Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• Tracking Terror in the Arabian Gulf Navy NewStand 04 Mar 2003 -- The last time Intelligence Specialist 1st Class (SW) Isadore Bernard Sims II ventured to the Arabian Peninsula, his deployment ended abruptly Oct. 12, 2000, at the Yemen port city of Aden.
• Dust storms blow through Kuwait camps Army News 04 Mar 2003 -- Soldiers found themselves cleaning their gear after the third dust storm in as many weeks left a coat of sand covering the camps in northern Kuwait Feb. 25.
• Red Horse dedicates work to building base AFPN 04 Mar 2003 -- Heavy equipment, red hard hats and the shout of 'Ready, go!' break the early morning silence as members of the Red Horse unit start another grueling workday at a forward-deployed location in the Arabian Gulf region.
• I MEF CG motivates, inspires 15TH MEU (SOC), Royal Marines USMC News 04 Mar 2003 -- British Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade and U.S. Marines and Sailors of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) gathered here March 2 for a speech from Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, the commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force about what they can expect in the coming weeks.
• `Scarface' conducts joint training with Air Force special forces USMC News 04 Mar 2003 -- Marines of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron-367, Marine Aircraft Group-36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, recently trained with members of the Air Force's 320th Special Tactics Squadron, 353rd Special Operations Group, here.
• Fox up and running, 2d FSSG assets ready USMC News 04 Mar 2003 -- Nestled in a tent city not far from the Iraqi border, Marines and sailors from 2nd Force Service Support Group call the desert plains home as the global war on terrorism continues.
• Camp Patriot Opens Local AAFES Outlet Navy NewStand 04 Mar 2003 -- A joint-service, multinational force of thousands waited in anticipation for the grand opening celebration of a local Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).
• Ammo secure in desert, Marines remember fallen comrades USMC News 04 Mar 2003 -- A marble clanged inside a can of white spray paint over the sounds of woodcutting inside a construction tent. Marines from Ammunitions Company, 2nd Supply Battalion, 2d Force Service Support Group, made preparations to erect a sign for the ammunition supply point here. The camp is named after Lance Cpl. Barton Carroll, one of their fellow ammunition technicians who was killed last year.
• 1st Armored Division Public Affairs Office News Release 1st AD 04 Mar 2003 -- The 1st Armored Division has received orders to deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of the global war on terrorism and to prepare for future contingencies as may be directed.
• Additional Soldiers Prepare to Deploy Fort Riley 04 Mar 2003 -- The remainder of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division and additional soldiers from the 937th Engineer Group received orders this week to prepare to deploy in support of Central Command operations.
• As of March 4, 2003: V Corps Units In Receipt of Deployment Orders to the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility V Corps 04 Mar 2003

Other Conflicts

• Nuba People Called "Central" to Sudan Peace Process Washington File 04 Mar 2003 -- The tenuous pause in the Sudanese Civil War has the potential to grow into a lasting peace, but the needs and wishes of the Nuba people must be considered, said a panel at the Woodrow Wilson Center on Friday, February 28, or the peace will not endure.
• Annan voices optimism Cyprus deal can be finalized next week UN News Centre 04 Mar 2003 -- Less than a week before he is to meet with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders in The Hague, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today voiced optimism that a solution can be found to enable a united Cyprus to join the European Union later this year.
• DR of Congo: UN mission in talks to investigate killings in Ituri UN News Centre 04 Mar 2003 -- The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has initiated talks with groups controlling parts of the country's Ituri region in hopes of dispatching a mission to investigate reports of violence and killings in the area.
• Citing security needs, Annan calls for hold on UN force cutbacks in Timor-Leste UN News Centre 04 Mar 2003 -- Citing "significant deterioration" in Timor-Leste's security environment, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for a freeze in planned cutbacks of UN military and police forces that helped guide the territory to independence last year.
• IVORY COAST VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- Peace negotiations in Ivory Coast have suffered a setback with the threatened resignation of the consensus prime minister, Seydou Diarra.
• ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- A Palestinian is dead after clashes today (Tuesday) between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank.

Defense Policy / Programs

• White House Daily Briefing White House 04 Mar 2003
• PENTAGON / KOREA VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- The United States is dispatching a bomber force to the Pacific island, Guam, in connection with the stand-off with North Korea. But defense officials deny the move is linked to what they call a provocative incident Sunday, involving the intercept by North Korean jets of a U-S reconnaissance plane.
• North Korean Fighters Intercept U.S. Jet Over Sea of Japan Navy NewStand 04 Mar 2003 -- Four North Korean fighter jets intercepted a U.S. Air Force plane in international airspace over the Sea of Japan early March 2, Defense Department officials said.
• U-S / NORTH KOREA WRAP VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- The Bush administration Tuesday denounced North Korea's weekend intercept of a U-S surveillance plane as "very reckless" behavior but said it remained committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Pyongyang. U-S diplomats are consulting with South Korea and Japan on how to protest the air incident.
• USMC News 04 Mar 2003 -- As darkness blankets the horizon, the Marines from Battalion Landing Team 1/1, Boat Company, carefully make their way to the enemy's simulated camp site from the beach.
• Grossman Discusses Turkish Vote on U.S. Troops with Turkish TV Washington File 04 Mar 2003 -- The United States is disappointed that the Turkish parliament voted against allowing U.S. combat troops to be based in Turkey as part of the effort to disarm Iraq, the State Department's Marc Grossman told Turkish television March 3.
• Heavily armed, ready to go; 13th MEU Surface TRAP Force prep for deployment USMC News 04 Mar 2003 -- Masked by gusting wind and crashing waves, the first Light Armored Vehicle stealthily arrives to assess and provide security for its team. Minutes later, a second LAV arrives to assist with security. Soon after, a Landing-Craft, Air-Cushioned storms the beach and begins to unload the remaining Surface Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel Force.
• NATO AWACS Planes Continue Monitoring Turkish Airspace Washington File 04 Mar 2003 -- Two NATO E-3A AWACS planes, deployed from Geilenkirchen, Germany on February 26, continue to fly daily missions from their forward operating base in Konya, Turkey, providing air surveillance over Turkish airspace and early warning for defensive purposes.
• Grossman Discusses Turkish Vote on U.S. Troops with Turkish TV Washington File 04 Mar 2003 -- The United States is disappointed that the Turkish parliament voted against allowing U.S. combat troops to be based in Turkey as part of the effort to disarm Iraq, the State Department's Marc Grossman told Turkish television March 3.
• NATO AWACS Planes Continue Monitoring Turkish Airspace Washington File 04 Mar 2003 -- Two NATO E-3A AWACS planes, deployed from Geilenkirchen, Germany on February 26, continue to fly daily missions from their forward operating base in Konya, Turkey, providing air surveillance over Turkish airspace and early warning for defensive purposes.
• 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-terrorism) receives new training site USMC News 04 Mar 2003 -- Douglas A. Munro would likely be both proud and pleased were he alive to see the dedication of a new non-lethal and civil disturbance training facility in his honor here.
• Depot says goodbye to last two Phantom jets NAVAIR 04 Mar 2003 -- With the recent termination of the F-4 Program at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Depot Cherry Point, it was time to say goodbye to the command's last two operational Phantom jets.
• Reservists Get the Training They Need Navy NewStand 04 Mar 2003 -- The President has mobilized more than 6,000 Reservists in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those thousands, approximately 500 Seabee Reservists have reported aboard Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) for their initial processing prior to reporting to their follow-on units.
• Proper protection can negate bioterror weapons AFPN 04 Mar 2003 -- The Air Force Medical Service's biggest challenge in saving lives and sustaining combat capability after a bioterror attack hinges on rapidly translating complex biological systems data into "operationally significant information," according to the Air Force surgeon general.
• CRG team deploys, returns to Ramstein USAFENS 04 Mar 2003 -- Approximately seventeen members of the 86th Contingency Response Group here returned home Saturday after an 11-day deployment to Sigonella Naval Air Station, Sigonella, Italy.
• SOKOR/U-S WAR GAMES VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- The United States and South Korea have started annual military exercises amid rising concerns over North Korea's nuclear programs. The drills begin just a few days after North Korean fighter jets pursued a U-S spy plane in international air space.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 04 Mar 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 04 Mar 2003
• AFRICA / URANIUM VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed it is actively investigating allegations that Iraq, in recent years, attempted to import uranium from Niger.
• White House Report, March 4: No. Korea, Philippines, India, Egypt, Pope, UN Washington File 04 Mar 2003 -- NORTH KOREA'S "RECKLESS BEHAVIOR" DENOUNCED / WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS BOMBING IN PHILIPPINES / BUSH SPEAKS BY PHONE WITH LEADERS OF INDIA, EGYPT / VATICAN REPRESENTATIVE TO MEET WITH BUSH MARCH 5 / BUSH CONTINUES CONFIDENT ON U.N. VOTE ON IRAQ / AID PACKAGE FOR TURKEY CONTINGENT UPON COOPERATION
• UN and World Bank to issue two reports on bleak state of Palestinian economy UN News Centre 04 Mar 2003 -- The United Nations and the World Bank will present tomorrow in Jerusalem findings from two reports exploring the impact of conflict on the bleak state of the Palestinian economy.
• YIANNIS PAPADAKIS/ CYPRUS VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- Both sides of the divided island of Cyprus are set to decide later this month if the island is to be reunited. U-N Secretary-General Kofi Annan has given Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash until March 10th to reach agreement about a proposed Swiss-style federation. Last week, Mr. Annan asked the two sides to put his proposals to simultaneous referendums on March 30th.
• AFGHAN/U-N/REFUGEES VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- The United Nations refugee agency is urging aid donors to meet their commitments to fund the repatriation of Afghan refugees and not let the Iraq crisis divert their attentions.
• ZIMBABWE/OPPOSITION VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- It has been roughly one year since Zimbabwe's controversial presidential election. Senior members of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, admit that the party fell into disarray after the election, which they say was stolen from them. Critics say the party has "lost its momentum," and some rank-and-file party members are beginning to lose faith in the party leadership.
• ZIMBABWE / DETENTIONS VOA 04 Mar 2003 -- In Zimbabwe, police have detained at least 70 supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. The suspects are accused of taking two guns from policemen at a rally on Sunday.
• Kabul Stadium, Once Infamous for Executions, Again Hosts Football Matches Washington File 04 Mar 2003 -- Ghazi Stadium is once again hosting football matches. This seemingly unremarkable news signals a welcome return to normal life in Kabul. The stadium, one of the few public buildings that remained relatively unscathed from the disastrous Afghan civil war of the early 1990's, became notorious during the Taliban era as the scene of public executions, beatings and floggings.