Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• Deployed chaplains: Faith on the front lines AMCNS 08 Apr 2003 -- Since the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, AMC chaplains have deployed alongside thousands of Air Force people, offering spiritual and religious services and helping increase the morale of these deployed warfighters, according to Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Gerald McManus, AMC Chaplain Service chief of readiness and evaluations.
• SECAF: Mobility key to war effort AMCNS 08 Apr 2003 -- The Secretary of the Air Force praised Air Mobility Command for quietly building up resources in the Middle East prior to the opening days of the war in Iraq and for the continued "spectacular" air support during the campaign to remove the Iraqi regime from power.

Other Conflicts

• U-N /N-G-O/CONGO VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- The United Nations Security Council has called for an immediate investigation into the massacre in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo last week. At the same time, the New York-based International Rescue Committee (I-R-C)is calling the four-and-one-half year old Congo civil war the deadliest conflict in African history.
• Security Council re-establishes panel to investigate embargo violations in Somalia UN News Centre 08 Apr 2003 -- Recognizing the important need to improve the implementation and monitoring of the arms embargo against Somalia, the United Nations Security Council today re-established for six months a panel of experts to investigate any violations of the ban.
• Condemning rebel violence, Security Council asks for probe into DR of Congo massacre UN News Centre 08 Apr 2003 -- Amid reports of persistent violence and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), members of the United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the recent activities of rebel groups in the volatile northeast of the country and called for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from the territory.
• Bush, Blair Meet Press on Post-war Iraq, Mideast, Northern Ireland Washington File 08 Apr 2003 -- President Bush says that as the war in Iraq has progressed, the world has witnessed "the brutal desperation, the true character" of Saddam Hussein's regime and is also witnessing "the liberation and humanitarian aid our coalition is bringing to that country as a new day begins in Iraq."
• Bush, Blair, Ahern Affirm Commitment to Northern Ireland Peace Accord Washington File 08 Apr 2003 -- The United States, Britain and Ireland have affirmed their individual and collective commitment to implementing the Good Friday Agreement to bring peace to Northern Ireland, and will support effective monitoring arrangements and will explore ways to encourage the flow of investment to the area.
• DRC Must Remain High on U.S. Agenda, Human Rights Director Says Washington File 08 Apr 2003 -- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must be given high priority on America's foreign policy agenda. If America turns a blind eye to the DRC, the country could easily slip back into endless chaos and fragmentation," says Dr. François Grignon, director of the Central Africa Project at the International Crisis Group (ICG).
• S-A-F/GREAT LAKES VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- The presidents of five African countries are meeting Wednesday in Cape Town to discuss recent threats to the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last week, nearly a thousand people were massacred in eastern Congo just a day after the signing of a peace accord.
• CHECHNYA/HUMAN RIGHTS VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- European nations have formally submitted a resolution to the top U-N human-rights forum criticizing Russia's actions in Chechnya.
• PHILIPPINES BLAST VOA 08 Apr 2003-- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo says police have two suspects in custody for a series of deadly bombings in the southern Philippines
• INDONESIA ACEH VOA 08 Apr 2003-- In Indonesia's Aceh province, officials from the Swiss group Henri Dunant Center say they are withdrawing staff from field offices because of violent threats.
• ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS ROADMAP VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- When President Bush met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Northern Ireland, the two allies focused on the war in Iraq and its aftermath. But the so-called roadmap to bring an end to the Israeli Palestinian conflict was also on the agenda. There is widespread skepticism about the roadmap from both the Israeli and the Palestinian side.
• BUSH/BLAIR/NORTHERN IRELAND VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- President Bush is urging Northern Ireland's political leaders to bury their differences and seize the opportunity for peace. Mr. Bush spoke about the issue during his summit meeting outside Belfast with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
• BUSH / BLAIR / MIDDLE EAST VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- In addition to holding hours of talks on the situation in Iraq, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair also used their meeting in Northern Ireland to discuss plans for peace in the Middle East.

Defense Policy / Programs

• NETC up and Running; CNET Disestablished Navy NewStand 08 Apr 2003 -- The Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) was established in mid-March 2003 in Pensacola, Fla., to oversee Naval education and training. Concurrently, "CNET," or the Chief of Naval Education and Training, was disestablished.
• SBCT vehicles bring new dimension to NTC battlefield Army News 08 Apr 2003 -- Soldiers from Fort Lewis, Wash., are at the National Training Center getting a taste of how Army life will be in the 21st Century.
• First Joint Application Software Package Certified to Operate on NMCI Desktop Navy NewStand 08 Apr 2003 -- The Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) Director's office announced April 7 that the first joint forces application has been certified to operate on NMCI desktops.
• 7th Fleet Command Ship Finishes 'Lion City' Port Visit Navy NewStand 08 Apr 2003 -- During a visit which saw USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) receive a new commanding officer and members of the Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet staff meet with Singaporean military and civilian leaders to discuss issues of common interest and naval cooperation, Sailors aboard the 7th Fleet command ship made the most of what many describe as the best liberty in the Western Pacific -- Singapore. Sailors visited the Southeast Asian port city March 27-April 1.
• Navy Implements Targeted Stop-Loss for Some Hospital Corpsmen Navy NewStand 08 Apr 2003 -- In a move to bolster combat readiness and preserve unit integrity, the Navy implemented a targeted stop-loss for some Hospital Corpsmen (HM) this week, but will hold off implementation for 16 other skill sets also authorized under the plan.
• P-3C finishes upgrade program at VX-1 NAVAIR 08 Apr 2003 -- In an effort to quickly develop and introduce quality aviation systems and platforms to the warfighter, DoD has advocated forward thinking in the test community.
• Prowler hones future weapon system NAVAIR 08 Apr 2003 -- The EA-6B Prowler will soon get its largest weapons system upgrade in approximately 15 years thanks to a team of pilots and engineers here and at NAVAIR China Lake.
• VX-1 basking in latest Iraq achievements NAVAIR 08 Apr 2003 -- For the first time in its history, the executive officer of VX-1 - Mehringer - "fleeted up" to assume command of the unit, though this practice is common in some programs and squadrons but not others.

• Grossman: NATO Enlargement Will Revitalize Alliance Washington File 08 Apr 2003 -- NATO's latest round of enlargement with seven new members will not only strengthen democracy and stability in Europe but also revitalize the alliance, a State Department official told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee April 8.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 08 Apr 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 08 Apr 2003
• Strugglers Against Oppression Deserve Help, Kirkpatrick Says Washington File 08 Apr 2003 -- Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, head of the U.S. delegation to the 59th session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, told delegates April 8 that "all peoples struggling against oppression, no matter where, deserve our help."
• CONGRESS / CUBA VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- Members of Congress have condemned Cuban President Fidel Castro in the wake of a crackdown on dissidents in that country. The U-S House of Representatives Tuesday debated a resolution calling for the immediate release of Cuban political prisoners.
• EDITORIAL: REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- In the midst of the war to oust the brutal Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, the U.S. has released its annual report on human rights practices around the world. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the stakes in the war could not be higher
• INDIA WHO POLIO VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- The World Health Organization has intensified efforts to eliminate the crippling disease, polio, in India following a dramatic increase in cases during the past year. Health officials fear India's new polio cases could set back a global campaign to eradicate the disease.
• ZIMBABWE/REPRESSION VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- The Zimbabwe government says it has arrested 23 alleged army deserters who, it charges, had established links with the political opposition's underground military wing. The government says the deserters had stolen explosives from the army for planned attacks during Zimbabwe's national strike last month.
• ASIA PNEUMONIA VOA 08 Apr 2003 -- Hong Kong continues to be the center of a global health emergency as the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome shows no sign of subsiding. As new suspected SARS cases also are being discovered in Vietnam and Singapore, governments around Asia are preparing for outbreaks and updating quarantine laws.