congo UN News Centre 29 Jan 2003 -- A contingent of 176 army engineers from China is set to be deployed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations mission in the country said today
• UN office in Cyprus receives contaminated mail UN News Centre 29 Jan 2003 -- The office of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, received a piece of mail from overseas today containing a suspicious white powder
• ZIMBABWE / FARMERS VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- The Zimbabwe government has told the Commercial Farmers' Union if it wants compensation for farms seized in the country's controversial land reform program, it will have to get it from Britain, the country's former colonial ruler
• CAMBODIA THAILAND EMBASSY VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is condemning an attack by an angry mob that left the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh in flames. AAfter the attack the violence spread through Phnom Penh
• UNHCR/WEST AFRICA VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- The U-N Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees says there has been only a weak response to her request for regional assistance to find a solution to the refugee crisis in Ivory Coast. The Deputy High Commissioner has just returned from an 11-day mission to Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone
• ISRAEL / ELECTION AFTERMATH VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won a big victory for his Likud party in Tuesday's elections, ensuring his return to power. But since Likud failed to win an outright majority in the 120-member legislature, he must form a coalition government
• ZIMBABWE / POLICE VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- A city councilor in Zimbabwe's capital Harare, was arrested Wednesday, as police used tear gas to disperse a crowd at city hall. The crowd, estimated in the hundreds, had gathered to hear a speech by Mayor Elias Mudzuri, who is a member of an opposition political party
• BRITAIN / ZIMBABWE VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- Britain says the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is becoming critical, as millions of people face the risk of starvation. Prime Minister Tony Blair discussed the issue in parliament
• BUSH STATE OF THE UNION VOA 29 Jan 2003 -- President Bush travels to the American Midwest today to campaign for much of the domestic agenda he laid out in Tuesday's State of the Union address