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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 15 Aug 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties

• Task Force Baghdad foils three car bomb attacks MNF-I 15 Aug 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers thwarted three car bomb attacks within five hours in south Baghdad on Aug. 13.
• AL Qaeda Lieutenant killed in Iraq MNF-I 15 Aug 2005 -- Terrorist Abu Zubair, also known as Mohammed Salah Sultan, was killed August 12 by Iraqi Security Forces in an ambush in the northern city of Mosul .
• Suicide Bomber Wounds 11 In Baghdad RFE/RL 15 Aug 2005 -- Police say a suicide bomber on a motorcycle wounded at least 11 people today when he blew himself up in a central Baghdad restaurant.
• Deployed firefighters modern day dragon slayers AFPN 15 Aug 2005 -- Throughout Iraq, sleeping dragons lie in slumber, ready to wreak havoc, death and destruction if disturbed.
• Soldiers Survive IED Blast; Iranian Opposition Members Kidnapped AFPS 15 Aug 2005 -- Soldiers from Task Force Baghdad avoided injury Aug. 13 after their Bradley fighting vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device near the Sadr City neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, military officials reported.
• Iraqi Policeman Engages Suicide Bomber in Mahawil AFPS 15 Aug 2005 -- An Iraqi police officer identified a suicide bomber in Mahawil, Iraq, Aug. 14 and attempted to kill him before the bomb could be detonated, according to a multinational forces report.
• Task Force Baghdad Troops Foil Separate Attacks, Detain Suspects AFPS 15 Aug 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad soldiers thwarted three car bomb attacks within five hours in southern Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 13.
• Soldiers thwart IED attacks in Iraq Army News 15 Aug 2005 -- Five large improvised explosive devices on major Baghdad highways were identified by Task Force Baghdad Soldiers Aug. 14 and then safely destroyed before they could hurt anyone.
• New Coalition headquarters to open in Tikrit Army News 15 Aug 2005 -- A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place this past weekend at Forward Operating Base Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq, for the largest structure built to date for Coalition forces.

• Afghan Army Kills At Least 21 Taliban Militants RFE/RL 15 Aug 2005 -- The Afghan Defense Ministry said today that at least 21 Taliban militants were killed and six others arrested in three separate clashes in the southern part of the country.
• RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Volume 4, Number 23 15 August 2005 -- NEO-TALIBAN FREE TO COMMUNICATE WITH MEDIA / OPPOSITION LEADER ASSESSES COUNTRY'S FOREIGN RELATIONS / PAKISTAN TO REMOVE AFGHAN REFUGEES FROM CAPITAL IN TRIBAL AREAS / MADRASAHS LEAD RELIGIOUS TEACHING REVIVAL / THIS WEEK IN AFGHANISTAN'S HISTORY

Defense Policy / Programs

• DoD Releases Selected Acquisition Reports 15 Aug 2005 -- The Department of Defense has released details on major defense acquisition program cost and schedule changes since the December 2004 reporting period
• Statement on Freedom Walk 15 Aug 2005 -- It is unfortunate that the Washington Post has made this decision not to support the "Freedom Walk," but we welcome their donation to the Pentagon Memorial Fund. 
• Multi-million Dollar MWR Center Opens in Sigonella Navy NewsStand 15 Aug 2005 -- The long-awaited Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella Midtown Complex opened June 17.
• Boxer Takes on Harriers for JASEX Success Navy NewsStand 15 Aug 2005 -- The sound of five AV-8B Harrier IIs shook the sky as jets landed on USS Boxer (LHD 4) Aug. 2 as the 844-foot long amphibious assault ship departed Okinawa, Japan.
• FTF set to leave lasting impression in Pacific theater AFPN 15 Aug 2005 -- The Air Force broke ground last August for the first Pacific Air Forces C-17 Globemaster III squadron based outside the continental United States.
• Improvements Visible in Kosovo AFPS 15 Aug 2005 -- In their place are orange roofs covering homes that have been rebuilt. Roughly 1,700 American servicemembers -- almost all National Guardsmen -- are part of the 17,000-man Kosovo Force helping provide the environment the province needs to recover.
• Kosovo Mission Successful, Important, U.S. Forces Say AFPS 15 Aug 2005 -- While U.S. forces have been defending freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq, another mission to protect local populations from brutality and oppression has been winding down in the Balkans.
• Latest Stryker variant arrives for duty Army News 15 Aug 2005 -- Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, have been rotating to Yakima Training Center this summer to train on the first Stryker Mortar Carrier version B, the latest variant of the Stryker to arrive for duty.
• CNO Makes Delivering Human Capital Strategy a Top Priority Navy NewsStand 15 Aug 2005 -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Mullen told manpower and personnel officials Aug. 10 the time is now to deliver a comprehensive 21st Century Human Capital Strategy (HCS) for Sailors.
• Navy Physician Heading to Iraq with Marine Corps Civil Affairs Group Navy NewsStand 15 Aug 2005 -- Capt. (Dr.) Thomas A. Risser, a cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, deployed to Iraq in August with the Marine Corps' 6th Civil Affairs Group (CAG).

• State Department Briefing, August 15 Washington File 15 Aug 2005 -- Greece/Cyprus, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel/Palestinians, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, India/Pakistan, Japan, Iran, Mexico, China/Russia, Venezuela, non-proliferation

Defense Industry

• ATK Wins $10 Million Contract to Supply Phalanx with Improved Ammunition ATK 15 Aug 2005 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) has received a $10 million contract from the U.S. Navy Naval Surface Warfare Center to supply 20mm Mk244 Enhanced Lethality Cartridges (ELC) to Block 1B upgraded Phalanx systems. With options, the contract has a potential total value of $23 million. The U.S. Navy uses the Phalanx close-in weapon system to defend the fleet against enemy missile attacks. This is the first application for ATK’s newest 20mm round, which provides more stopping power than any 20mm round the company has ever produced.
• BAE SYSTEMS Awarded $122.3 Million Contract Modification For FCS Armed Robotic Vehicle BAE Systems 15 Aug 2005 -- BAE Systems has been awarded a contract modification worth a minimum of $122.3 million for the transition effort for two Armed Robotic Vehicle (ARV) variants for the U.S. Armys Future Combat Systems.
• Future Combat Systems (FCS) Successfully Completes Major Program Milestone Boeing 15 Aug 2005 -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) and partner Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), acting as Lead Systems Integrator (LSI) for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, today announced successful completion of the System of Systems Functional Review, the program's most important technical milestone to date.
• Lockheed Martin's ATACMS Missile With Penetrator Warhead Successful in Final Flight Test Lockheed Martin 15 Aug 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] and Sandia National Laboratories successfully conducted another flight test of a Tactical Missile System - Penetrator (TACMS-P) recently at White Sands Missile Range, NM.
• DD(X) National Team Completes Radar Cross-Section Testing of DD(X) Deckhouse Northrop Grumman 15 Aug 2005 -- The DD(X) National Team, led by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), has reached another significant milestone by completing fabrication and radar cross-section testing on the integrated deckhouse test article.
• Northrop Grumman Completes Update of Navy Group II E-2C Aircraft with Avionics Technology Upgrade Northrop Grumman 15 Aug 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has successfully completed integration of its avionics technology upgrade with commercial hardware to update the fleet of Group II E-2C aircraft for the U.S. Navy.
• Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout UAV Demonstrates Communication, Imagery-Relay and Logistic Capabilities Northrop Grumman 15 Aug 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) completed data and image relay, video transmissions and supplied delivery to a remote location during a series of tests and demonstrations Aug. 1-3 at Arizona's Yuma Proving Ground. The tests culminated with a fully autonomous flight demonstration for senior military and government leaders.
• Raytheon Awarded Joint Based Expeditionary Connectivity Center Contract in Support of Homeland Defense Raytheon 15 Aug 2005 -- The U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon Solipsys a homeland defense contract valued at $6.7 million with options to support NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and NORTHCOM (U.S. Northern Command). Its purpose is to enhance the United States' ability to monitor and track air traffic and other potential airborne threats operating within domestic airspace.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN DELIVERS KEY HARDWARE FOR MISSILE WARNING SYSTEM Lockheed Martin 15 Aug 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has achieved another major step in the development of the nation's next-generation missile warning system with the successful delivery of the spacecraft core structure with an integrated propulsion subsystem for the first Space-Based Infrared System High (SBIRS High) geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 15 Aug 2005
• PRESS CONFERENCE BY ISRAEL United Nations 15 Aug 2005
• Sharon Calls Gaza Pullout Vital For Israel's Future VOA 15 Aug 2005 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says the withdrawal from all the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four smaller ones in the West Bank is a painful but important step for Israel's future.
• Gaza Pullout Under Way; Hamaz Pledges Calm VOA 15 Aug 2005 -- Israeli and Palestinian security forces are on high alert as Israel's pullout from Gaza officially gets under way.
• Israeli Settlement Evacuation Begins Amid Protests VOA 15 Aug 2005 -- Israeli troops have begun fanning out into the Jewish settlements of the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank to hand out eviction notices giving settlers 48 hours to leave voluntarily or face forced evacuation under the government's controversial disengagement plan.
• Israeli officials Express Cautious Optimism Before Start of Gaza Pullout VOA 15 Aug 2005 -- Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres is voicing guarded optimism about the long-awaited pullout from the Gaza Strip, which begins today
• Secretary-General closely following Israeli withdrawal from Gaza UN News Centre 15 Aug 2005 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is following attentively the process of Israeli disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank and he is hopeful that it will be executed in a peaceful and smooth manner, building on the coordination efforts of James Wolfensohn, the Quartet Special Envoy for Disengagement, his spokesman said today.

• Indonesian Government and Aceh Rebels Sign Peace Deal VOA 15 Aug 2005 -- The Indonesian government and rebels from the Free Aceh Movement signed a historic peace deal in the Finnish capital Helsinki Monday to officially end a nearly three-decade old conflict.
• Annan applauds signing of Aceh peace agreement UN News Centre 15 Aug 2005 -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the signing today in Helsinki of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Indonesia Government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement
• U.S. Hails Accord To End Conflict in Indonesia's Aceh Province Washington File 15 Aug 2005 -- The United States has congratulated Indonesia's government and the leadership of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on the signing of a formal memorandum of understanding to end the conflict in Indonesia's Aceh province.

• UN envoys for Côte d'Ivoire peace to meet African Union mediators UN News Centre 15 Aug 2005 -- The United Nations envoys assisting with peacemaking in Côte d'Ivoire left today for South Africa to undertake further talks with President Thabo Mbeki, the African Union's mediator for the Ivorian conflict, after discussing the situation in the divided country with the rebel Forces Nouvelles.
• COTE D IVOIRE: Blue helmets thwarted by angry crowds, Kofi Annan speaks out IRIN 15 Aug 2005 -- Hostile mobs continue to block the movement of United Nations peacekeepers and other UN officials in Cote d'Ivoire, spurring Secretary General Kofi Annan over the weekend to urge Ivorians to back off.

• Sudan: UN envoy continues talks with southern rebel leaders, civil society UN News Centre 15 Aug 2005 -- Resuming his efforts to help keep Sudan's peace process on track following the death of influential ex-rebel leader and first Vice-President John Garang, the top United Nations envoy in Sudan has met with opposition leaders in the capitol, Khartoum, and will head to strife-riven Darfur to assess the humanitarian and security situation there.
• Slain Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Cremated Amid Peace Plan Fears VOA 15 Aug 2005 -- Sri Lanka's slain foreign minister was given a state funeral with full honors in the capital Colombo Monday
• Chechen Official: Death Toll From Wars Could Be 160,000 RFE/RL 15 Aug 2005 -- A top pro-Moscow official in Chechnya said today that up to 160,000 civilians and troops have died or gone missing in the two wars that have been fought in Chechnya.
• Abkhazia Holds Major Military Drill RFE/RL 15 Aug 2005 -- Georgian's separatist province of Abkhazia launched major military exercises today in a show of force criticized by Tbilisi.

News Reports

• SOMALIA: Hijackers of food-laden ship make new demands IRIN 15 Aug 2005 -- The hijackers of a vessel laden with food aid off Somalia's northeastern coast in June have demanded that the cargo be distributed to residents of Haradhere and the surrounding areas, where the ship was commandeered, one of the hijackers told IRIN on Monday.
• Cambodian Prime Minister Warns Khmer Rouge Tribunal Without More Aid VOA 15 Aug 2005 -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned that former Khmer Rouge leaders will not go to trial unless international donors give money directly to the Cambodian government to help pay for the tribunals.
• Asia Commemorates End of World War II VOA 15 Aug 2005 -- Asia has been commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two
• Official Says Radicals Plotting Against Azerbaijan Government RFE/RL 15 Aug 2005 -- Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General Zakir Qaralov today accused unspecified political groupings of plotting to forcibly come to power.
• Kyrgyz President Names Kulov Acting Prime Minister RFE/RL 15 Aug 2005 -- Newly sworn-in Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev today appointed his political ally Feliks Kulov as acting prime minister.
• ATK Composite Technologies Support Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission ATK 15 Aug 2005 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) designed and produced the composite structure for the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, part of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft launched recently aboard an Atlas V 400 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. As the largest-diameter telescopic camera ever sent to another planet, it will photograph hundreds of targeted areas in unprecedented detail, revealing secrets about the geology of Mars and candidate landing sites for future missions.
• Orbital-Built Galaxy 14 Satellite Successfully Launched For PanAmSat Orbital Sciences Corp. 15 Aug 2005 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that the Galaxy 14 geosynchronous (GEO) communications satellite the company built for PanAmSat Corporation (NYSE: PA) was successfully launched aboard a Starsem Soyuz rocket on Saturday, August 13, 2005. The mission originated from the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at approximately 7:28 p.m. (EDT). The Galaxy 14 satellite was deployed into a transfer orbit about 90 minutes after lift-off. Initial communications with the satellite have been established and it is performing as expected in the early stages of the mission. The Galaxy 14 satellite is the seventh Orbital-built GEO satellite to be completed and launched and the company has another six GEO satellites in various stages of design, development and manufacturing that will be launched over the next several years.