Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 24 Mar 2005 [PDF]

• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers find ammunition cache MNF-I/MNC-I 24 Mar 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers discovered an ammunition cache at a house in southern Baghdad March 23.
• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers find, detonate 3 IEDs MNF-I/MNC-I 24 Mar 2005 -- Three improvised explosive attacks failed after explosive ordinance disposal teams detonated three IED's on March 23.
• Tip leads to arrest of IED suspect in Ad Dawr MNF-I/MNC-I 24 Mar 2005 -- Task Force Liberty Soldiers detained an individual suspected in an improvised-explosive device attack near Ad Dawr about 4 p.m., March 23.
• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers find IEDs MNF-I/MNC-I 24 Mar 2005 -- A Task Force Baghdad unit discovered two improvised explosive devices, one buried underneath the other, around 8:30 p.m. March 23.
• Second Marine Division Marines seize arms caches, detain suspected insurgents MNF-I/MNC-I 24 Mar 2005 -- Coalition Forces from the 2nd Marine Division have detained a total of 147 suspected insurgents since taking the reins from 1st Marine Division on March 17.

• Security Council extends UN mission in Afghanistan for another year UN News Centre 24 Mar 2005 -- Stressing the urgent need to tackle ongoing challenges in Afghanistan including the fight against narcotics, terrorist threats and timely preparation for elections, the Security Council today unanimously extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in the country for another 12 months through 24 March 2006.

• Military Task Force Drills Wells, Runs Clinics in Horn of Africa Washington File 24 Mar 2005 -- The Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, which is responsible for counterterrorism operations in that region for the U.S. Central Command, is waging war against terrorism by "waging peace" in local communities, Major General Samuel T. Helland said March 23.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Transcript: Special Defense Department Briefing 24 Mar 2005 -- Assistant Secretary of Defense Health Affairs, William Winkenwerder, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Defense Reserve Affairs, Thomas Hall and Under Secretary of Defense Personnel and Readiness, Charles Abell
• DoD Health Plan for Eligible National Guard and Reserve Members Announced 24 Mar 2005 -- The Department of Defense announced today that beginning April 2005 a new premium-based, health care plan will be available to eligible National Guard and Reserve members activated for contingency operations on or after Sept. 11, 2001.
• DoD Announces New Health Care Benefit for Guard and Reserve AFPS 24 Mar 2005 -- A new health care plan, with coverage comparable to that enjoyed by federal employees under the Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance plan, will be available to eligible members of the National Guard and Reserve and their families April 25, Defense Department officials announced today at the Pentagon.
• Myers Describes Nightmare Scenario, How to Avoid It AFPS 23 Mar 2005 -- Terrorists getting their hands on weapons of mass effect is what the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff calls the "nightmare scenario," he told the Navy League's "SeaAirSpace" meeting here March 23.
• U.S. Releasing $3.2 Million in Military Aid to Guatemala Washington File 24 Mar 2005 -- The United States is releasing $3.2 million in military aid to Guatemala, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has announced.
• Transient alert Airmen catch, park, launch aircraft AFPN 24 Mar 2005 -- How many folks do you know that can get a 550,000-pound steel aircraft to follow them down the street? The Airmen at transient alert here can.
• Life-support team puts pressure on high-flying pilots AFPN 24 Mar 2005 -- People feeling too much pressure may say something like, "You make my blood boil." If high-flying U-2 reconnaissance aircraft pilots lose cabin pressure, their blood literally could boil.
• Exercises prepare Airmen for deployment AFPN 24 Mar 2005 -- The Air and Space Expeditionary Force Center here nominates sourcing for about 38 exercises each year so Airmen can exercise their deployment capabilities before actually deploying, officials said.
• Ranger School opens to non-combat specialties Army News 24 Mar 2005 -- A new initiative has opened up Ranger School to a broader range of Soldiers.
• EODMU-5 Det 1 Trains with Hong Kong's Finest Navy NewsStand 24 Mar 2005 -- Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit (MU) 5 Det. 1 participated in a four-day training exercise with the Hong Kong Police Department (HKPD) during a USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) port visit in February.
• Blue Ridge Proves Seaworthiness in TSTA II Navy NewsStand 24 Mar 2005 -- After months of intense training and preparation, the U.S. 7th Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) successfully completed Tailored Ships Training Availability (TSTA) phase II March 19-23.
• Essex, 31st MEU Enjoy Phuket Port Visit Navy NewsStand 24 Mar 2005 -- USS Essex (LHD 2) crew members and embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) personnel wrapped up a four-day port visit to Phuket, Thailand, Mar. 23.
• Air Force receives last F-16 AFPN 24 Mar 2005 -- The general who was the F-16 System Program Office director here when the contract for the aircraft was awarded delivered the Air Force's last F-16 Fighting Falcon on March 18.

• RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: RUSSIA-NATO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WILL SETTLE KOSOVO PROBLEM RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry is convinced that the recently developed strategic partnership between Russia and leading western states and Russia and NATO will help find a sound and just solution to the Kosovo problem by joint efforts with the participation of the UN, the European Union, Belgrade and Pristina.
• HOW CAN RUSSIA DISSUADE UKRAINE FROM JOINING NATO? RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Despite the absence of threats, the new authorities in Ukraine say they want the country to join NATO.

• Statement by the Secretary General on NATO donation to Indonesia for Tsunami Reconstuction NATO 24 Mar 2005
• EXERCISE NOBLE JAVELIN 05 (NJ 05) NATO/JFC Naples 24 Mar 2005 -- NOBLE JAVELIN 05 (NJ 05) is a live training exercise for selected elements of the NATO Response Force (NRF).

• State Department Briefing, March 24 Washington File 24 Mar 2005 -- Announcement Regarding Upcoming Travel of Deputy Secretary Zoellick, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan, Greece, China/Taiwan, Iran, Israel/Palestinians, Japan/Iceland

Defense Industry

• BAE SYSTEMS Awarded $834 Million Contract For Lightweight Howitzer BAE Systems 24 Mar 2005 -- WASHINGTON -- BAE Systems has been awarded an $834 million dollar contract for full-rate production of the M777A1 howitzer. The M777A1 is a lightweight 155mm howitzer and a critical fire support component of U.S. Marine Air Ground Task Forces and U.S. Army Stryker Brigade Combat Teams.
• Boeing Combat Survivor Evader Locater (CSEL) Radio Program Receives $43.6 Million Full-Rate Production Order from U.S. Air Force Boeing 24 Mar 2005 -- The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing [NYSE: BA] a full-rate production (FRP) contract for the Combat Survivor Evader Locater (CSEL) communications system.
• CACI Awarded $20.4 Million Information Technology Support Services Contract with Military Sealift Command CACI 24 Mar 2005 -- CACI International Inc (NYSE:CAI) announced today that it has been selected as the prime contractor to support the Military Sealift Command (MSC) Professional Business Information Technology Support Services Contract. Under the terms of the contract, CACI will offer professional and information technology (IT) services to MSC as it manages processes and programs across its enterprise.
• EADS to supply secure vehicle locating system for NATO forces in Kosovo (KFOR). EADS 24 Mar 2005 -- EADS Defence and Communications Systems (DCS) has signed a €13 million agreement with NATO Consultation Command and Control Agency (NC3A) to supply an Interim Forces Tracking System (IFTS), a secure system for locating Allied forces in Kosovo and the Balkans.
• GE F110 Engine Takes to the Skies in F-15K GE Aviation 24 Mar 2005 -- General Electric Company's F110-GE-129 engine is powering Boeing's newest fighter aircraft, the F-15K, in flight tests this month in St. Louis, Missouri.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN DELIVERS 64th AIP P-3C AIRCRAFT Lockheed Martin 24 Mar 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has delivered the 64th P-3C aircraft modified under the Anti-Surface Warfare Improvement Program (AIP) to the U.S. Navy. Lockheed Martin will update a total of five P-3C aircraft in 2005.
• Oshkosh Truck Awarded Contract To Produce 92 MTVR Tractor-Trailer for U.S. Navy Oshkosh 24 Mar 2005 -- Oshkosh Truck Corporation (NYSE:OSK), a leading manufacturer of specialty trucks and truck bodies, announced today that the U.S. Navy has awarded the company a contract to begin production of a new military tractor-trailer. The vehicle is based on the combat-proven Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) chassis and can tow 47 tons. The contract is valued at $23.9 million and covers 92 vehicles.
• Raytheon Standard Missile-2 and Aegis Combat System Demonstrate Capability Against Subsonic and Supersonic Anti-Ship Missiles Raytheon 24 Mar 2005 -- Raytheon Company Standard Missile-2s, launched from the USS Momsen (DDG 92) the week of March 7, went seven for seven against a variety of targets. This testing utilized the new Aegis Weapon System Baseline 7 Phase 1 and also involved successful Raytheon Evolved SeaSparrow Missile firings.
• Rheinmetall to supply the UAE with 32 Fuchs/Fox NBC armoured reconnaissance vehicles Rheinmetall Defence 24 Mar 2005 -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has awarded Rheinmetall a contract to supply 32 Fuchs/Fox NBC armoured reconnaissance vehicles. The seal was set to the agreement on March 5, 2005 during a state visit of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Abu Dhabi. The order is worth around EUR 160 million. Thanks to its subsidiary Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH of Kiel, the Rheinmetall Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of tracked and wheeled armoured vehicles, as well as a top specialist in the field of NBC defence systems.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 24 Mar 2005
• UN Secretariat and Assembly must approve new rules for UN peacekeepers - report UN News Centre 24 Mar 2005 -- A new report requested by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on sexual exploitation occurring in peacekeeping missions recommends the UN standardize rules for several categories of personnel and that troop contributor legislation and individual accountability for victims, including "peacekeeper babies," be strengthened.
  
  
• 10,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission authorized for southern Sudan UN News Centre 24 Mar 2005 -- The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously today to send 10,000 troops and more than 700 civilian police to southern Sudan for an initial period of six months to support the peace agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), which ended more than two decades of civil strife.
• UN/SUDAN VOA 24 Mar 2005 -- The U.N. Security Council has authorized a 10-thousand strong peacekeeping force for southern Sudan. But the Council took no action on the separate issue of ethnic cleansing in Sudan's western Darfur region.
  
  
• MASKHADOV'S BODYGUARD KILLED IN CHECHNYA RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Alvi Tosuyev, Maskhadov's closest assistant, has been killed in Chechnya, the joint press center of the Russian Interior Ministry reports.
• WARLORD KILLED IN CHECHNYA WAS EX-U.S. MARINE RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Rizvan Chitigov, who was killed in the district center Shali in Chechnya on Wednesday and was the third most influential warlord after Shamil Basayev and Doku Umarov, had graduated from an elite U.S. subversion and reconnaissance school and had served on a contract basis in a U.S. Marine battalion, Kommersant reports.
• MI-8 CRASH IN CHECHNYA CAUSED BY HUMAN ERROR RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The crash of the Mi-8 helicopter on Tuesday was not caused by external factors, Gen. Nikolai Rogozhkin, the commander in chief of the internal forces of the Russian Interior Ministry, said Thursday.
• Analysis: Russian Police's 'Clean-Up Operations' Extending Beyond Chechnya? RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- Allegations of police beating law-abiding citizens during clean-up operations are no longer confined to Chechnya and are now being recorded in the rest of the Russian Federation. Following reports of a four-day long rampage by police in Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan last year, three more Russian cities have reported similar cases this month of police actions involving the rounding up of large numbers of citizens who were allegedly beaten up -- and even tortured -- in police custody.
  
  
• GEORGIA WILLING TO PREPARE PRESIDENT'S MEETING WITH ABKHAZ LEADER RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The Georgian government is ready to accept an initiative, coming from Sukhumi, to prepare the grounds for Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili to meet in conference with Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh.
• BEGINNING OF GEORGIAN-SOUTH OSSETIAN CONFLICT RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The old frictions between the Georgians and the South Ossetians detonated in the winter of 1989-1990 as a result of the nationalist policy of the then Tbilisi leadership.
• IVORY COAST / UN VOA 24 Mar 2005 -- Representatives for warring parties in Ivory Coast agree with calls by United Nations' Secretary General Kofi Annan for more peacekeepers. Mr. Annan has warned of an increasingly dangerous security situation because of militia activity.
• UN: Surrender Of War Crimes Suspects To Hague Sets New Tone Of Cooperation RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- The international community's high representative in Bosnia is among those who see a change in Balkan governments' cooperation with the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal. Paddy Ashdown says the Serbian entity in Bosnia, Republika Srpska, is demonstrating a new understanding through its handover of indictees to The Hague tribunal. Serbian authorities in Belgrade have also transferred suspects to the UN court. But the most-wanted war crimes suspects remain at large. And until they are brought to justice, the court's work is not complete.
• UN: High Representative, Bosnian Minister Clash Over Judiciary RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- The chief overseer of the Bosnian peace process has clashed with the country's security minister over the independence of the local judiciary.
• COTE D IVOIRE: UN warns of spiral back to war, elections in jeopardy IRIN 24 Mar 2005 -- The United Nations has warned that Cote d'Ivoire risks sliding back into full-scale conflict as militia groups ramp up their activity across the country and the political peace negotiations remains mired in deadlock.
• MACEDONIA / WAR TRIBUNAL VOA 24 Mar 2005 -- The former Interior Minister of Macedonia, Ljube Boskovski, has surrendered to the United Nation's War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague to face charges of involvement in atrocities against ethnic Albanians during a bloody insurgency in 2001. Mr. Boskovski left a jail in nearby Croatia where he had been held on separate charges since last year.

News Reports

• US / KYRGYZSTAN UNREST VOA 24 Mar 2005 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, leading U.S. diplomacy contacts on Kyrgyzstan, says the only course for the troubled Central Asian country is political dialogue leading to a stable democracy. U.S. officials are cautiously optimistic about the course of events in Bishkek following the reported ouster of President Askar Akayev.
• U.S. Monitors Developments in Kyrgyzstan, Rumsfeld Says AFPS 23 Mar 2005 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today the United States is closely watching developments in Kyrgyzstan.
• POLITICAL OPPOSITION IN KYRGYZSTAN NO LONGER EXISTS RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The events in the south of Kyrgyzstan are not an attempt to launch a democratic revolution, but an attempt to start a civil war. Political rivalry has not led to the crisis in the republic.
• DEMONSTRATORS SEIZE AKAYEV'S OFFICE RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Demonstrators are waving the Kyrgyz president's standard from Askar Akayev's office in the government building, reports a RIA Novosti correspondent.
• OPPOSITION BURSTS INTO BUILDING OF KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The opposition burst into the building of the Kyrgyz government.
• AVOIDING A RUSSIA-VS-WEST RIFT OVER KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Is Kyrgyzstan following the footsteps of Ukraine and Georgia, as yet another opposition movement takes to the streets to threaten the status quo?
• KYRGYZSTAN: OPPOSITION ACTIVIST TO LEAD LAW ENFORCEMENT RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- A kurultai (congress) has brought together Kyrgyz parliamentarians of the new and latest convocations.
• KYRGYZSTAN: OPPOSITION LEADER APPOINTED ACTING PRESIDENT RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan's Legislative Assembly appointed Ishenbai Kadyrbekov acting President, said parliamentarian Kabai Karabekov, as he was commenting a limited-attendance parliamentary session for Novosti.
• KADYRBEKOV ACTING KYRGYZ PRESIDENT RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan's Legislative Assembly appointed Ishenbai Kadyrbekov acting President, said parliamentarian Kabai Karabekov, as he was commenting a limited-attendance parliamentary session for Novosti.
• KAZAKHSTAN CONCERNED OVER SITUATION IN KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Kazakhstan's foreign ministry has expressed concern over recent developments in Kyrgyzstan and over the condition of its compatriots there, says the Kazakh embassy in Moscow with reference to the statement by Kazakh Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokaev.
• KYRGYZSTAN: OPPOSITION APPOINTS NEW INTERIOR TOP RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- The Kyrgyz opposition's Coordination Council of Popular Unity has appointed a new Interior Ministry top, Kurmanbek Bakiev, council head, announced on the national television.
• KAZAKHSTAN OFFERS ANY HELP TO KYRGYZSTAN: FOREIGN MINISTER RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Kazakhstan is willing to render whatever assistance Kyrgyzstan may need, reassures Kasymzhomart Tokayev, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
• KYRGYZ PREMIER RESIGNS, PRESIDENT FLEES RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akayev has fled the country, and Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev applied to resign, Kabar news agency reports with reference to Kurmanbek Bakiev, prominent on the opposition.
• CLANNISH RULE TO BLAME FOR KYRGYZ DRAMA, SAYS RUSSIAN EXPERT RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Nepotism and clannish arrangements on the ruling top lay at the root of current violence in Kyrgyzstan, holds Sergei Oznobischev, Director, Institute of Strategic Studies.
• RESTORE LAW AND ORDER IN KYRGYZSTAN, CALLS LAVROV RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Sergei Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, called the conflicting parties in Kyrgyzstan to restore law and order as soon as possible.
• ASKAR AKAYEV IN KAZAKHSTAN RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akayev is most likely in Kazakhstan, sources in Bishkek and Alma Ata told RIA Novosti.
• AKAEV REGIME CANNOT BE RESUMED, RUSSIAN EXPERT THINKS RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- In the opinion of Alexander Konovalov, president of the Strategic Estimations and Analysis Institute, interviewed by RIA Novosti, a putsch has taken place in Kyrgyzstan and the Akaev regime cannot be resumed.
• KYRGYZSTAN: RUSSIAN AIR BASE BUILDS UP RIOT SECURITY RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Russian Air Force base in Kant, not far from the Kyrgyz capital, is building up safety against raging riots, Army General Yuri Baluyevsky, Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said to the media.
• KYRGYZSTAN: SUPREME COURT INVALIDATES PARLIAMENT REGISTRATION RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court has unanimously invalidated the registration of a newly elected parliament, announced Kurmanbek Osmonov, court president.
• RUSSIAN EXPERTS ON DEVELOPMENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN RIA Novosti 24 Mar 2005 -- Director of the Institute of CIS Countries, State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin believes that neither Russia, nor the United States are behind the developments in Kyrgyzstan.
• Head Of Kyrgyz Constitutional Courst Says PM Resigned RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- The chairwomen of Kyrgyzstan's Constitutional Court, Cholpon Bayekova, has said Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev has resigned.
• Opposition In Firm Control In Kyrgyzstan RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyzstan's opposition is pledging to form a national unity government and prepare for fresh elections after seizing the main government building in Bishkek today.
• Central Asia: Neighboring Opposition Movements Keep Close Eye On Kyrgyz Events RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- The uprising in Kyrgyzstan -- where weeks of opposition protests led to the storming of the government building on Thursday -- could mark Central Asia's first real departure from post-Soviet leadership.
• Kyrgyzstan: Why Did Opposition Meet So Little Resistance? RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- Opposition protesters appeared today to hold the advantage in Kyrgyzstan. Demonstrators in the capital who stormed the presidential compound met with very little resistance.
• KYRGYZ / PROTEST VOA 24 Mar 2005 -- Anti-government demonstrators have stormed presidential headquarters in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek. The opposition is pledging to hold new parliamentary elections, but there has been no word from President Askar Akayev.
• Protesters Inside Main Government Building RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- Anti-government demonstrators in Bishkek have stormed and entered the Kyrgyz presidential compound.
• Kyrgyzstan's North-South Divide RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- High mountains divide northern and southern Kyrgyzstan, where unrest has followed disputed parliamentary elections that ended nearly two weeks ago. A single road unites the two parts of the country.
• Kyrgyz Protesters Capture Government Seat RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- Anti-government protesters in Bishkek today occupied the "White House," the seat of the Kyrgyz government, demanding the resignation of President Askar Akaev.
• Kyrgyzstan: Will Opposition Leader Bakiev Be Kyrgyzstan's Next President? RFE/RL 24 Mar 2005 -- Kurmanbek Bakiev, head of the People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan, was one of the most visible opposition figures during antigovernment protests in Bishkek today.
• KYRGYZSTAN: Protesters topple government, president flees IRIN 24 Mar 2005 -- Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev was reported to have fled the country on Thursday after thousands of opposition protesters took control of the capital, Bishkek, following a day of unprecedented disturbances.
• KYRGYZSTAN: Second city calm as 'people's brigades' maintain security IRIN 24 Mar 2005 -- Opposition celebrations in the centre of the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh have become a daily ritual for those demonstrators who have not left the city to export the unrest north to the capital.
• KYRGYZSTAN: Southerners unhappy about more than flawed polls IRIN 24 Mar 2005 -- When asked why they wanted their president to go, people in Osh whom IRIN spoke to on Thursday responded that unfair elections were not the main reason.

• WITH AMERICAN SUPPORT, A 'CHANCE FOR UN REFORM' US Dept. of State IIP, Foreign Media Reaction 24 Mar 2005