UNITED24 - Make a charitable donation in support of Ukraine!

Military


01 April 2003 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • BACKGROUND REPORT - Afghanistan/Iraq VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- American troops are at war in two places -- Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Air Force surgeon general: 'We are ready' AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- Improvements in the deployment process since the 1991 Gulf War have resulted in a more fit and healthy fighting force, the Air Force surgeon general told a House committee March 27.
  • AWACS keep flying despite challenges AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- About 45 people deployed from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., work together to make sure the E-3 Sentry, better known as the Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft or AWACS, is ready to launch within an hour if needed.
  • AFGHANISTAN: Yet again NGOs cite serious security concerns IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- Following the murder of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegate in the southern province of Kandahar last Thursday, some international aid agencies have suspended work in southern provinces.

Defense Policy / Programs

  • LIMITED RSOI/FE 03 ASSETS TO TEMPORARILY REMAIN IN REPUBLIC OF KOREA US Forces Korea News Release 01 Apr 2003-- In agreement with the ROK Government, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Forces Korea selected a limited number of forces, including personnel and equipment, to remain in the Republic of Korea after the conclusion of RSOI/FE 03. The primary purpose of this decision is to extend familiarization training.
  • White House Press Briefing White House 01 Apr 2003
  • `Digital bridge' brings technology to Stryker Brigade at NTC Army News 01 Apr 2003 -- The first-ever Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Lewis, Wash., is not only demonstrating how rapidly it can deploy, it's showing the value of speedy digital information.
  • TURKEY / U-S VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- U-S Secretary of State Colin Powell is due to arrive in Turkey late Tuesday in a visit meant to reaffirm the importance the United States attaches to relations with its NATO ally.
  • Port Hueneme Division Welcomes New Self Defense Test Ship NAVSEA News 01 Apr 2003 -- In a wharf-side ceremony on March 27, the decommissioned USS Paul F. Foster (DD 964) was turned over to Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division as the Navy's new Self Defense Test Ship (SDTS).
  • U.S., Australia to Modernize Advanced Capability Torpedoes Under Armaments Cooperative Project NAVSEA News 01 Apr 2003 -- A new partnership between Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and the Australian Navy will allow for joint development of the next-generation heavyweight torpedo.
  • Willow Grove Home to Military's 1st NASMOD Navy NewStand 01 Apr 2003 -- The military's first National Airspace System Modernization (NASMOD) project officially went on line March 25 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the base's Radar Air Traffic Control Facility was held in the base's air operations terminal.
  • Three armed forces hotels in Europe to close early Army News 01 Apr 2003 -- Three Armed Forces Recreation Center hotels in Germany - two at Lake Chiemsee and one in Garmisch - will close a year earlier than planned, Army officials announced.
  • Personnel training teams visiting bases AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- Help is on the way for Military Personnel Data System users, which should lead to better customer service for airmen and commanders, according to an Air Force Personnel Center official here.
  • Scientists, engineers vital to Air Force mission AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- The Air Force is having difficulty recruiting and retaining its civilian and military scientist and engineering workforce, Gen. Lester L. Lyles, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, told senators March 31.
  • Troops hope their work doesn't come home AFPN 01 Apr 2003 -- They descended on a forward-deployed location with one focus: building bombs. Not just any bombs. They wanted to build the kind that don't come back. It is the lifeblood of any ammo troop.
  • CCATTs provide critical care in the air AMCNS 01 Apr 2003 -- A soldier, critically wounded during battle, is treated at a field hospital. After initial surgery, the soldier is still in critical condition and needs better medical treatment right away.
  • Roosevelt Roads Bids Farewell to Seabees Navy NewStand 01 Apr 2003 -- After 34 years of service on Naval Station Roosevelt Roads (NSRR), Puerto Rico, the Seabees who deploy to Camp Moscrip on the naval station are saying farewell this spring.
  • CONGRESS / NATO / IRAQ VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The U-S Ambassador to NATO says he believes the western alliance will survive deep rifts over the U-S-led war to disarm Iraq. Ambassador Nicholas Burns testified before a Senate panel Tuesday as Secretary of State Colin Powell prepares to discuss the war with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels later this week.
  • Burns Urges Senate Ratification of Seven New NATO Members Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- America needs "a permanent Alliance willing and able to take on the dangers posed by terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and other new threats," and U.S. policies "are designed to ensure that NATO can continue to meet this challenge," Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee April 1.

  • UGANDA: Court upholds right to execute soldiers without appeal IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- The Ugandan Constitutional Court on Monday upheld a law that allows the execution of Ugandan soldiers without appeal to the Supreme Court.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

  • DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 01 Apr 2003

  • GLOBAL: Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- The reality of millions of civilians caught up in armed conflict is desperate, and civilians are now the main casualties of war worldwide – often specifically targeted by warring parties rather than merely caught up in the fighting.

  • PALESTINIAN PEACE PLAN VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- As Washington's preoccupation with the war in Iraq continues, some newspaper editorial columns are complaining the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is being shoved onto the back burner.
  • ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The Israeli army has destroyed the homes of five Palestinians, including that of the young suicide bomber who blew himself up Sunday in front of a crowded cafe in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya.
  • Annan 'happy' Quartet to push forward with plan for Middle East peace UN News Centre 01 Apr 2003 -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said he is "happy" that the diplomatic Quartet - comprising the United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation and United States - is determined to move ahead with a plan to resolve the Middle East crisis.

  • CONGO / TALKS VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Hopes are rising for an agreement that may bring an end to the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. All parties at the final session of the inter-Congolese dialogue in South Africa have endorsed transitional power-sharing agreements for Congo. However, one obstacle remains: there is still no agreement on a new national army.
  • DRC: MONUC deplores rebel capture of towns IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, denounced on Tuesday the capture of two towns in eastern DRC by a Rwandan-backed rebel group, the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma (RCD-Goma).
  • DRC: Parties endorse document of transitional constitution IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- Government representatives and rebel groups from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), meeting in South Africa for the final session of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, have unanimously endorsed a transitional constitution to govern DRC for two years.

  • SOMALIA: UN recommends sanctions for arms embargo violators IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- A United Nations panel of experts has recommended imposing sanctions on violators of the UN arms embargo on Somalia.
  • SOMALIA: UN team visits Mogadishu for talks on access, security IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- A high-level UN team recently visited the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to discuss issues of humanitarian access and security, a UN official told IRIN on Tuesday.

  • Hundreds in Venezuela displaced by armed groups from Colombia, UN says UN News Centre 01 Apr 2003 -- Hundreds of people have been displaced by incursions into Venezuela by irregular armed groups from Colombia and reported armed clashes along the border between the two countries, the United Nations refugee agency said today as it appealed to all combatants to respect the rights of the civilian population.
  • ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Tigrayan officials warn of clashes over Badme IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- The president of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which borders Eritrea, has warned of local clashes following a recent announcement that the controversial village of Badme is in Eritrea.
  • UGANDA: Political pluralism may curb insurgencies, analyst says IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- A decision by President Yoweri Museveni to allow political parties to operate freely in Uganda could help end a 17-year insurgency in northern Ugandan and increase the prospects for peace with the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), according to regional analysts.
  • Great Lakes: Luanda, Kinshasa, UN agency agree to repatriate Angolan refugees IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the governments of Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have agreed on a plan to repatriate at least 163,000 Angolan refugees from the DRC beginning May, the UN agency reported on Monday.
  • BURUNDI: UN rights rapporteur says violence against civilians increasing IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- The UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Burundi has reported an increase in violence against civilians caught up in 10 years of civil war.
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Interview with Col Daoud Soumain Khalil, commander of Chadians forces in Bangui IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- Francois Bozize and his fighters met little resistance as they carried out a successful coup on 15 March against the Central African Republic president, Ange-Felix Patasse.
  • LIBERIA: Thousands cut off from aid in the east, says MSF IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- Fighting in eastern Liberia, including an attack on Zwedru town in Grand Gedeh County on Thursday, has prevented the entire region bordering Cote d'Ivoire from receiving aid, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF-France) reported in a press statement on Tuesday. MSF said nearly 75,000 refugees, among other vulnerable people, lived in the region.
  • COTE D'IVOIRE: Humanitarian situation continues to cause concern IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- Thousands of people in Cote d'Ivoire continue to be affected by spiralling violence in the west, rebel activities stifling the economy in the north and displacement from their homes in the south, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday.

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 01 Apr 2003
  • SHAPE News Summary Analysis SHAPE 01 Apr 2003
  • HORN OF AFRICA / FOOD VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- More than 11-million people will face starvation in the Horn of Africa this year if the world does not increase food aid to the region, a U-N oficial told the U-S Congress at a hearing Tuesday.
  • U-S / CUBA / HIJACKING VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The U-S and Cuban governments are exchanging angry comments after the second hijacking of a Cuban airliner to the United States in the span of two weeks. Cuba says U-S immigration policy is encouraging the incidents, while the Bush administration says Cuban police should clamp down on airport security, rather than political dissidents.
  • ZIMBABWE / POLITICS VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The vice-president of Zimbabwe's opposition party, who also heads the opposition in parliament, was expected, during a court appearance Tuesday, to be charged with trying to overthrow the government. The charges against the senior party official, Gibson Sibanda, are some of the most serious in Zimbabwean law.
  • W-H-O/SARS VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- The World Health Organization, W-H-O, says it is considering issuing an international travel and health advisory for people traveling to areas affected by a mysterious flu-like illness known as SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. The Geneva-based World Economic Forum has postponed a meeting scheduled for mid-April in Beijing because of fears of contracting the disease.
  • Powell Says U.S. Committed to Advancing Human Rights Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- The State Department's 2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, says Secretary of State Colin Powell, "reflect the steadfast commitment of the United States to advance internationally agreed human rights principles worldwide."
  • State Department Documents Human Rights Abuses in Middle East in 2002 Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- The State Department's 2002 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released March 31, 2003, criticizes the human rights situation in many countries of the Middle East, including longstanding U.S. allies such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
  • SAN JOSE / QUARANTINE VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Health officials briefly quarantined an airliner at the San Jose, California, airport today (Tuesday) after five people on board complained of symptoms similar to those of the deadly new illness arriving from Asia.
  • SARS Cases, Countries Affected Still Rising Washington File 01 Apr 2003 -- The number of individuals and nations affected by a newly emerging respiratory disease increased again on April 1, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
  • THE FUTURE OF THE U-N VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- President George W. Bush challenged the United Nations to enforce a dozen years' worth of resolutions on Iraq. The U-N Security Council unanimously passed resolution 1441, giving the regime of Saddam Hussein one final chance to destroy its weapons of mass destruction. When Iraq failed to cooperate, the U-N failed to act. As a result, the United States, Britain, and Spain are now leading a coalition of more than forty nations to disarm Iraq.
  • ASIA PNEUMONIA/REGION VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Asian governments are increasing their safeguards against the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS - a deadly new type of pneumonia that has claimed more than 60 lives and infected 17-hundred people on three continents
  • ASIA / PNEUMONIA VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- Scientists around the world are investigating the possibility that the virus causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is spread not only through close contact but also through body waste.
  • EAST AFRICA / FAMINE VOA 01 Apr 2003 -- U-S officials and members of Congress have expressed renewed concern about famine in Africa. The governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as Zimbabwe, came under sharp criticism during a hearing of the House International Relations Committee.
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Bozize forms transitional government IRIN 01 Apr 2003 -- Prime Minister Abel Goumba of the Central African Republic named his 28-member transitional government on Monday, comprising representatives of civil society and all political parties. He also promised to restructure financial services and pay civil servants 32 months of salary arrears.



NEWSLETTER
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list