17 September 2003 Military News

Transcript: DoD News Briefing - Mr. Di Rita and Mr. Slocombe 17 Sep 2003 -- Briefing on the status of the New Iraqi Army and Police Force. Participating was Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Lawrence Di Rita and Walter Slocombe, Coalition Provisional Authority Special Advisor on Security and Defense.
Iraq: Four U.S. Soldiers Reported Wounded In Separate Attacks RFE/RL 17 Sep 2003 -- A report today says four U.S. soldiers were wounded in two separate attacks near Baghdad.
KOSOVO/MYERS VOA 17 Sept 2003-- The top U-S military officer says the United States is reassessing its involvement in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans
NATO/DRUGS VOA 17 Sept 2003-- The head of the U-N office on drugs and crime is urging NATO forces to cut drug trafficking routes in Afghanistan, in order to help President Hamid Karzai stabilize his country
Myers Gets Upbeat Report on Kosovo AFPS 17 Sept 2003-- Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers had just finished answering a news conference question here on how long U.S. troops would be in Iraq when a Kosovar reporter piped up, "We want you to stay here for a hundred years," he said.
National Guard Bureau Chief Visits Deployed Guardsmen AFPS 17 Sept 2003-- The chief of the National Guard Bureau visited National Guard troops on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan this month.

India begins peace talks to end violence in Northeast in Amsterdam IRNA 17 Sep 2003 -- Indian authorities and leaders of a front line tribal separatist group begins peace talks Wednesday in Amsterdam, aimed at ending more than 56-years of violent insurgency in the country`s northeast, officials said.
GUINEA BISSAU / COUP VOA 17 Sept 2003-- The ousted president of Guinea Bissau has formally resigned, after meeting with a West African delegation that is trying to mediate an end to the crisis sparked by Sunday's bloodless coup d'etat

Transcript: Secretary Rumsfeld Remarks at the All-Volunteer Force Conference 17 Sep 2003 -- "The men and women in uniform today are as I'm sure the people in this room know without question is the finest military in the world and I would say probably the finest military the world has ever seen. This concept of an All-Volunteer Force has been a booming success, it works."
Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group Returns Home Navy Newsstand 17 Sept 2003-- The USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) returned home to the United States Sept. 15, following an eight-month deployment to the western Pacific.
B-2 drops 80 test JDAMs AFPB 18 Sept 2003-- A B-2 Spirit bomber here released 80 inert joint direct attack munitions Sept. 10 for the first time, clearing the way for warfighters to attack that many individual targets on a single bomb run.
Fuels branch airmen repair tanks, increase storage AFPB 18 Sept 2003-- With a little bit of ingenuity and hard work, airmen in the 506th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels branch here were able to salvage enemy assets and use them to their advantage.
KC-135 brakes changing to carbon AFPB 18 Sept 2003-- Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker brake systems will go from metal to lighter, longer-lasting carbon now that service officials approved an initiative proposed here, that will save millions in tax payer dollars.

SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 17 Sep 2003 -- Defense chief sees no link between Iraq and al-Qaida's Sept. 11 attacks / Americans offering "simple, honourable" way out for fugitive defense minister / U.S. official says militants in Iraq are coming across Syrian border / Despite larger commitments, U.S. forces take medical aid to mission in Morocco
SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 17 Sep 2003 -- U.S. envoy: Additional headquarters would duplicate NATO / Pentagon urged to divert troops from Balkans / Humanitarian agency calls for rapid expansion of ISAF's mandate / Spanish premier calls for NATO-style peace force in Iraq