Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 11 Oct 2007 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• MNC-I Soldier killed
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• Terrorists and Civilians Killed in Coalition Raid in Iraq VOA 11 Oct 2007 -- The U.S. military in Iraq says 15 civilians and 19 insurgents were killed Thursday in a coalition raid on a building where al-Qaida terrorists were gathered northwest of Baghdad.
• Arleigh Burke Aids Iranian Dhow in Central Persian Gulf Navy NewsStand 11 Oct 2007 -- A helicopter attached to the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group and USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) assisted an Iranian-flagged dhow in the Central Persian Gulf Oct. 9.
• Troops Kill 13 Insurgents; Car Bombs Kill, Injure Iraqis AFPS 11 Oct 2007 -- Coalition forces killed 13 insurgents during an air strike near the Iraqi capital yesterday. Meanwhile, two car-bomb attacks in northern Iraq killed six and wounded 38, military officials said.
• Raven B has landed in Southwest Asia AFPN 11 Oct 2007 -- A small unmanned aerial vehicle is now being used to increase the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing's force protection capabilities.
• Maritime Security Operations Key to Regional Stability, Security Navy NewsStand 11 Oct 2007 -- The combination of persistent, credible naval and air power and consistent Maritime Security Operations contribute to regional security and stability, an important theme for Vice Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, commander of 5th Fleet and commander, Combined Maritime Forces.
• Stryker Cavalry Ridding Baghdad of Bombs, 'Bad Guys' AFPS 11 Oct 2007 -- U.S. soldiers are sweeping through a Baghdad neighborhood to clear out explosives and extremists, a coalition commander said today.
• Reaper UAV now flying in Afghanistan AFPN 11 Oct 2007 -- The Air Force announced Oct. 11 that the MQ-9 Reaper, the service's new hunter-killer unmanned aerial vehicle, is now flying operational missions in Afghanistan.
• Kabul Denies Reports Of Taliban Prisoner Swap For German Hostage RFE/RL 11 Oct 2007 -- Afghanistan's central government today is denying reports that it traded Taliban prisoners for a German hostage who was freed on October 10 after being held by Taliban kidnappers for more than two months.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Transcript: Media Availability with Secretary Gates and Secretary Browne from Lancaster House, London, United Kingdom 11 Oct 2007 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and British Defense Secretary Desmond Browne
• Gates Arrives in Moscow to Meet with Top Russian Leaders AFPS 11 Oct 2007 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived in Moscow tonight to join Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in meetings with top Russian leaders.
• Army to Accelerate Leader Development Army News 11 Oct 2007 -- The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command recently announced a plan to accelerate leader development at all levels and Wednesday a panel at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting outlined more of the specifics.
• First next-generation communications satellite launches AFPN 11 Oct 2007 -- The Air Force launched the first of a next generation of military communications satellites from here Oct. 10 at 8:22 p.m. EDT, when a United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster carried a Wideband Global SATCOM satellite into space.
• Navy Establishes First MH-60R Squadron Navy NewsStand 11 Oct 2007 -- The Navy established Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71 in a ceremony held at Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island, Oct. 4.
• Admiral Roughead Assumes Office as 29th Chief of Naval Operations Navy NewsStand 11 Oct 2007 -- Adm. Gary Roughead assumed office as the 29th Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during a ceremony held at Leutze Park aboard Washington Navy Yard Oct. 11.
• New Missions, Birds, Names For New Helicopter Squadrons Navy NewsStand 11 Oct 2007 -- Two new Naval Air Station North Island-based helicopter squadrons received brand new MH-60 helicopters to go with their new missions and names as part of the Navy's helicopter concept of operations (CONOPS).
• Rear Adm. Beebe Retires After 32 Years of Service Navy NewsStand 11 Oct 2007 -- Rear Adm. James E. Beebe, deputy commander of Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet and deputy commander of Navy Region Hawaii, retired Oct. 6 during a ceremony held at the U.S. World War II Submarine Memorial after 32 years of honorable service.
• New Agreement to Help Balance Active Army, National Guard AFPS 11 Oct 2007 -- A new agreement between the active Army and Army National Guard represents a big step toward achieving the force structure balance Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. calls critical to the Army's transformation.
• Roughead Takes Navy's Helm AFPS 11 Oct 2007 -- Promising to maintain the Navy's warfighting capability while building for the future and taking care of sailors and their families, Navy Adm. Gary Roughead assumed duties today as the chief of naval operations.
• MCPON Campa's Birthday Message To The Fleet Navy NewsStand 11 Oct 2007
• Little Progress Expected At U.S.-Russia Talks RFE/RL 11 Oct 2007 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrive in Moscow on October 12 to discuss plans to deploy parts of a missile-defense shield in Central Europe.
• U.S., U.K. Defense Counterparts Discuss Iraq, Afghanistan AFPS 11 Oct 2007 -- The United Kingdom is a close ally of the United States that has made major contributions to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.
• U.S., Romanian Paratroopers Jump into Combined Exercise Army News 11 Oct 2007 -- U.S. Soldiers and Airmen from the Southern European Task Force conducted combined, joint airborne operations with Romanian Soldiers from the 60th Airborne Battalion this week.
• Nuclear Threat, Armed Conflict Reduction Highest U.S. Priority Washington File 11 Oct 2007 -- The United States has been a leader in promoting gradual nuclear disarmament and garnering broad support for international efforts to destroy dangerous stockpiles of small arms and light artillery.
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 11 Oct 2007
• Press Briefing by Dana Perino The White House 11 Oct 2007

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for October 10, 2007
• CACI Awarded $36 Million Contract to Support U.S. Navy Enterprise Maintenance Automated Information System Data Center CACI 11 Oct 2007 -- CACI International Inc (NYSE:CAI) announced today that it has been awarded a $36 million task order by the U.S. Navy to support its Navy Enterprise Maintenance Automated Information System (NEMAIS) Data Center operations
• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and RD AMROSS Power Launch of Atlas V on Mission to Release Communications Spacecraft Pratt & Whitney 11 Oct 2007 -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and RD AMROSS powered the launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, yesterday on a mission to release a U.S. military satellite into space
• Northrop Grumman's KC-30 Tanker Team Will Create Aerospace Jobs and Generate Economic Activity of $135 Million Annually in Ohio Northrop Grumman 11 Oct 2007 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) KC-30 Tanker team will generate economic activity and create more than 2,300 direct and indirect jobs in Ohio if the KC-30 Tanker aircraft is selected by the U.S. Air Force.
• Boeing Signs Agreement with Sargent Fletcher for KC-767 Fuel Tank Systems Boeing 11 Oct 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Sargent Fletcher, Inc., of El Monte, Calif., a Cobham plc [LSE: COB] company, to provide the body fuel tank system for the KC-767 Advanced Tanker (AT).
• General Dynamics Awarded $54 Million For Submarine Modernization and Planning Services General Dynammics 11 Oct 2007 -- The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat two contract modifications worth a total of $53.5 million for nuclear submarine modernization and planning yard services and support.
• Rheinmetall unveils new low-signature weapon system at Milipol in Paris Rheinmetall Defence 11 Oct 2007 -- Today's armed forces increasingly find themselves deployed in out-of-area missions. In scenarios like these, troops are exposed to a multitude of different threats.
• Thales wins contract for Air Defence Protection System with Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defence Thales 11 Oct 2007 -- Thales today announces that it has been selected by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defence to supply a major electronic protection system to the Saudi Air Force. The negotiation has been conducted under the umbrella of SOFRESA.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICES OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT United Nations 11 Oct 2007
• Report: African Conflicts Cost $300 Billion in Past 15 Years VOA 11 Oct 2007 -- Fifteen years of conflict on the African continent have cost Africa an estimated $300 billion, which is the amount of foreign aid received during the same period
• AFRICA: First global Arms Trade Treaty would particularly benefit Africa, experts say IRIN 11 Oct 2007 -- The creation of a global Arms Trade Treaty currently being debated by the United Nations' first committee would particularly benefit Africa according to various arms control experts.
• Analysis: In Sudan, A Search for Comprehensive Peace cfr.org 11 Oct 2007 -- The surprise rebel assault (NPR) on an African Union base in northern Darfur at the end of September was a double blow to the region's nascent peace process
• Backgrounder: Structuring A Peace Process for Darfur cfr.org 11 Oct 2007
• SUDAN: Government violated arms embargo, says expert panel IRIN 11 Oct 2007 -- Sudanese authorities and rebel groups in the western Darfur region have violated a UN Security Council arms embargo, a panel of experts has said.
• SUDAN: Southern pull-out threatens peace deal IRIN 11 Oct 2007 -- Sara Pantuliano, a research fellow at the Humanitarian Policy Group of the ODI think-tank in London, said the decision by Southern Sudan's former rebel group and now leading party to withdraw from the central government was a "badly needed wake-up call for the international community", which has neglected the North-South peace process, partly because of the Darfur conflict.
• Darfur: UN envoy warns surge in violence must end ahead of peace talks UN News Centre 11 Oct 2007 -- The United Nations Special Envoy to Darfur today called for an end to the "vicious cycle of violence" engulfing the war-torn Sudanese region ahead of major peace talks later this month, warning that any delay to the negotiations between the Government and the rebels would only lead to further bloodshed.
• Georgian Separatist Regions Cause Friction Between Moscow, Tbilisi VOA 11 Oct 2007 -- Relations remain tense between Russia and Georgia several weeks after Georgian forces killed two Russian military officers in the Georgian separatist region of Abkhazia
• SOMALIA: Ministers demand confidence vote IRIN 11 Oct 2007 -- Somalia's transitional federal government (TFG) has been thrown into disarray after 22 ministers signed a letter demanding a vote of confidence in the government.
• COTE D'IVOIRE: UN "deeply concerned" about failing peace effort IRIN 11 Oct 2007 -- The UN Secretary-General is "deeply concerned" by the failure of the government and former rebels in Côte d'Ivoire to achieve steps toward peace.
• Ban Ki-moon urges restraint by Ethiopia and Eritrea as tensions rise UN News Centre 11 Oct 2007 -- Voicing his concern at escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the two East African neighbours to show maximum restraint and abide by the accords that ended their border war seven years ago.
• Jerusalem Emerges as Stumbling Block in Mideast Peace Talks VOA 11 Oct 2007 -- Jerusalem is emerging as a major stumbling block in new peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians
• Congolese Rebel Leader Seeks Peace VOA 11 Oct 2007 -- A renegade Congolese general who shattered a U.N.-mediated ceasefire earlier this week has performed a hasty turnaround, demanding a halt to the violence that has killed dozens of his men

News Reports

• Security Council calls for 'genuine' dialogue in Myanmar to achieve reconciliation UN News Centre 11 Oct 2007 -- Strongly deploring Myanmar's recent use of violence against peaceful protesters, the Security Council today underscored the need for dialogue between the Government and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to accelerate its national reconciliation process.
• Secretary-General dispatches Myanmar envoy to meet with regional partners UN News Centre 11 Oct 2007 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced that he is sending his Special Adviser on Myanmar back to the region this weekend to meet with regional partners about the situation in the troubled South-East Asian nation.
• Burmese Monks Regroup for Struggle Against Military Government VOA 11 Oct 2007 -- Monks fleeing the military crackdown in Burma say they are regrouping in preparation for more peaceful demonstrations
• US House Speaker: Armenian Genocide Measure Will Go Forward VOA 11 Oct 2007 -- The speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, says a resolution approved by a House committee this week characterizing the World War I-era killings of tens of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide will go to a vote in the House
• Turkey Protests US House Committee's Vote on Armenian Resolution VOA 11 Oct 2007 -- The vote in a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives calling the massacre of Armenians in World War I by Ottoman Turks a genocide has caused outrage in Turkey