Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 29 Mar 2006 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• CENTAF releases daily airpower summary AFPN 29 Mar 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• Space mission supports Operation Iraqi Freedom AFPN 29 Mar 2006 -- An Army ground patrol in Iraq is ambushed. Pinned down by sniper fire, the commander calls for air support with his satellite phone.
• Unmanned Predator Kills Three Terrorists; Relative Turns in Suspect AFPS 29 Mar 2006 -- An MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle engaged three insurgents in the process of planting a homemade bomb along a road near Balad Air Base, Iraq, yesterday evening and launched an AGM-114 Hellfire missile against the group.
• Gunmen in Police Uniforms Kill 8 in Baghdad Store VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- Gunmen dressed in Iraqi police commando uniforms killed eight employees, including three women, in a raid on a Baghdad electronics store early Wednesday.
• Insurgents Kill U.S., Coalition Troops; 12 Enemy Fighters Killed AFPS 29 Mar 2006 -- Gunmen killed one U.S. servicemember and a coalition servicemember from another country during an enemy attack on a forward operating base in the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand today, military officials reported.
• Taliban Killed; Afghan Movement Agency Makes First Delivery AFPS 29 Mar 2006 -- Coalition forces killed 32 insurgents and destroyed two Taliban headquarters buildings in Afghanistan's Helmand province today, officials at Bagram Air Base said.
• Coalition Forces Kill 32 Insurgents in Southern Afghanistan VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- The U.S. military says American-led forces have killed 20 insurgents in southern Afghanistan following an attack by militants on coalition troops.
• Taleban Attack Kills Two Coalition Soldiers VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- One American and one Canadian soldier were killed when suspected Taleban insurgents attacked a U.S.-led coalition military base in Southern Afghanistan Wednesday.
• Fort Riley Soldiers deploy to Africa Army News 29 Mar 2006 -- Approximately 150 Soldiers from Fort Riley, Kan., left for the Horn of Africa March 28.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Defense Secretary Names Representative to the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe 29 Mar 2006 -- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld today named Powell A. Moore as secretary of defense representative (SecDefRep) to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) succeeding Ambassador David R. Nicholas, who died while in office on March 13, 2005.
• GW CSG to Deploy to Caribbean Sea Navy NewsStand 29 Mar 2006 -- The Navy is deploying USS George Washington (CVN 73) Carrier Strike Group (GW CSG), April 4, to participate in the “Partnership of the Americas” in the Caribbean Sea.
• HS-10 Deploys to Pacific, Supporting Global War on Terrorism Navy NewsStand 29 Mar 2006 -- Sailors from Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 10 “Warhawks,” deployed to the Pacific in support of the global war on terrorism March 24.
• Truman Wins Third Consecutive Battle ?E’ Navy NewsStand 29 Mar 2006 -- USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was awarded its third consecutive East Coast Battle Efficiency Award, March 24.
• Navy Reserve Centers Now Navy Operational Support Centers Navy NewsStand 29 Mar 2006 -- As of March 22, all Navy Reserve Centers will now be called Navy Operational Support Centers (NOSC)s.
• Targeting pods enhance battlefield awareness AFPN 29 Mar 2006 -- An armed F-16 Fighting Falcon is "watching" the road below for the convoys rolling through a dangerous land.
• Hypervelocity wind tunnel reaches 3,000-run milestone AFPN 29 Mar 2006 -- The Arnold Engineering Development Center's Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9, located near Silver Spring, Md., recently completed its 3,000th test-run as the facility approaches 30 years of operation.
• US Army Special Forces Help Train Northern African Armies to Combat Terrorism VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- The U.S. Defense Department continues an ambitious military counter-terrorism program in nine nations across poor and largely Muslim areas of northern Africa.
• Bush Welcomes Nigeria's Capture of Charles Taylor Washington File 29 Mar 2006 -- Discusses Sudan, energy, economic development with President Obasanjo
• State Department Briefing, March 29 Washington File 29 Mar 2006 -- Iraq, Iran, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Sudan, Nigeria/Liberia, United Kingdom

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 29, 2006
• The U.S. Navy Orders Two Additional Racal Instruments Jet Engine Test Instrumentation (JETI) Systems from EADS North America Defense Test and Services EADS 29 Mar 2006 -- EADS North America Defense Test and Services (formerly Racal Instruments, Inc.) today announced the receipt of a U.S. Navy contract for two additional aircraft carrier-based Jet Engine Test Instrumentation (JETI) systems, which brings the total systems provided to the U.S. Navy to 17. Of these, 11 are sea-based systems.
• Department of Energy Awards Northrop Grumman $2.5 Billion Nevada Test Site Management and Operations Contract Northrop Grumman 29 Mar 2006 -- The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a Northrop Grumman-led (NYSE: NOC) joint venture a five-year, $2.5 billion contract for the management and operation of its Nevada Test Site (NTS).
• First TEIS Order Awarded to General Dynamics General Dynamics 29 Mar 2006 -- The U.S. Army has selected Signal Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of General Dynamics Network Systems, to receive the first competitively awarded task order under the Total Engineering and Integration Services (TEIS) indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, which has a ceiling value of approximately $800 million.
• Northrop Grumman Uses a Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to Enhance Network-Centric Capabilities for the Warfighter Northrop Grumman 29 Mar 2006 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), in conjunction with the Office of Naval Research, successfully demonstrated the ability to extend communications range and capability using the RQ-8A Fire Scout vertical take-off and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV).
• Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration Vehicle Delivered and Ready for U.S. Navy's Next Global Exercise Northrop Grumman 29 Mar 2006 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) first RQ-4A Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration (GHMD) unmanned air vehicle has arrived at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Md., and is being prepared for participation in the U.S. Navy's Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment (JEFX) 2006.
• Raytheon to Bid for Secure Border Initiative SBInet Contract Raytheon 29 Mar 2006 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) intends to bid as a prime contractor for the Department of Homeland Security's Secure (DHS) Border Initiative SBInet project.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 29 Mar 2006
• Charles Taylor in Custody in Sierra Leone VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- Former Liberian warlord and president, Charles Taylor has been put in a cell at the war crimes court in Sierra Leone, ending a whirlwind day since his capture in Nigeria.
• LIBERIA-NIGERIA-SIERRA LEONE: Handcuffed Taylor deposited at war crimes court IRIN 29 Mar 2006 -- UN peacekeepers delivered handcuffed former Liberian president Charles Taylor into the custody of a UN-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone on Wednesday
• Former Liberian President Charles Taylor arrives at UN court in Sierra Leone UN News Centre 29 Mar 2006 -- A United Nations helicopter transporting former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who has been indicted for war crimes, arrived today in Sierra Leone, where he is now being held by the UN-backed court for the country.
• Nigeria Transfers Taylor to Liberia VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- Nigeria directed the immediate extradition of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor, to Liberia shortly after he was detained while trying to flee into Cameroon.
• LIBERIA-NIGERIA-SIERRA LEONE: Taylor captured by Nigerian police IRIN 29 Mar 2006 -- Nigerian police have captured former Liberian president Charles Taylor, the government said on Wednesday, a day after his announced disappearance from the mansion where he was living in exile in the south of the country.
• US Reaffirms Ban on Contacts With Hamas VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- The Bush administration said Wednesday a U.S. policy barring contacts with Hamas will remain in place, now that a Palestinian government led by the militant Islamic group has assumed power.
• Palestinian President Swears In Hamas-Led Palestinian Cabinet VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has sworn in a 24-member cabinet dominated by the anti-Israeli militant group Hamas.
• Israel: Kadima Wins Elections With Pullout Promises RFE/RL 29 Mar 2006 -- Almost all votes have been counted from Israel's March 28 parliamentary elections.
• Political Coalition Building Begins in Israel Following Election VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- Israel's president says he will consult with political parties in Israel about forming a new government, following parliament elections on Tuesday
• COTE D IVOIRE: Interview with sanctioned rebel, Martin Kouakou Fofie IRIN 29 Mar 2006 -- Kouakou Fofie served as the rebel's chief of security before taking over eight months ago as 'com-zone' or military commander of Korhogo, in the far north of war-divided Cote d'Ivoire.
• Côte d'Ivoire: Security Council urges continued progress in democratization UN News Centre 29 Mar 2006 -- The United Nations Security Council today urged the leaders of the Côte d'Ivoire to carry out their recent commitment to organize free and fair elections by the end of October and underlined the urgency of progress in establishing the electoral registers and starting the demobilization programme.
• SUDAN: UNHCR staff member dies of wounds sustained in Yei attack IRIN 29 Mar 2006 -- A staff member of the United Nations refugee agency who was shot and wounded during an attack by raiders on a UN compound in south Sudan has died, the UNHCR said on Wednesday.
• Arab League Backs Palestinian Government, AU Troops in Darfur VOA 29 Mar 2006 -- The European Union has joined the Arab League in pledging financial aid to African Union peacekeeping troops in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.
• State's Fried Discusses Armenia Democratization, Nagorno-Karabakh Washington File 29 Mar 2006 -- The United States expects Armenia's parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007 and 2008 to meet international standards for free and fair elections, the State Department's Daniel Fried said March 27 in a speech
• DRC: Civilians seek refuge near UN military camp to escape fighting IRIN 29 Mar 2006 -- At least 1,000 residents of two villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo's northeastern district of Ituri sought refuge on Wednesday around a camp of Bangladeshi UN troops following fighting between militiamen and the national army, an official of the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) said.
• SOMALIA: Mogadishu ceasefire talks hit snag IRIN 29 Mar 2006 -- Efforts to get a permanent ceasefire between rival militias in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, have hit a snag after one of the groups delayed sending emissaries to the venue of the talks, according to local sources on Wednesday.
• Georgia Envoy Shut Out Of UN Security Council Meeting RFE/RL 29 Mar 2006 -- The Georgian ambassador to the United Nations has been prevented from taking part in a Security Council session on the situation between Georgia and Abkhazia.

News Reports

• Security Council asks Annan to start talks on tribunal for Hariri assassination UN News Centre 29 Mar 2006 -- The creation of a tribunal to try those responsible for last year's assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others took a step forward today as the Security Council unanimously voted to ask Secretary-General Kofi Annan to consult with the country's Government on the matter - a move immediately welcomed by an official from Beirut.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN AWARDED CONTRACT TO DESIGN THE MARS SCIENCE LAB AEROSHELL Lockheed Martin 29 Mar 2006 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has been awarded a preliminary design and concept study start-up contract by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) aeroshell system. Lockheed Martin and NASA will soon enter negotiations to finalize the value of the contract.
• Raytheon 'VIIRS' Space-Based Weather Sensor Engineering Development Unit Completes Key Tests -- On Track for Summer 2006 Completion Raytheon 29 Mar 2006 -- Raytheon Company successfully completed three key testing milestones on an advanced sensor engineering development unit (EDU) for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS).