Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 15 Jan 2008 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• PRESS CONFERENCE: Secretary of State, Jan. 15, 2008 MNF-I 15 Jan 2008 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraq Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
• Operation Phantom Phoenix: Tip leads MND-North Soldiers to extremist car bomb factory and large cache MNF-I 15 Jan 2008 -- North Soldiers discovered a car bomb factory, terrorist command cell and large cache in the western desert of Salah ad Din province Jan. 8 as a result of tips from local citizens during Operation Phantom Phoenix, a countrywide effort to kill or capture al-Qaeda and other extremists.
• Coalition Forces Capture 17 in Operations Across Iraq AFPS 15 Jan 2008 -- Coalition forces detained 17 suspects during operations yesterday and today targeting al Qaeda networks across Iraq, and military officials have released details of other recent operations.
• Jan. 14 airpower summary: A-10 shows force AFPN 15 Jan 2008
• Army Engineers Improve Iraqi City's Public Works AFPS 15 Jan 2008 -- Army engineers are conducting a public works upgrade here, repairing streets and completing unfinished sewer work.
• DoD Announces Units For Afghanistan Deployment 15 Jan 2008 -- The Secretary of Defense has recommended and the President has approved the deployment of additional units to Afghanistan in the spring of 2008
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Press Secretary Geoff Morrell from the Pentagon 15 Jan 2008 -- Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell
• Bush Decides to Send 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan VOA 15 Jan 2008 -- President Bush has approved the deployment of 3,200 U.S. Marines to Afghanistan to help the NATO-led security effort in the south and to increase the number of trainers for the Afghan army and police
• U.S. to Deploy 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan AFPS 15 Jan 2008 -- About 3,200 U.S. Marines will be sent to Afghanistan this spring on a one-time deployment to help NATO forces there expand on successes gained against the Taliban over the past year, according to a Defense Department news release issued today.
• Marine Deployment to Afghanistan 'One-Time Deal,' Official Says AFPS 15 Jan 2008 -- The deployment of 3,200 U.S. Marines to Afghanistan this spring represents a one-time troop movement that partially fulfills a long-time request by NATO commanders for additional forces, a senior Pentagon spokesman said here today.
• Afghanistan: UN calls for redoubled peace efforts after hotel bombing UN News Centre 15 Jan 2008 -- The United Nations today called for a redoubling of efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan after yesterday's deadly hotel suicide bombing targeting foreigners and Afghan civilians working together to help the violence-wracked country.
• PRT Delivers Winter Supplies, Tents to Villagers AFPS 15 Jan 2008 -- The Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Kapisa Team delivered winter coats and shoes to a village in the Nijrab district of Afghanistan's Kapisa province yesterday.
• Airmen airdrop 80,000 pounds of food, supplies for Afghans AFPN 15 Jan 2008 -- Airmen of the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron here airdropped nearly 80,000 pounds of food and water through the Afghan sky Jan. 14 as part of humanitarian efforts in the region.
• Water Dogs Keep Water Flowing Army News 15 Jan 2008 -- A four-man team of water purification specialists assigned to Company A, 173rd Brigade Support Battalion oversees the production of more than 40,000 gallons of water a day for the those living at forward operating base Fenty.
• AFGHANISTAN: UN, NGOs review security measures after Kabul attack IRIN 15 Jan 2008 -- Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in Afghanistan have temporarily imposed restrictions on their international staff members' movements in Kabul after gunmen attacked a high-profile hotel, aid workers and Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said on 15 January.
• US to extend $43 million for Pakistan tribal regions IRNA 15 Jan 2008 -- The United States has extended $43 million for the capacity building program to improve economic and social conditions in Pakistan tribal regions, the U.S embassy said on Tuesday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Commander Expeditionary Strike Group 3 to Deploy to 5th Fleet Navy NewsStand 15 Jan 2008 -- Thirty-five Sailors and Marines from commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 3 will deploy to Bahrain in January for a one-year deployment to the region.
• Navy Releases Blue Angels Investigation Report Navy NewsStand 15 Jan 2008 -- The Navy released its investigation report Jan. 14 on the Blue Angels crash that occurred April 21, 2007 in Beaufort, S.C., sighting pilot error as the primary causal factor.
• New Wharf Hosts Navy's First SSGN on Guam Navy NewsStand 15 Jan 2008 -- A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Jan. 11 to mark the completion of upgrades to Bravo Wharf at Naval Base Guam, providing the capability to host the Navy's newest guided missile class (SSGN) submarines.
• Commander, Strike Force Training Pacific Changes Helm Navy NewsStand 15 Jan 2008 -- A change of command ceremony was held for Commander, Strike Force Training Pacific (CSFTP) on board USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Jan. 11.
• NAVEUR's Guidance - Executing Maritime Strategy Navy NewsStand 15 Jan 2008 -- Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe (NAVEUR)/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa Guidance for 2008 was released Jan. 8, by Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, Commander U.S. Naval Forces Europe.
• Port Royal and Hopper COs Discuss Incident in Strait of Hormuz Navy NewsStand 15 Jan 2008 -- Capt. David Adler, commanding officer of USS Port Royal (CG 73), and Capt. Jeffery James, commanding officer of USS Hopper (DDG 70), met with Middle Eastern and U.S. national media at Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th Fleet headquarters Jan. 13 to discuss last week's incident in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Medical Team Provides Services to CJTF-HOA Personnel Navy NewsStand 15 Jan 2008 -- The primary mission of Expeditionary Medical Force (EMF) 12 is to provide medical services to more than 1,800 personnel assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) at the Seth Michaud Emergency Medical and Dental Facility at Camp Lemonier.
• Pakistan, Bahrain Defense Forces Strengthen Relations Navy NewsStand 15 Jan 2008 -- A delegation of Pakistani defense officials, including the secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Defense, is visiting the Kingdom of Bahrain Jan. 14-18 to improve relations between the defense forces of the two countries.
• Africa Partnership Station Aims to Boost Maritime Security AFPS 15 Jan 2008 -- A multinational crew aboard USS Fort McHenry is cruising port to port in the Gulf of Guinea off Africa's west coast, training African volunteers to bolster regional security.
• Biomedical maintainers ensure combat medical success AFPN 15 Jan 2008 -- Airmen of the 332nd Medical Support Squadron Biomedical Maintenance Flight here help save lives by ensuring proper preparation of patients prior to air evacuation from the theater of operations every day.
• New ALS curriculum creates new challenges AFPN 15 Jan 2008 -- Airmen attending Airman Leadership School here and at all Air Force bases come into the new year with many changes to its core curriculum that may create a more challenging course for students ready to become NCOs.
• Joint Chiefs Chairman Visits U.S. Southern Command AFPS 15 Jan 2008 -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff visited U.S. Southern Command headquarters here yesterday, where he thanked servicemembers and staff for their work and stressed the importance of the security cooperation efforts the command oversees in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Law Restricts Political Involvement of Military Army News 15 Jan 2008 -- As the election year kicks off, there are many questions concerning Army policies that restrict both political activities by Soldiers and Department of Defense Civilians, and candidates' use of DOD facilities for political events.
• Troops Continue Korean Oil Spill Cleanup Army News 15 Jan 2008 -- The smell of crude oil was still evident early Jan. 4 as 45 Soldiers and Airmen joined more than 150 workers and other volunteers as they started another day of beach cleanup after Korea's worst oil spill occurred a month ago at Mallipo Beach.
• Military Clothing Designers on Cutting Edge Army News 15 Jan 2008 -- When you think about clothing designers, you may think of a favorite brand or store, but not immediately about the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center. Natick, though, has clothing designers who develop and improve military clothing and equipment.
• Air Force receives 4 Presidential Rank Awards for intelligence AFPN 15 Jan 2008 -- White House officials here recently chose four career intelligence senior executives for 2007 Presidential Rank Awards for their exceptional long-term accomplishments.
• Air Force alters cold-weather gear policy AFPN 15 Jan 2008 -- The deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel here recently authorized commanders to use their discretion to authorize deviation from policy for wear of cold-weather battle dress uniform outer garments with the airman battle uniform during the coming winter months.
• Construction Begins on $92 Million Trauma Research Facility AFPS 15 Jan 2008 -- Construction of a $92 million center for all Defense Department combat casualty care and trauma research missions began with a groundbreaking ceremony here Jan. 11.
• US Military Leader Works to Build Trust in China VOA 15 Jan 2008 -- The head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Timothy Keating, is in China for a visit he says is aimed at further strengthening military relations, a task he personally began when he first visited China last May.
• US Lawmakers Renew Opposition to US Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia VOA 15 Jan 2008 -- A group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives is renewing objections to any sale of sophisticated U.S. precision-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia
• Polish Missile-Defense Site Would Benefit All Europe, Official Says AFPS 15 Jan 2008 -- A proposed anti-ballistic missile defense site in Poland would benefit all of Europe, a senior Pentagon spokesman said here today.
• Polish defense minister to discuss U.S. missile plans in Washington RIA Novosti 15 Jan 2008 -- Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich is to discuss Washington's plans for a missile defense base in Poland during his current visit to the U.S., a Polish Defense Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.
• Indo-Lanka naval cooperation 'extremely successful' IRNA 15 Jan 2008 -- Sri Lankan Navy Commander Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda Tuesday said that the cooperation between the navies of Sri Lanka and India was 'extremely successful' in countering the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 15 Jan 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for January 15, 2008
• BAE SYSTEMS DEMONSTRATES UPGRADED AIRBORNE RECONNAISSANCE SYSTEM BAE Systems 15 Jan 2008 -- BAE Systems has demonstrated an upgraded airborne reconnaissance system capable of transmitting and receiving data over long distances
• BAE SYSTEMS WINS U.S. NAVY GUIDED MISSILE CRUISER MODERNIZATION CONTRACT BAE Systems 15 Jan 2008 -- BAE Systems has been awarded a $31 million contract by the Naval Sea Systems Command for the maintenance, repair and modernization of the guided missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG-52).
• EADS Defence & Security equips NH90 helicopters with obstacle warning systems EADS 15 Jan 2008 -- EADS Defence & Security (DS) will equip the German helicopters of the type NH90 with the military version of its HELLAS obstacle warning system
• EADS Defence & Security delivers IT-Infrastructure to NATO Headquarters EADS 15 Jan 2008 -- EADS Defence & Security (DS) was awarded a contract to deliver a turn key IT-Infrastructure system to 3 NATO Headquarters for 1200 users
• LOCKHEED MARTIN USES DIGITAL BEAMFORMING TECHNOLOGY TO REDEFINE RADAR STATE-OF-THE-ART Lockheed Martin 15 Jan 2008 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] successfully demonstrated digital beamforming (DBF) capability to locate and track live targets with its Scalable Solid-State S-band Radar (S4R) engineering development model.
• Northrop Grumman Wins Military Sealift Command Contract to Supply Reduction Gear Sets Northrop Grumman 15 Jan 2008 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received a contract from the Military Sealift Command (MSC) to provide replacement high-speed gear trains for MSC's T-AOE 6 Supply-class fast combat support ships.
• Raytheon's Paveway(TM) Weapons Garner December Bookings of More Than $150 Million Raytheon 15 Jan 2008 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) was awarded more than $150 million worth of contracts in December for the combat-proven Paveway(TM) family of precision-guided munitions.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 15 Jan 2008
• As Sri Lanka ceasefire ends, top UN official urges respect for human rights UN News Centre 15 Jan 2008 -- Following the Government's decision to end the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement that halted a decades-long conflict with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the United Nations human rights chief has called on both parties to abide by their obligations under international law to protect civilians.
• Over 500,000 people displaced in DR Congo last year, says UN UN News Centre 15 Jan 2008 -- More than a half a million people have been displaced in the past 12 months in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), mainly due to fighting between Government and rebel groups in the country's volatile northeast, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.
• Military leaders of Sudan and UN-AU Darfur force discuss deployment UN News Centre 15 Jan 2008 -- Sudan's top military officer and his counterpart from the new United Nations-African Union (AU) hybrid mission, known as UNAMID, met today to discuss issues pertaining to the deployment of the joint peacekeeping force which seeks to end the violence in the war-ravaged Darfur region.
• Security Council extends UN operation in Côte d'Ivoire for further six months UN News Centre 15 Jan 2008 -- The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and French forces supporting it until 30 July so the world body can support the holding of free, open, fair and transparent elections.
• UN dispatches more aid as Kenya crisis continues UN News Centre 15 Jan 2008 -- United Nations agencies are bolstering their assistance to Kenyans in the aftermath of the deadly wave of violence which erupted after last month's disputed elections, claiming more than 500 lives and displacing hundreds of thousands.
• Germany's Merkel urges unified position on Kosovo IRNA 15 Jan 2008 -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for Europe's unified stance on the unsettled question over the final status of the breakaway province of Kosovo.
• UN Envoy to Somalia Optimistic About Talks Between Government, Opposition VOA 15 Jan 2008 -- The U.N. special envoy for Somalia says the Somali transitional government and the opposition alliance are talking - and that he is hopeful the talks could lead to reconciliation in the war-torn nation.
• DRC-RWANDA: Government says 30 percent of FDLR are Congolese, calls on them to disarm IRIN 15 Jan 2008 -- A senior government official in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has claimed that about 30 percent of members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which has been active in eastern DRC for more than a decade, were actually Congolese citizens, and called on them to hand over their weapons before a forcible disarmament operation in mid-March.
• Russia: Court Charges Beslan Victims' Group With 'Extremism' RFE/RL 15 Jan 2008 -- The winter holidays are a difficult time for the many families that lost relatives in the hostage drama that struck the small North Ossetian town of Beslan in September 2004.
• Nine Palestinians killed in Israeli army operation in Gaza RIA Novosti 15 Jan 2008 -- Nine Palestinians were killed and about 40 wounded in an operation conducted by Israeli troops on the eastern borders of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, a local health official said.
• DRC President Kabila Arrives at Goma Peace Conference VOA 15 Jan 2008 -- Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has arrived in the eastern town of Goma to attend a peace conference on the conflict in the Kivu provinces.
• At Least 18 Dead in Gaza Border Violence VOA 15 Jan 2008 -- At least 14 Palestinian militants and three Palestinian civilians were killed during an Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip

News Reports

• Rice Condemns Latest Beirut Bombing VOA 15 Jan 2008 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned the bomb blast that struck a U.S. embassy vehicle Tuesday in Beirut as an act of terrorism
• India, China Laud Closer Ties VOA 15 Jan 2008 -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has wound up a three-day visit to Beijing on an upbeat note, as both sides praised a growing friendship between the two Asian giants