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Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• Reservists in Long Island Activated USMC News 12 Feb 2003 -- Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, a group of Marines here in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa are helping to keep the skies over Djibouti safe and sound.
• 1st FSSG Marines continue camp construction in desert USMC News 12 Feb 2003 -- Marines with the 1st Force Service Support Group were treated to a surprise after a long and tiresome cross-Atlantic flight, as they stepped off the bus and onto the friendly confines of Camp Iwo Jima, located in Tactical Assembly Area Coyote.
• Deployment of 22nd MEU Delayed to Support Efforts in Persian Gulf USMC News 12 Feb 2003 -- The next deployment of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) has, in military parlance, 'shifted to the right.' This change was precipitated by the build-up of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf now poised for possible military action against Iraq.
• Florida Air National Guard units active in war on terror AFPN 12 Feb 2003 -- In a back hallway of the 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron hangs a map with a pin in every country where a unit airman has served. The average American probably could not find most of these countries on a map before Sept. 11, 2001. Now countries with names like Afghanistan, Djibouti and Pakistan are the norm.
• CONGRESS AFGHANISTAN VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- U-S lawmakers are expressing concern about the security situation in Afghanistan, and are pressing the Bush administration to seek an expansion of the international peacekeeping presence in that country.
• Army National Guard augments AMC security forces AMCNS 12 Feb 2003 -- Beginning this week, Army National Guard soldiers will augment security forces at Air Mobility Command bases nationwide.
• Marine Corps Commandant Hagee Visits Seabees in Southwest Asia Navy NewStand 12 Feb 2003 -- Making his first trip outside the United States since becoming Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Michael Hagee recently visited with Seabees from two naval construction battalions training in the Arabian Gulf region.
• CNO Praises USS Milius for Optimal Manning Success Navy NewStand 12 Feb 2003 -- During a recent visit to the Central Command area of operations, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Vern Clark praised USS Milius (DDG 69) for its success in implementing the optimal manning program.
• More Fort Riley Soldiers Prepare to Deploy Fort Riley PAO 12 Feb 2003 -- Approximately 1,300 Fort Riley soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division and 937th Engineer Group received orders this week to prepare to deploy in support of Central Command operations.
• A Record-Setting Beginning, in Kuwait USMC News 12 Feb 2003 -- Marines are still doing what Marines have always done: the impossible. While Marines are ready to follow whatever is required to support "Operation Enduring Freedom," the history books already have a new chapter completed; with the words "Bigger," "Faster," and "Amazing."
• USS Los Angeles Deploys COMSUBPAC 12 Feb 2003 -- USS Los Angeles (SSN 688) left for a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific on Feb. 11 to conduct missions in support of the Global War on Terrorism or possible contingencies elsewhere in the world.

Other Conflicts

• Sierra Leone: UN mission says first joint patrol in Kambia 'great success' UN News Centre 12 Feb 2003 -- Describing it as the first significant operation of its kind, the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) said today that it had conducted a joint border patrol with the Sierra Leonean army in the northern district of Kambia along the border with Guinea.
• Security Council welcomes Angola's efforts to implement Lusaka peace accord UN News Centre 12 Feb 2003 -- Members of the United Nations Security Council today welcomed the steps taken by the Government of Angola towards the full implementation of the Lusaka Protocol.
• Annan considering trip to Cyprus, region, by end of February - spokesman UN News Centre 12 Feb 2003 -- The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, is considering a trip to Cyprus and the region during the end of February, a UN spokesman said today.
• U-N / IVORY COAST VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- Secretary General Kofi Annan's special envoy to Ivory Coast is back in Geneva after a five-day visit to the country.
• IVORY COAST VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- An adviser to Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo says rebels will not get the positions they want in a new unity government that is being formed to end nearly five months of war in the country.
• PIERRE ENGLEBERT VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- Ivory Coast's new prime minister...Seydou Diarra (SAY-doo dee-AIR-uh) has begun the difficult task of assembling a national unity government and ending the country's bloody civil war. Northern -based rebels who control half the country are threatening to resume the fight if they are not given the ministries of Interior and Defense as called for in a French-brokered peace agreement. Government supporters in Abidjan and the army have expressed outrage over the possibility the deal will give too much power to the rebels.
• Kansteiner Tells Congress the U.S. Supports Cote d'Ivoire Peace Accord Washington File 12 Feb 2003 -- "The Marcoussis agreement [between the Government of Cote d'Ivoire and rebel forces] offers a workable framework for moving towards peace and reconciliation in Cote d'Ivoire," Walter Kansteiner, assistant secretary of state for African Affairs told the House Committee on International Relations February 12.
• ISRAEL PALESTINIANS VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- Israeli forces have tightened security in Bethlehem -- sending in tanks for the first time in months, after a Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli army officer near the Church of the Nativity.
• PHILIPPINES/FIGHTING VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered government troops to resume an offensive against Muslim rebels in the south, a day after she had halted the battle. The fighting threatens to unravel nearly two years of peace talks between the two sides.

Defense Policy / Programs

• White House Daily Briefing White House 12 Feb 2003
• PENTAGON/BURUNDI UPDATE VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- Bush administration officials are keeping a close eye on developments in Burundi and remain ready to assist African peacekeepers scheduled to deploy there to enforce a ceasefire. More from V-O-A Correspondent Alex Belida at the Pentagon.
• AFIT stands up systems engineering center AFPN 12 Feb 2003 -- Air Force Institute of Technology officials have established a center for systems engineering.
• Experimental Vessel's Expands Role; Visits Rota Navy NewStand 12 Feb 2003 -- The Joint Venture High Speed Vessel - Experimental One (HSV-X1) made a brief stop in Rota Feb. 4 while underway in support of the global war on terrorism.
• Acting Secretary Releases Message to the Fleet Navy NewStand 12 Feb 2003 -- The following is a message from the new Acting Secretary of the Navy Hansford T. Johnson to Department of the Navy uniformed and civilian personnel
• Air Force, Marine Corps select enlisted troops to attend AFIT USMC News 12 Feb 2003 -- As the Air Force Institute of Technology prepares for the class of 2004 to enter its doors this August, things will be a little different from usual.
• Employees prepare NBC gear for use USMC News 12 Feb 2003 -- With the threat of nuclear, biological or chemical warfare ever present, the Department of Defense has recently given the responsibility of maintaining the equipment necessary to face these threats to the NBC equipment assessment branch here.
• PENTAGON/RUMSFELD VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- The U-S military has again stepped up air defenses around Washington as a deterrent to possible terrorist attack. The moves comes as the build-up of U-S forces in the Gulf region for a possible war with Iraq gathers momentum.
• PENTAGON/BURUNDI VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- Defense officials are keeping a close eye on developments in Burundi and remain ready to assist African peacekeepers scheduled to deploy there to enforce a ceasefire.
• NATO / IRAQ VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- NATO ambassadors have failed once again to resolve a standoff over a proposal that would see the alliance begin planning for Turkey's defense in the event of a war in Iraq. Belgium and Germany continue to insist that no such move should be undertaken until diplomatic efforts to solve the Iraq crisis are exhausted.
• Depot announces Early Experience Program NAVAIR 12 Feb 2003 -- The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Depot Cherry Point will initiate the Early Experience Program (EEP) effective this summer. EEP is a cooperative endeavor between the depot; the public schools of Craven, Carteret, and Pamlico counties; and Craven, Carteret, and Pamlico county community colleges. It introduces area high school students to federal civil service while providing the depot an opportunity to structure programs that serve the interests and career needs of the student and the long-range manpower needs of the depot. EEP is the high school component of the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) and provides students the opportunity to 'earn as you learn.'
• New waterjet system offers depot many advantages NAVAIR 12 Feb 2003 -- Coating removal is a key step in the process of refurbishing many turbine engine parts. Thermal spray coatings must be stripped to the parent metal and re-applied before the parts are reinstalled. Traditional methods of coating removal - such as applying an acid solution bath, media blasting, and machining - tend to be slow and expensive and risk damage to parts.
• NATO / U-S / TURKEY VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- NATO ambassadors are consulting their governments after the alliance's secretary-general proposed a compromise to break a deadlock over plans to defend Turkey in the event of a war in Iraq. The United States is warning that the alliance is risking its credibility if it does not back an ally.
• NATO /IRAQ VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- NATO ambassadors are consulting with their capitals about a compromise proposal aimed at ending a deadlock over planning for Turkey's defense in case of a war in Iraq. The impasse has sparked one of the most serious crises in the alliance's 54-year history.
• EU /NATO IRAQ VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- The security chief of the European Union is playing down the disagreement in NATO over military support for Turkey.
• UN / ANGOLA VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- The United Nations is completing its mission in Angola aimed at arranging humanitarian help and promoting human rights. U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan sees the decision to end the mandate as a sign of progress.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 12 Feb 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 12 Feb 2003
• BURWELL-NATO VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- The apparent split within the ranks of NATO, as well as division between the U.S. and its usual allies, are complicating the effort to rid Iraq of dangerous weapons.
• E-U / ZIMBABWE VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- The European Union is nearing a deal to extend sanctions against Zimbabwe for another year. But the deal would allow the country's president, Robert Mugabe, to attend a Franco-African summit in Paris next week.
• WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- Conflict -- from a pending war with Iraq and a NATO rift, to new threats from Osama bin Laden -- are subjects U-S newspapers are discussing in today's editorials. Other commentaries deal with the civil war in Colombia and U-S relations with South Korea.
• ZIMBABWE / TRIAL VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- The judge in the treason trial of Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's opposition leader, has ruled that the prosecution's star witness can be cross-examined about his contract with the Zimbabwean government. But the judge ruled that the questioning should take place behind closed doors.
• CHINA CATHOLIC ARREST VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- A religious rights organization says China has detained a Roman Catholic priest for holding illegal services. Rights activists say China already has many priests and bishops from the banned church in custody or house arrest.
• INDONESIA EID VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- Millions of Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Adha - or the Feast of the Sacrifice. The three-day celebration marks the conclusion of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
• ISRAEL / SHARON VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- Israel is recalling its ambassador from Belgium in protest to a Brussels court ruling Wednesday that could result in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon facing war crimes charges, once he leaves office.
• GUATEMALA / PRISON RIOT VOA 12 Feb 2003 -- A violent prison riot in Guatemala City has claimed the lives of six prisoners, four of whom were decapitated. At least 15 others were wounded. One of the prisoners who lost his life was being jailed for the high profile murder of a Guatemalan bishop five years ago.