Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 17 Apr 2007 [PDF]
• MNF-W Marine dies in non-hostile incident during combat patrol
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualties
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• 12 Detained in Iraq, Coalition Forces Seize Truck Loaded With Explosives AFPS 17 Apr 2007 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces captured 12 suspects and seized a dump truck transporting explosive materials during raids across Iraq the past two days
• Operation Dixon: Nitric acid cache seized, three detained MNF-I 17 Apr 2007 -- Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers seized a large cache consisting of 600 five-gallon containers of nitric acid during an operation in eastern Baghdad April 12.
• April 16 airpower summary: Close air support missions support operations AFPN 17 Apr 2007 -- Coalition airpower supported coalition ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in the following operations April 16, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
• Seabees Build Modular Protected Billeting for Warfighters in Iraq Navy NewsStand 17 Apr 2007 -- The word of the day for Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 28 is "prefabrication," and they're putting their words into action to complete construction by April 19 of 20 Modular Protected Billeting (MPB) facilities that will support Marines in the field.
• US Military Says Eight Suspected Terrorists Detained in Raids Near Baghdad, Fallujah VOA 17 Apr 2007 -- The U.S. military says coalition forces in Iraq have detained eight suspected terrorists in raids near Baghdad and the city of Fallujah, west of the capital.
• Iraqi Insurgent Leader Claims Group Producing Own Rockets VOA 17 Apr 2007 -- An Iraqi insurgent leader has claimed that his group has begun to manufacture its own rockets.
• Local Afghans Lead Troops to Weapons, Explosives AFPS 17 Apr 2007 -- Afghan and coalition forces found three caches containing weapons and explosive materials during operations around Afghanistan the past two days.
• Airman shows way for Afghan National Army recruiters AFPN 17 Apr 2007 -- To serve and protect the nation is one of the top three reasons U.S. citizens take the military oath of enlistment, and Staff Sgt. Matt Leas learned firsthand that it is also the top reason Afghans join the 207th Zafar (Victory) Corps.
• Suspected Taleban Insurgents Hit UN Vehicle in Afghanistan, Killing Five VOA 17 Apr 2007 -- The United Nations has come under attack in Afghanistan
• AFGHANISTAN: Civilians the main victims of conflicts IRIN 17 Apr 2007 -- The United Nations and two prominent human rights organisations have raised grave concerns about the increasing number of civilians affected in armed conflicts in Afghanistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• DoD Press Conference With Secretary of Defense Gates After Meeting With King Abdullah II Of Jordan 17 Apr 2007 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates
• John C. Stennis Completes Operations with French Carrier Charles de Gaulle Navy NewsStand 17 Apr 2007 -- USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) completed month-long operations with the French nuclear powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R 91) in the North Arabian Sea on April 16.
• Policy Change Boosts G.I. Bill Eligibility for Some Guard, Reserve Members AFPS 17 Apr 2007 -- A recent Defense Department policy change widens the eligibility window for some Reserve-component troops who want to use their Montgomery G.I. Bill education benefits, a senior DoD official said here today.
• Gates Describes 'Excellent Visit' to Jordan AFPS 17 Apr 2007 -- Jordan's King Abdallah today pledged his country's continued support to Iraq's fledgling democracy, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.
• Essex Wraps Up Spring Patrol '07 Navy NewsStand 17 Apr 2007 -- Multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) returned to Sasebo on April 16 after a successful Spring Patrol 2007.
• DoD Begins Electronic Transfer of Digital Radiographs 17 Apr 2007 -- The Department of Defense announced it has begun to electronically transmit the digital images of medical scans, such as MRI and CAT scans, for critically injured soldiers who are transferred from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center Bethesda to the Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Center in Tampa, Fla.
• Barksdale Airmen take care of B-52 business 7,000 miles away AFPN 17 Apr 2007
• PACAF commander stresses importance of space AFPN 17 Apr 2007 -- With a command that stretches across 16 different time zones, Pacific Air Forces Commander General Paul V. Hester, is a fan of the work space professionals perform in the Pacific.
• Samuel B. Roberts, Latorre Participate in SNMG-1 PASSEX Navy NewsStand 17 Apr 2007 -- USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) and Chilean Frigate CS Almiranty Latorre (FFG 14) participated in a multinational Passing Exercise (PASSEX) on April 8-9 with Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG) 1 in the Caribbean in support of Partnership of Americas (POA).
• Backgrounder: Balance of War Powers: The U.S. President and Congress cfr.org 17 Apr 2007
• Analysis: The War on the Hill cfr.org 17 Apr 2007
• Russia, India set to conduct naval maneuvers in Pacific RIA Novosti 17 Apr 2007 -- Russia and India will conduct joint naval counter-terrorism exercises in the Sea of Japan on April 24-26, the press service of Russia's Pacific Fleet said Tuesday.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 17 Apr 2007

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for April 17, 2007
• U.S. COAST GUARD, LOCKHEED MARTIN ACHIEVING CONTINUED SUCCESS ACROSS DEEPWATER AVIATION AND IT PROGRAMS Lockheed Martin 17 Apr 2007 -- The U.S. Coast Guard and Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] continue to record successes across Deepwater aviation and information technology (IT) programs, which are modernizing or replacing the service's entire fleet of nearly 200 helicopters and airplanes and providing an advanced command and control system that for the first time links all Coast Guard aircraft, ships and shore stations through a common operating picture.
• ATK, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Present Proposal for Ares I Upper Stage ATK 17 Apr 2007 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (NYSE: UTX) today presented to NASA an oral summary of their proposal for the Ares I Upper Stage. The proposal has been delivered in stages over the last month and culminated with the submittal of the cost volume last week.
• First A400M VTP Arrives At EADS CASA Facilities In Madrid To Start Static Structural Test EADS 17 Apr 2007 -- Today marks another key milestone in the A400M military transport aircraft programme, with Airbus delivering the first A400M VTP (Vertical Tail Plane) from Stade, Germany, to Getafe, Spain, where the static test aircraft final assembly is taking place.
• BAE SYSTEMS RECEIVES $12.6 MILLION ORDER FOR BRADLEY ADVANCED TRAINING SYSTEMS BAE Systems 17 Apr 2007 -- BAE Systems has received a delivery order worth up to $12.6 million for 17 Bradley Advanced Training Systems (BATS) from the U.S. Army Program Executive Office of Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.
• Boeing Adds Delta TechOps to KC-767 Advanced Tanker Team Boeing 17 Apr 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has selected Delta TechOps, a division of Delta Air Lines, to provide parts support for the KC-767 Advanced Tanker.
• Boeing Orbital Express Conducts First Autonomous Spacecraft-to-Spacecraft Fluid and Component Transfer Boeing 17 Apr 2007 -- In its first on-orbit demonstration 300 miles above the Earth, Boeing's [NYSE: BA] Orbital Express system autonomously transferred propellant fuel and a battery from one spacecraft to another, marking industry firsts for the revolutionary system.
• Second Set of Tests Demonstrates Functionality of Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman Team's Next Generation Processor Router for TSAT Northrop Grumman 17 Apr 2007 -- The Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)/Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Transformational Satellite Communications (TSAT) team announced today that the functionality of its Next Generation Processor Router (NGPR) has been demonstrated in a comprehensive test conducted by the U.S. government.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 17 Apr 2007
• Negroponte Signals Khartoum About U.S. Concern over Darfur Washington File 17 Apr 2007 -- Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has concluded his first trip to Sudan, where he visited refugee camps in Darfur and met with President Omar al-Bashir, conveying the "widespread concern" in the United States about the continuing violence in the western region.
• Diplomats Cautiously Optimistic on Darfur Peacekeepers Washington File 17 Apr 2007 -- The Security Council has welcomed Sudan's acceptance of increased U.N. support for peacekeepers in Darfur, but council members are proceeding cautiously until the much-needed reinforcements are actually on the ground in the region.
• U.S. To Co-Sponsor Kosovo Resolution in U.N. Security Council Washington File 17 Apr 2007 -- Following an April 23-24 visit by the U.N. Security Council to Brussels, Belgium; Belgrade, Serbia; and Kosovo's capital, Pristina, the United States plans to co-sponsor a U.N. resolution that would allow Kosovo's provisional government to declare independence, U.S. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns says.
• Serbia govt. irked by U.S. stance on Kosovo independence RIA Novosti 17 Apr 2007 -- The Serbian government has reacted strongly to recent comments by a U.S. administration official concerning independence for Kosovo.
• COTE D'IVOIRE: Rival groups start dismantling buffer IRIN 17 Apr 2007 -- In a major step forward in the implementation of a peace deal signed between the government of Côte d'Ivoire and rebels last month, work has started on dismantling the buffer zone which has divided the country's rebel-held north and government-controlled south for almost four years.
• Kenya to Begin Shuttle Diplomacy Between Rivals Eritrea and Ethiopia VOA 17 Apr 2007 -- Kenya's Foreign Ministry says it is preparing an intense diplomatic shuttle to bring an end to the crisis between Horn of Africa rivals Eritrea and Ethiopia over Somalia
• US Hopes for New Nepal Election Date Soon, Expresses Caution Toward Maoists VOA 17 Apr 2007 -- The U.S. ambassador to Nepal understands the need for a delay in elections in the Himalayan kingdom

News Reports

• ZIMBABWE: Murmurs of dissent in police force IRIN 17 Apr 2007 -- Zimbabwe's security forces have been criticised for their often-severe crackdown on opposition activists, but some policemen say they have arrested and sometimes tortured pro-democracy activists against their personal convictions.