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Military


15 May 2003 Military News

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

  • CJTF-HOA TO HOLD CHANGE OF COMMAND CENTCOM 15 May 2003 -- Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) Commander Maj. Gen. John F. Sattler will turn over command to Brig. Gen. Mastin M. Robeson, United States Marine Corps, on May 24 in a ceremony at the CJTF-HOA headquarters here.
  • USS Harry S. Truman Strike Group Headed Home Navy Newsstand 15 May 2003-- More than 8,000 Sailors from the ships and squadrons that comprise the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group will return from deployment May 23. Most of the Sailors that deployed were from the Hampton Roads, Va., area.
  • Task Force Tarawa Marines Return to Bataan Navy Newsstand 15 May 2003-- Four and-a-half months ago when the order came to deploy to the Arabian Gulf on short notice, USS Bataan (LHD 5) and the embarked Marines of Task Force Tarawa, headed East not knowing exactly what their mission was, nor when they would return.
  • EOD team clears the way for forward aviation operations base Unexploded ordnance litters the ground after decades of war in Southern Iraq Marine Corps News 15 May 2003-- Working in the scorching sun of Southern Iraq is not an easy assignment for the hundreds of Marines and Sailors tasked with building and maintaining the forward aviation operations base here. Along with the threat of a possible attack from enemy forces and extreme heat, they face the menace of the explosive remnants from decades of war lying hidden underfoot.
  • 'MAG-11 CO leads Red Devils home from OIF Marine Corps News 15 May 2003-- Approximately 165 Marines of the Marine Corps' oldest and most decorated active fighter attack squadron returned home to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar May 9.
  • V CORPS' 1st armored division bEGINS MOVE TO BAGHDAD V Corps Release 15 May 2003-- The 1st Armored Division's Assault Command Post has rolled out for Baghdad, Iraq.

  • RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Vol 2, Number 16 15 May 2003 -- NEPOTISM, CRONYISM WIDESPREAD IN AFGHANISTAN / U.S. DECLARES END OF MAJOR COMBAT IN AFGHANISTAN... / ...AS U.S. REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO SECURING AFGHANISTAN / UN SECURITY COUNCIL OUTLINES TASKS FOR AFGHANISTAN... / ...AS UN REPRESENTATIVE FOR AFGHANISTAN CALLS FOR EXPANDED FORCE / NATO TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR NEXT ISAF DEPLOYMENT / U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS AL-QAEDA STILL ACTIVE IN AFGHANISTAN... / ...AS THE G-8 AGREES / SENIOR TALIBAN OFFICIAL SURFACES, RENEWS CALL FOR JIHAD / AFGHAN FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS AGAINST SUPPORTING TALIBAN... / ...AS AFGHANS PROTEST CHAIRMAN'S AMNESTY OFFER TO TALIBAN MEMBERS... / ...AND MOSCOW DENIES CHANNELING FUNDS TO TALIBAN / AFGHAN CLERIC KILLED ON WAY TO PRAYERS / ONE KILLED IN ATTACK ON DEMINING TEAM IN AFGHANISTAN... / ...FORCING UN TO HALT DEMINING ALONG KEY ROUTE IN AFGHANISTAN / TWO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS REPORTEDLY KILLED IN AFGHAN LAND-MINE BLAST / TWO NORWEGIAN PEACEKEEPERS IN AFGHANISTAN INJURED IN ATTACK / ANTI-U.S. PROTEST HELD IN KABUL... / ...AS AFGHAN MEDIA SAYS PROTEST WAS OVER UNPAID SALARIES / PRESS CLUB INAUGURATED IN KABUL... / ...AS AFGHANISTAN NAMED THE FOURTH-WORST PLACE TO BE A JOURNALIST... / ...AND AFGHAN CHAIRMAN APPROVES COMMITTEE FOR JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS... / ... BUT THE SUPREME COURT CALLS FOR EVENTUAL END TO FOREIGN FM BROADCASTS / COUNCIL ORGANIZED BY AFGHAN SUPREME COURT SAYS SHARI'A IS THE ONLY LAW... / ...AND RECOMMENDS STRICT ADHERENCE TO RELIGIOUS RULINGS / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY
  • AFGHANISTAN'S CHALLENGES VOA 15 May 2003 -- U-S Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stopped in Kabul earlier this month to announce that American troops had ended major combat operations in Afghanistan. Mr. Rumsfeld said that U-S soldiers will now focus primarily on maintaining security and on rebuilding the war-torn country. Visiting Kabul a week later, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said, "Although we may be occupied at present in Iraq, the United States is not going to forget our responsibilities here in Afghanistan." Conditions in Afghanistan continue to be dangerous. On May 13th, two Norwegian peacekeepers were wounded when they were shot by a rogue Afghan soldier. In April, several U-S soldiers were wounded and one killed in a gun battle with remnants of the Taleban. And in March, an aid worker with the International Red Cross was murdered along an Afghan road. President Hamid Karzai, leader of Afghanistan's interim government, said that his country "has gone through thirty years of anarchy, war and instability." He said, "We have to give this nation the institutions that will provide it with the administration that is needed." How goes the rebuilding of Afghanistan?
  • Armed escorts to accompany UN road missions in southwest Afghanistan UN News Centre 15 May 2003 -- Responding to increasingly serious attacks on United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in southwestern Afghanistan, the UN mission announced today that road missions would only take place there with armed escorts provided by Afghan authorities at a level equal to security needs.
  • Afghanistan: Karzai Calls On Provincial Governors To Send Revenues For Afghan Budget RFE/L 15 May 2003 -- Afghanistan's internationally backed central government is, once again, involved in a standoff with independent regional leaders in the country. The Transitional Authority is trying to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues collected as customs duties by provincial governors outside of Kabul.

Defense Policy / Programs

  • Transcript: DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers 15 May 2003 -- DoD News Briefing. Participating were Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.

  • Rumsfeld: Afghan, Iraq War Success Validates Budget Request AFPS 15 May 2003 -- DoD's fiscal 2004 budget proposal now before Congress "is the first to fully reflect the new defense strategies and policies, and the lessons of the global war on terror," the military's top civilian told senior legislators here May 14.
  • H-60 simulator unveiled NAVAIR 15 May 2003 -- Capt. Jim Pendly, Helicopter Anti Submarine Warfare Squadron commodore at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and Sam Cahoon, maritime program manager for Lockheed Martin Manassas, unveil a new and upgraded SH-60F/HH-60H simulator recently in Jacksonville.
  • DOD RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT ON PROCUREMENT, SMALL AND OTHER BUSINESS FIRMS 15 May 2003 -- Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge authorized the release of the Department of Defense (DoD) annual report on procurement from small and other business firms for fiscal 2002, May 13, 2003.
  • PENTAGON/CONGO VOA 15 May 2003 -- The U-S Defense Department says it has no plans to get involved in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where ethnic bloodshed has spurred fears of a new genocide and triggered calls for a special international peacekeeping force.
  • Stryker Brigade moves across country for evaluation at Polk Army News Service 15 May 2003-- The Army's first Stryker Brigade Combat Team will complete a cross-country move this weekend from the west coast to air and seaports in Louisiana in preparation for the brigade's operational evaluation exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center.
  • 'We got it right' Commandant discusses OIF, future of the Corps Marine Corps News 15 May 2003-- Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Michael Hagee, and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Sgt. Maj. Alford McMichael, visited Marine Corps Air Station Miramar May 13.
  • Officials release A-10 accident report AFPN 15 May 2003-- Air Force investigators determined pilot error caused the Dec. 4 collision of two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs on the Nevada Test and Training Range approximately 98 miles northwest of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
  • Air Force negotiates extra Raptor AFPN 15 May 2003-- Air Force officials have negotiated the procurement of one additional F/A-22 Raptor as part of a recent purchase, raising the total to 21 aircraft, according to service acquisition officials.
  • Myers praises 64th AEW during visit AFPN 15 May 2003-- America's top general stopped briefly at a forward-deployed location May 11 to thank the people of the 64th Air Expeditionary Wing for their contributions to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Defense Industry

  • General Dynamics Awarded $5 Million Order to Upgrade Fort Gordon Telecommunications System General Dynamics 15 May 2003 -- General Dynamics Network Systems has won a $5.1 million delivery order to upgrade and expand the telecommunications voice network at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga., under the U.S. Army's Digital Switched Systems Modernization Program (DSSMP). General Dynamics Network Systems is a business unit in the General Dynamics Information Systems and Technology group.
  • AgustaWestland Selects Bell Helicopter as Airframe Manufacturer for US101 Production Lockheed Martin 15 May 2003 -- AgustaWestland announced today that it has reached agreement with Bell Helicopter, a Textron Company, of Fort Worth, Texas to form a Joint Venture company to manufacture the US101 helicopter in America The Joint Venture company will act as a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin which, as prime contractor and systems integrator, will have overall responsibility for the program and delivery of the US101 helicopter to the customer.
  • Lockheed Martin to Acquire ORINCON Lockheed Martin 15 May 2003 -- Lockheed Martin Corporation [NYSE:LMT] today announced that it has agreed to acquire ORINCON Corporation International, a privately held defense and information technology company. The transaction, subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions, is expected to close by the end of the second quarter. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
  • Lockheed Martin Successfully Tests Revolutionary Strike Weapons Guidance System Lockheed Martin 15 May 2003 -- Lockheed Martin has successfully demonstrated a new, precision seekerless strike weapon system at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. resulting in the direct hit of a point target obscured by clouds. The new system promises to revolutionize the United States' next-generation strike weapons, beginning with the U.S. Air Force's new Small Diameter Bomb.
  • Przemyslowy Instytut Telekomunikacji Of Poland And Boeing Work To Define Missile Defense Architecture Boeing 15 May 2003 -- Boeing [NYSE:BA] and Przemyslowy Instytut Telekomunikacji (PIT) of Poland announced today plans to jointly study a missile defense architecture.
  • Northrop Grumman Upgrades Satellite Command and Control System Northrop Grumman 15 May 2003 -- With the addition of a new command-generation capability developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Mission Systems sector, the Launch and Network Control Equipment (LANCE) system is now a full-service satellite command and control system.
  • Defense Information Systems Agency Awards Northrop Grumman Agile Transportation for 21st Century Contract Northrop Grumman 15 May 2003 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received a contract for an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration that will support the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) with tools to reduce costs and better manage the Defense Transportation System (DTS) during peacetime and wartime.

Other Conflicts

  • DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 15 May 2003

  • INDONESIA/ACEH VOA 15 May 2003 -- Indonesian government officials and rebels from the province of Aceh are to meet Saturday in a last-ditch effort to salvage a frayed truce. However, the talks are given little chance of success. The Indonesian military is preparing a massive military assault to crush the rebels, and there appears to be no change in either side's position. There is a long history of mutual suspicion and distrust.
  • Bush Hails Decision by Indonesia to Resume Aceh Talks Washington File 15 May 2003 -- President Bush hailed the decision taken by Indonesia's government and the leadership of the Free Aceh Movement to resume talks in Tokyo this weekend regarding the implementation of a ceasefire agreement between the two sides in the struggle over Aceh.
  • U.S., EU, Japan Voice Concern About Aceh Peace Process Washington File 15 May 2003 -- In a joint statement by the co-chairs of the Tokyo Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh released by the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, the United States, Japan, the European Union, and the World Bank expressed their concern over what they described as the "imminent breakdown" of the peace process in Aceh.
  • INDONESIA ACEH TALKS VOA 15 May 2003 -- The Indonesian government and leaders from the separatist Free Aceh Movement have agreed to hold talks in an effort avoid new fighting in Aceh. The agreement comes on the same day as a government deadline for the rebels to return to the negotiating table.

  • DR of Congo: UN moves to secure ceasefire between warring factions in Bunia UN News Centre 15 May 2003 -- The United Nations has stepped up efforts to secure a limited ceasefire and move additional doctors and medical supplies into the troubled Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where rival groups have been fighting for control of the main town of Bunia for nearly two weeks.
  • DRC: Uganda denies leaving behind weaponry in Bunia IRIN 15 May 2003 -- Departing Ugandan troops left behind weapons which were seized by militias fighting in Bunia, the principal town of Ituri district in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN said on Wednesday. Uganda has strongly denied the claim.
  • CONGO: Lack of disarmament impedes fight against small arms IRIN 15 May 2003 -- Disarming militias remains a large problem in the Republic of Congo (ROC), and a nationwide programme of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration is essential in the fight against the trafficking of small arms, a government report recommended.

  • SOMALIA: Puntland talks hit snag IRIN 15 May 2003 -- Peace talks to end conflict in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland have become bogged down over the issue of power-sharing, sources in Bosaso told IRIN on Thursday.
  • SOMALIA: Peace talks enter critical stage IRIN 15 May 2003 -- The Somali peace talks, currently under way in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have entered their final and critical stage, Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka told delegates on Wednesday when he opened a plenary session of the conference.

  • BURUNDI-TANZANIA: "Limitations" in refugee camps forcing hundreds to leave IRIN 15 May 2003 -- Hundreds of Burundian refugees reported to be voluntarily repatriating from two camps in western Tanzania are doing so because of "the reduction in food rations and the restrictions on economic activities outside the camps," a humanitarian organisation has said.
  • BURUNDI: Over 12,000 civilians flee army offensive IRIN 15 May 2003 -- More than 12,000 people have fled Bubanza Province, northwestern Burundi, since 8 May when the army launched an offensive against Forces pour la defence de la democratie (FDD) rebels, humanitarian workers said on Thursday.

  • ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS VOA 15 May 2003 -- Israeli troops raided the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip early Thursday, killing three Palestinians including a young boy. Israel says it launched the raid to stop Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel.
  • ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN PEACE VOA 15 May 2003 -- The differences between Israelis and Palestinians are wider than ever, after more than two-and-a-half years of violence. Young Palestinian suicide bombers continue to blow up Israeli civilians. Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian militants and civilians, demolish Palestinian homes, and confiscate Palestinian land. But, amid this violence, some Israelis and Palestinians are working together to protest what is happening.

  • Consultative Group Examines Progress of Guatemala Peace Process Washington File 15 May 2003 -- The United States was among many nations and multilateral agencies represented at a May 13-14 international gathering in Guatemala City to examine the progress of peace and reconciliation in Guatemala.
  • GUATEMALA / PEACE VOA 15 May 2003 -- In Guatemala City, a two-day meeting of representatives of donor nations and international organizations supporting Guatemala's peace process has ended, with a call to invigorate what many argue is a stagnating peace process.

  • PRESS BRIEFING ON LIBERIA United Nations 15 May 2003
  • LIBERIA/WAR VOA 15 May 2003 -- Hundreds-of-thousands of civilians in Liberia are facing a growing humanitarian crisis because of the escalating civil war there. The United Nations and human rights organizations are urging the government and rebels to agree to a power-sharing government at peace talks in Ghana next month.
  • UN officials urge Liberia to find solutions for 'desperate' displaced people UN News Centre 15 May 2003 -- The top United Nations humanitarian official in Liberia - a country caught in the grip of ongoing violence and civil unrest - today called on the Security Council to quickly reschedule a planned mission to the volatile West African region where hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people are "desperate" for help.

  • Sierra Leone: UN-backed court questions circumstances of rebel leader's death UN News Centre 15 May 2003 -- Senior officials from the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone said today that new information about the killing of former rebel fighter Sam Bockarie, including the alleged involvement of Liberian President Charles Taylor, raises questions about the circumstances of his death earlier this month.
  • Rocca Urges Continuation of Sri Lankan Peace Negotiations Washington File 15 May 2003 -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca, speaking in Colombo on May 14, noted that the Sri Lankan peace process has "moved from strength to strength" and that "for this record of dedication ... the people of Sri Lanka and their negotiators have my government's admiration and congratulations."
  • HORN OF AFRICA: Sattler to hand over command of US anti-terror force IRIN 15 May 2003 -- Major General John Sattler, who currently heads the US anti-terror task force in the Horn of Africa, is to hand over command to Brigadier General Mastin M. Robeson of the Marine Corps later this month.
  • RWANDA: ICTR finds two former officials guilty of genocide IRIN 15 May 2003 -- The UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found two former Rwandan officials guilty of genocide and convicted one to life imprisonment and the other to 25 years in jail, the ICTR reported on Thursday.
  • LIBERIA-SIERRA LEONE: Special Court says Liberia killed Bockarie's family IRIN 15 May 2003 -- The chief of investigations at the Special Court for Sierra Leone Alan White said on Thursday he had credible information that the family of indicted war criminal Sam Bockarie had been killed in Liberia. Another court offical said the family may have been eliminated to avoid possible DNA profiling.

News Reports

  • SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 15 May 2003
  • SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 15 May 2003

  • U-S/ASIA/SARS VOA 15 May 2003 -- A top U-S health official has reacted against stern new Chinese measures to punish people who deliberately spread the SARS virus. The United States has also dropped its warning against travel to Vietnam, where SARS transmission has stopped.
  • ASIA SARS VOA 15 May 2003 -- The World Health Organization says that an outbreak of a flu-like illness at a mental hospital in Singapore may be influenza and not Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The U-N agency says it is increasingly worried about Taiwan, where the SARS outbreak has gone island-wide.
  • CHINA SARS VOA 15 May 2003 -- China says it will shoot or jail people who break out of quarantine and intentionally spread the deadly SARS virus. The stern warning comes as the government also promises to rebuild its creaking rural health care system.

  • ZIMBABWE / LAND VOA 15 May 2003 -- Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has appointed an eight-member committee to review the country's controversial land-reform program, launched in 2000.
  • EU: Slovaks Head To Polls To Vote In Referendum RFE/L 15 May 2003 -- Slovaks are going to the polls tomorrow and Saturday (16-17 May) to vote for or against joining the European Union. The biggest concern, for the country's leaders, is making sure enough voters take the time to cast their ballots. With support for EU membership running at over 70 percent, the question is not whether Slovaks want to join the EU -- but if the referendum will be valid.
  • UN envoy says Kosovo Assembly's resolution 'divisive' UN News Centre 15 May 2003 -- The provisional local authorities in Kosovo were today excluded from United Nations delegations to three forthcoming international meetings after the provincial assembly passed a resolution that the top UN official there called "divisive" and against the spirit of avoiding a return to Kosovo's violent past.
  • POWELL/EUROPE VOA 15 May 2003 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell is paying a 24-hour visit to Germany that officials hope will begin to repair bilateral ties damaged by Berlin's fierce opposition to the U-S-led war in Iraq. Security is tight in the German capital as it awaits Mr. Powell's visit.
  • ISRAEL-STRIKE VOA 15 May 2003 -- A national strike by Israeli public sector unions has intensified, hitting banks, the stock exchange, and the country's international airport. The strike is in protest of massive cuts planned in this year's government budget. .
  • INDIA TRAIN FIRE VOA 15 May 2003 -- A fire swept through an express train in northern India, killing at least 38 people and injuring more than 20 others.
  • ORBITAL SHIPS BSAT-2c GEO COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE Orbital Sciences Corp. 15 May 2003 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that the company-built BSAT-2c geostationary (GEO) communications satellite has been shipped to the space launch complex in Kourou, French Guiana, where it is scheduled to be launched aboard an Ariane 5 rocket in mid-June.



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