Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 14 Mar 2007 [PDF]
• MNF-W forces attacked
• Task Force Lightning patrol attacked
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• Press Briefing, March 14, 2007 MNF-I 14 Mar 2007 -- Operational Update with MNF-I Spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV and Daniel Speckhard, Charge d'Affaires, U.S. Embassy Baghdad, March 14, 2007
• March 14 airpower: B-1 Lancers provide show of force AFPN 14 Mar 2007 -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials have released the airpower summary for March 14.
• Aerial port hub keeps passengers, cargo rolling AFPN 14 Mar 2007 -- The 8th EAMS, a 379th AEW tenant unit, links air mobility operations together, directly supporting the warfighters up range.
• Afghanistan: Amnesty Law Draws Criticism, Praise RFE/RL 14 Mar 2007 -- Afghanistan's parliament has passed an amnesty law that prevents the state from independently prosecuting people for war crimes committed during conflicts in recent decades
• 'Afghanistan First' Program Shifts Focus to Training AFPS 14 Mar 2007
• Kabul Shop Explosion Kills At Least Six RFE/RL 14 Mar 2007 -- A huge blast at a gunpowder store in central Kabul destroyed shops and houses today, killing at least six people and wounding others.

Defense Policy / Programs

• SUBLANT Statement Regarding USS San Juan and Missing Submarine Procedures Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2007 -- During the early evening of March 13, units of the USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG) received a series of indications that USS San Juan (SSN 751), a Los Angeles class submarine conducting pre-deployment training with the Enterprise CSG, was in distress.
• WMD-CST Team Certified for Wyoming 14 Mar 2007 -- The Department of Defense notified Congress today that the Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team (WMD-CST) of the Wyoming National Guard is now certified.
• Families, Friends Welcome Home Three ESG 5 Ships Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2007 -- More than 1,000 Sailors reunited with family and friends March 13 when three Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG 5) ships were welcomed home after returning from a six-month deployment in the Persian Gulf.
• Ingraham Sailors Return from JTFX Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2007 -- USS Ingraham (FFG 61) returned to her homeport, here, March 6, after a three-week underway period for Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFX).
• Reserves Offering Two-Year Deferment on Deployment Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2007 -- The Navy Reserve is offering a two-year deferment from involuntary mobilization to Sailors who join the Reserve Component within six months after release from active duty.
• New tower cab opens at Ramstein AFPN 14 Mar 2007 -- After two-and-a-half years of planning and construction, Ramstein Air Base's new tower cab is finally open for business.
• Wing has long heritage of serving others AFPN 14 Mar 2007 -- The 59th Medical Wing is the Air Force's premier medical unit, located here in San Antonio.
• General discusses options for growing USAFE mission AFPN 14 Mar 2007 -- As the Air Force evolves to meet and defeat future challenges, the Airmen of U.S. Air Forces in Europe are also expanding their mission toward the future.
• 'In lieu of' Airmen learn Soldier skills at Fort Bragg AFPN 14 Mar 2007 -- Several hundred Airmen from varied skill sets are in the midst of three months of training at Fort Bragg, N.C., in preparation for a future deployment to Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan.
• First MQ-9 Reaper makes its home on Nevada flightline AFPN 14 Mar 2007 -- The MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle's younger, yet larger and stronger, brother, the MQ-9 Reaper arrived March 13 at its new home at Creech Air Force Base, Nev.
• Independent Review Group Hosts First Public Meeting AFPS 14 Mar 2007 -- An independent review group charged by the defense secretary with identifying shortcomings and making recommendations for improvements in care for injured troops held its first public meeting at Walter Reed Army Medical Center yesterday.
• Military Leaders Discuss Readiness at Capitol Hill Hearing AFPS 14 Mar 2007 -- The armed services' four vice chiefs of staff discussed challenges that affect military readiness at a U.S. House of Representatives' subcommittee hearing held here yesterday.
• Test Center Focuses on Warfighters While Advancing Innovations AFPS 14 Mar 2007 -- As the Defense Department hurries to get the latest weapons systems and protective equipment to deployed troops, the Aberdeen Test Center here is operating at what its commander calls a "fast and furious rate" to ensure effectiveness and safety remain top priorities.
• NMCB 1 Takes First Steps Toward Convoy Success Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2007 -- U.S. Navy Seabees attached to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 completed a training exercise with the Raydan Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer at Camp Shelby, Miss., on March 6, to further develop their tactical skills for the upcoming deployment to Iraq.
• Navy-chartered Ship Delivers Coalition Cargo Navy NewsStand 14 Mar 2007 -- A Military Sealift Command-chartered ship, MV Tor Futura, arrived in Szczecin, Poland, on March 9 to off-load nearly 20,000 square feet of Slovakian army cargo.
• Pakistan for continued engagement with NATO: Kasuri IRNA 14 Mar 2007 -- Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said on Wednesday that Pakistan looked forward to a continued and constructive engagement with NATO.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 14 Mar 2007

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 14, 2007
• U.S. COAST GUARD DEDICATES LOCKHEED MARTIN-EQUIPPED DEEPWATER SHIPBOARD OPERATIONS TRAINING FACILITY Lockheed Martin 14 Mar 2007 -- The U.S. Coast Guard today formally opened its new Deepwater shipboard operations training facility at Coast Guard Training Center Petaluma
• Department of Defense Selects Northrop Grumman to Combat Enlistment Fraud Northrop Grumman 14 Mar 2007 -- orthrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a task order by the General Services Administration's Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (GSA FEDSIM) to reduce fraudulent enlistments in the military through the use of an electronic security (e-Security) program.
• Northrop Grumman Guardrail Ground Baseline Fielding Successful Northrop Grumman 14 Mar 2007 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) recently completed fielding the Guardrail Ground Baseline (GGB) to the First Military Intelligence Battalion at Wiesbaden Army Airfield in Wiesbaden, Germany.
• Northrop Grumman Gets Green Light to Begin Key Development Phase of New B-2 Bomber Communication System Northrop Grumman 14 Mar 2007 -- The U.S. Air Force has approved Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) plan to begin formal development of a new satellite communication system for the B-2 stealth bomber that will eventually allow the aircraft to send and receive battlefield information up to 100 times faster than today.
• Raytheon's Mid-Range Munition Projectile Scores Direct Hit Against T-72 Tank Raytheon 14 Mar 2007 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) successfully conducted the first beyond-line-of-sight mission using a dual- mode imaging infrared/digital semi-active laser seeker on its Mid-Range Munition, Chemical-Energy guided projectile.
• Boeing Assumes Lead Role in U.K. Chinook Helicopter Support Program Boeing 14 Mar 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has assumed responsibility for the United Kingdom's Chinook Through Life Customer Support (TLCS) program and is now providing spare parts, support equipment and component repairs to the Royal Air Force's (RAF) 40 Chinook helicopters and their 14,000 part numbers.
• MALAYSIAN SUBMARINE PROGRAM DCN 14 Mar 2007 -- The Chief of Staff of the Malaysian Navy, Admiral Ramlan, and the Chief of Staff of the French Navy, Admiral Oudot de Dainville, were present at the ceremony commemorating the joining of the fore- and aft-sections of the first Scorpene submarine being built for the Malaysian Navy.
• SAIC to Provide Electronic Warfare Technical Services at Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division SAIC 14 Mar 2007 -- Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAI) today announced it won a single award, cost-plus- award-fee task order from the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division, Crane, Ind.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 14 Mar 2007
• Somali Government to Host Reconciliation Congress VOA 14 Mar 2007 -- Somalia's transitional government has reiterated its plans to hold a congress to unite striving Somali clans, asking the international community to support the process.
• SOMALIA: IDP camp hit in attack on presidential palace IRIN 14 Mar 2007 -- A number of internally displaced people were killed when their camp in the Ali Kamin area of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, was hit during an attack on the presidential palace, local residents said.
• US Weighs New Steps Against Sudan Over Darfur VOA 14 Mar 2007 -- The United States said Wednesday it has begun contacts on a new U.N. Security Council resolution penalizing Sudan for non-cooperation on Darfur
• SUDAN: Living with the threat of rape in Darfur IRIN 14 Mar 2007 -- The convoy of African Union trucks was driving up a hillside overlooking a small valley near Otash in South Darfur State, western Sudan, when the two women gathering firewood spotted the vehicles and instinctively took to their heels.
• UN in Nepal concerned at reports that Maoists retain arms, fighters outside camps UN News Centre 14 Mar 2007 -- Nepal (UNMIN) has expressed concern over media reports quoting the chairman of the country's Maoists as saying the group retains weapons and combatants outside specified cantonment sites, actions that would breach agreements signed under last year's historic peace deal that ended a decade of civil war in the country.
• UN Mission to Investigate Weapons Claims by Nepal's Maoists VOA 14 Mar 2007 -- Concerns are being raised over whether Nepal's Maoists are disarming in line with the terms of a landmark peace deal
• Georgian Official Says Helicopter Attack Came From Russia RFE/RL 14 Mar 2007 -- Nikoloz Rurua, the deputy chairman of the Georgian parliament's Committee for Defense and Security, says helicopters that attacked the Kodori Gorge came from Russian territory, RFE/RL's Georgian Service reported.
• New UN political chief sees potential for progress in Middle East peace efforts UN News Centre 14 Mar 2007 -- Recent agreements can potentially pave the way for progress in Middle East peace efforts after a year in which hopes seemed to be steadily diminishing, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today, cautioning that success will require action by the parties.
• Lebanon War Inquiry Could Topple Israeli PM VOA 14 Mar 2007 -- An Israeli inquiry into last year's Lebanon war could topple Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
• Pakistan-India Peace Talks Make Slow But Steady Progress VOA 14 Mar 2007 -- Pakistan and India have completed their latest round of peace talks in Islamabad on a decidedly upbeat note
• DRC: Thousands flee clashes between army and Rwandan rebels IRIN 14 Mar 2007 -- An estimated 10,000 civilians have fled the village of Burumba in North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after violence erupted between the national army and a Rwandan Hutu rebel group, officials said on Tuesday.

News Reports

• CryoSat-2: A Satellite on an Icy Mission EADS 14 Mar 2007 -- One of the greatest challenges to be met by man in the coming years is to understand and contain the global climate change. This also includes the investigation whether and to what extent the ice masses are changing at the Earth poles. This question shall be answered by Cryosat-2, a new research satellite which is being developed and built by Europe’s largest space company Astrium for the European space agency ESA.