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Military


25 February 2003 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • Black Hawk Crash Kills 4 Soldiers Training in Kuwait AFPS 25 Feb 2003 -- A Black Hawk helicopter crash in the Kuwaiti desert killed four American soldiers early this morning.
  • Tent cities spring up across Kuwait Army News 25 Feb 2003 -- Six tent cities in Kuwait now have space for 15,500 soldiers and officials said more requests arrive daily.
  • Acting SECNAV Tells Sailors, Marines on Tarawa to Stay Prepared Navy NewStand 25 Feb 2003 -- Several months after Navy Secretary Gordon R. England told the crew of USS Tarawa (LHA 1) to be prepared, the new acting Navy secretary delivered a follow-up message to the ship during a brief speech in the North Arabian Gulf Feb. 21.
  • Black Knights fire it up before deployment USMC News 25 Feb 2003 -- Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-264 (Reinforced), the "Black Knights," conducted its first squadron-wide integrated live-fire training evolution of the pre-deployment training program Feb. 10-14 at several landing zones aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C.
  • 15th MEU (S0C) Marines knock off rust, sharpen combat skills USMC News 25 Feb 2003 -- Marines from E Company, Battalion Landing Team 2/1, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) dusted the sand from their weapons and conducted a live fire training exercise at Udari Range to refresh their war-fighting skills Feb. 17 and 18.
  • Marines battle bitter cold 2/3 joins forces with JGSDF for Forest Light USMC News 25 Feb 2003 -- Soldiers of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's 25th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Division, Northern Army, lined the entryway of Camp Engaru here and waited in the bitter cold, to welcome their counterparts to Forest Light 03-2 recently.
  • AFGHANISTAN: Focus on Coalition reconstruction teams IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- There's a strong smell of fresh paint as you walk through the corridors of the Rabia Balkhi Women's Hospital in the capital, Kabul, these days. Two months ago, the strongest smell was the leaking toilets on the second floor of Afghanistan's main women's hospital.

Defense Policy / Programs

  • White House Daily Briefing White House 25 Feb 2003
  • DOD ANNOUNCES STATUS OF FORCES SURVEY FINDINGS 25 Feb 2003 -- Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness David S.C. Chu announced today the 2002 active-duty Status of Forces Survey (SOFS) findings. The survey was conducted July 8-Aug 13, 2002, to assess the attitudes and opinions of the active force on a variety of personnel and policy issues. More than 38,000 servicemembers were surveyed. This included officers and enlisted personnel from each branch of service who were stationed in the Continental United States and overseas locations. The response rate was 32 percent.
  • Carl Vinson Battle Group visits Guam Seventh Fleet 25 Feb 2003 -- The aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), arrived here Tuesday, Feb. 25, for crew rest and relaxation, and to allow Sailors to interact with local citizens, enjoy sightseeing around the island and participate in community service projects.
  • Romeo records firsts at undersea test range NAVAIR 25 Feb 2003 -- Two MH-60R helicopters recently got a break from the cold weather at NAVAIR Patuxent River and spent three successful weeks in the Caribbean as part of its developmental test phase.
  • Secretaries Mineta, Ridge 'Change Watch' of Coast Guard Department of Transportation News Release 25 Feb 2003 -- At a historic a 'Change of Watch' ceremony at the D.C. Stadium-Armory, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta today transferred leadership of the U.S. Coast Guard to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, formally recognizing the change in civilian leadership over a military organization.
  • Recon makes transition USMC News 25 Feb 2003 -- When it comes to intelligence gathering on today's battlefield, clandestine insertion is the name of the game as the most successful battle plan often relies on the quality of the intelligence gathered on the enemy's size and activity. But this data is impossible to obtain when the enemy knows they are being watched.
  • Rising to the occasion ELMACO trains for future deployments USMC News 25 Feb 2003 -- The Marines of Electronics Maintenance Company, 3rd Materiel Readiness Battalion, 3rd Force Service Support Group, recently conducted a capability exercise here to practice for future deployments.
  • Infantrymen put on their...WARFACE; 2/7 Marines vie for Super Squad USMC News 25 Feb 2003 -- It's a dark, cool night in the jungle. A squad of 15 Marines move stealthily through thick terrain over hills and streams. The brisk wind blowing swiftly across their faces makes it difficult to hear each other.
  • CSAF briefs Senate on service's outlook for 2004 AFPN 25 Feb 2003 -- Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper joined the other service chiefs Feb. 25 to give the Senate Armed Services Committee his view of how fiscal 2004 is shaping up.
  • SECAF, CSAF: War requires team effort AFPN 25 Feb 2003 -- Despite dramatic successes in recent armed conflicts, the Air Force would only present a portion of the forces brought to bear against Iraq, if indeed war is needed to disarm the forces of Saddam Hussein.
  • Homeland Security Secretary Takes Coast Guard's Helm AFPN 25 Feb 2003 -- The Coast Guard welcomed Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge aboard today as its new chief civilian during a symbolic transfer of leadership here.
  • Training Taken Very Seriously on Tortuga Navy NewStand 25 Feb 2003 -- Perfect practice prevents poor performance. You play like you practice. That's the mantra aboard dock-landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) as she continues to drill and train in the Central Command area of responsibility.
  • Army limits re-up options Army News 25 Feb 2003 -- Re-enlistment options are being limited to prevent the Army from exceeding end-strength numbers authorized by Congress, said a personnel official.
  • CONGRESS / ISRAEL / TERRORISM VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- U-S lawmakers who have just returned from a visit to Israel are calling for a sharper focus on the role of Syria and Iran in supporting international terrorism, and potential threats of weapons of mass destruction.

  • TWO NATO E3A AWACS SET TO ARRIVE IN TURKEY FEBRUARY 26 NATO AFSOUTH 25 Feb 2003 -- Two NATO E3A AWACS Early Warning Aircraft will arrive at the Konya Turkish Air Force Base tomorrow, 26 February.

  • TURKEY / U-S TROOPS VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- Turkey's government has presented a bill to the parliament seeking authorization for the basing of some 62-thousand U-S troops in Turkey for a possible war against Iraq.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

  • DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 25 Feb 2003

  • PRESS CONFERENCE ON SANCTIONS BY SWEDEN United Nations 25 Feb 2003

  • Annan arrives in Greece continuing efforts to finalize Cyprus deal UN News Centre 25 Feb 2003 -- Continuing efforts to finalize a deal to enable a united Cyprus to join the European Union (EU) later this year, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived today in Greece, where he stressed adherence to the goal of reaching agreement by end of this month.
  • GREECE / ANNAN / CYPRUS VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan says decision time has arrived on the Cyprus issue. The Secretary-General made the comment at the beginning of his visit to Athens on Tuesday.

  • BURUNDI: UNHCR to close two border refugee sites IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that it is "set to close" two temporary border sites in western Burundi that had been sheltering at least 10,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since October 2002.
  • BURUNDI: Focus on child war victims in Ruyigi IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- In Burundi’s eastern province of Ruyigi, where fighting rages between the army and the country’s largest rebel group, a shelter for child victims of war and AIDS has been all but overwhelmed by the arrival of newborn babies rescued from the combat zones.
  • BURUNDI: ICG urges donors to deliver aid now IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- The International Crisis Group (ICG) has urged key bilateral and multilateral donors to give money, and "provide concrete evidence of their commitment" to a peace process that appears on the verge of ending Burundi's long civil war.
  • BURUNDI: Elders call for international criminal tribunal IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- Burundi's institution of elders, known as the Bashingantahe, has called for the rapid establishment of an international criminal tribunal to try those involved in the excesses perpetrated during the country's 10-year civil war, according to Net Press.

  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC-CHAD: Chadian officials grant UNHCR site for refugees IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- Officials in the southern Chadian town of Gore have granted the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) a site on which to accommodate 10,000 people fleeing fighting in the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR), according to Emile Segbor, the UNHCR's representative in the CAR.
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: MSF launches operations in rebel-held north IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- Medecins Sans Frontieres has announced that it has succeeded in launching operations in the northern parts of the Central African Republic controlled by rebels loyal to the former army chief of staff, Francois Bozize.
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: UN-NGO humanitarian mission to assess situation in north IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- The UN-NGO humanitarian coordination group in the Central African Republic is due to send an assessment mission on Thursday to the country's northern towns recently recaptured by government forces and their Congolese allies, the UN Development Programme resident representative, Stan Nkwain, has announced.

  • IVORY COAST VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- Political leaders in Ivory Coast are discussing how to include rebel factions in a national unity government as international pressure increases to implement a peace accord and curb human-rights abuses.
  • COTE D'IVOIRE: Western area remains most precarious IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- Western Cote d'Ivoire remains the country's most precarious area and numerous humanitarian agencies that have conducted fact-finding and assessment missions since late November, continue to paint a bleak picture of stability in the region.

  • Annan urges parties in DR of Congo to work toward 'genuine' peace UN News Centre 25 Feb 2003 -- While the all-inclusive power-sharing agreement signed last December was an important step towards national reconciliation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the parties have yet to take steps to implement the accord and instead remain engaged in military confrontations, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report released today.
  • DRC: Dialogue technical committee meetings open in Pretoria IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- Technical committees charged with resolving pending matters of the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD) convened on Monday in Pretoria, South Africa.
  • DRC: Report criticises political, military and humanitarian response IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- A new report from The Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue criticises the international response to the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), particularly what it perceives as a lack of coordination between the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC) and other UN agencies in the country.
  • DRC: Visiting French minister pushes for reopening of Congo river IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- A visiting French minister has obtained assurances from the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) for the reopening of the Congo river, and pledged a total of about €8 million (US $8,671,208) in support of rehabilitation and development efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

  • SUDAN: US stresses commitment to peace IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- The US government has emphasised its commitment to a peaceful end to Sudan's long running conflict.
  • SOMALIA: International committee to monitor ceasefire accord IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- An international committee is being set up to monitor a shaky ceasefire accord signed by Somali faction leaders, Kenya's special envoy for Somalia Bethwel Kiplagat said on Tuesday.
  • RWANDA: ICTR urged to address relations with genocide survivors IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- African Rights has written to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), in Arusha, Tanzania, urging it to address the "deterioration" in its relations with Rwandan genocide survivors, the human rights organisation reported on Monday.
  • NAMIBIA: Another Caprivi trialist dies IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- Another Caprivi treason trialist has died, bringing the number of deaths to nine since the first arrests of the alleged secessionists were made.
  • LIBERIA: Taylor accuses Guinea to Security Council for aiding LURD IRIN 25 Feb 2003 -- Liberia has filed a nine-count complaint at the UN Security Council against neighbouring Guinea for "aiding a terrorist organisation" namely the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to destabilise it.

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 25 Feb 2003
  • SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 25 Feb 2003
  • VENEZUELA / BOMBS VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- Venezuelan authorities are searching for those responsible for two bomb attacks that took place early Tuesday against the Spanish embassy and the Colombian consulate in Caracas. The blasts followed a verbal attack on both foreign governments by President Hugo Chavez:
  • RICE / ZIMBABWE VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says President Bush is trying to impose his will on weaker nations. The White House says Mr. Mugabe's economic mismanagement is making life worse for the Zimbabwean people.
  • Security Council welcomes targeted sanctions as useful tool UN News Centre 25 Feb 2003 -- United Nations Security Council members today welcomed targeted sanctions as a useful tool to focus pressure on specific states and entities while minimizing the unintended impact on civilian populations and non-targeted states and entities.
  • Desperate Liberian refugees continue demonstrations at UN office in Côte d'Ivoire UN News Centre 25 Feb 2003 -- As they have for nearly two weeks now, desperate Liberian refugees continued to demonstrate in front of the offices of the United Nations refugee agency in Abidjan demanding to be evacuated out of Côte d'Ivoire or moved to a safer location.
  • Security must be guided by respect for civil liberties, UN human rights chief says UN News Centre 25 Feb 2003 -- The top United Nations human rights official today stressed that even in times of grave uncertainty - when there was a sense that "no one is safe" - a comprehensive strategy for security can and must be guided by the rule of law and respect for human rights.
  • EDITORIAL: CUBAN CRACKDOWN ON DISSENT VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- crackdown is underway in Cuba against supporters of the Varela Project. In recent days, dozens of Cubans have been harassed, jailed, and expelled from jobs and universities. Their only crime is that they supported a national referendum on whether Cubans should have fundamental political and economic freedoms.
  • U-S / VENEZUELA VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- The United States is condemning the bomb attacks early Tuesday against Spanish and Colombian diplomatic offices in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. The bombings followed criticism of the two countries by President Hugo Chavez on Sunday for alleged meddling in the Venezuela's political crisis.
  • N-A-M WRAP VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- Leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement have ended a two-day meeting in Malaysia, after opposing an attack on Iraq without backing by the United Nations. The participants also expressed concern over rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.
  • ISLAM IN INDONESIA VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- The deadly bomb attacks in Bali last October were shocking and perplexing to many people, including Indonesian officials, who believed the country was immune from such acts of terrorism. Police suspect that the persons arrested and detained so far are likely to have links to radical Muslim groups.
  • Arab Americans in Virginia Form Political Action Committee Washington File 25 Feb 2003 -- Recently, a group of community activists in Virginia came together to launch the newest Arab American political action committee (PAC). "The New Dominion PAC" (NDP) will work to strengthen Arab American political influence in Virginia, increase the community's participation in state and national politics, and educate elected officials and others about community concerns.
  • BEIJING UNIVERSITIES BLASTS VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- Chinese officials say "homemade" explosives rocked two of China's top universities Tuesday, injuring nine people. Witnesses said one of the explosions left a smell of gunpowder. There have been no immediate claims of responsibility and no motive has been offered.
  • INDONESIA/TIMOR INDICTMENTS VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- The United Nations has indicted eight current and former Indonesian officials on charges of crimes against humanity during the run-up to the independence of East Timor. Indonesian officials promptly said they would ignore the indictments.
  • KENYA RECONCILIATION VOA 25 Feb 2003 -- In Kenya, the public's first public glimpse of a torture chamber run by former President Daniel arap Moi's government has fueled demands for justice for his victims.



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