Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 30 Mar 2006 [PDF]
• SOLDIER DIES DUE TO ENEMY ACTION
• ONE AIRMAN KILLED, ONE WOUNDED IN IED EXPLOSION
• IRAQ OPERATIONAL UPDATE BRIEFING MNF-I 30 Mar 2006
• Iraqi, Coalition Forces Targeted Kidnapping Cell, not Mosque Washington File 30 Mar 2006 -- As the world celebrated the release of kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll, U.S. Major General Rick Lynch reminded reporters in Baghdad that every day, innocent Iraqis are kidnapped by criminals, insurgents and terrorists who fund their activities with ransoms.
• CENTAF releases daily airpower summary AFPN 30 Mar 2006 -- U.S Central Command Air Forces officials released today's airpower summary.
• Navy Customs Battalion Papa Returns Home Navy NewsStand 30 Mar 2006 -- About 400 Mobilized Reservists of Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Force (NAVELSF) Forward Group Papa returned to Norfolk March 29 from a nearly seven-month deployment after providing support for the Department of Defense’s customs inspection mission in Iraq and Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Terrorist Cell Leader Captured; Soldiers Destroy Weapons Caches AFPS 30 Mar 2006 -- Iraqi and U.S. soldiers captured a terrorist cell leader, and more weapons caches have been found and destroyed, military officials reported.
• IA, U.S. troops wrap up Operation Cowpens Army News 30 Mar 2006 -- Anti-Iraqi Forces on the Jabouri Peninsula have taken a blow because of operations conducted by Coalition forces and their Iraqi army counterparts March 19-29.
• 6 Shot Dead in Afghanistan VOA 30 Mar 2006 -- Six people have been shot and killed in Afghanistan, and a suicide car bomber targeting a Canadian military convoy killed himself by detonating prematurely.
• U.S forces wrap up Pakistan operation IRNA 30 Mar 2006 -- The American troops, engaged in Pakistan's earthquake-hit zone, formally wrap up their operation on Thursday.
• US Military Ends Earthquake Relief Mission in Pakistan VOA 30 Mar 2006 -- The U.S. military has announced the official end of its extensive earthquake relief mission in Pakistan.
• U.S. Naval Forces Assist in Search and Rescue in Bahrain AFPS 30 Mar 2006 -- U.S. 5th Fleet assets and personnel responded immediately at approximately 10:15 p.m. today after learning that a vessel capsized in a Bahraini harbor, approximately one mile east of the command's headquarters in Bahrain.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Seabees Assuring the Future of Honduras in New Horizons ?06 Navy NewsStand 30 Mar 2006 -- A team of Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 7 based in Gulfport, Miss., are participating in a U.S. Southern Command exercise New Horizons ?06 until May.
• Rushmore Receives High Score on ULTRA-C Certification Navy NewsStand 30 Mar 2006 -- USS Rushmore (LSD 47) earned the highest score for damage control readiness of any ship in the Atlantic and Pacific fleet during their unit level training assessment (ULTRA-C) certification as part of the SHIPTRAIN program, March 17.
• U.S. Naval Forces Assist in Search and Rescue in Bahrain Navy NewsStand 30 Mar 2006 -- U.S. 5th Fleet assets and personnel responded immediately at approximately 10:15 p.m., March 30 after learning that a vessel capsized in a Bahraini harbor, approximately one mile east of the command’s headquarters in Bahrain.
• Honolulu Mayor Bids Aloha to Namesake City Submarine Navy NewsStand 30 Mar 2006 -- Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann visited the Pearl Harbor-based USS Honolulu (SSN 718), March 29, to bid farewell to the nuclear-powered attack submarine that has served as his city’s namesake for the last two decades.
• Abraham Lincoln Strike Group Partners with Republic of Korea Navy NewsStand 30 Mar 2006 -- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) hosted several Republic of Korea (ROK) military officials during Foal Eagle 2006 in the East Sea, March 29.
• HCS-5 Earns Navy Unit Commendation Navy NewsStand 30 Mar 2006 -- The “Firehawks” of Helicopter Combat Support Special Squadron (HCS) 5 received the Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) in February 2006 for exceptionally meritorious service from March 2003 through April 2004.
• CNIC Signs Memorandum With VFW Navy NewsStand 30 Mar 2006 -- Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) in March with the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) to provide assistance to Sailors and their families on military installations.
• Global Hawk 'sets sail' from Edwards AFPN 30 Mar 2006 -- A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle known as N-1 took off from Edwards' main runway March 27 on a one-way mission to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
• Airmen work smarter, not harder with Smart Ops 21 AFPN 30 Mar 2006 -- For some Airmen, Air Force Smart Ops 21 is a term just being introduced into the field, but for the 52nd Maintenance Group, it is quickly becoming the standard way of doing business.
• USAFE reaching out to establish security ties AFPN 30 Mar 2006 -- Airmen and their counterparts from other countries meeting to discuss ways to fix runways may not impact the war on terror like an airstrike against al Qaeda forces.
• Reconstitution site keeps machines in fight Army News 30 Mar 2006 -- Like Soldiers needing rest and recuperation from battle fatigue, military equipment also needs a little R&R to be effective before returning to the fight.
• Military Health System Transforming to Address New Challenges AFPS 30 Mar 2006 -- The Defense Department's Military Health System must transform to continue its commitment to protecting the health of its servicemembers and other beneficiaries, a top DoD official told Congressmen yesterday.
• Terrorists Will Test American Resolve, DoD Policy Official Says AFPS 30 Mar 2006 -- The nature of the United States' enemies has changed, and Americans must maintain patience and will as the country fights the Long War against extremists, a top DoD policy official said here today.
• New Threats Demand New Approach to Deterrence, Defense AFPS 30 Mar 2006 -- The old concept of mutually assured destruction -- the idea that a nuclear attack would have such devastating consequences that neither the United States nor its foes would dare launch one -- isn't enough of a deterrent in today's strategic environment, a senior defense official told Congress yesterday.
• DoD Committed to Stopping Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction AFPS 30 Mar 2006 -- The Defense Department is taking a new approach to combat the threat of weapons of mass destruction in a complex and uncertain world, a DoD official said here yesterday.
• U.S., NATO Outlining Priorities for November Summit in Latvia Washington File 30 Mar 2006 -- NATO's top priority for its November summit in Latvia is ensuring the 26-nation military alliance succeeds after taking over security operations throughout Afghanistan, a senior U.S. diplomat says.
• Georgia Says Russian Base Deals Near RFE/RL 30 Mar 2006 -- Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli says bilateral agreements setting a timeframe and modalities for the withdrawal of Russian troops would be signed on March 31.
• State Department Targets Stores of Shoulder-fired Missiles Washington File 30 Mar 2006 -- Shoulder-fired missiles in the hands of terrorists and insurgents pose a serious danger to military and civilian aircraft, says John Hillen, U.S. assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.
• State Department Briefing, March 30 Washington File 30 Mar 2006 -- Russia, Iraq, Iran, Israel/Palestinians, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 30, 2006
• BAE Systems awarded contract for Information Infrastructure system - FALCON BAE Systems 30 Mar 2006 -- BAE Systems has been awarded a contract to provide the British Army with an information infrastructure system - FALCON, valued in excess of £200m, which is due to enter service in 2010.
• BAE Systems awarded 15 million contract to support upgraded FV432 armoured vehicle BAE Systems 30 Mar 2006 -- BAE Systems has been awarded a contract to provide the British Army with an information infrastructure system - FALCON, valued in excess of £200m, which is due to enter service in 2010.
• General Dynamics Participates in Successful Trophy Active Protection System Experiments at DoD Test Facility General Dynamics 30 Mar 2006 -- The first tests of the Trophy Active Protection System in the U.S. were successfully completed today by the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center.
• Air Force Awards Northrop Grumman Educational and Training Services Contract Northrop Grumman 30 Mar 2006 -- The U.S Air Force has selected a team led by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) to provide educational and training services at Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA, under a contract valued at $43 million over five years.
• Raytheon Completes Artillery Firing Test of Precision Guidance Kit Solution Raytheon 30 Mar 2006 -- Raytheon Company successfully completed a gun firing test of its low-cost, XM1156 Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) solution at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., March 16. The test firing, shot from the Picatinny Ballistic Rail Gun System, met all test objectives.
• BAE Systems unveils the latest generation of autonomous air vehicles BAE Systems 30 Mar 2006 -- BAE Systems engineers and technologists in the UK and Australia have developed new, unmanned, fully autonomous air vehicles that are set to push the boundaries of autonomous flight and mission management.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 30 Mar 2006
• U.S. Envoy to U. N. Says Hamas Still a Terrorist Organization Washington File 30 Mar 2006 -- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told the U.N. Security Council March 30 that acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has expressed a willingness to pursue compromises with the Palestinians in the interest of peace, while Hamas has done nothing to change the U.S. view that it is a terrorist organization.
• Hamas Government Faces Isolation, Financial Crunch VOA 30 Mar 2006 -- The new Palestinian government led by the Islamic militant group Hamas has begun its first day of work amid a looming political and financial crisis
• LIBERIA-SIERRA LEONE: Taylor trial could go to Europe IRIN 30 Mar 2006 -- The UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone has requested that Charles Taylor's trial for war crimes take place in The Netherlands rather than in West Africa, where he is blamed for helping foment a string of brutal conflicts in which hundreds of thousands of people died.
• Former Sierra Leone TRC Official Favors Charles Taylor Trial in Freetown VOA 30 Mar 2006 -- Among those following the debate over the location of the Charles Taylor trial is Yasmin Jusu-Sheriff, former executive-secretary of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
• Congo Militias Regroup, Recruit and Attack Army, UN VOA 30 Mar 2006 -- Militia fighters in Congo's wild northeastern Ituri district are regrouping, re-recruiting previously disarmed fighters, and attacking the army
• DRC: Thousands displaced by fighting arrive at Lake Albert IRIN 30 Mar 2006 -- Thousands of Congolese civilians in the northeastern district of Ituri arrived on Thursday at the port town of Kasenyi on Lake Albert, on the border with Uganda, after they fled fighting between the national army and militia groups, a local official said.
• UN official invites Sudanese minister to Headquarters for talks on Darfur force UN News Centre 30 Mar 2006 -- The top United Nations political official has invited the Sudan's Foreign Minister to the world body's New York Headquarters to hold discussions on transitioning from an African Union (AU) force in the country's troubled Darfur region to a UN peacekeeping operation there.
• New Report Warns of Threats to Sudan Peace Accord VOA 30 Mar 2006 -- An independent bipartisan U.S. government commission says problems with the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Sudan threaten chances for peace as well as efforts to end killing in Darfur.
• Violence Spreads in Turkey's Kurdish Region VOA 30 Mar 2006 -- A child is reported in critical condition after Kurdish demonstrators clashed with security forces for a third day, Thursday, in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir.
• Sri Lanka Elections May Affect Direction of Peace Process VOA 30 Mar 2006 -- Sri Lanka has held local government elections that are being widely seen as a referendum on President Mahinda Rajapakse's handling of a peace process with the Tamil Tiger rebels
• UGANDA: War-related deaths in the north very high - report IRIN 30 Mar 2006 -- Some 146 people die each week in the northern region where rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have waged war against the Uganda government for two decades, charity groups said in a report published on Wednesday.

News Reports

• BURUNDI: Drought drives thousands back to refugee life IRIN 30 Mar 2006 -- In a small locality of Kibondo District in northwestern Tanzania, a mere two-hour drive from the border with Burundi, is a temporary camp called Nyakimonomono, which hosts at least 7,000 Burundian refugees who have fled a food crisis in their country.
• Revolutionary Jet Engine Tested Over Australia VOA 30 Mar 2006 -- Australian and Japanese researchers have successfully tested a jet engine that could one day revolutionize air and space travel.
• Sea Launch Departs Home Port for JCSAT-9 Mission Boeing 30 Mar 2006 -- The Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander departed Home Port in Long Beach, Calif., this week, in preparation for Sea Launch's second mission of the year. The Sea Launch team plans to launch the JCSAT-9 communications satellite on April 11, at the opening of a 34-minute launch window, at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (23:30 GMT).