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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 30 Apr 2004 [PDF]
• Soldier Dies in Non-hostile Incident [CJTF-7 News Release] April 30, 2004
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty 30 Apr 2004
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Transcript: Coalition Provisional Authority Briefing 30 Apr 2004 -- Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, Deputy Director, Coalition Operations, Gareth Bayley, CPA Spokesman
• Transcript: Gen. Abizaid Central Command Operations Update Briefing 30 Apr 2004 -- "I'd like to take about 10 minutes worth of your time and go over where we have been conducting operations for the past month."
• Transcript: Special Defense Department Briefing 30 Apr 2004 -- Major General John Sattler, Director of Operations for CENTCOM; Lawrence Di Rita, Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
• 1ST BATTALION OF THE FALLUJAH BRIGADE TO HAVE A ROLE IN FALLUJAH'S SECURITY CENTCOM Release 30 Apr 2004-- As part of the overall effort to restore security and stability in Fallujah, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is overseeing the formation of the 1st Battalion of the Fallujah Brigade.
• 'Yellow Stone' ousts insurgents from Iraqi island Army News Service 30 Apr 2004-- Elements of the 1st Cavalry Division moved into the former presidential island retreat of Al-Rashida on the morning of April 23, for Operation Yellow Stone, to secure the area and remove the enemy from the island.
• Abizaid Warns Fallujah Brigade Results Won't Be Instant AFPS 30 Apr 2004 -- The new Iraqi brigade being formed to restore peace to Fallujah won't instantly solve the problems in the city, the commander of U.S. Central Command said today from his forward headquarters in Qatar.
• 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Creating 'Fallujah Brigade' AFPS 30 Apr 2004 -- The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is putting together the first battalion of a new Iraqi brigade being formed to restore and maintain order in the western city of Fallujah, a coalition military spokesman announced at a Baghdad news conference today.
• Iraq Commanders Getting All Armor Needed to Do the Job AFPS 30 Apr 2004 -- Commanders on the ground in Iraq are getting all the armored protection they determine necessary to do the job, the operations chief for U.S. Central Command told Pentagon reporters today.
• Coalition Provisional Authority Report, April 30: Iraq Update Washington File 30 Apr 2004 -- At least six U.S. soldiers have been charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib military prison outside Baghdad, an Army spokesman says.
• Iraq: Mission Accomplished? One Year After 'Major Combat' Ends, Iraq Plagued by Insurgencies (Part 1) RFE/RL 30 Apr 2004 -- One year ago, U.S. President George W. Bush declared major combat over in Iraq. But today, multiple insurgencies in Iraq underscore the problems Washington has had in moving from its defeat of Saddam to ensuring Iraq's orderly transformation into a democratic state. The first part of a two-part series looks at some of the major challenges of the past 12 months.
• Iraq: Al-Fallujah Deal Reported As U.S. Forces Mark Deadliest Month Yet RFE/RL 30 Apr 2004 -- There are mixed reports from Al-Fallujah today, with U.S. troops pulling back from some areas amid signs a new security deal may have been struck with local leaders. The latest developments come as U.S. forces in Iraq have suffered their costliest month ever, with more soldiers killed in April than during the invasion a year ago.
• PENTAGON / IRAQ CASUALTIES VOA 30 Apr 2004 -- A top U-S military commander is predicting a continued volatile security situation in Iraq but says coalition forces are prepared to deal with it.
• IRAQ WRAP VOA 30 Apr 2004 -- U-S forces in Iraq have begun to withdraw from some of their positions around the town of Fallujah and hand those positions over to a new Iraqi security force. However, U-S officials caution that the move is not a retreat but an attempt to give Iraqis more security responsibilities.
• Marines Begin Al-Fallujah Pullback RFE/RL 30 Apr 2004 -- U.S. Marines reportedly have begun pulling back from the southern part of the Iraqi city of Al-Fallujah, where they have been holding positions for the last three weeks.
• Lonestar Dustoff MEDEVAC supports Marines in Iraq Marine Corps News 30 Apr 2004-- The Marine lay in the Army medical evacuation helicopter while an Army flight medic went to work stabilizing his broken leg. He thought about the rocket-propelled grenade that had hit his leg, and about why it hadn't exploded when it hit him.

• Operations Bringing Security to Afghanistan, Abizaid Says AFPS 30 Apr 2004 -- Military operations won't bring stability to Afghanistan, the U.S. general in charge of operations in that region said today. But such operations set the stage for ensuring the success of the Afghan national government, which, in turn, will speed reconstruction and a return to normalcy.

• No foreign militant surrendered as deadline ends in Pak tribal area IRNA 30 Apr 2004 -- Not a single foreign militant said to be hiding in Pakistani tribal areas appeared for registration as the deadline for their surrender to the authorities passed on Friday, an official said.

• MARINES DELIVER COMPUTERS TO HOSPITAL, MEDICAL SCHOOL CENTCOM Release 30 Apr 2004-- Marines in Ar Ramadi delivered 11 desktop computers to the Ramadi General Hospital and the medical school here April 29.
• U-N / HAITI VOA 30 Apr 2004 -- The U-N Security Council has authorized a new peacekeeping force to take over the job of restoring stability to Haiti. Brazil is expected to take up the job as leader of the force.
• Security Council approves UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti UN News Centre 30 Apr 2004 -- The Security Council today unanimously approved a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti to help stabilize the country, establish democratic institutions and eventually organize "free and fair" elections.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Navy's Newest Amphibious Ship Named in Honor of San Diego 30 Apr 2004 -- Secretary of the Navy, Gordon R. England, has named the U.S. Navy's newest amphibious transport dock ship (LPD 22) in honor of the city of San Diego.
• America's Oldest Active Warship Turns 43, Still Going Strong Navy Newsstand 30 Apr 2004-- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), currently the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier, turned 43 years old April 29, with an under way cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate the beginning of another year in the life of America's oldest active Navy ship.
• USS Columbus Returns from Western Pacific Deployment Navy Newsstand 30 Apr 2004-- USS Columbus (SSN 762) returned to its homeport of Pearl Harbor April 28, following a six-month deployment in the Western Pacific.
• A Big Idea and a Bigger Check NAVSEA News Wire 30 Apr 2004-- By taking the initiative and overhauling equipment themselves, nine Sailors from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower's (CVN 69) Combat Systems Department helped move the ship closer to the day when "Ike Reloaded" will become a reality.
• The Kidd to return to Navy Fleet NAVSEA News Wire 30 Apr 2004-- The keel laying for the third ship to be named Kidd (DDG 100) took place April 29, 2004 at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems - Ingalls Operations Shipyard. Isaac Campbell Kidd, III, grandson of the ship's namesake, Medal of Honor recipient Rear Adm. Isaac Campbell Kidd was on site for the keel laying. The Kidd name has been distinguished in the Navy's 20th Century history, with the family providing at least one four star admiral, Adm. Isaac C. Kidd, Jr. The Adm.'s father, Rear Adm. Isaac C. Kidd, Sr. died at Pearl Harbor in USSArizona. He was the first flag officer to die in WWII and the first in the U.S. Navy to meet death in action against any foreign enemy.
• A Quiet Kentucky returns to Patrol NAVSEA News Wire 30 Apr 2004-- After spending more than nine weeks in an unusually complex refit, USS Kentucky (SSBN 737) confidently slipped into the open waters of Hood Canal, April 19 in preparation for her next patrol. With 100,000 production man-hours executed in the completion of more than 1,000 jobs, the refit was a first-ever demonstration of the new surge maintenance capability in the Pacific Northwest.
• Carderock Scientist wins Patent for Undersea Mapping Program NAVSEA News Wire 30 Apr 2004-- A scientist at Navy Systems Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock has invented a method for displaying high-risk littoral mine threat areas in geographical regions of interest.
• Air Force begins Raptor operational tests AFPN 30 Apr 2004-- Operational testing on the F/A-22 Raptor began April 29 when the first two-ship sortie was flown and tested by members of the F/A-22 Combined Test Force here.

• ADDITIONAL DEPLOYMENT OF THE PATRIOT, AIR DEFENSE MISSILE SYSTEM US Forces Korea 30 Apr 2004 -- Republic of Korea and United States has agreed to deploy additional Patriot units, air defense missile system to Korea temporarily this fall.
• 35TH AIR DEFENSE ARTILLERY BRIGADE PREPARES FOR THE DEPLOYMENT TO THE KOREAN PENINSULA US Forces Korea 30 Apr 2004 -- Expectations by the soldiers from the 35 Air Defense Artillery Brigade of 8th Army, being deployed to Korea in this fall to operate the latest Patriot anti-missile system, runs high. That's because these soldiers expect Korea to be fresh and full of new experiences.

• GEORGIA / EXERCISES VOA 30 Apr 2004 -- Georgia has begun three days of large-scale military exercises near the Black Sea port city of Poti, just 30 kilometers from the tense autonomous province of Ajaria. Georgian officials say the exercises are peaceful in nature, but Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze says they will only increase tensions in the region.

• White House Daily Briefing, April 30 Washington File 30 Apr 2004 -- President's schedule, Haiti/UN resolution, Iraq, Al Jazeera/coverage, poll/U.S. viewed as an occupier, free trade agreements, Syria, marriage amendment, World Press Freedom Day

Defense Industry

• Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor Begins Initial Operational Test & Evaluation Phase Lockheed Martin 30 Apr 2004 -- The U.S. Air Force has begun Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E) of the F/A-22 Raptor air dominance fighter aircraft, an important phase of the program's overall acquisition. The F/A-22 is built by a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-led industry team.
• Raytheon Awarded Full Rate Production Contract for Evolved SEASPARROW Missile Raytheon 30 Apr 2004 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $232.7 million contract to begin full-rate production of the Evolved SEASPARROW Missile (ESSM) for the U.S. Navy and nine other allied nations.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 30 Apr 2004
• LIBERIA: Disarmament Official Estimates 60,000 Combatants IRIN 30 Apr 2004 -- The head of Liberia's disarmament commission Moses Jarbo estimates that about 60,000 combatants expected to be disarmed, substantially more than the 40,000 projected by the United Nations.
• DRC-RWANDA: Hutu rebels accuse leaders of barring their repatriation IRIN 30 Apr 2004 -- Three Rwandan Hutu rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), who have surrendered to the Congolese army, have accused leaders of their rebel group of preventing them from voluntary repatriation.
• Security Council threatens individuals blocking Ivorian peace pact UN News Centre 309 Apr 2004 -- The United Nations Security Council today threatened unspecified actions against individuals whose activities might block the full implementation of the 2003 peace accord between the Government of Côte d'Ivoire and its opposition.
• UNHCR / SUDAN REFUGEES VOA 30 Apr 2004 -- The United Nations refugee agency says more than 25-thousand Sudanese refugees have fled their settlements in northern Uganda in the aftermath of a series of attacks by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army in recent weeks. The agency says the attacks took place around the Adjumani district.
• THAI VIOLENCE / CULPRITS VOA 30 Apr 2004 -- In Thailand, the mystery of who is behind months of violent attacks in the mostly Muslim south remains, but new clues are starting to emerge. Since Wednesday's deadly clashes, with a death toll of more than a hundred, police have captured and interrogated some militants, finding that a shadowy Islamic movement may be responsible. But drug smugglers, bandits and terrorists are still under suspicion.

News Reports

• SHAPE News Morning Update SHAPE 30 Apr 2004 -- Colin Powell says support for Iraq war will revive / Ethnic Albanians say UN whitewashes Kosovo river deaths / Serbian plan seeks autonomy for Serbs in Kosovo / President Chirac says Turkey's entry into EU not desirable in short-term / UK spy agency MI5 uses web to help tackle terror
• SHAPE News Summary & Analysis SHAPE 30 Apr 2004 -- ISAF official says Taliban too weak to increase Spring operations / Daily: Britain seeks legal resolution for deployment after June 30

• NIGERIA / PROTEST VOA 30 Apr 2004 -- Disagreements among opposition groups in Nigeria appear to be scaling down what was expected to be a major protest march next Monday, to contest last year's election results. As VOA's Nico Colombant reports from Abidjan, the main opposition parties favor focusing on court actions instead.
• PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION United Nations 30 Apr 2004