Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 11 Jan 2007 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• Transcript: Press Conference with Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary Condoleezza Rice, and General Peter Pace at the White House Conference Center Briefing Room, Washington D.C. 11 Jan 2007 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Chairmain, Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace
• DoD Announces Force Adjustments 11 Jan 2007 -- As a result of the President's Iraq strategy review, the Department of Defense announced today an increase of 20,000 U.S. military forces for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Surge' Extends Minnesota Guard Unit's Iraq Tour AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- At least 4,000 National Guard citizen-soldiers may spend an extra four months in Iraq as part of the president's troop increase announced yesterday.
• Dozens Detained In Iraq; Many Weapons Caches Discovered AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- In multiple operations since Jan. 6, coalition forces have detained more than 50 suspects, killed eight terrorists and discovered numerous weapons caches, military officials said.
• Continuing Operations In Turki Village Net Huge Weapons Caches AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- After seven days of combined operations south of Balad Ruz, Iraq, soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, in partnership with Iraqi army troops, continue to discover large weapons caches and destroy anti-Iraqi forces throughout the Turki Village area.
• More Provincial Reconstruction Teams to Stand Up in Iraq AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- President Bush's new strategy for Iraq includes expanding the number of provincial reconstruction teams from 10 to at least 18 in order to better support political and economic progress, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a news conference today.
• Iraqi Officials: US Forces Raid Iranian Consulate in Irbil, Detain Five VOA 11 Jan 2007 -- Iraqi officials say U.S. forces have detained five Iranians during a raid on Tehran's diplomatic mission in the northern city of Irbil.
• Forces Strike Insurgents Near Afghan-Pakistani Border AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- Troops from NATO's International Security Assistance Force and Afghan National Army soldiers engaged and killed a significant number of insurgents last night in Afghanistan's Bermel district, in Paktika province, NATO officials reported.
• Afghanistan: Major Battle Reignites Pakistan Border Controversy RFE/RL 11 Jan 2007 -- Afghanistan saw its bloodiest battle in months overnight when NATO and Afghan troops spotted two groups of militants mainly within Pakistan and then tracked them as they crossed into Afghanistan's southeastern Paktika Province.
• Up to 150 Taleban Insurgents Killed in Afghanistan Border Battle VOA 11 Jan 2007 -- NATO says as many as 150 suspected Taleban insurgents were killed in a fierce overnight battle in southeastern Afghanistan

Defense Policy / Programs

• Secretary Gates Recommends End Strength Increases 11 Jan 2007 -- Today the Secretary of Defense announced he has recommended to the President a permanent increase to the end strength of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps.
• Gates Calls for 92,000 More Soldiers, Marines AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- The active-duty Army and Marine Corps will grow by 92,000 personnel over the next five years, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a White House news conference today.
• DoD Announces Changes to Reserve Component Force Management Policy 11 Jan 2007 -- The secretary of defense announced today a policy change in the way the department will manage reserve component forces.
• Gates Announces Changes to Reserve Deployments, Calls for Extension Pay AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- The Defense Department will soon begin compensating troops who are required to mobilize or deploy early or extend their deployments, and will reduce the time reserve-component members are mobilized involuntarily to 12 months, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced here today.
• DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for December 11 Jan 2007 -- The Department of Defense announced today its recruiting and retention statistics for the active and reserve components for the month of December.
• December Recruiting Numbers Exceed Goals AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- Last month's recruiting figures for all military services exceeded goals, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during testimony today before the House Armed Services Committee.
• New Guantanamo Facility Safer for Guards, More Comfortable for Detainees AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- Five years after the first detainees from the war on terror arrived at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a new state-of-the-art facility there is making duty safer for guards and more comfortable for detainees.
• Guantanamo Facility Needed 'for Foreseeable Future,' Admiral Says AFPS 11 Jan 2007 -- The United States will need a detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for as long as the country is fighting a war on terror, the admiral in charge of operations there said today.
• Submarine Force Announces Operational Stand Down Navy NewsStand 11 Jan 2007 -- The U.S. Submarine Force announced Jan. 11, that it will conduct an Operational Stand Down in the wake of recent submarine incidents
• Training, Teamwork Key to 45 Years of Navy SEALs Navy NewsStand 11 Jan 2007 -- January marks the 45th anniversary of the inception of the Navy's SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) Teams. From those early days of the SEALs, it has been the intense training and brother-like bond for their teammates that has forged the core of the Naval Special Warfare community.
• Bataan ESG Enters U.S. 6th Fleet Navy NewsStand 11 Jan 2007 -- The Bataan Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) entered U.S. 6th Fleet's area of operations Jan. 10 in support of Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe's initiative to strengthen emerging and enduring partnerships with the nations and navies of Greece, France, Morocco, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Malta.
• USS McInerney Visits Cozumel, Mexico Navy NewsStand 11 Jan 2007 -- USS McInerney (FFG 8) rang in the New Year during the first port visit to Cozumel by a U.S. Navy ship since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
• Secretary of The Navy Visits Howard Navy NewsStand 11 Jan 2007 -- Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Donald C. Winter visited USS Howard (DDG 83) Nov. 24 to meet with Sailors and Marines conducting maritime security operations (MSO) while operating the Persian Gulf.
• First C-21 arrives in North Dakota AFPN 11 Jan 2007 -- The first official 119th Fighter Wing C-21 aircraft arrived Jan. 10 in Fargo.
• USAFE commander visits units in England AFPN 11 Jan 2007 -- The U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander visited the geographically separated units that make up the 501st Combat Support Wing in England Jan. 8 to 10.
• Reconnaissance aircraft, team reach milestone AFPN 11 Jan 2007 -- It may not have the stealthy skin of the B-2 Spirit or be able to hover vertically like the CV-22 Osprey, but the RC-135 Rivet Joint is the only aircraft that Airmen can claim to be deployed continuously for 6,000 days.
• Press Gaggle by Gordon Johndroe The White House 11 Jan 2007

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for January 11, 2007
• General Dynamics Awarded $16 Million for Production of Tactical Satellite Communications Terminals General Dynamics 11 Jan 2007 -- General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a $15.5 million order for satellite communications terminals that will be used in the U.S. Marine Corps' Support Wide Area Network (SWAN) program.
• General Dynamics Awarded $12 Million in Contract Modifications for TAIS Program General Dynamics 11 Jan 2007 -- The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command of Redstone Arsenal, Ala., has awarded General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), $12.2 million in contract modifications for the Tactical Airspace Integration System (TAIS) follow-on contract.
• EADS awarded to perform Link 16 analysis and interoperability tests for tactical platforms in Spain EADS 11 Jan 2007 -- EADS Defence & Security Systems Division (DS) and the National Acquisition Division of the Spanish Ministry of Defence have signed a contract worth more than eight million Euros to accomplish technical support to the Spanish Interoperability Management Cell. Link 16, NATO's secure, real-time data link is one of the most vital prerequisites for network-enabled operations and thus a key for successful transformation of all armed forces.
• U.S. NAVY SUCCESSFULLY TESTS NEW ENHANCED LASER GUIDED TRAINING ROUNDS FROM LOCKHEED MARTIN Lockheed Martin 11 Jan 2007 -- The U.S. Navy has successfully demonstrated the expanded capabilities of Lockheed Martin's new Paveway II Enhanced Laser Guided Training Rounds (E-LGTR) during training exercises at Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon, NV.
• Northrop Grumman Awarded $200 Million Contract to Implement More Efficient Way to Support B-2 Bomber Northrop Grumman 11 Jan 2007 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is implementing a more efficient business process for providing maintenance and sustainment support for the nation's fleet of B-2 stealth bombers under a one-year contract awarded by the U.S. Air Force's Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center
• Raytheon to be Prime Contractor on Radar Common Data Link Program Raytheon 11 Jan 2007 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has won a $9.7 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to design and develop the next-generation wideband common data link for active electronically scanned array radar systems.
• Raytheon Achieves Key Testing Milestone for Next-Generation GaN Semiconductor Technology Raytheon 11 Jan 2007 -- Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor circuits developed by Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) have passed a key testing milestone, demonstrating the reliability of this technology for high-power applications in military radar, communications, electronic warfare and missile systems.

Other Conflicts

• Somalia's Future VOA 11 Jan 2007 -- Question marks surround the future of war-torn Somalia, which recently saw the withdrawal of an Islamic militia movement that effectively ruled the country for about six months
• Secretary-General Ban calls for more diplomatic efforts on Somalia; UN envoy is hopeful UN News Centre 11 Jan 2007 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that while he understood the "necessity" behind the recent United States military operations in Somalia, aimed at suspected Al-Qaida targets, diplomatic efforts must be redoubled to bring peace to the war-ravaged country that has not had a functioning government since 1991.
• Security Council backs Ban Ki-moon's call for political mission in Nepal UN News Centre 11 Jan 2007 -- The Security Council today backed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for the speedy deployment of a United Nations political mission in Nepal to monitor the cantonment of weapons and help organize elections for a constituent assembly after the recent peace accord between the Government and Maoist rebels that ended a deadly decade-long war.
• Sudan backs deployment of hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur - UN UN News Centre 11 Jan 2007 -- The Sudanese Government remains committed to the deployment of a hybrid United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today as his Special Envoy continued his mission to find a durable solution to the conflict that has caused massive humanitarian suffering.
• Abbas: Efforts to Form Unity Palestinian Government Continue VOA 11 Jan 2007 -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says efforts to form a unity Palestinian government will continue, saying he is determined to put an end to Palestinian factional fighting
• UN Envoy to Sudan Appeals for Cessation of Violence VOA 11 Jan 2007 -- The interim U.N. envoy to Sudan is appealing for a cessation of hostilities in the Darfur region, saying only a political solution can resolve the crisis, which has claimed hundreds-of-thousands of lives
• SUDAN: Government, rebels agree Darfur ceasefire IRIN 11 Jan 2007 -- The Sudanese government and rebels in the war-ravaged western region of Darfur rebels have agreed a ceasefire as a first step towards ending the violence that has affected millions of people, a senior US official said in the capital, Khartoum.
• France Court Decision Re-Opens Congo War Crimes Investigation VOA 11 Jan 2007 -- France's highest court ruled Wednesday that a war crimes investigation against top officials of the Republic of Congo can continue

News Reports

• Analysis: In Africa, Aid or Air Strikes? cfr.org 11 Jan 2007
• World: Rights Report Cites Diminishing U.S. Credibility RFE/RL 11 Jan 2007 -- The credibility of the United States has been undermined by the current administration's use of torture and detention without trial, and the European Union must "fill the leadership void on human rights."
• Ethiopian Court Sentences Ex-Dictator Mengistu to Life in Prison VOA 11 Jan 2007 -- An Ethiopian court has sentenced former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam, in absentia, to life in prison for genocide during his 17-year Marxist rule.