Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• Coalition of the Willing Provides Formidable Force AFPS 19 Mar 2003 -- The number of countries willing to be part of disarming Saddam Hussein gives lie to the charge that U.S. action is unilateral, according to State Department officials.
• Soldiers prep for desert advance, stage ammo Army News 19 Mar 2003 -- Soldiers with the 19th Armored Cavalry Regiment installed winches this week onto their High-Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicles during final preparations for a possible advance into Iraq.
• V Corps 'Vipers' ready to rock Army News 19 Mar 2003 -- "It's important that you stay close together. I've said it 100 times, and here's 101: 'We ain't got no friendlies in front of us,'" said a stern Staff Sgt. Wade Cherms.
• Weather forecasters aid mission planning AFPN 19 Mar 2003 -- Asking about the weather is not a casual question in the Combined Air Operations Center at a desert airbase. In fact, it is one of the key questions asked during every phase of the air tasking order, or ATO, cycle.
• Airmen poised to attack Iraq AFPN 19 Mar 2003 -- With some media sources already reporting the start of fighting in Iraq, airmen worry Saddam Hussein will use chemical weapons against coalition forces.
• Spangdahlem air control squadron gets the call USAFENS 19 Mar 2003 -- Around 150 people from the 606th Air Control Squadron here have been tasked to deploy in support of the U.S. Central Command and future operations as may be directed.

Other Conflicts

• Sierra Leone: Annan recommends gradual withdrawal of UN troops UN News Centre 19 Mar 2003 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended a gradual withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeepers in Sierra Leone and a six-month extension of their mandate, noting that the country still is not able to maintain security without UN help.
• Small window open for putting Middle East peace back on track, Security Council told UN News Centre 19 Mar 2003 -- The appointment by the Palestinian Authority of an empowered Prime Minister, the decision to present the diplomatic Quartet's "road map" to the parties and the Israeli Government's willingness to return to the negotiating table were among the steps under way pointing to a small window of opportunity for pulling the Middle East out of the "abyss" of violence and suffering, the senior United Nations envoy for the region told the Security Council today.
• C-A-R / REFUGEES VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- The United Nations says thousands of refugees from the Central African Republic have asked to return home after Saturday's coup. A prisoner release is also reported.
• IVORY COAST / POL VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- The new unity government in Ivory Coast is getting ready for its second cabinet meeting. A major opposition party which boycotted the first meeting says it plans attend this time. But it is not clear whether the rebels will take part.
• INDONESIA ACEH INTERPRETATION VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- Indonesia's northern province of Aceh has been enjoying a period of relative stability and calm since separatist rebels and Indonesian government forces signed a peace deal in December. But the rebels and the government have different interpretations of what the peace plan actually means.
• PHILIPPINES U-S BASILAN REVISITED VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- A series of joint military exercises between Philippine and U-S troops over the past year have had as their goal the routing of terrorist groups. One exercise targeted the al-Qaida-linked group Abu Sayyaf in its stronghold island of Basilan, which both militaries say resulted in the destruction of the Abu Sayyaf network.
• SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES PEACE VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- The southern Philippine island of Mindanao is in a crisis. For a month, government officials have grappled with consequences of collapsed peace talks with the Muslim separatists. Violent attacks have rocked the region, killing dozens of civilians and rattling the national economy.

Defense Policy / Programs

• White House Daily Briefing White House 19 Mar 2003
• Transcript: Effects Based Operations Briefing 19 Mar 2003 -- " And one of the challenges I know we face when we talk with the media and the types of operations we do is just trying to get to some sort of common understanding of when I say "effects based operation" what is that? Is it -- I mean, rocket science? Is it secret code? Is it something like that? "
• DoD Experts Testify on Much-Improved Troops' Chem-Bio Defense Gear AFPS 19 Mar 2003 - - American troops deployed overseas for the war against Iraq are much better equipped to deal with possible chemical or biological attacks than their Gulf War predecessors, DoD experts said on Capitol Hill today.
• Space command cancels Guardian Challenge AFPN 19 Mar 2003 -- Air Force Space Command officials have canceled this year's Guardian Challenge, the annual space warfighter competition held at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
• Protest Thwarted at Rota Port Navy NewStand 19 Mar 2003 -- Spanish authorities thwarted an attempt by the environmental activist organization Greenpeace to block the entrance to Naval Station Rota's port recently, when the group's members used small inflatable boats and their mother ship, Rainbow Warrior II, to try impede ship traffic in and out of the port.
• T-38 crashes at Randolph AFPN 19 Mar 2003 -- An Air Force T-38 Talon trainer aircraft crashed here at approximately 4 p.m. March 19.
• 10th Marines utilize digital fire direction control system USMC News 19 Mar 2003 -- The Marines of the 10th Marine Regiment are putting 21st century technology to use in their mission, proving that the modern generation can use their video game skills in modern war.
• V-22 Resumes Flight Tests Navy NewStand 19 Mar 2003 -- The V-22 Integrated Test Team (ITT) resumed flight testing March 17 following a 10-day stoppage enacted so that potentially faulty hydraulic tubes in the engine nacelles could be replaced. Osprey No. 21 launched with test pilots Bill Leonard and U.S. Marine Maj. Shawn Healy at the controls. During the 20-minute flight the ITT tested the JASS 2.6.1.1-version mission software.
• USS John L. Hall Returns From Deployment Navy NewStand 19 Mar 2003 -- USS John L. Hall (FFG 32) arrived home March 17 from a deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command area of responsibility, where the ship and its crew engaged in counter drug activities.
• CONGRESS/BIO-CHEM THREATS VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- U-S officials have told Congress that U-S soldiers will be fully prepared for any chemical or biological threats they may face from the Iraqi military.
• Security forces undaunted by challenges at RAF Fairford USAFENS 19 Mar 2003 -- Through 13-plus hour shifts, endless walks across the tarmac, cold wind and demonstrators lurking on the fence line, security forces here are undaunted.
• Technology, Doctrine Changes Allow for Better Bombing Runs AFPS 19 Mar 2003 -- In the first 24 hours of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, coalition military aircraft "struck more targets than were struck in all of 1942 and 1943 by 8th Air Force during the Combined Bomber Offensive," an Air Force officer said in the Pentagon today.
• H-1 rollout shows what depot can do NAVAIR 18 Mar 2003 -- When the first U.S. Air Force UH-1N Huey inducted at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Depot Cherry Point rolled out of Hangar 1665 after completion of maintenance, depot artisans proved once again they can do the job better and faster than anyone else.
• V-22 Resumes Flight Testing Ahead of Predictions NAVAIR 18 Mar 2003 -- he V-22 Integrated Test Team resumed flight testing on March 17 following a 10-day stoppage enacted so that potentially faulty hydraulic tubes in the engine nacelles could be replaced.
• NAVAIR teams take two of six 2002 Defense Standardization Program awards NAVAIR 18 Mar 2003 -- Each year the Defense Standardization Program Awards honor personnel and organizations of the military departments and defense agencies for outstanding performance in the implementation of the Defense Standardization Program.
• Women Aviators Finally Fill Cockpits of Military Aircraft AFPS 19 Mar 2003 - Since Wilbur and Orville Wright took flight on Dec. 17, 1903, women have made significant contributions to aviation in the United States and around the world.
• NAVAIR helps Coast Guard arm helos for new mission NAVAIR 18 Mar 2003 -- The smallest of America's armed services, the Coast Guard has found its role in national security stepped up in the last two years. With NAVAIR help, it is preparing for heavier homeland security responsibilities.
• Webster Field Coast Guard unit keeps local waterways safe NAVAIR 18 Mar 2003 -- Boating enthusiasts have long known Southern Maryland's waters as some of the finest in the nation.
• Lejeune forestry service aid NASA search USMC News 19 Mar 2003 -- The country's space program suffered a blow February 1, when the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Seven crewmembers' lives were taken during the tragic incident, and spacecraft debris was scattered across New Mexico desert and rolling Texas plains.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 19 Mar 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 19 Mar 2003

• Fact Sheet: U.S. Disease Centers Answer Questions about New Flu-like Illness Washington File 19 Mar 2003 -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a March 18 fact sheet entitled "Frequently Asked Questions" about the condition known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
• ASIAN PNEUMONIA VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- The virus found in patients with a mysterious pneumonia-like illness in Asia is from a family of organisms known as paramyxoviruses [PAIR-uh-MIX-o-]. Public health officials are examining it closely under the microscope to see what they can learn about it and whether it causes the new disease.
• Health Officials Find Clues to Asian Mystery Illness Washington File 19 Mar 2003 -- The number of reported or suspected cases of a previously unknown illness has climbed to 264, according to a daily accounting issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) March 19. The disease, dubbed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, has appeared in 10 nations and caused nine deaths.
• W-H-O / ASIA PNEUMONIA VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- Scientists may be closer to finding a cause to a mysterious illness that first appeared in Asia. The World Health Organization says clues have been developed at three laboratories, but more work is needed. Five-hundred cases are suspected and at least 10-people have died.

• CUBA / U-S / PLANE VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- Thirty-five Cubans are in American custody after the apparent hijacking of a Cuban airliner which landed in Key West, Florida, late Wednesday.
• US / CUBA ARRESTS VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- The United States is expressing outrage over Cuba's arrest of dozens of people accused of being involved in an anti-government conspiracy led by the head of the U-S diplomatic Interests Section in Havana. U-S officials say the Fidel Castro government is using the chief U-S diplomat and Cuban dissidents as scapegoats for its own failures.
• Text: OAS Delegation to Haiti Will Urge Resolution to Political Crisis Washington File 19 Mar 2003 -- A delegation from the Organization of American States (OAS) and Caribbean Community Council will visit Haiti March 19-20 to urge the Haitian government, opposition parties and civil society to resolve the country's political crisis, according to a March 19 media note issued by the State Department.
• Oil Prices Fall VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- Crude oil prices fell for a fifth consecutive trading session in London and New York Wednesday with prices falling below 30 dollars a barrel for the first time since December. Oil analysts expect continuing price volatility in the weeks ahead.
• RUSSIA / U-S RELATIONS VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have vowed to keep talking, as the United States readies to launch a war against Iraq, a move long opposed by Moscow. Both leaders have expressed the hope that their disagreement over Iraq will not side-track what had been a flourishing bilateral relationship.
• PALESTINIAN / REFORM VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat today (Wednesday) formally asked his deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, to accept the new post of prime minister in the Palestinian Authority. Mr. Arafat announced the move one day after the Palestinian parliament approved legislation establishing the new position.
• ZIMBABWE PROTEST VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- There were more arrests and increased violence in Zimbabwe as a general strike went into a second day. Bombs were detonated at two supermarkets.
• ASIA PNEUMONIA VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- Scientists say a virus related to mumps and measles could be behind the outbreak of a respiratory disease. Hong Kong is one of the worst-hit cities, and at least five people there have died from the disease.
• ASIA PNEUMONIA VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- Scientists say a virus related to mumps and measles could be behind outbreaks of a respiratory disease originating in Asia. Two more sufferers of atypical pneumonia have died.
• CHINA NPC: WRAPUP VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- China's new political leadership is promising to do more for the country's millions of impoverished farmers and to close the gap between those who have benefited from economic reforms and those left behind. The pledges come at the end of the 13-day meeting of the National People's Congress. Although China may be refining its economy, there is little indication major political reforms are under serious consideration.
• SOMALIA / ARREST VOA 19 Mar 2003 -- Kenya says its security forces working with Somali leaders have taken a suspected al-Qaida operative into custody.