Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 07 Jun 2005 [PDF]
• MARINE KILLED NEAR FALLUJAH
• MARINE KILLED NEAR FALLUJAH BY IED
• SOLDIER DIES AT CAMP DUBLIN
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Disturbance at FOB Abu Ghraib MNF-I 08 Jun 2005 -- A disturbance occurred at the Forward Operating Base Abu Ghraib internment facility at approximately 11:50 p.m. June 5.
• Convoy attacked west of Baghdad MNF-I 08 Jun 2005 -- A convoy of contractors was attacked by terrorists at 11:30 a.m. June 7, while they were delivering supplies for Coalition forces west of here.
• Iraq Hit by Five Car-Bombs VOA 07 Jun 2005 -- At least five bombings took place across Iraq Tuesday, three of which were suicide car-bomb attacks within minutes of each other. At least 18 were killed and nearly 40 wounded in the latest violence to shake the country.
• Iraq Attacks Kill At Least 17 RFE/RL 07 Jun 2005 -- A series of attacks killed at least 17 people and wounded many others in Iraq today.

• Insurgents Captured; Former Taliban Reconcile With Afghan Government AFPS 07 Jun 2005 -- Afghan and coalition forces apprehended 17 insurgents armed with rifles along the Pakistani border June 6, Combined Forces Command Afghanistan reported today.
• Afghanistan: Supporters Hold Vigils For Hostage Aid Worker In Kabul RFE/RL 07 Jun 2005 -- Supporters of kidnapped Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni are trying to highlight her plight by holding repeated vigils in Kabul. The vigils have seen officials and Afghan war widows with whom Cantoni has worked calling for her release.

Defense Policy / Programs

• BRAC Positive for Affected Communities, Senior Official Says AFPS 07 Jun 2005 -- Many civilian communities emerge from military base closures or realignments often in better economic health than before, a senior DoD official noted at a defense community redevelopment association meeting here June 6.
• England Says DoD Actions Must Be 'Above Reproach' AFPS 07 Jun 2005 -- Emphasizing that the Defense Department has "very high ethical standards," acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he expects everyone in DoD to act legally and ethically with every action they deal with.
• New Launch Date Projected for New Civilian Personnel System AFPS 07 Jun 2005 -- The first phase of the Defense Department's new National Security Personnel System has been adjusted slightly, to later in the fiscal year, NSPS officials told the American Forces Press Service today.
• Trasncript: Senior leaders speak on future total force initiative AFPN 07 Jun 2005 -- Lt. Gen. Stephen Wood, Air Force deputy chief of staff of plans and programs joined by Brig. Gen. Charles D. Ethredge, deputy to the chief of Air Force Reserve, Brig. Gen. Charles Ickes, deputy director, Air National Guard and Brig. Gen. Allison Hickey, assistant deputy director of strategic planning, met in a media roundtable June 3 here.
• State-of-the-art carbon dioxide laser speeds up production AFPN 07 Jun 2005 -- A unique tool used to cut parts for all weapons systems supported here brings a whole new meaning to cutting edge technology at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center.
• USS Safeguard Takes Mother Ship Role in Deployment Navy NewsStand 07 Jun 2005 -- USS Safeguard (ARS 50) visited Changi and Sembawang, Singapore, May 5-15 to take part in exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) '05.
• Virtual Systems Command Initiates SeaPort-e Contracts Navy NewsStand 07 Jun 2005 -- A quantum step forward in the Virtual Systems (VS) Command initiatives occurred May 31, as the Navy awarded 504 Multiple Award Contracts (MACs) for support services under the Rolling Admission provision of SeaPort-e.
• Australian Officers Embark Boxer to Prepare for Talisman Saber '05 Navy NewsStand 07 Jun 2005 -- Three Australian naval officers from Maritime Headquarters in Sydney and two army officers from 5 Aviation Regiment in Townsville embarked USS Boxer (LHD 4) May 24 to assist in Navy preparations for Exercise Talisman Saber '05.
• Eleven Nations Get Underway For BALTOPS 2005 Navy NewsStand 07 Jun 2005 -- Eleven nations' naval units set sail June 5-6 from Ventspils and Liepaja, Latvia, for the 33rd annual maritime Baltic Operations (BALTOPS), co-hosted by the United States and Latvia.
• CNATTU Oceana Training to Preserve Navy's 'Super' Investment Navy NewsStand 07 Jun 2005 -- The Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit (CNATTU) stood up the Navy's second Master Training Suite (MTS2) in March at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Va., to train enlisted aviation ratings in the maintenance of the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet.
• Coast Guard Cutter Bear Kicks off 6th Fleet Deployment Navy NewsStand 07 Jun 2005 -- Approximately 100 Coast Guardsmen aboard USCGC Bear (WMEC 901) began their 2005 deployment in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operation May 22.
• Curtis Wilbur, ROKN Counter Special Ops Navy NewsStand 07 Jun 2005 -- USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) and the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) kicked off the second exercise of this year's Counter Special Operations Forces Exercise 05-2 (CSOFEX 05-2) May 24

• Confirm Bolton, Gun Rights Group Urges Senate US Newswire 07 Jun 2005 -- "We urge the United States Senate to confirm promptly the nomination of John R. Bolton as United States Ambassador to the United Nations," John Michael Snyder, Public Affairs Director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), stated here today.
• Peace Action: Bolton Exposed as 'U.N.Diplomatic' on Capitol Steps; Photo Available US Newswire 07 Jun 2005 -- With the Capitol as a backdrop, dozens of "U.N.diplomats" stood holding oversized headshots/masks of John Bolton marked "U.N.diplomatic" and an 11 by 2 foot banner exclaiming "Bolton: U.N.diplomatic." in protest of the possible imminent Senate confirmation vote for the position of United Nations Ambassador.

• State Department Briefing, June 7 Washington File 07 Jun 2005 -- Sudan, North Korea, Bolivia, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel/ Palestinians, U.S. Policy Toward Terrorist Organization; Lebanon; Uzbekistan; China
• White House Daily Briefing, June 7 Washington File 07 Jun 2005 -- Prime Minister Blair's visit, North Korea, Air Force-Boeing lease deal, climate change, Blair/African aid plan, China/trade, China/Six-Party Talks, Iran, Darfur/Sudan

Defense Industry

• Bath Iron Works to support ASC in Air Warfare Destroyer Program General Dynamics 07 Jun 2005 -- On May 31, 2005, the Australian Government announced that ASC Pty Ltd (formerly known as Australian Submarine Corporation) was selected as the preferred shipbuilder for the Australian Defense Force Project SEA 4000 Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD). Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), is a member of ASC’s team and will continue to serve as ASC’s capability partner in this project phase.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN SIGNS I-GUIDES (TM) UID COMPLIANCY SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH WFI Lockheed Martin 07 Jun 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has signed a distribution agreement with Wireless Facilities, Inc. (WFI), authorizing WFI to distribute Lockheed Martin’s I-GUIDESTM Compliancy software.
• Lockheed Martin Completes Major Milestone on Airborne, Maritime and Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio Systems Program Lockheed Martin 07 Jun 2005 -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has successfully completed a major system design review on the Airborne, Maritime and Fixed Station (AMF) component of the military’s Joint Tactical Radio Systems (JTRS) program. During the review, held from May 17-19, the company demonstrated key technologies that comprise the core of its proposed AMF JTRS solution, and laid out its planned architecture and design approach for the system.
• Northrop Grumman, U.S. Coast Guard Enhance Maritime Security of South Florida Coast Northrop Grumman 07 Jun 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Coast Guard installed advanced equipment and software aboard Coast Guard and other law-enforcement vessels to enhance maritime security during the Organization of American States General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., June 5-7.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN AWARDED $22 MILLION FOR U.S. MARINE CORPS MISSILE DEFENSE RADAR UPGRADES AND ENGINEERING FIELD SUPPORT Lockheed Martin 07 Jun 2005 -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has been awarded $22.8 million in contracts by the Marine Corps Systems Command to upgrade and provide field support for tactical missile defense radar systems used to protect allied soldiers in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Raytheon's Sharp-eyed Satellite Demonstration Experiment Will Meet Air Force Demand for Immediate Availability Raytheon 07 Jun 2005 -- A "quick reaction" space optical payload with the potential to spot hidden targets is in development by Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) under terms of a $14-million contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicle Directorate.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 07 Jun 2005
• U.S. Rejects Contacts With Palestinian Militant Group Hamas VOA 07 Jun 2005 -- The Bush administration said Tuesday it has not changed its position of refusing to deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, despite that organization's recent electoral successes. The group has long been designated a terrorist organization by the State Department.
• Surge of Violence Threatens Mideast Cease-Fire VOA 07 Jun 2005 -- A surge of violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is threatening the Mideast cease-fire.

• DRC: Soldiers killed, hundreds of civilians displaced in North Kivu IRIN 07 Jun 2005 -- Three Congolese soldiers were killed, four were wounded and hundreds of civilians were displaced in the latest fighting on Sunday between government soldiers and Rwandan Hutu militiamen in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern province of North Kivu.
• Vicious attacks on civilians force thousands to flee in eastern DR of Congo - UN UN News Centre 07 Jun 2005 -- Rampaging militiamen have staged a series of vicious attacks on scores of civilians in the past week, forcing more than 1,000 people to flee remote villages in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations said today.

• Haiti Leader Asks For Tougher UN Peackeeping Mandate VOA 07 Jun 2005 -- Haiti's prime minister has asked the United Nations to toughen its peacekeepers' mandate in light of a fresh wave of violence sweeping his country.
• MAURITANIA: Algerian group claims responsibility for attack on military barracks IRIN 07 Jun 2005 -- An Algerian group known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a weekend attack on a Mauritanian military barracks in which at least 15 soldiers were killed, some with their throats slit.
• Sudan: UN Envoy calls for immediate end to rebel violence in Darfur UN News Centre 07 Jun 2005 -- The top United Nations envoy in Sudan today called for an immediate end to hostilities in Darfur, and expressed his concern that violent clashes between rebel factions in the war-torn region were continuing even as the African Union worked tirelessly to keep upcoming peace negotiations on track.
• Chechen President Touts Improvements, But Rights Groups Disagree RFE/RL 07 Jun 2005 -- Chechnya's pro-Moscow President Alu Alkhanov says Russian forces in Chechnya are involved in fewer kidnappings and that the situation in the breakaway republic is improving. However, human rights organizations working in the region say they've seen no such improvement.
• Laos Releases US Activists, Denies Reported Surrender of Hmong Rebels VOA 07 Jun 2005 -- Laos has released and deported three of four U.S. nationals held for two days by Lao authorities after witnessing the reported surrender of 170 relatives of Hmong ethnic rebels, known for their support of U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.
• SOMALIA: Over 20 killed, 50 wounded in clan fighting IRIN 07 Jun 2005 -- At least 20 people were killed, 50 wounded and hundreds more displaced during inter-clan fighting that began on Monday in the town of Beletweyne in south-central Somalia.
• NIGERIA: Armed police patrol northern city after violence by Muslim groups IRIN 07 Jun 2005 -- Hundreds of armed riot police have been deployed in Nigeria's northern city of Sokoto, where Sunni protesters razed a government building in escalating violence with rival Shi'ites that could engulf the mainly Islamic region, government officials said on Monday.
• JORDAN: Travel restrictions eased for visiting West Bank Palestinians IRIN 07 Jun 2005 -- West Bank Palestinians wanting to visit relatives in neighbouring Jordan will no longer have to endure lengthy procedures at the border post following the recent removal of tight travel restrictions.

News Reports

• Pelosi: President Playing a Shell-Game with Humanitarian Assistance to Africa US Newswire 07 Jun 2005 -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement this evening in response to the announcement this afternoon by President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair of an African emergency famine relief initiative
• Ethiopian Police Clamp Down on Growing Student Protests VOA 07 Jun 2005 -- Ethiopian police Tuesday raided a technical college in the capital Addis Ababa in a continuing clamp-down on student protests that appear to be spreading.
• Uzbekistan: Report Cites Evidence Of Government 'Massacre' In Andijon RFE/RL 07 Jun 2005 -- A prominent U.S.-based human rights monitor says the Uzbek government crackdown last month in Andijon amounted to a massacre of innocent civilians.
• U.S. Maintains Stance On Hizbollah RFE/RL 07 Jun 2005 -- U.S. President George W. Bush's press secretary says that the United States still considers Lebanon's Hizbollah movement a terrorist organization that should be disarmed

• Orbital Delivers 500th Space And Launch System Orbital Sciences Corp. 07 Jun 2005 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) reached a significant operational milestone late last week when the company delivered its 500th space and launch system since the company was founded 23 years ago. As one of the most active developers of many types of satellites and rocket systems and the clear leader in the market for smaller-sized, more affordable and responsive space systems, Orbital has averaged one product delivery to customers every 17 days since 1982. The pace of operational activity has also been on a steep upward trajectory over the past decade, with 342 of the company’s 500 deliveries taking place in the last 10 years alone, or about one delivery every 10 days since mid-1995.