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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 20 Dec 2005 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Corps Casualty

• Terrorist bomb detonates on bombers MNF-I 20 Dec 2005 -- One terrorist was killed and another severely injured when the improvised explosive device they were attempting to emplace detonated prematurely
• CENTAF releases airpower summary AFPN 20 Dec 2005 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• Iraqi Army Division Takes Step Toward Full Combat Readiness AFPS 20 Dec 2005 -- The staff of the 8th Iraqi Army Division was certified today in counterterrorism operations and tactics, which means the Iraqis can plan and conduct operations against enemy forces with limited support of coalition forces, military officials reported today.
• Soldiers testing cooling vests in Iraq Army News 20 Dec 2005 -- About 500 liquid-filled cooling vests are now being tested by Humvee crews in Iraq and Kuwait.

• Operation Enduring Freedom Rotation Adjustment Announced 19 Dec 2005 -- The Department of Defense announced today an adjustment to the deployment of the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division toAfghanistan.
• Afghanistan: UN peacekeeping chief vows to stay the course for next five years UN News Centre 20 Dec 2005 -- The United Nations will stay the course over the next five years in helping Afghanistan through its full transition to peace and democracy after decades of war and civil conflict as tenaciously as it has since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, the head of the world body's peacekeeping operations said today.
• U.S. Troop Levels in Afghanistan Slated to Drop Next Year AFPS 20 Dec 2005 -- The number of American troops serving in Afghanistan, currently about 19,000, is slated to decline by about 2,500 next year, a senior U.S. military officer said here Dec. 19.
• US to Reduce Afghanistan Force by 2,500 VOA 20 Dec 2005 -- The United States has decided to reduce its troop presence in Afghanistan from 19,000 to 16,500 in March of next year, largely because of the increased role NATO is taking in providing security in the country.
• AFGHANISTAN: Parliament convenes after three decades IRIN 20 Dec 2005 -- Members of Afghanistan's first parliament after more than three decades of conflict were sworn in on Monday, marking a major milestone towards the fledgling state's future peace and stability.
• Afghan Suicide Attack Wounds Three Italians in Herat VOA 20 Dec 2005 -- NATO peacekeepers in Afghanistan say three Italian troops have been slightly wounded in a suicide car-bombing attack in the western city of Herat.
• RFE/RL Afghanistan Report, Volume 4, Number 29 20 December 2005 -- NEW PARLIAMENT MUST COPE WITH DEEP DIVISIONS / LAWMAKERS' SLAYINGS POSE HARD QUESTIONS. / RIVALS COMPETE FOR PARLIAMENT SPEAKER POST. / NATO PREPARES TO MOVE INTO MOST RESTIVE PROVINCES. / DRUG AGENCY ANTICIPATES INCREASED OPIUM PRODUCTION

• Reserve pilots continue flying Pakistani 'lifeline' Army News 20 Dec 2005 -- Logging hundreds of flying hours to remote Pakistani villages over the past two months, Army Reserve Chinook pilots have delivered hundreds of tons of supplies ranging from baby formula to roofing materials.

Defense Policy / Programs

• USS Annapolis Sailors Visit Bahrain, Reach Midpoint of Deployment Navy NewsStand 20 Dec 2005 -- USS Annapolis (SSN 760) finished a weeklong interlude in Manama, Bahrain, Dec. 17 after docking for crew liberty and mid-deployment maintenance.
• USS Comstock Houses Navy Lighter System Navy NewsStand 20 Dec 2005 -- Sailors aboard USS Comstock (LSD 45) successfully loaded a 270 ft. section of the Navy Lighter System (NLS) into the ship’s well deck Dec. 9, making it the first ship on the west coast to do so.
• Swedish Submarine Continues to Play Important Role in Joint Training Navy NewsStand 20 Dec 2005 -- The Swedish submarine HMS Gotland participated in a Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) Dec. 6-16 with Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet and the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Carrier Strike Group, off the coast of Southern California.
• 386th AEW wing slated as next generation of fuels mobility equipment AFPN 20 Dec 2005 -- The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing will become the test wing for the next generation of fuels mobility support equipment.

• State Department Briefing, December 20 Washington File 20 Dec 2005 -- Haiti, Germany, Iran, Macedonia/European Union, Bolivia, Iraq, South Korea
• White House Briefing, December 20 Washington File 20 Dec 2005 -- Cheney/comments on presidential powers, NSA surveillance program, Iran/president's comments, defense authorization/non-germane provision, Bolivia/new president, Iraq/elections

Defense Industry

• ATK Receives New Sole-source Contract for HELLFIRE Rocket Motors ATK 20 Dec 2005 -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) has received a contract valued at nearly $3 million to manufacture rocket motors for the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) HELLFIRE® II missile, the first year of a proposed five-year agreement between ATK and Lockheed Martin.
• BAE Systems wins GBp 123 million armoured vehicle contract BAE Systems 20 Dec 2005 -- BAE SYSTEMS has won a 123 million order to supply 45 CV9035 Infantry Fighting Vehicles to the Danish Army. This latest order brings the number of CV90 series customers to six, underlining its position as the European combat vehicle alternative.
• Boeing Delivers First Apache Longbow Helicopter for Japan Boeing 20 Dec 2005 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has delivered the first AH-64D Apache Longbow multi-role combat helicopter for the Japanese government to Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), the Japanese aerospace company teamed with Boeing to produce the Apache Longbow in Japan.
• CACI Awarded $21.6 Million Contract to Support U.S. Navy Maintenance Information Systems CACI 20 Dec 2005 -- CACI International Inc (NYSE:CAI) announced today that it has been awarded a five-year, $21.6 million prime contract by the U.S. Navy Commander of the Pacific Fleet to continue its support for Navy maintenance information systems. The recompete award, known as the Maintenance Automated Information System Transformation and Support contract, is for one base year and four option years.
• FIRST F-35 NEARS COMPLETION AT LOCKHEED MARTIN Lockheed Martin 20 Dec 2005 -- With the installation of horizontal tails on the first F-35, the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) team has completed assembly of the aircraft’s major structural components. The next milestone in the aircraft’s march to first flight is engine installation, planned for early 2006.
• Northrop Grumman Successfully Redelivers USS George Washington Northrop Grumman 20 Dec 2005 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has redelivered the USS George Washington (CVN 73) to the U.S. Navy following a 10-and-a-half-month maintenance availability.
• New Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle for the German Army Rheinmetall Defence 20 Dec 2005 -- A prototype of the new AIFV Puma for the German Army was today presented to the contracting authority. PSM GmbH, Kassel, responsible as prime contractor, has thus met an important contractual milestone with the presentation of the so-called system demonstrator on 20 December 2005.
• Sagem Défense Sécurité secures the French Ministry of Defense’s Intranet Sagem (Safran group) 20 Dec 2005 -- Sagem Défense Sécurité today announced that the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) has selected it to supply and deploy Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). This PKI will manage the Ministry of Defense’s digital Intranet certificates (Intraced) used for classified defense needs.
• Paradigm Signs 2 year Extension to Skynet 5 Contract and Orders a Third Skynet 5 Satellite EADS 20 Dec 2005 -- Paradigm Secure Communications Ltd, a subsidiary of EADS SPACE Services, has today signed an amendment with the UK MoD to extend the 15 year Skynet 5 PFI service contract for military communications. The extension will provide the UK MoD with increased value for money through increased assurance and extended capability. A key feature of the extension is that Paradigm will order construction and launch of a third satellite, Skynet 5C, to be manufactured by EADS Astrium.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 20 Dec 2005
• Despite missed deadline, Quartet peace plan still valid: UN envoy UN News Centre 20 Dec 2005 -- With only 10 days left before the expiration of the original deadline of the Middle East Diplomatic Quartet's so-called Road Map peace plan for a final and settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a top United Nations official stressed today that the plan is still the agreed framework for reaching a lasting peace in the Middle East.
• Palestinian Gunmen Briefly Seize Bethlehem City Hall VOA 20 Dec 2005 -- A group of Palestinian gunmen have briefly seized Bethelehem city hall in the West Bank, apparently demanding financial assistance from the Palestinian Authority.

• CHAD-SUDAN: Army chases rebels into neighbouring Sudan IRIN 20 Dec 2005 -- The plot is thickening in an already conflict-ridden zone as Chad's military made good on threats to pursue rebels into Sudanese territory following heavy fighting in an eastern border town over the weekend.
• Indonesia Begins Final Troop Withdrawal from Aceh VOA 20 Dec 2005 -- Indonesia's military has started the final phase of troop withdrawals from Aceh province, as part of a peace accord to end a 30-year-long separatist insurgency.
• New Ivory Coast PM Struggles to Name Government VOA 20 Dec 2005 -- The transitional prime minister for divided Ivory Coast, Charles Konan Banny, is struggling to form a new government.

News Reports

• Israel's Sharon Leaves Hospital after Minor Stroke VOA 20 Dec 2005 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has left the hospital after suffering a mild stroke.