Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• CENTAF releases daily airpower summary AFPN 22 Mar 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• Troops providing security for pilgrims Army News 22 Mar 2006 -- An estimated 3 million Shiites began a yearly journey to Karbala March 17 and Iraqi forces have posted additional security elements along the main highway leading out of Baghdad to safeguard travellers.
• U.S., Iraqi Forces Net Suspects, Seize Weapons, Foil Kidnapping AFPS 21 Mar 2006 -- U.S. and Iraqi forces have detained 32 suspects and seized three weapons caches in Iraq since March 19, with one detention resulting from an Iraqi citizen's tip that foiled a kidnapping, Multinational Division Baghdad officials reported.
• Insurgents in Iraq Attack Shi'ites Returning from Pilgrimage VOA 22 Mar 2006 -- Gunmen in Baghdad have attacked Shi'ite pilgrims on their way home after celebrating an important religious holiday
• Insurgents Captured After Assault on Iraqi Police Station VOA 22 Mar 2006 -- Iraqi police, with U.S. troops, have captured at least 50 insurgents who stormed a police station south of Baghdad Wednesday.
• Insurgents Attack Police Station in Iraqi Town, 4 Officers Killed VOA 22 Mar 2006 -- Iraqi authorities say insurgents have stormed a police station south of Baghdad, killing a police commander and three officers.
• Afghanistan Launches Probe into Killing of 16 People in Kandahar VOA 22 Mar 2006 -- Afghan authorities have opened an investigation into the killings by Afghan troops of at least 16 people, who an Afghan army officer says were Taleban insurgents but local residents say were villagers.
• Afghanistan: Apostasy Case Reveals Constitutional Contradictions RFE/RL 22 Mar 2006 -- The case of an Afghan who faces the death penalty for converting to Christianity has aroused much debate outside Afghanistan, particularly in the Western countries that supported the country's move to democracy.
• Afghan Troops Kill 15 Suspected Taleban Fighters VOA 22 Mar 2006 -- An Afghan army officer says government troops have killed at least 15 suspected Taleban fighters who crossed the border from neighboring Pakistan.
• Karzai Reshuffles Afghan Cabinet RFE/RL 22 Mar 2006 -- The most high-profile change was at the Foreign Ministry. Karzai gave the post, occupied for four years by Abdullah Abdullah, to one of his former foreign-affairs advisers, Rangin Dadfar Spanta.
• Taliban supporters control Pak tribal areas: Pak daily IRNA 22 Mar 2006 -- Supporters of the Taliban in Pakistan have taken control of most of North and South Waziristan, enforcing strict social edicts such as a ban on the sale of music and films, shaving of beards in tribal agencies, a local newspaper reported here on Wednesday.
• CTF 150 Assists Disabled Cargo Ship Off Coast of Yemen Navy NewsStand 22 Mar 2006 -- HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (F 802), a frigate from the Netherlands and the command ship of Combined Task Force 150, came to the aid of a vessel in distress and rescued 27 people off the coast of Yemen March 21 while conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the area.

Defense Policy / Programs

• USS Tucson Deploys to Western Pacific Navy NewsStand 22 Mar 2006 -- The nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Tucson (SSN 770) departed on a Western Pacific deployment from its homeport of Pearl Harbor March 21.
• Kitty Hawk Commences ANNUALEX ?05 Navy NewsStand 22 Mar 2006 -- The USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Carrier Strike Group began the main event of its fall underway period Nov. 9, when it joined with other components of the U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in support of Annual Exercise (ANNUALEX) 2005.
• Kitty Hawk Arrives In Hong Kong For Port Visit Navy NewsStand 22 Mar 2006 -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), along with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, USS Stethem (DDG 63) and USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), pulled into Hong Kong harbor Nov. 24, commencing a port visit in which Sailors hoped to take advantage of Hong Kong’s world-class shopping and cultural attractions.
• CSG 9 Participates in Exercise with JMSDF Navy NewsStand 22 Mar 2006 -- Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9 participated in a passing exercise (PASSEX) with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) in the Western Pacific area of operations March 22-23.
• Army to Transform the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) Army News Release 22 Mar 2006 -- The Secretary of the Army has endorsed an integrated and systemic approach to reset and reinvigorate the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR).
• Army plans to transform IRR Army News 22 Mar 2006 -- The Army is creating a special "Individual Warrior Category" within the Individual Ready Reserve for Soldiers who are qualified and ready to deploy.
• Spangdahlem airlift hub still growing AFPN 22 Mar 2006 -- Nine months after setting up shop at this long-time fighter base, the 726th Air Mobility Squadron continues to set up a key airlift hub.
• DoD May Issue New Instructions to Military Commissions AFPS 22 Mar 2006 -- The Defense Department is considering issuing new instructions to military commissions that specifically prohibit the admission of evidence that's been obtained by torture, a senior DoD official told reporters here today.
• Pegasus launches from Vandenberg AFPN 22 Mar 2006 -- An Orbital Sciences Corporation Pegasus XL rocket was launched today at 6:03 a.m. The rocket took off from an L-1011 aircraft and carried NASA's Space Technology 5 spacecraft into orbit.
• Missile Defense System Ties Many Elements Together AFPS 22 Mar 2006 -- The proposed U.S. ballistic missile defense system is intended to tie numerous independent elements into a sophisticated web of protection, U.S. military officials said.
• State Department Briefing, March 22 Washington File 22 Mar 2006 -- Iran, Spain, Palestinian Authority, State Department Purchase of Lenovo Computers, Under Secretary Hughes Address to International Conference on Faith and Service, China, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Greece, Turkey
• White House Briefing, March 22 Washington File 22 Mar 2006 -- President's schedule, Chinese President Hu's visit to White House, Iraq/U.S. troop levels

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 22, 2006
• U.S. NAVY AWARDS LOCKHEED MARTIN $20.8 MILLION TO MODERNIZE AEGIS-EQUIPPED CRUISERS Lockheed Martin 22 Mar 2006 -- The U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a $20.8 million contract to deliver the first Aegis Combat System upgrade ship-set for a cruiser modernization program. The upgrade will extend the life, enhance the capability and improve the operational cost efficiency of up to 22 existing Aegis-equipped cruisers.
• Lockheed Martin Qualifies Upgraded Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb Lockheed Martin 22 Mar 2006 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] and the U.S. Air Force recently qualified an upgraded version of its Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) through comprehensive flight testing to meet current U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy joint performance specifications.
• Sagem Défense Sécurité leads the consortium chosen by EDA for ?sense-and-avoid’ technologies study on UAV systems Sagem (Safran group) 22 Mar 2006 -- A consortium led by Sagem Défense Sécurité was chosen by the European Defence Agency (EDA) last February 16 to carry out a study on Long Endurance Unmanned Air Vehicles (LE UAVs), covering “Sense and Avoid Technologies”.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 22 Mar 2006
• PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR BURUNDI United Nations 22 Mar 2006
• UN envoy calls on international community to give sustained support to Burundi UN News Centre 22 Mar 2006 -- The United Nations envoy to conflict-ridden Burundi called today on the international community to provide sustained support to the African country in order to build peace there, saying this was the "ultimate challenge" and the only way to get the impoverished nation back on its feet.
• COTE D IVOIRE: Too early for optimism as biggest obstacles to peace remain IRIN 22 Mar 2006 -- Seven months ahead of the deadline for a pivotal presidential election in war-divided Cote d'Ivoire Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny has navigated some significant stumbling blocks to peace since he took office in December, but the greatest challenges lie ahead.
• Sirleaf Credits Bush for Ridding Liberia of Charles Taylor Washington File 22 Mar 2006 -- Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says President Bush was instrumental in freeing Liberia of Charles Taylor, whom she described in a speech in Washington as an exiled "despot" who still exerts "influence" on the struggling nation.
• 21 Maoists, 10 police killed in Nepal IRNA 22 Mar 2006 -- At least 21 Maoist rebels and 10 police were killed as violence escalated across Nepal following the end of a rebel-led road blockade.
• Georgian President's Envoy Urges Direct Abkhaz Talks RFE/RL 22 Mar 2006 -- An aide to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili today called for direct talks between Tbilisi and its separatist republic of Abkhazia.
• Palestinian Parliament to Convene Saturday VOA 22 Mar 2006 -- The Islamic militant group Hamas says it will convene the new Palestinian parliament on Saturday, for the purpose of approving a Cabinet.
• DRC: MONUC gets tough on foreign armed groups IRIN 22 Mar 2006 -- The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has taken a more aggressive stance in its fourth year of helping the country disarm, demobilise and repatriate foreign armed groups operating mainly from the east of the vast nation.
• SUDAN: UN envoy urges "robust" peacekeeping force in Darfur IRIN 22 Mar 2006 -- The United Nations envoy in Sudan, Jan Pronk, has called for the deployment of a vigorous UN peacekeeping force in the troubled western region of Darfur, saying killings, rape and human rights abuse in the area continued to threaten peace in the country.
• SOMALIA: Twelve killed in heavy fighting in Mogadishu IRIN 22 Mar 2006 -- Heavy fighting between rival militia groups broke out on Wednesday in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, killing at least 12 people and wounding 70 others, local hospital sources said.

News Reports

• CHAD: Capital city deserted after shooting near presidential palace triggers panic IRIN 22 Mar 2006 -- Schools, businesses and offices were deserted in the Chadian capital, N'djamena, Wednesday after shooting near the presidential palace sent people fleeing.
• Gambia Foils Coup Attempt VOA 22 Mar 2006 -- Several army officers have been arrested in Gambia following an attempted coup Tuesday night
• GAMBIA: Attempted coup averted, government says IRIN 22 Mar 2006 -- The Gambian government has thwarted a coup attempt, a presidential communique said on Wednesday, but it is business as usual in the capital Banjul.
• ATK Rocket Motors Power Successful Launch of Pegasus XL ATK 22 Mar 2006 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) solid propulsion and composite technologies supported the successful launch today of an air-launched Pegasus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The rocket carried three microsatellites comprising NASA’s Space Technology No. 5 (ST-5) mission into orbit.
• Orbital's Pegasus Rocket Successfully Launches NASA's Space Technology 5 Spacecraft Orbital Sciences Corp. 22 Mar 2006 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that its Pegasus® space launch vehicle successfully launched three small scientific spacecraft for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Space Technology 5 program (ST5).
• SAIC Wins NASA Safety and Mission Assurance Contract SAIC 22 Mar 2006 -- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced today it has been awarded a $148 million cost-plus-award-fee recompete contract to provide safety and mission assurance support services for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Johnson Space Center in Houston. The NASA contract is for a three-year base period. Two one-year options would bring the total value to $256.5 million.