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Military


27 February 2003 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • 1st Brigade Units Preparing to Deploy Fort Riley PAO 27 Feb 2003 -- Soldiers with the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division are repositioning forces throughout the world for a variety of missions.
  • Waging war with wits, words AFPN 27 Feb 2003 -- In response to Iraq's continued hostility and threat to its people, U.S. Central Command is using a specially equipped aircraft to broadcast information into Iraq. The intent is to deter Iraqi aggression against its neighbors by educating and informing the Iraqi people and military.
  • JMPC hub for people, cargo going down range USAFENS 27 Feb 2003 -- The Joint Mobility Processing Center here serves as the hub for people and cargo transiting to forward-based locations, and teamwork is an important element that makes the JMPC run so smoothly.
  • Gearing up: 86th AW readies for mission at hand USAFENS 27 Feb 2003 -- The true meaning of hustle is currently being demonstrated across the 86th Airlift Wing here, as service members prepare for a possible contingency in the European and Central Command Areas of Responsibility.
  • "Blue Tail Flies" aircrews support operations in Italy USAFENS 27 Feb 2003 -- Five C-130 Hercules crews from the 37th Airlift Squadron, also known as the Blue Tail Flies, departed here Feb. 26 and only one is coming back. The mission: to deliver four relief aircrews to assist in support of real-world operations out of Sigonella, Italy.
  • RAF Fairford pulses with equipment, airmen USAFENS 27 Feb 2003 -- More than 150 airmen arrived here recently, preparing the base for an influx of additional airmen and supplies that will be arriving to support the global war on terrorism and possible future contingency operations.
  • 4th FSSG CG visits Camp Lemonier USMC News 27 Feb 2003 -- Brig. Gen. John W. Bergman, commanding general, 4th Force Service Support Group, Marine Forces Reserve, New Orleans and Sgt. Maj. Thomas H. Howard, sergeant major, 4th FSSG, visited the Command Logistics Element, Marine Forces Reserve here Feb. 24.
  • Chairman of Armed Services Committee, other senators visit Camp Commando USMC News 27 Feb 2003 -- Four Senators responsible for overseeing America's military dropped in on Marines at Camp Commando Feb. 21.

  • BUSH / KARZAI VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed Afghan reconstruction efforts, during talks at the White House Thursday. Mr. Karzai urged the Bush administration not to abandon Afghanistan as the United States prepares for possible war to disarm Iraq.
  • PENTAGON / RUMSFELD VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he has received assurances U-S support for his country will not be interrupted or diverted by a possible war with Iraq. At the Pentagon Mr. Karzai held talks with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
  • Afghanistan: UN aid operations in north suspended due to insecurity UN News Centre 27 Feb 2003 -- United Nations aid operations in northern Afghanistan have been suspended because of factional skirmishes in the area, a spokesman for the UN mission in that country said today.
  • Terror War 'Largely Over' in Afghanistan, Karzai Says AFPS 27 Feb 2003 -- The war against terrorism is "largely over" in Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said during a Pentagon news conference today.
  • RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Vol 2, Number 8 27 Feb 2003 -- TRANS-AFGHAN PIPELINE: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WITH LESSONS FROM THE PAST / MINISTER VISITS PAKISTAN TO DISCUSS PIPELINE PROJECT... / ...AND INDIA IS INVITED TO JOIN THE PROJECT / MINISTER KILLED IN PLANE CRASH NEAR KARACHI... / ...AS AFGHAN GOVERNMENT COMMENTS ON LOSS / DEFENSE MINISTRY CHANGES ITS ETHNIC COMPOSITION / OPPOSING WARLORDS CLASH IN FARYAB PROVINCE... / ...AS THE FIGHTING CONTINUED IN OTHER AREAS OF THE PROVINCE / TRIBE BLOCKS HIGHWAY IN EASTERN AFGHANISTAN / HIGHWAY ROBBERY / U.S. MILITARY VEHICLE HITS MINE... / ...SERIOUSLY INJURING A U.S. SOLDIER... / ...AS OTHER U.S. TROOPS ARE ATTACKED IN TWO LOCATIONS / KONDUZ PROVINCE HIT BY EXPLOSIONS / NATO CHIEF AGAIN CALLS FOR ROLE IN AFGHANISTAN / GERMANY, NETHERLANDS MAY WITHDRAW FROM ISAF... / ...WHILE ISAF IS USING AFGHAN CLERICS TO GAIN LEGITIMACY, ENHANCE SECURITY / HASHISH SEIZED IN HERAT... / ...AS BALKH BURNS OPIUM-POPPY SEEDS / KANDAHAR REISSUES BAN ON FOREIGN CURRENCY / COMMISSION MEMBER SAYS NEW CONSTITUTION WILL BE ISLAMIC, DEMOCRATIC... / ...AND ASSURES THE AFGHAN PEOPLE THEY WILL HAVE A VOICE IN ITS DEVELOPMENT / DEFENSE MINISTER SUPPORTS PRESS FREEDOM / VIDEO CENTERS BANNED IN KONDUZ PROVINCE / WOMEN DEMAND EQUAL RIGHTS / AFGHAN TELEVISION IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE, IRAN READY TO HELP... / ...AS WOMEN BECOMING ACTIVE IN BROADCAST SECTOR / SWEDEN REPORTEDLY SHELTERING POSSIBLE AFGHAN WAR CRIMINALS / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY

Defense Policy / Programs

  • Wolfowitz: $379.9 Billion Defense Budget Needed for Terror Fight Washington File 27 Feb 2003 -- Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz says his agency's $379.9 billion budget request for fiscal year 2004 "is a wartime defense budget needed to help us wage the global war against terror."
  • Pilot school highlights space education AFPN 27 Feb 2003 -- With the increasing push for a military space force, Department of Defense officials are expanding the Air Force envelope to include space education with an emphasis on military application.
  • Transcript: Background Briefing on Afghanistan Relief and Reconstruction 27 Feb 2003 -- "[In] 1996, Afghanistan was rated 169 out of 174 on the human development index. The human development index measures things like literacy, infant mortality and whatever. And after 1996, it falls off the chart, and then you have four years of drought, and then you have -- and layered on top of that, the Taliban and the renewal of the civil war. "
  • DOD AWARDS $15.7 MILLION TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH 27 Feb 2003 -- The Department of Defense (DoD) today announced plans to award $15.7 million to 18 academic institutions in 14 states to perform research in science and engineering fields important to national defense. Thirty-one projects were competitively selected under the fiscal 2003 Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR). The average award will be approximately $500,000.
  • Canadians train with Eglin fighters ACCNS 27 Feb 2003 -- The 33rd Fighter Wing recently hosted members of the Canadian Air Force for dissimilar air combat training here.
  • Minot airmen share B-52 experience ACCNS 27 Feb 2003 -- The B-52 Stratofortress' long-standing history, tradition and capabilities makes it a favorite among many aviation buffs.
  • Tent city is home away from home for more than a decade ACCNS 27 Feb 2003 -- Nearly every deployed location has a tent city known as "home" to the military members deployed there.
  • West Coast Ships Offload in Kuwait Navy NewStand 27 Feb 2003 -- A joint-service, multinational force is currently participating in the offload of seven American West Coast ships at Camp Patriot, Kuwait.
  • Reserve unit's number called USMC 27 Feb 2003 -- The unit's 900 Marines - the first Marine Corps Reserve infantry unit called to Camp Pendleton in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, left here Feb. 19 to join the 1st Marine Division on the front lines in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, said Sgt. Maj. Jon D. Barter, battalion sergeant major for 2/23.
  • Pax shipboard testers respond rapidly to fleet need NAVAIR 27 Feb 2003 -- It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which tossed the boat about like a toy. The team was thankful they found such ideal conditions.
  • JWID Leads the Way to Interoperability Navy NewStand 27 Feb 2003 -- Coalition interoperability is a vital capability in today's worldwide operations, according to officials at the Joint Staff and at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).
  • Air traffic team keeps sky safe AFPN 27 Feb 2003 -- Most people can see the daily air traffic at any air base, but they do not see the driving forces that keep the aircraft from having midair collisions.
  • Protocol, aide de camp special duties move AFPN 27 Feb 2003 -- By May, the special-duty positions of protocol officer and aide de camp will become regular duty as part of the Air Force services career field.
  • Flight keeps base fueled up AFPN 27 Feb 2003 -- Keeping tent fuel drums filled and aircraft gassed up is vital at Ganci Air Base, Kyrgyzstan. Without fuel, the mission stops and living spaces inside tents feel like a freezer.
  • Air Force reaches 75 percent deployment-capable rate AFPN 27 Feb 2003 -- In just more than a year, the number of "deployable" airmen has increased to nearly 75 percent of all Air Force members.
  • BUSH / IRAQ / KARZAI VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- President Bush is warning the world to watch out for more acts of deception from Iraq. Mr. Bush says the current dispute over banned Iraqi missiles should not detract from the drive to totally disarm Saddam Hussein.
  • GTMO celebrates 100th anniversary Navy NewStand 27 Feb 2003 -- A special ceremony was held Feb. 21 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the lease agreement between the United States and Cuba.
  • U.S. Reservists Train at NATO School Navy NewStand 27 Feb 2003 -- Seven U.S. Reservists joined 54 international military and civilian representatives from 10 NATO and 13 Partnership for Peace (PfP) nations at the NATO European Security Cooperative Course presented by the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany. Seven Russians were the largest contingent from a PfP nation attending the week-long course.

  • PRESS BRIEFING ON ANNIVERSARY OF ANTI-PERSONNEL MINE CONVENTION United Nations 27 Feb 2003

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

  • DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 27 Feb 2003

  • Annan meets with Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders in bid to finalize deal UN News Centre 27 Feb 2003 -- In a final push to reach an agreement that would enable a reunited Cyprus to join the European Union (EU) later this year, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today met with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders for face-to-face talks on the issue.
  • CYPRUS/UN VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- U-N Secretary-General Kofi Annan chaired a meeting of the rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders in Nicosia Thursday, hoping to rescue his reunification-plan for the bitterly divided island.

  • UN captures suspect in deadly minibus attack in Timor-Leste UN News Centre 27 Feb 2003 -- The United Nations peacekeeping force (PKF) in Timor-Leste today captured a man suspected of involvement in the recent deadly attacks on vehicles near the border with West Timor.
  • INDONESIA ACEH REPORT VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- A new report suggests that the two-month-old peace plan in effect in Indonesia's Aceh province might be the last chance the two sides have to end the 26-year-old conflict.

  • SUDAN: Government denies existence of new rebel group IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- The Sudanese government has denied the existence of a new rebel group in the country, which was this week reported to have seized a town in western Sudan.
  • SUDAN: Rights group lauds presidential decree on humanitarian law IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- The London-based human rights organisation Amnesty International has hailed a recent decree issued by Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, ordering the appointment of a committee to bring Sudanese laws in line with international humanitarian law.

  • DRC: MONUC flights to Bunia suspended until shooting inquiry completed IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- All flights to the northeastern city of Bunia in Ituri District by the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) have been suspended after one of its helicopters was fired on Monday, according to the MONUC spokesman, Hamadoun Toure.
  • DRC: MLC completes Ituri rights violations trials, subject to appeal IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- A rebel movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has completed trials of 27 of its soldiers charged with having committed human rights violations in late 2002 in the towns of Mambasa et Komanda in the northeastern Orientale Province.
  • DRC: Transitional government key to securing peace, says Annan IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- The prompt inauguration of a transitional national government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is critical to maintaining the momentum created by the signing of an all-inclusive power-sharing accord in December 2002, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report released on Tuesday, as quoted by UN News.

  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: UN food agency to assist vulnerable groups in recaptured towns IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- The UN World Food Programme (WFP) representative in the Central African Republic (CAR), David Bulman, said on Wednesday that next week the agency would send food aid to two northeastern towns for hundreds of malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women.
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC-CHAD: Government frees 82 prisoners, signals easing of tension with Chad IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) has released 82 prisoners, among them Chadians, who have been in jail since 4 February in connection with rebel attempts to overthrow the government, the state prosecutor of Bangui's Tribunal of First Instance, Dominique Said Panguindji, told IRIN on Thursday.

  • IVORY COAST VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- Anti-government rebels in Ivory Coast are denying they massacred more than 50 policemen as alleged in a new Amnesty International report. The document is the latest in a series on reported human-rights violations in the West African country
  • PHILIPPINES/POWER ATTACK VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- The southern Philippine island of Mindanao suffers a total blackout Thursday after suspected Muslim separatist rebels bomb a key power transmission line. This is the 12th attack on power installations since government troops launched an offensive against the group early this month.
  • SOMALIA: Civil society warns against disrupting peace talks IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- Civil society delegates at the Somali peace talks near Nairobi, Kenya, said on Thursday they would resist any attempts to disrupt the conference.
  • Great Lakes: Peace still elusive, says UN agency IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- The number of people affected by conflict in the Great Lakes region has increased by more than 500,000, and the overall peace situation in the region remains precarious, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Support Office for Central and East Africa says in a new report.
  • ERITREA: Feature - Sniffing out mines IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- Working upwind and almost at the full extent of her 10-metre leash, Sasha suddenly doubles back and excitedly begins to circle a particular spot. After scratching the ground for a moment she sits and looks back expectantly at her handler, who raises his arm and shouts “mine!”
  • BURUNDI: AU appeals to warring factions for restraint IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- The African Union (AU), the continent's foremost political body, has appealed to Burundi's warring parties and their leaders to "show restraint and a spirit of compromise with a view to preserving the gains made and to complete the process of restoring peace to the country".
  • ANGOLA: Security challenges post-Savimbi IRIN 27 Feb 2003 -- The reintegration of ex-UNITA soldiers, the resettlement of displaced people and the removal of landmines were key to continued peace in Angola, an international political think-tank said on Thursday.

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 27 Feb 2003
  • SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 27 Feb 2003
  • Countries succeed in meeting UN treaty deadline for destroying landmines UN News Centre 27 Feb 2003 -- Forty-four of the 45 countries required to destroy their remaining stockpiles of landmines under a United Nations treaty have succeeded in doing so within the prescribed time frame, making it one of the most successful disarmament accords, UN officials said today.
  • U.S. Honoring Pledge to Help Rebuild Afghanistan AFPS 27 Feb 2003 -- The United States is honoring its pledge to rebuild Afghanistan, senior defense officials said in a background briefing today.
  • Bush 'Deeply Impressed' With Accomplishments in Post-War Afghanistan AFPS 27 Feb 2003 -- The presidents of the United States and Afghanistan today discussed post-war reconstruction accomplishments in Afghanistan at a White House meeting.
  • White House Releases Bush Statements in Support of Afghanistan Washington File 27 Feb 2003 -- The Office of Global Communications in the White House has released a collection of President Bush's statements regarding U.S. support for Afghanistan on the occasion of the visit by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to Washington February 27.
  • U.S. Challenges Belarus on Democratization, Human Rights Washington File 27 Feb 2003 -- U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Stephan Minikes took the occasion February 27 of the seating of the Belarus delegation in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on procedural grounds to challenge the Belarusian government to take meaningful steps towards democratization and respect for human rights.
  • Bush Receives Afghan President Karzai at White House Washington File 27 Feb 2003 -- President Bush has praised visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai as a courageous leader with a clear vision who has achieved "tremendous progress" for his country in the past year.
  • Regime Change in Cuba VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- In 1959, rebel army leader Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba and has ruled the island nation ever since. Supported by the Soviet Union, the communist Castro regime exported revolution throughout Latin America and Africa for more than three decades. But now, with the collapse of communism throughout much of the world -- is it time for change in Cuba?
  • CONGRESS / COLOMBIA VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- The Bush administration is reporting some success in efforts to eradicate coca in Colombia. However, the administration's top narcotics control official was pressed by skeptical lawmakers in a congressional hearing (Thursday) about the effectiveness of U-S policy in Colombia and other countries.
  • WAR CRIMES / BOSNIA VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- Judges at the U-N war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia have sentenced a former president of the Bosnian Serb Republic to 11 years in prison for crimes against humanity for her role in a campaign of murder, torture and expulsions of non-Serbs. Biljana Plavsic is the highest-ranking politician from former Yugoslavia to be sentenced for war-time atrocities.
  • EDITORIAL: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN BURMA VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- The disregard for human rights by Burma's military rulers "extends to every conceivable category of violation." That is the assessment of Lorne Craner, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. In a February 15th address, he said the Burmese regime "suppresses political dissent by censorship, persecution, beatings, disappearances, and imprisonment." Some political prisoners have been released, but more than one-thousand four-hundred political prisoners continue to languish in Burmese jails. And their numbers are growing.
  • ISRAEL-POLITICS VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has presented his new government to parliament. His reorganized Cabinet includes his long-time Likud Party political rival, Benjamin Netanyahu as Finance Minister, although Mr. Netanyahu, initially turned down the post on Wednesday.
  • ZIMBABWE / POLITICS VOA 27 Feb 2003 -- Signs of discontent within Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu P-F party seem to be growing more public. Former finance minister Simba Makoni is emerging as a party favorite to, someday, replace President Robert Mugabe.



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