Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 20 Nov 2006 [PDF]
• Soldier killed by road-side bomb
• Marine killed in Al Anbar
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• Press Briefing, Nov. 20, 2006 MNF-I 20 Nov 2006 -- TOPIC: SITUATIONAL UPDATE
• CENTAF releases airpower summary for Nov. 20 AFPN 20 Nov 2006 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials have released the airpower summary for Nov. 20.
• Special Iraqi Forces Conduct Raid in Sadr City AFPS 20 Nov 2006 -- Special Iraqi army forces, with coalition advisors, conducted a raid today in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood against an illegal armed group responsible for kidnapping, torturing and murdering Iraqi civilians and soldiers.
• Violence in Iraq Drops in Weeks After Ramadan AFPS 20 Nov 2006 -- As expected, violence in Iraq has dropped following the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a coalition spokesman said in Baghdad today.
• Gunmen Attack Iraq Deputy Minister VOA 20 Nov 2006 -- An Iraqi deputy health minister says gunmen have attacked his convoy, killing two body guards.
• Exercise Preps 82nd Airborne Division Staff for Afghanistan Deployment AFPS 20 Nov 2006 -- A week-long exercise that wraps up today at several U.S. bases is preparing 82nd Airborne Division troops and their Afghan, International Security Assistance Force, interagency and non-governmental organization partners for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.
• Analysis: NATO's Fateful Afghan Wager cfr.org 20 Nov 2006
• Blair Vows to Aid Afghanistan 'For as Long as it Takes' VOA 20 Nov 2006 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair says Afghanistan remains a key battleground in the global war against terrorism.

Defense Policy / Programs

• DoD Official Cites Success of All-Volunteer Force AFPS 20 Nov 2006 -- Citing the all-volunteer force's success, a senior Defense Department official said today that a draft would diminish the quality of U.S. forces and put more of the burden of service on the nation's poor.
• Second C-5M Super Galaxy takes flight AFPN 20 Nov 2006 -- The second fully modernized Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy test aircraft made its first flight Nov. 17 from Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga
• Section keeps security forces equipped, rolling AFPN 20 Nov 2006 -- They're not your typical cops packing heat and patrolling the flightline. Without them, the 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron mission would screech to a halt.
• Vandenberg sets pace in base security AFPN 20 Nov 2006 -- Vandenberg has set the pace for Air Force installation security by implementing a new method of checking identification cards at base access points.
• Joint tactical radio system fielded soon AFPN 20 Nov 2006 -- The Air Force is about to enter a new era in communications technology. Officials at the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., have signed a $7.8M contract with Thales Communications, Incorporated, for the delivery of the first Joint Tactical Radio System radios to the Air Force.
• Constant Hawk aims to thwart improvised explosive devices AFPN 20 Nov 2006 -- Serving as the liaison officer for a unit at Balad Air Base in Iraq, the Army reservist works inside the Combined Air Operations Center more than 700 miles away from Balad AB.
• Defense Agency Delivers Logistics Support to Warfighters AFPS 20 Nov 2006 -- Whether it's an infantryman in Iraq needing a new firing pin for his rifle or a fighter pilot on a carrier in the Persian Gulf who needs to replace a cracked landing strut, the Defense Logistics Agency stands ready to support warfighters worldwide, the organization's director said in a recent interview.
• Army to soon deploy troops with computerized equipment Army News 20 Nov 2006 -- Following successful field testing last summer, the Army is planning to deploy its new Land Warrior System within the year, bringing the Army a giant step closer to electronic networking of the battlefield.
• Indiana Guard has big impact on border Army News 20 Nov 2006 -- More than 2,000 miles from his home in Michigan City, Ind., and nearly 100 miles into the Arizona desert, Sgt. Brian Rogers, an Indiana National Guard member with the 938th Military Police Detachment, scans the brush and rugged terrain for anything worthy of a radio call to Tucson Sector Border Patrol.
• Army Air and Missile Defense Command remains relevant and ready Army News 20 Nov 2006 -- With increased threats becoming significantly greater due to the proliferation of missile technology, the addition of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command to the Pacific area of operations has proven to be vital to the Asia-Pacific region.
• Albany Completes Six-Month Deployment Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- USS Albany (SSN 753), homeported in Norfolk, Va., returned from a six-month deployment to the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea Nov. 20.
• GW Leading Way in Ship Rehabilitation Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- Teams of Sailors aboard USS George Washington (GW) (CVN 73) have been diligently working a series of habitability projects, and as of November 20, these Sailors have completed the first 50 officer staterooms and are actively working on an additional 23 staterooms.
• USS Monterey Arrives in Riga to Support NATO Summit Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- USS Monterey (CG 61), the flagship for Standing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Maritime Group (SNMG) 2, arrived in Riga, Latvia, for a port visit in preparation to provide local authorities security support for the NATO summit Riga 2006 set to begin November 28.
• USS Leyte Gulf Returns From Deployment Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) Sailors returned to their homeport in Norfolk Nov. 18 after completing a six-month deployment conducting maritime security operations as part of USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Carrier Strike Group operations.
• USS Greeneville Departs for the Western Pacific Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- The nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Greeneville (SSN 772) departed its homeport of Pearl Harbor Nov. 17 for a Western Pacific deployment.
• VAQ-137 Returns from Six Month Deployment Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- The Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 137 "Rooks" returned to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Nov. 17, concluding a six-month deployment.
• USS Los Angeles Turns 30 Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- The Navy's oldest active attack submarine, USS Los Angeles (SSN 688), held a ceremony to mark its 30th birthday Nov. 13, on the pier at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.
• CTF 158 Visits USS Boxer Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- Commander, Combined Task Force (CTF) 158/Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 3 Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Carl Jensen arrived aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4) Nov. 13 as the ship continued operations in the Persian Gulf.
• Stennis, Reagan Strike Groups Join Forces, Make Carrier Task Force Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- The USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Carrier Strike Group (JCSSG) combined forces with the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Carrier Strike Group for its Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) off the coast of Southern California to form Carrier Task Force (CTF) 150, Nov. 12-16.
• FISC Yokosuka Provides 'Swift' Support to High-Speed Vessel Navy NewsStand 20 Nov 2006 -- The High-Speed Vessel (HSV) 2 Swift, with its 40-member crew, aluminum hull, and catamaran "wave-piercing" design, made a port call to Yokosuka in mid-November and received logistical support from U.S. Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Yokosuka.
• Interagency cooperation improves space com AFPN 20 Nov 2006 -- Air Force Space Command and the National Reconnaissance Office put into motion a plan to improve interagency cooperation between space agencies by conducting a senior officer and a senior civilian exchange between AFSPC Headquarters here and the NRO Headquarters in Chantilly, Va.
• U.S. Flying Corps Busy with Anti-DPRK Air War Exercises KCNA 20 Nov 2006 -- Flying corps of the U.S. imperialist aggression forces recently staged madcap air war exercises targeted against the DPRK with the sky above south Korea as an operational theater, straining the situation on the Korean Peninsula, according to a military source
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 20 Nov 2006

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for November 20, 2006
• Boeing Awarded Contract for 11 U.S. Army AH-64D Apache Longbow Helicopters Boeing 20 Nov 2006 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Army have signed a $151.9 million contract for 11 new AH-64D Apache Longbow multi-role combat helicopters.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICES OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT United Nations 20 Nov 2006
• United States Urges Sudan To Agree to Peacekeeping Plan Washington File 20 Nov 2006 -- The United States wants the current conflict in Darfur to be the Sudanese region's last, said Andrew Natsios, the U.S. presidential envoy to Sudan.
• Top US Envoy to Sudan Reports Progress in Darfur Negotiations VOA 20 Nov 2006 -- The United States top envoy to Sudan says there is progress on ending the escalating war in Sudan's western Darfur region following last week's high-level talks in Ethiopia.
• Palestinian Efforts to Create Unity Government Stall VOA 20 Nov 2006 -- After weeks of intensive talks, efforts to create a Palestinian unity government have stalled.
• UN Rights Chief Decries 'Massive' Rights Violations in Palestinian Territories VOA 20 Nov 2006 -- The U.N. high commissioner for human rights says the Palestinian territories have suffered "massive" violations of human rights during violence between Palestinian militants and the Israeli military.
• UN peacekeepers in Lebanon find unauthorized arms and ammunition UN News Centre 20 Nov 2006 -- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has discovered a cache of unauthorized missiles, rocket launches and "significant" amounts of ammunition in its field of operation, the seventh incident of its type since early September.
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Aid agencies told to suspend activities in Paoua town IRIN 20 Nov 2006 -- The army of the Central African Republic has told aid agencies to suspend their activities in the northwestern town of Paoua until military operations against armed groups in the area are over, the military and aid agency officials said on Monday.
• SOMALIA: A question of balance IRIN 20 Nov 2006 -- After more than a decade of brutal factional fighting, the road-blocks and gunmen have been cleared off the streets of the Somali capital, business is thriving and Mogadishu is being rebuilt. But strict standards of religious and behavioral discipline are being introduced, and questions are being asked about the vision of the new authority, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).
• Australia, New Zealand Fear Unrest in South Pacific VOA 20 Nov 2006 -- Australia and New Zealand have sent troops and police officers to yet another troubled South Pacific country to help restore calm

News Reports

• Security Council Reviews Plan for Hariri Assassination Tribunal Washington File 20 Nov 2006 -- Provisions to allow an international tribunal to hear cases arising from the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri are acceptable to the majority of Security Council members, U.S. and other diplomats said November 20.
• Orbital Awarded Contract For Commercial Communications Satellite By SES NEW SKIES Orbital Sciences Corp. 20 Nov 2006 -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) today announced that it has been selected by SES NEW SKIES of the Netherlands, to design, build and deliver the NSS-9 commercial communications satellite.