Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 20 Jul 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty

• Transcript: DoD News Briefing 20 Jul 2005 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; and General Peter Pace, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Joint search detains three in Kirkuk MNF-I 20 Jul 2005 -- Task Force Liberty Soldiers and Iraqi police detained three individuals suspected of terrorist activity during a joint search in Kirkuk July 20.
• Sunnis Drafting Constitution Gunned Down In Iraq RFE/RL 20 Jul 2005 -- Three Sunni men connected to the Iraqi National Assembly's constitutional drafting committee were gunned down outside a Baghdad restaurant yesterday
• Suicide Bomber Kills Army Recruits In Baghdad RFE/RL 20 Jul 2005 -- Police and army officials in Baghdad say a suicide bomber has killed at least five people at an army recruiting center in the capital.
• Suicide Bomber Strikes at Iraqi Recruiting Center Near Airfield AFPS 20 Jul 2005 -- A terrorist bomber killed himself and five others today during an attack outside an airfield in Iraq, military officials in Baghdad reported.
• Terrorist bombing suspects captured MNF-I 20 Jul 2005 -- Over the last two days, Multi-National Forces captured three Al Qaida terrorists associated with bombing operations in the Baghdad area.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Detainee Transfer Announced 20 Jul 2005 -- The Department of Defense announced today that it released or transferred eight detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This movement included the releases of one detainee to Sudan, two to Afghanistan, three detainees to Saudi Arabia, one to Jordan and one detainee transferred to the government of Spain. This movement increases the number of detainees who have departed GTMO to 242.

• China Investing in Information Warfare Technology, Doctrine AFPS 20 Jul 2005 -- China appears to be taking a page from U.S. doctrine and working to improve its information warfare capabilities, according to a comprehensive DoD report on Chinese military power released July 19.
• Chinese Military Power Report Addresses U.S. Concerns AFPS 20 Jul 2005 -- The Defense Department's annual report on Chinese military power, released late July 19, is "deliberately non-alarmist," a senior official said. However, some findings are "worrisome," the official added.
• China's Military Strength Growing, Defense Department Says Washington File 20 Jul 2005 -- China is rising rapidly as an Asian political and economic power and is modernizing its army to fight and win short-duration, high-intensity conflicts along its borders, according to a new Defense Department report.

• Navy to Christen New Guided-Missile Destroyer Farragut 20 Jul 2005 -- newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Farragut, will be christened Saturday, July 23, 2005, during an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine.
• Recruiting Solution 'About Message,' Vice Chairman Says AFPS 20 Jul 2005 -- The solution to boosting recruiting within the military "is not about money and benefits," the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Pentagon reporters today. It's "about message."
• Panel Adds Bases For Closure, Realignment Consideration AFPS 20 Jul 2005 -- The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted to add several military installations to a list for closure consideration during July 19 hearings at the Dirksen Senate Building here.
• Leaders at Conference Tackle Strategies Against Terrorism AFPS 20 Jul 2005 -- Speakers and participants alike focused on challenges at the opening of the NATO and European Union "Strategies Against Terrorism" conference here July 19.
• National Security Personnel System Survey Period Extended AFPS 20 Jul 2005 -- Response to a survey about the new National Security Personnel System has been "enthusiastic," so defense officials have extended the survey period through July 27 so civil service employees get more opportunity to participate.
• Operation Brewing Storm Underway Off Atlantic Coast Navy NewsStand 20 Jul 2005 -- More than 15,000 service members from four countries are participating in Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 05-2, Operation Brewing Storm, July 14-22.
• USS Laboon Assists Stranded Sailboat Navy NewsStand 20 Jul 2005 -- USS Laboon (DDG 58), operating in the Atlantic in support of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Carrier Strike Group's Joint Task Force Exercise, assisted a stranded civilian sailboat July 17.
• Two Navy Jets Involved in Mishap Navy NewsStand 20 Jul 2005 -- Two Super Hornets based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore experienced a mid-air collision while on a routine training mission July 18.
• Malaysians Conduct Amphibious Landing from Decks of Boxer Navy NewsStand 20 Jul 2005 -- More than 150 Malaysian paratroopers, with the help of Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 5, stormed Kuala Rompin beach in Malaysia July 14 during an amphibious assault scenario.
• Boxer Begins CARAT at Sea Navy NewsStand 20 Jul 2005 -- More than 150 Malaysian service members began the third phase of exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) July 12 when they left Kemaman, Malaysia, aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4).
• Vandegrift Down Under Navy NewsStand 20 Jul 2005 -- USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) departed Brisbane, Australia, July 5 after four days of rest and relaxation, following the ship's participation in Exercise Talisman Saber 2005.
• CNO to Congress - Fund DD(X) Navy NewsStand 20 Jul 2005 -- Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee's Projection Forces Subcommittee July 19, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Vern Clark strongly urged Congress to fully fund the Navy's next generation destroyer, DD(X).
• Changes in Effect for Submarine Electronics Technician Navigation Rating Navy NewsStand 20 Jul 2005 -- Sailors in the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force are welcoming a change announced in June that all submarine navigation Electronics Technicians (ET) must now qualify as Assistant Navigator (ANAV).
• Airmen support Soldiers, Marines with up-armor kits AFPN 20 Jul 2005 -- Soldiers and Marines can thank a team of blue-suited warriors at this forward-deployed location for helping put new armor on vehicles they use to battle insurgents.
• Rumsfeld Thanks Poland for Its Commitment to War on Terror Washington File 20 Jul 2005 -- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld held a joint press briefing with Polish Minister of Defense Jerzy Szmajdzinski in Washington July 19 and thanked Poland for its support and contributions to the War on Terror.

• Asian Countries Want US Out of Bases in the Region VOA 20 Jul 2005 -- The regional group known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has called on the United States to withdraw its forces from two Central Asian bases.

• US Senate Approves Bill To Fund Foreign Operations VOA 20 Jul 2005 -- The U.S. Senate has approved (by a vote of 98 to one) a 31-point-seven billion dollar package to fund foreign operations, including economic and political aid to countries around the world.

• State Department Briefing, July 20 Washington File 20 Jul 2005 -- Iraq, Saudi Arabia, China, Lebanon, Reported Transfer of Three Saudi Nationals from Guantanamo Detention Facility, Pakistan, Cyprus, Israel/Palestinians, Libya

Defense Industry

• LOCKHEED MARTIN RECEIVES CONTRACT TO START UPGRADE PROGRAM FOR TURKEY'S F-16s Lockheed Martin 20 Jul 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a long-lead contract, valued at approximately $67.7 million, from the U.S. Air Force to begin development of a major systems upgrade of Turkish Air Force F-16 aircraft. The total contract is valued at approximately $800 million and is expected to be issued in mid-2006.
• Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman Longbow JV Awarded $13 Million Contract for Longbow Fire Control Radar Life Cycle Support Lockheed Martin 20 Jul 2005 -- The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) awarded a $13.3 million contract to Longbow Limited (LBL) for Life Cycle Contractor Support (LCCS) of the Longbow Fire Control Radar (FCR).
• General Dynamics and RAFAEL win $38M Reactive Armor Contract Rafael 20 Jul 2005 -- Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. and General Dynamics have won a contract valued at $38M to supply reactive armor for the U.S. Army Bradley APCs serving in Iraq.
• Two Contracts to Raytheon Solipsys Enhance Homeland Defense Raytheon 20 Jul 2005 -- Raytheon Solipsys was recently awarded two follow-on homeland defense contracts by the U. S. Air Force and NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) that enhance the U.S.'s ability to recognize and track aircraft and other potential airborne threats operating within U.S. airspace.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 20 Jul 2005
• PRESS CONFERENCE ON WOMEN’S ROLE IN CONFLICT PREVENTION United Nations 20 Jul 2005
• COTE D IVOIRE-LIBERIA: Insecurity in west accelerates return home of Liberian refugees IRIN 20 Jul 2005 -- There has been a recent surge in the number of Liberian refugees returning home from Cote d'Ivoire as conditions within Liberia improve and the security situation in the volatile west of Cote d'Ivoire deteriorates, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said.
• DR of Congo: UN launches new operation against Rwandan Hutu rebels UN News Centre 20 Jul 2005 -- Backed by air power in a major new operation code-named "Thunder Storm," United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today launched their third offensive in just over two weeks to oust Rwandan Hutu militia who daily harass local communities, burning a rebel base camp
• Israel's Parliament Quashes Effort to Delay Disengagement VOA 20 Jul 2005 -- Israel's parliament, the Knesset, today overwhelmingly rejected a motion to delay the disengagement from Gaza and small portions of the West Bank by up to one year
• Car Bomb Kills At Least Six in Kashmir VOA 20 Jul 2005 -- At least six people have been killed and more than a dozen wounded by a car bombing in Srinigar, in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by an Islamic militant group fighting for Kashmir to break free of Indian control.

News Reports

• PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL OF OFFICE OF INTERNAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES United Nations 20 Jul 2005
• Northrop Grumman Delivers Fluid Transfer, Propulsion Systems to Boeing Phantom Works for Orbital Express Program Northrop Grumman 20 Jul 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has delivered the fluid-transfer and propulsion systems to Boeing Phantom Works in Seal Beach, Calif., for the Orbital Express mission, which is designed to demonstrate the various technologies required for autonomous satellite servicing while on-orbit.