Operations
Other Conflicts
Defense Policy / Programs
News Reports

Current Operations

• Mobile aeromedical staging facility touches lives in Iraq AFPN 23 Apr 2003 -- From Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to Tallil Air Base, Iraq, may seem a long way, but for Air Force Reservists of the 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, it was the chance of a lifetime to practice skills that are literally a matter of life or death to a wounded soldier.
• Damage docs patch, repair battle aircraft AFPN 23 Apr 2003 -- With aircraft battered and torn from the fight, aircrews depend on the "damage doctors" to get them and their aircraft back into the fray.
• Submarine San Juan Returning Home From Extended Deployment Navy NewStand 23 apr 2003 -- The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS San Juan (SSN 751) will return to Naval Submarine Base New London April 23, after having its regularly-scheduled six-month deployment extended.
• Newport News Returns Home from Wartime Patrol Navy NewStand 23 apr 2003 -- The Los Angeles-class, fast-attack submarine USS Newport News (SSN 750) returned to Naval Station Norfolk April 23 from a six-month deployment, including support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
• 24th MEU, Nassau ARG Prepare to Return Home Navy NewStand 23 apr 2003 -- The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), currently operating in Central Iraq, has received redeployment orders and will soon begin the process of repositioning itself to reboard ships of the USS Nassau (LHA 4) Amphibious Ready Group in preparation for a return to the United States.

• Murderer Killed in Coalition Raid in Kandahar Province AFPS 23 Apr 2003 -- Coalition forces in Afghanistan believe they killed the man who murdered a Salvadoran Red Cross worker March 27, officials at Combined Joint Task Force 180 said today.
• Air Force, Army coordinate fire AFPN 23 Apr 2003 -- Whether they are jumping out of aircraft or rolling in a convoy, one essential entity in any of the 82nd Airborne Division's operations carried out at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, is an Air Force Tactical Air Control Party.

Other Conflicts

• CYPRUS / FENCE VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- For the first time in 30 years, Greek and Turkish Cypriots are freely able to cross the line that divides their island.
• PALESTINIAN POLITICS VOA 23 Apr 2003-- Time is running out for the formation of a new Palestinian government under the leadership of Prime Minister-designate, Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Abbas has until midnight Wednesday (22 UTC) form his government. The question is, can he resolve the bitter dispute with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat over his Cabinet choices?
• PAKISTAN / KARZAI VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ended a visit to Islamabad, after talking with Pakistan leaders on ways to root out terrorism in Afghanistan, and improve bilateral economic ties.
• U-S-PALESTINIANS VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- The United States is welcoming the agreement paving the way for a new Palestinian cabinet headed by reformist prime minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas. The State Department says approval of the government by Palestinian legislators, expected within a few days, will trigger release of the international "roadmap" to an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord.
• PALESTINIAN POLITICS VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and his prime minister-designate, Mahmoud Abbas, have agreed on the formation of a new government, ending days of wrangling and uncertainty. The Cabinet list must be confirmed by the legislature.

Defense Policy / Programs

• American Empire VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- After the collapse of the Soviet Union the United States became the world's most powerful nation. But its growing military and economic strength has provoked as much resentment as respect from other nations. In recent years, the term "empire" has been used frequently to convey the global scope of American influence. Some historians say the term can be applied to the United States, while others are doubtful.

• DENMARK / MISSILE DEFENSE VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- The United States is campaigning in several European capitals for acceptance of a new missile defense shield to protect against a possible attack from a rogue state or a terrorist group. The missile shield is similar in some respects to former President Reagan's Star Wars plan, which touched off massive protests across Europe 20 years ago. But the latest plan being presented by the Pentagon is meeting very little resistance.
• ARMY APPROVES FUTURE COMBAT SYSTEMS (FCS) PROGRAM INCREMENT 1 FOR ENTRY INTO THE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION (SDD) PHASE Army Release 23 Apr 2003 -- The Army approved the readiness of the FCS program Increment 1 for entry into System Development and Demonstration phase of material development on Friday.
• Fleet oiler USNS Guadalupe stars in a new role in a new theater of operations Military Sealift Command 23 Apr 2003 -- For years, fleet oiler USNS Guadalupe has had a leading role in the re-supply of the Navy's Seventh Fleet surface ships operating in the Pacific. The 678-foot, civil service-crewed oiler is more than a portable fuel station, she is an amazing performer.
• Commander, Task Force 51 Visits Saipan: "A Great Ship with a Great Track Record" Navy NewStand 23 apr 2003 -- Rear Adm. W. Clyde Marsh, Commander Task Force 51, paid a much-anticipated visit to USS Saipan (LHA 2) April 18, addressing in the hangar bay what he called the biggest crowd on any of the ships he's visited. The crew aboard Saipan had been awaiting his visit, eager to receive news of what the future had in store for them.
• USS Blue Ridge makes Saipan port visit Seventh Fleet 23 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet command ship, USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), and the embarked Commander, 7th Fleet staff arrived here April 23.
• Air Force pilots help Japanese go the distance AFPN 23 Apr 2003 -- When your car runs low on gas during a long trip, it is easy to pull up to the pump like you have done a hundred times before. It involves a lot more planning if you are at 25,000 feet, traveling several times your average freeway speed and practicing a foreign language. When your vehicle is one of the most powerful jets in the world, it helps to have an experienced person along to show you the ropes.
• X-31 makes history with first automated ESTOL NAVAIR 23 Apr 2003 -- The VECTOR test team completed the world's first fully automated, thrust vectored landing here Apr. 22, and plans subsequent landings this week at increasing angles of attack and decreasing speeds. At about 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon Apr. 22, German Naval Reserve Cmdr. Ruediger Knoepfel flew the X-31 into an invisible engagement box in the sky, then watched as the aircraft controlled itself to touchdown before he took over control and lifted off again.
• U.S., ROK EOD train in Korea USMC News 23 Apr 2003 -- YECHON, South Korea - One of the greatest training experiences Marines can receive on deployment is the chance to work with their counterparts from other countries.
• U.S. Forces arrive for Balikatan 2003 USMC News 23 Apr 2003 -- More than 450 U.S. service members along with a variety of standard military cargo were offloaded here April 17 to take part in Exercise Balikatan 2003.
• Marines sharpen MOUT skills USMC News 23 Apr 2003 -- Nearly 40 Marines from the Motor Transportation, Supply and Administration Sections from Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, recently participated in combat training, unique to their military occupational specialties.
• U.S. forces arrive for Exercise Balikatan 2003 USMC News 23 Apr 2003 -- More than 450 U.S. servicemembers arrived here from Okinawa, Japan, via the High Speed Vessel April 17 to take part in Exercise Balikatan 2003.
• Corps' 'top dogs' visit Okinawa USMC News 23 Apr 2003 -- With America's newest war against terrorism and the battlefields that Marines will face, the Corps' two top leaders are ensuring the future success of the Marine Corps.
• MCLB announces tentative award decision in A-76 Study USMC News 23 Apr 2003 -- After four years of intensive studies and hard work to maintain a lean, flexible government workforce, base executive director, Gilbert Ward, proudly announced that a tentative award decision to keep the performance of the base maintenance function of Installation and Logistics Division here within the government.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 23 Apr 2003
• SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 23 Apr 2003
• CDC Provides Support to Canada Against SARS Washington File 23 Apr 2003 -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent a team of medical experts to Toronto, Canada, on April 22, responding to a request from the Canadian health agency to provide assistance in the face of an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
• CANADA-SARS REACT VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- A warning by the World Health Organization that travelers should avoid Toronto because the outbreak of SARS, sent Canadians into a flurry of damage control. Canadian officials dismissed the travel advisory and challenged the health alert.
• OPEC/PREVIEW VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- : The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is holding a special meeting intended to prevent a surprise crash in global oil prices. Also being discussed is who, if anyone, will represent Iraq at the session.
• NIGERIA ELECTION VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- Nigeria's political opposition has rejected the results of Saturday's presidential election, which official results indicate President Olusegun Obasanjo won by a large margin.
• KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- Twenty-eight-years ago this month, the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia. Under their brutal rule in the late 1970's, nearly two-million people were killed or starved to death. The U-N General Assembly is expected to vote within the next week on a plan paving the way for a tribunal to bring the Khmer Rouge leaders to justice and help the Cambodian people close that chapter in their country's troubled history.
• NIGERIA / ELECTION VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- Opposition parties in Nigeria are rejecting the results of Saturday's presidential election, in which President Olusegun Obasanjo won victory with 62-percent of the vote. Opposition leaders are calling for the president to step down and call new elections. But it does not look at all likely that he will
• U-S TOURISM INDUSTRY / ON HOLD VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- As Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, continues to raise concerns and rebuilding begins in Iraq, American travelers and the industry that serves them are watching, and waiting. Airline and hotel bookings overseas are down as much as 40 percent.
• ZIMBABWE/STRIKE VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- Zimbabwe's second general strike in a month got off to a strong start with most shops, offices and factories closed. The strike was called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and supported by the opposition to protest the recent 300-percent increase in the price of fuel.
• WHO/SARS VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- The World Health Organization has issued a travel warning for parts of China and Toronto, Canada in an effort to halt the spread of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus.
• ZIMBABWE PHONES VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- In Zimbabwe, the telecommunications utility has announced that it is decommissioning all public coin-operated telephones, a move that will seriously inconvenience millions of Zimbabweans for whom the phone booths are an important means of communication.
• ASIA SARS VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- In Beijing, schools and universities are shutting down in an effort to curtail the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Hong Kong is welcoming international experts to check government reports that some residents were infected by sewage tainted with the SARS virus.
• BURMA-SUU KYI VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has criticized the military government for stalling democratic reforms.
• HONG KONG SARS ECON PLAN VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- Hong Kong's leader Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa has issued a relief package to help the city's businesses and residents pull though economic difficulties brought on by the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
• CAMBODIA / JUDGE MURDER VOA 23 Apr 2003 -- Cambodian authorities say a senior court judge has been shot dead while on his way to work in Phnom Penh (Wednesday). Judge Sok Sethmony handled one of the country's most politically-sensitive cases involving a former high-ranking Khmer Rouge official.