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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 14 Oct 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• THREE U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENT

• Transcript: Defense Department Update on Security Operations in Iraq 14 Oct 2005 -- Presenter: Col. David J. Bishop, commander, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division and Maj. Gen. Bashar M. Ayoub, commander, 9th Mechanized Division, Iraqi Army
• Coalition Forces Foil Terrorist Attack on Polling Station AFPS 14 Oct 2005 -- A Task Force Baghdad unit patrolling in southern Baghdad immediately responded to a terrorist mortar attack on a polling site Oct. 13 by returning fire to drive the terrorists away, military officials reported today.
• Iraqi, American Troops Work Together to Ensure Safe Election AFPS 14 Oct 2005 -- American and Iraqi troops in Taji, Iraq, are working together to ensure a safe environment for Iraqis to vote in the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum.
• Officials Note River Gate Successes as Iraqi Election Nears AFPS 14 Oct 2005 -- With Iraq's constitutional referendum set to take place Oct. 15, military officials noted the successes of Operation River Gate in setting conditions for secure voting in the country's Anbar province.
• Iraq: U.S., Iraqi Forces Tighten Security For Referendum RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- U.S. and Iraqi forces are tightening security in Iraq for the 15 October referendum on the draft constitution.
• Baghdad Suffers Power Blackout on Election Eve VOA 14 Oct 2005 -- Insurgents have knocked out electrical power to much of Baghdad on the eve of Iraq's nationwide constitutional referendum.
• US and Iraqi Forces Prepare to Secure Referendum VOA 14 Oct 2005 -- U.S. and Iraqi military officers in the sector north of Baghdad expressed confidence on Friday that their forces are ready to secure Saturday's voting on the new Iraqi constitution.
• Blackouts In Baghdad Ahead Of Vote RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- Electricity went out for hours across Baghdad this evening, plunging the Iraqi capital into darkness on the eve of the country's referendum on a new constitution.
• Task Force Baghdad Soldiers catch bombers in the act MNF-I 14 Oct 2005 -- While conducting a combat patrol in north Baghdad, Task Force Baghdad Soldiers caught two roadside bombers in the act of placing an improvised explosive device Oct. 10.
• Iraqi tip leads U.S. Soldiers to terrorist mortar site MNF-I 14 Oct 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers, acting on a tip from an Iraqi citizen, found a mortar tube and mortar rounds in north Baghdad Oct. 12.
• U.S. Soldiers find, disable car bomb thanks to Iraqi tip MNF-I 14 Oct 2005 -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers found and disabled a car bomb in western Rashid thanks to a tip from a group of Iraqi citizens Oct. 12.
• Insurgent attack kills and wounds detainees MNF-I 14 Oct 2005 -- Insurgents attacked a convoy carrying detainees outside ar Ramadi the night of Oct. 11, killing three detainees and wounding seven.
• U.S. Forces Take on Tasks to Free Iraqi Soldiers to Secure Polls Washington File 14 Oct 2005 -- On the eve of the Iraqi constitutional referendum, U.S. and Iraqi forces report a successful partnership in their efforts to create conditions conducive to voting.

• Explosion Hits Fuel Tankers In Afghanistan RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- A suspected bomb today caused eight fuel tankers parked outside a U.S.-led coalition base in southern Afghanistan to explode.
• Afghanistan: Human Rights Commission Strives For Justice RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- Since 2002, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has worked to define a human rights agenda in a country long plagued by abuses.
• RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Volume 4, Number 27 14 October 2005 -- THE MESSAGE OF LOWER VOTER TURNOUT / OBSERVERS SAY FRUSTRATION, COMPLICATIONS LED TO LOW VOTER TURNOUT / CANDIDATE KILLING SPARKS PROTESTS, ACCUSATIONS / FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR SUSTAINED ENGAGEMENT / TOP SECURITY OFFICIAL RESIGNS AMID CONTROVERSY / RICE HAILS AFGHANISTAN'S 'MARCH TOWARD DEMOCRACY'

• USS Pearl Harbor, Seabees Bringing Relief Equipment to Pakistan Navy NewsStand 14 Oct 2005 -- USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) made a brief port stop in Bahrain Oct. 14, where Sailors loaded 13 pieces of heavy equipment bound for Pakistan.
• USS Pearl Harbor Picks Up Relief Supplies Bound for Pakistan AFPS 14 Oct 2005 -- The USS Pearl Harbor made a brief port stop here today, where sailors loaded 13 pieces of heavy equipment bound for Pakistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Cope Thunder supply mission diverse AFPN 14 Oct 2005 -- As aircraft lift from the flightline and roar into the low-lying clouds, two 353rd Combat Training Squadron supply liaisons are busy helping customers with the supply process.
• New Command to Streamline Reserve Medical Management AFPS 14 Oct 2005 -- A new Army Reserve command that streamlines the way medical forces are trained and managed is slated to stand up this weekend in Pinellas Park, Fla.
• Army Reserve to activate ARMEDCOM Army News 14 Oct 2005 -- The largest medical command in the Army will activate Oct. 16 in a ceremony at the Army Reserve Center in Pinellas Park, Fla.
• Meeting the Challenge of a New Era; CNO Releases 2006 Guidance Navy NewsStand 14 Oct 2005 -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Mullen released his 2006 Guidance for the Navy Oct. 14.
• Ghostriders Finish Last Major Underway Aboard USS Mount Whitney Navy NewsStand 14 Oct 2005 -- The NATO exercise Destined Glory (Loyal Midas) 2005, which ran from Sept. 29 to Oct. 14 in the Thyrrenian Sea near Sardinia, marked the end of an era for Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HC) 2, Detachment 1, the Ghostriders, as their last major underway period.
• Hospital Ship Comfort Returns to Baltimore Navy NewsStand 14 Oct 2005 -- The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) returned to Baltimore's Canton Pier Oct. 13, following a six-week hurricane relief mission to the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
• Renovation to Kitsap Submarine Service Pier Complete Navy NewsStand 14 Oct 2005 -- A $39 million renovation to the service pier located on the waterfront of Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor concluded with a formal ribbon cutting Oct. 3 in one of the new support buildings on the pier.
• Cryptology Officers Get New Name, Boss Navy NewsStand 14 Oct 2005 -- Those in the Navy Cryptology officer community were designated 'Information Warfare Officers' in May to reflect their roles in managing, moving and protecting information.

• White House Daily Briefing, October 14 Washington File 14 Oct 2005 -- Pakistan earthquake, Karl Rove/leak investigation, Harriet Miers, Wounded soldier debt, Iraq referendum, Video conference with troops, Emergency preparedness, Immigration, CPI, Canada
• State Department Briefing, October 14 Washington File 14 Oct 2005 -- Travel of Karen Hughes to Southeast Asia, Zimbabwe, Sudan/Darfur, United Kingdom, China, North Korea, Macedonia, Iraq, Venezuela, Cyprus

Defense Industry

• General Dynamics Awarded $223 Million Contract for First Trimaran Littoral Combat Ship Construction General Dynamics 14 Oct 2005 -- The U.S. Navy today awarded a Bath Iron Works-led team a $223 million contract for the detailed design and construction of an innovative, trimaran-hull Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) as part of its newest ship class. The team will complete the design and construct a high-speed, networked, 127-meter surface combatant ship for delivery to the Navy in October 2007. This award is an option of a contract awarded in July 2003. Bath Iron Works is a subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
• First Northrop Grumman-Built Standardized Command Posts Complete, Being Fielded to Army's 1st Cavalry Division Northrop Grumman 14 Oct 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) rolled out the U.S. Army's first two high-tech command post systems, built under the Standardized Integrated Command Post System program, today. Over the next nine months, Northrop Grumman will build 48 command post platforms (CPP) for fielding to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
• Alcatel Alenia Space-built Syracuse 3A military communications satellite successfully launched Thales 14 Oct 2005 -- Alcatel Alenia Space applauds the successful launch of the next-generation military communications satellite Syracuse 3A. The satellite was launched by an Ariane 5 rocket during the night of October 13th to 14th, 2005 at 00:32 am (Paris time) from the Guyana Space Center, in Kourou. This satellite was built by Alcatel Alenia Space, for French defense procurement agency DGA.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT United Nations 14 Oct 2005
• Russian Officials: At Least 85 Dead In Nalchik Fighting RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- Russian authorities say the situation is under control today in Nalchik, the capital of the Russian Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkariya, where at least 85 people were reported killed during an attack by Chechen separatist militants
• Nalchik Hostages Reported Freed RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- Russian officials say they have freed seven hostages who were held in two locations in Nalchik, one day after a coordinated assault by militants on police and government facilities on the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria.
• Russia: Situation In Kabardino-Balkaria Remains Murky RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- An independent overview of the situation in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, remains impossible to obtain, a day after a series of coordinated attacks by groups of armed militants
• Kabardino-Balkaria: Was The Raid A Tactical Defeat Or A Change In Tactics? RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- Although many details of the 13 October multiple attacks in Nalchik, capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, remain unclear, and estimates of the number of militants who participated, and of those captured or killed, diverge significantly, the militants do not appear to have scored a military victory in the classic sense of the word.
• Rebel Attack in Southern Russia Finally Quelled; Scores Dead VOA 14 Oct 2005 -- Russian security forces say they have freed all remaining hostages held by militants who launched a major attack on the southern Russian town of Nalchik, Thursday.

• State's Burns Urges Action on Bosnian War Crimes Indictees Washington File 14 Oct 2005 -- The United States is calling on the tri-presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as well as the main political party leaders there, to issue a written statement in November calling on indicted war criminals Radovan Karadic and Ratko Mladic to give themselves up.
• Negotiations to Begin on Final Status of Kosovo VOA 14 Oct 2005 -- Last week the United Nations recommended the start of talks on the final status of Kosovo, which has been in political limbo since 1999, when the Kosovar Albanians returned after a war of ethnic cleansing
• Security Council agrees to delay Côte d'Ivoire elections until at latest October 2006 UN News Centre 14 Oct 2005 -- The United Nations Security Council today endorsed the African Union's (AU) decision that elections in Côte d'Ivoire be postponed until at latest next October and said it would rapidly take measures to support the UN peacekeeping mission in the country based on progress in implementing the peace agreements that ended a fierce civil war.
• Security Council condemns increased violations of Somalia arms embargo UN News Centre 14 Oct 2005 -- Condemning the significant increase in the violations of the arms embargo against Somalia as a threat to international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council today requested Secretary-General Kofi Annan to re-establish the group monitoring the problem and give it a six-month mandate to continue its investigations.
• Progress Urged in Resolving South Ossetia, Abkhazia Conflicts Washington File 14 Oct 2005 -- The United States wants to see more progress made in resolving the conflicts over Georgia's South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, a U.S. envoy told the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Austria, October 13.
• NIGER: Tuareg ex-combatants to get promised assistance a decade after peace accord IRIN 14 Oct 2005 -- Ten years after the Niger government and insurgents signed an accord to end a Tuareg rebellion, authorities have launched an economic assistance programme for more than 3,000 ex-combatants in the north - the final phase as laid out in the peace pact.
• SWAZILAND: Draconian anti-terrorism bill resubmitted after fire bombings IRIN 14 Oct 2005 -- A post-9/11 anti-terrorism bill submitted to the Swazi parliament but then suspended without passage has been tabled again in the wake of two recent fire bombings in the capital, Mbabane.

News Reports

• World: Global Response Against Possible Bird Flu Pandemic Gathering Force RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- Fears are growing about a possible global outbreak of deadly bird flu in humans. But the response, too, is now gathering pace, with countries around the world stepping up their precautions.

• PRESS CONFERENCE ON SOUTH ASIAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF United Nations 14 Oct 2005
• Hope Dwindles For Finding More Quake Survivors in Pakistan VOA 14 Oct 2005 -- Officials in earthquake-hit Pakistan say search and rescue operations for any survivors have ended, and that the effort now is to provide relief for millions of people who are hungry and left out in the open.

• Central Asia: What Did Rice Accomplish During Three-Day Tour? RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice finished her tour of Central Asia yesterday
• Witness At Andijon Trial Says Troops Shot Civilians RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- A witness at the trial of 15 people accused of organizing an antigovernment revolt in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon has testified that government troops opened fire on civilians during the crisis.
• Andijon Witness Testifies That Troops Shot Civilians RFE/RL 14 Oct 2005 -- A witness at the trial of 15 people accused of organizing an anti-government revolt in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon said today that government troops opened fire on civilians during the crisis, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reported.

• Orbital-Built Galaxy 15 Satellite Successfully Launched For PanAmSat Orbital Sciences Corp. 14 Oct 2005 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that the Galaxy 15 geosynchronous (GEO) communications satellite the company built for PanAmSat Corporation (NYSE: PA) was successfully launched aboard an Ariane rocket on Thursday, October 13, 2005. The mission originated from the European Space Agency's launch complex at Kourou, French Guiana, at approximately 6:30 p.m. (Eastern). The Galaxy 15 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 15 satellite is the eighth Orbital-built GEO satellite to be completed and launched. The company also has another eight GEO satellites in various stages of design, development and manufacturing that will be launched over the next several years.