Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• AFGHAN SECURITY VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- International peacekeepers in Kabul, Afghanistan, have paid last respects to four of their German comrades, killed in a suicide bombing on Saturday. U-N officials say security concerns are high as these are the first such killings in the Afghan capital.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Transcript: Under Secretary Chu Briefing on the National Security Personnel System 10 Jun 2003 -- Briefing on the National Security Personnel System

• Civil Reserve Air Fleet Stage I Deactivation Announced TRANSCOM 10 Jun 2003 -- The commander, U.S. Transportation Command has determined that continuation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet call up is not required and has notified CRAF carriers that all aircraft called up will be released on June 18, 2003.
• MACS-2 monitors allied aircraft in Middle East Marine Corps News 10 Jun 2003-- During Operation Iraqi Freedom the Marines of Marine Air Control Squadron 2 took a pivotal role in the safety of nearly every coalition pilot and aircraft.
• Georgia Guardsmen train for NTC Army News Service 10 Jun 2003-- More than 4,000 Georgia Army National Guard soldiers will spend the next two weeks training in the sand and swamps here for a rotation in the deserts of the National Training Center in 2005.
• Apache Longbows arrive in Korea Army News Service 10 Jun 2003-- A squadron of AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters returned to South Korea last week after completing a year of the Army's transformation and modernization program at Fort Hood, Texas.
• Naval Coastal Warfare Mission in Iraqi Port Ends Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- Naval Coastal Warfare (NCW) forces departed the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr recently, ending their two-month port security and harbor defense mission.
• Kearsarge, 2D MEB Support Presidential Summits In Egypt And Jordan Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (2D MEB) stood on station in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, in support of President George W. Bush's visits to Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, June 3 and Aqaba, Jordan, June 4.
• Navy Hospital Ship Comfort to Return From Iraqi Freedom Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) will return home to Baltimore from the Arabian Gulf June 12, ending a rapidly-begun, five-month mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
• USS Grapple Returns to Norfolk Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- More than 100 Sailors aboard the rescue and salvage ship USS Grapple (ARS 53) will return to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek from Operation Iraqi Freedom June 24.
• USS Columbia Returns from Operation Iraqi Freedom Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- As one of four Pacific fleet submarines to participate in Tomahawk strikes in Operation Iraqi Freedom, USS Columbia (SSN 771) returned to its homeport of Pearl Harbor June 6.
• BALTOPS 2003 Kicks Off In The Baltic Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- Sailors from around the world and throughout the Baltic region arrived in Gdynia, Poland, June 5, to kick off the 31st annual maritime exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2003.
• 'Wheels Down': FH-3 Arrives Home to Heroes' Welcome Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- The men and women of Fleet Hospital (FH) 3 returned home to Pensacola, Fla., June 9 to a heroes' welcome by more than 450 family members and staff of Naval Hospital (NH) Pensacola.
• Sigonella Security Team Keeping Supplies Under Wraps Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- It is just another day in Augusta Bay, but not according to Naval Air Station Sigonella's (NASSIG) Mobile Afloat Security Team (MAST). Out of more than 400 motivated security personnel to choose from, 35 highly recommended individuals were given the call to become part of the team.
• O'Bannon Completes Multinational ASW Exercise Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- USS O'Bannon (DD 987), Patrol Squadron (VP) 45, Fleet Composite Squadron (VC) 6, and Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 46 completed Silent Forces Exercise (SIFOREX) June 10.
• Bonhomme Richard Combat Cargo Back-loads Gear, Helps Complete Mission in Gulf Navy Newsstand 10 Jun 2003-- USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) completed its mission in the Arabian Gulf, May 25, after back-loading Marine troops and vehicles in record time.
• New armor saves lives in Iraq Marine Corps News 10 Jun 2003-- Sometimes real life catches up to fiction and in the case of the armor plates used by Marines in Iraq, it may even pass it by.
• McGuire Starlifters thrive AFPN 10 Jun 2003-- The 6th Airlift Squadron here may be the last active-duty squadron in the Air Force still flying C-141B Starlifters; however, the aircraft is far from being retired.
• Modifications give F-16s new life AFPN 10 Jun 2003-- America's premier multirole fighter is "slipping" into some tougher armor that promises to extend the aircraft's life by about eight years.
• Rumsfeld Discusses NATO Membership With Albanians AFPS 10 Jun 2003 -- American and Albanian defense officials discussed the Balkan nation's desire to become a full-fledged member of NATO and the war on terrorism during meetings here today.
• Personnel Chief Says 'Time Is Now' for Changes in the System AFPS 10 Jun 2003 -- The "time is here and now" to modernize Defense Department personnel practices with changes to the civil service system, said David S. C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, during a Pentagon briefing today.
• Rumsfeld Thanks Portugal for Help on War on Terror AFPS 10 Jun 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld met with Portuguese Defense Minister Paulo Portas here today in advance of the NATO Defense Ministerial June 12.

• Rumsfeld Thanks Albania for Support in Iraq, Afghanistan Washington File 10 Jun 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Tirana June 10 and took the opportunity to thank Albania for its strong support in the global war on terror and, in particular, for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Rumsfeld Discusses NATO, Iraq During Stop in Portugal Washington File 10 Jun 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Portugal June 10 for a meeting with Portuguese Minister of State and Defense Paolo Portas and discussions regarding the future of NATO and Portugal's participation in Iraq peacekeeping.

Defense Industry

• Landmark Day As Final GR4 Is Delivered BAE Systems 10 Jun 2003 -- BAE Systems delivered the last of 142 Tornado GR4 Mid Life Update aircraft to the Royal Air Force at a celebration event held at Warton on 10 June.
• Lockheed Martin Wins New Contract on Defence Fixed Telecommunications Service Programme Lockheed Martin 10 Jun 2003 -- Lockheed Martin has announced that it has been awarded a further contract for the Defence Fixed Telecommunications Service (DFTS). The new contract includes scope for Programme Management, Risk, Business Efficiency, Quality Assurance, Configuration Management Leadership and IT services.
• TNO-FEL of The Netherlands To Supply Northrop Grumman With Algorithms for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Avionics Northrop Grumman 10 Jun 2003 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has contracted with the Organization for Applied Scientific Research, Physics and Electronics Laboratory (TNO-FEL) of the Netherlands to provide signal-conditioning algorithms for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's electro-optical distributed aperture system (EO DAS).
• TIPS Industries Present Mixed-Fleet Approach for NATO AGS; Companies Display trans-Atlantic Solution at 2003 Paris Air Show Northrop Grumman 10 Jun 2003 -- A cooperative mixed-fleet approach for NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) is being provided by the Transatlantic Industrial Proposed Solution (TIPS) industries, comprised of EADS, Galileo Avionica, Northrop Grumman ISS International Inc. and Thales. They will display their mixed-fleet solution during the Paris Air Show 2003.
• Lockheed Martin Files Lawsuit Against the Boeing Company Lockheed Martin 10 Jun 2003 -- Lockheed Martin Corporation [NYSE: LMT] today filed a lawsuit against The Boeing Company and three of Boeing's former employees. The 23-count complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando, alleges that Boeing and its employees committed violations of Federal and Florida law resulting from their solicitation, acquisition, and use of Lockheed Martin proprietary information during the competition for launch contract awards under the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. .

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 10 Jun 2003
• RED CROSS / LIBERIA VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- The International Committee of the Red Cross says refugee camps outside Monrovia have emptied out. It says 150-thousand people have moved into the Liberian capital, seeking protection from fighting between government and rebel forces. The agency says humanitarian assistance is desperately needed but few aid agencies remain in the city to provide care.
• LIBERIA FIGHTING VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- Thousands of Liberians and foreigners are fleeing Monrovia as peace efforts fail to end escalated fighting around the capital.
• LIBERIA: Taylor discusses ceasefire, transition of power with US ambassador IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- Liberian President Charles Taylor held crisis talks with the US ambassador on Tuesday about calling an immediate ceasefire in the civil war, which has seen rebels advance into the western outskirts of the capital Monrovia.
• LIBERIA: Rebels tell civilians to leave western Monrovia suburbs IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- An uneasy quiet reigned in Liberia's capital, Monrovia, on Tuesday morning, but rebels battling to oust President Charles Taylor, urged civilians to keep away from the western suburbs where fierce fighting has taken place over the past week.
• LIBERIA: Ghana evacuates nationals, fearing reprisals IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- Ghana said on Tuesday it was sending a warship and three planes to evacuate its citizens from Liberia, amid fears that they may be attacked by Liberians angry that the Ghanaian government refused to arrest Liberian President Charles Taylor during his flying visit to Accra last week.
• 'Dire situation' unfolding as rebels move on Liberia's capital, UN agencies warn UN News Centre 10 Jun 2003 -- Forced to evacuate staff and suspend deliveries of desperately needed medical and health supplies, United Nations relief agencies in Liberia warned that a "dire humanitarian situation" is unfolding as rebel forces close in on the capital, Monrovia.

• EDITORIAL: ENEMIES OF MIDEAST PEACE VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- The enemies of peace have struck again. On June 8th, Palestinian terrorists disguised in Israeli military uniforms attacked a checkpoint on the border separating Gaza and Israel. Four Israeli soldiers were killed. Later the same day, a fifth Israeli soldier was killed in one of two attacks in Hebron.
• BUSH / ISRAEL VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- President Bush is criticizing Israel's attempt to kill a top official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Bush administration officials are discussing today's attacks with both Israeli and Palestinian diplomats.
• BUSH ISRAEL VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- President Bush says he is "deeply troubled" by Israel's attempt to kill a top official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Bush Administration officials are discussing today's attacks with both Israeli and Palestinian diplomats.
• NEW VIOLENCE CHALLENGES "ROAD MAP" VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- A weekend attack against Israeli Defense forces by terrorists of three Islamic groups is presenting the first violent challenge to the so-called "Road Map" to peace plan. Fighters from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades attacked a guard post at the Gaza Strip border Sunday, killing four soldiers and wounding four others. The three attackers were killed, and in a separate incident, another Israeli soldier was killed.
• ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- Hamas has vowed to launch a wave of attacks in revenge for the attempted assassination by Israel of one of its leaders in the Gaza Strip. Two bystanders, one an eight-year-old girl, were killed and 27 others wounded in a barrage of rockets from an Israeli military helicopter.
• Bush "Deeply Troubled" over Israeli Action in Gaza Washington File 10 Jun 2003 -- President Bush is "deeply troubled" by the June 10 attack by Israeli helicopter gunships on a militant Hamas leader in Gaza that claimed at least two lives and wounded more than 20, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters.
• Annan voices 'serious concern' over attempted extra-judicial killing by Israel UN News Centre 10 Jun 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan voiced "serious concern" today over Israel's attempted extra-judicial killing of a Palestinian political leader in Gaza and again called on the Israeli Government to "desist from the disproportionate use of force."
• Israel: 'Road Map' Being Tested After Failed Assassination Bid Against Hamas Official RFE/L 10 Jun 2003 -- The internationally backed "road map" for peace in the Middle East is being tested, once again, after a failed assassination attempt by Israel against a well-known figure in the Islamic militant group Hamas.

• CONGO / TROOPS VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- The first soldiers of an international force have arrived in the town of Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The troops are being sent to stop fighting between rival ethnic militias in northeastern Congo.
• DR of Congo: Security Council mission arrives in capital UN News Centre 10 Jun 2003 -- Aiming to help launch a "solid political process," the United Nations Security Council's mission to central Africa has arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of war-weary Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
• DRC: Scale up efforts to prevent use of child soldiers, NGO says IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- A UK-based NGO, Save the Children, has urged the multinational force currently mobilising in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to take an active role in efforts to prevent use of children by armed groups in the region.
• SRI LANKA / DONORS VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- Sri Lanka has received a show of support from international donors at an aid conference in Tokyo. They have pledged more than four-and-a-half billion dollars to help rebuild the South Asian nation after two decades of civil war.
• Georgia: UN Hostages Freed RFE/L 10 Jun 2003 -- Three United Nations military observers and their Georgian interpreter were today freed after spending five days as the captives of a group of gunmen in the Kodori Gorge between the separatist Abkhazia region and the rest of Georgia.
• DRC-UGANDA: Kampala boosts army presence along border IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- The Ugandan army has bolstered military monitors on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after recent clashes in the Congolese border town of Kasenyi, on the shores of Lake Albert, raised fears that fighting in Ituri District could spill into Uganda.
• DRC-CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: 200 refugees return home from DRC IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began on Monday to repatriate 2,562 Central African Republic refugees, who have been living in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo since June 2001.
• BURUNDI: Cantonment zone inadequate, rebel faction says IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- Burudian rebels loyal to Alain Mugabarabona's faction of the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) said on Tuesday that conditions at a troop contonment site 30 km northwest of the capital, Bujumbura, were inadequate.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 10 Jun 2003 -- Finland will not rush to join NATO / Rumsfeld lends his ear to ally Portugal / Solana hopes Serbia-Kosovo talks may start soon / Serbia's prime minister demands end to transfer of authority to Kosovo Albanians / Powell and Rice defend U.S. Iraq intelligence / UN appoints new leader for inspection unit¨ Dutch to send 1,100 peacekeepers to Iraq
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 10 Jun 2003 -- NATO ambassadors see display of naval might / Report: Significant reduction of U.S. troop presence in Germany planned / Bodies of German peacekeepers flown home from Kabul / Skopje to consider Operation Concordia's future / Poland votes in favor of joining EU

• CONGRESS / BURMA UPDATE VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- Congress is moving closer to imposing new sanctions on the military government of Burma. The Senate is scheduled to debate legislation to bar U-S imports from Burma. Similar legislation was approved by a committee of the House of Representatives.
• SARS WHO ASEAN VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- A top World Health Organization official says Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome appears to be under control. But the U-N agency will not say if government measures to control the spread of the disease have worked or if the virus is simply entering a seasonal lull.
• BRITAIN/EURO VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- The British government has outlined a course of action aimed at eventually adopting the European single currency, the euro.
• FRANCE / STRIKES VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- French transportation and other public workers have launched a new nationwide strike, disrupting air and ground traffic, and putting France's end-of-high-school exams into doubt.
• ZIMBABWE / COURTS VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- In Zimbabwe's courts Tuesday, the state released Welshman Ncube, secretary general of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. He had been questioned Monday in connection with accusations of treason. But the leader of the opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai, was ordered held for another month.
• SARS TREATMENT/ HONG KONG VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- Just three months after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome struck Hong Kong - doctors and scientists have developed a number of treatments for patients suffering from the serious pneumonia brought on by the illness.
• BURMA / RAZALI VOA 10 Jun 2003 -- A United Nations envoy has managed to meet with Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and says she is in good health. Razali Ismail was allowed to visit the detained leader at the end of a five-day visit to Rangoon.
• House Panel Chair Decries Burma Regime's 'Long Train of Abuses' Washington File 10 Jun 2003 -- The chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific denounced the attack on Aung San Suu Kyi by "henchmen" of the Burmese government June 10, while hailing the news that the Nobel Peace Prize recipient was in good health.
• Congress Moves Quickly on Legislation to Sanction Burma Regime Washington File 10 Jun 2003 -- In both the House of Representatives and the Senate, lawmakers were working June 10 to move legislation that would impose sanctions on the Rangoon regime.
• Labor Secretary Chao Describes Child Soldiers Initiative Washington File 10 Jun 2003 --U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao has reiterated the Bush administration commitment to eliminate the practice in some parts of the world of pressing children into military service.
• Myanmar: UN envoy sees Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; Annan urges her release UN News Centre 10 Jun 2003 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the report from his Special Envoy for Myanmar that he has seen Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but also remained seriously concerned that she and other democracy leaders were still denied freedom of movement and urged the Government to release them.
• U.K.: Britain To Keep Its Pounds For Now, Says Brown RFE/L 10 Jun 2003 -- Britain has deferred a decision on whether to adopt the European Union's common currency, the euro. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown told Parliament yesterday the country was not economically ready to join the euro-zone. Brown, however, did hold out hope that Britain could join in the coming years, saying a special referendum could be held on the issue.
• ZIMBABWE: Tsvangirai to remain in custody until bail hearing IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change, (MDC) will remain in custody while he waits to apply for bail in the latest round of treason charges leveled at him.
• SWAZILAND: Opposition rejects draft constitution IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- Swaziland's banned political parties have rejected a draft constitution put together by a palace-appointed committee and released with fanfare at the beginning of the month.
• MAURITANIA: Identity of coup plotters still a mystery IRIN 10 Jun 2003 -- Life gradually returned to normal in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott on Tuesday following an attempted coup against President Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya which was put down after two days of heavy fighting.
• Successful Launch for Boeing-Built Thuraya-2 Mobile Communications Satellite Boeing 10 Jun 2003 -- Thuraya-2, the second satellite built by Boeing [NYSE:BA] for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, rocketed to geosynchronous transfer orbit today aboard a Zenit-3SL provided by Sea Launch Company, LLC.
• Sea Launch Delivers Thuraya-2 Satellite to Orbit Boeing 10 Jun 2003 -- Sea Launch accomplished its eighth successful launch today with the perfect flight of the Zenit-3SL rocket and the on-target delivery of the Thuraya-2 satellite to orbit. The flawless mission for Sea Launch also marked the first flight of the 6,000 kg performance Zenit-3SL launch vehicle.
• Boeing Goes 2 For 2 In Launch Business Boeing 10 Jun 2003 -- On a historic day in the launch industry, Boeing Launch Services' customers successfully launched two spacecraft within hours of each other from different vantage points on the globe. Today, both Sea Launch and Delta II launch vehicles proved once again, the ability of Boeing [NYSE: BA] to achieve mission success for its launch customers.
• Boeing Continues Successful Launches of Mars Missions for NASA Boeing 10 Jun 2003 -- Mars Exploration Rover-A (MER-A), the first of two NASA science missions being launched this month, has begun its journey to Mars after successfully being deployed to space today by a Boeing [NYSE: BA] Delta II rocket.
• Lockheed Martin Team Receives $6 Million Design Study Contract for NASA's Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter Program Lockheed Martin 10 Jun 2003 -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has awarded a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] team one of three $6 million concept design study contracts for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO). JIMO would be the first outer planets mission to fly under NASA's Project Prometheus Program.