• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 18 Mar 2008 [PDF]
• Soldiers Capture High-Value Target During Night Raid AFPS 18 Mar 2008 -- U.S. soldiers captured an individual designated a "high-value target" for his role in several improvised explosive device attacks during a raid in Narhwan, Iraq, March 16.
• Detained Terrorists Reveal Al Qaeda Recruiting Process AFPS 18 Mar 2008 -- Information culled from 48 foreign fighters in custody of Multinational Force Iraq yields a profile for al Qaeda foreign terrorists, a senior military official said yesterday.
• Afghanistan must do more to address impunity, advance human rights - UN UN News Centre 18 Mar 2008 -- The Afghan Government must do more to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice, a senior United Nations official said today, warning that unless impunity is addressed, past crimes will continue to undermine the future of the young democracy.

Defense Policy / Programs

• MILCON: Rebuilding U.S. Army Hawaii Army News 18 Mar 2008 -- The Honolulu District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is managing a number of projects at Schofield Barracks, Fort Shafter, Tripler Army Medical Center, and other locations throughout the state of Hawaii.
• Soldier Input Helps JLENS System Design Army News 18 Mar 2008 -- Early user assessment is akin to kicking the tires on a new vehicle. It's best for the designers to get the user's input before the final product.
• DoD Releases Sexual Assault Report Army News 18 Mar 2008 -- Defense officials released the "Report on Sexual Assault in the Military" for the 2007 fiscal year March 14, revealing out of 2,688 reported cases, about 2,000 of the victims opted to share information with law enforcement officers .
• 64 Universities to Receive $200 Million in Research Funding Northrop Gruman 18 Mar 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today 34 awards to academic institutions to perform multi-disciplinary basic research.
• CVW 5 Conducts FCLP at Iwo To, Japan Navy NewsStand 18 Mar 2008 -- Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 conducted night field carrier landing practice (FCLP) on the island of Iwo To (formerly Iwo Jima), March 14 to sharpen their landing skills prior to embarking USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).
• MSC Cargo Ship Loads U.S. Army Equipment Bound for Middle East Navy NewsStand 18 Mar 2008 -- Military Sealift Command's (MSC) large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship (LMSR) USNS Gilliland (T-AKR 298) loaded more than 150,000 square feet of U.S. Army equipment in Antwerp, Belgium, March 15-18.
• Nassau Sailors and Marines Tour Ronda, Spain Navy NewsStand 18 Mar 2008 -- The amphibious assault ship USS Nassau (LHA 4) made a port visit to Rota, March 7-10, before transiting the Strait of Gibraltar and entering the Mediterranean Sea while deployed to the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility.
• Harry S. Truman Conducts RAS with USNS Arctic Navy NewsStand 18 Mar 2008 -- Sailors on board USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) conducted a replenishment-at-sea (RAS) with the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE8) March 1.
• Nassau Sailors Visit Gibraltar before entering Mediterranean Navy NewsStand 18 Mar 2008 -- Sailors from the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau (LHA 4) took the opportunity to visit Gibraltar during a recent port visit to nearby Rota, Spain, March 7-10.
• Fleet Surgical Team 2 Performs Surgery at Sea aboard USS Nassau Navy NewsStand 18 Mar 2008 -- Fleet Surgical Team 2 has performed several surgical procedures since deploying aboard USS Nassau (LHA 4) to the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation Feb. 20.
• Navy Expeditionary Forces Help Prevent Wars, Build Global Partnerships Navy NewsStand 18 Mar 2008 -- An exposition in Virginia Beach, March 11-13, highlighted how the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) enables a unified Maritime Strategy, which highlights the fact that "preventing wars is as important as winning wars."
• 2008 Sea-Air-Space Exposition Kicks Off Navy NewsStand 18 Mar 2008 -- The Navy League's 2008 Sea-Air-Space Exposition, appropriately themed "Global Maritime Security," kicked off March 18, at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel in Washington.
• CNO serves as panelist at Sea-Air-Space Exposition Navy NewsStand 18 Mar 2008 -- Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead was a panelist at the Navy League's 2008 Sea-Air-Space (SAS) Exposition for a seminar entitled "Seapower and America's Security" on March 18.
• U.S., Russian Officials Agree to Create Strategic Framework Document AFPS 18 Mar 2008 -- After two days of intense talks here, U.S. and Russian officials have agreed to a draft of a "strategic framework" document that will hopefully guide the two sides through dealing with tough issues such as a European missile defense plan.
• U.S./Russia: Rice, Gates Hold Talks With Counterparts, Opposition RFE/RL 18 Mar 2008 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have met with members of the Russian opposition.
• Russia, U.S. fail to reach breakthrough on missile shield RIA Novosti 18 Mar 2008 -- Top officials from Russia and the United States failed on Tuesday to reach an agreement on Washington's controversial missile defense plans for Central Europe, but agreed to continue talks.
• Rice: No Deal Yet with Moscow on Missile Defense VOA 18 Mar 2008 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says no agreement has been reached with Russia on U.S. plans to deploy a missile defense system in Central Europe.
• Press Gaggle by Tony Fratto The White House 18 Mar 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 18, 2008
• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Completes Assembly of Flight Clearance Scramjet for the X-51A Pratt & Whitney 18 Mar 2008 -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has completed assembly of flight clearance engine SJX61-2 as part of the Scramjet Engine Demonstrator-WaveRider (SED-WR) Program.
• F-35C STEALTH ON THE CARRIER DECK MEANS HIGH PERFORMANCE, LOW MAINTENANCE Lockheed Martin 18 Mar 2008 -- The U.S. Navy's version of the Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] F-35 Lightning II is scheduled to make its first flight next year, but technicians have spent the last decade perfecting the aircraft's stealth design and materials to ensure they stand up to harsh carrier-deck and combat conditions with very little upkeep
• General Dynamics Successfully Integrates Littoral Combat Ship Mission Package Computing Environment General Dynamics 18 Mar 2008 -- General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems and the U.S. Navy have successfully integrated the mission package computing environment aboard the General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) "INDEPENDENCE" under construction in Mobile, Ala. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), is the core mission system integrator for the General Dynamics LCS.
• Raytheon Awarded $89 million for Airborne Low Frequency Sonar Raytheon 18 Mar 2008 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received two U.S. Navy contracts with a total value of $89 million for the AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar system, the primary undersea warfare sensor for the U.S. Navy's MH-60R multi-mission helicopter.
• Raytheon Delivers SeaRAM to USS Independence Raytheon 18 Mar 2008 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has delivered its SeaRAM anti-ship missile defense weapon system for installation aboard the littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS-2).

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 18 Mar 2008
• Georgian Separatists Say Spy Plane Shot Down VOA 18 Mar 2008 -- Separatists in Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia say their forces have shot down an unmanned Georgian spy plane over the Black Sea.
• Georgia: President Says New Approach Needed On Abkhaz Conflict RFE/RL 18 Mar 2008 -- On his second day of an official visit to the United States, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili met in New York with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
• SOMALIA: Land dispute erupts in Galkayo, 10 killed IRIN 18 Mar 2008 -- Ten people have been killed and at least 20 others injured in inter-clan fighting over land in Somalia's central town of Galkayo in the Mudug region, sources told IRIN on 18 March.
• Somalia: opportunity to bring lasting peace must be seized - Ban Ki-moon UN News Centre 18 Mar 2008 -- Despite the volatile security and dire humanitarian conditions many Somalis face, the window of opportunity to bring a durable peace to the war-torn Horn of African nation must be seized, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report made public today.
• Latest round of UN-led talks on Western Sahara wrap up in New York UN News Centre 18 Mar 2008 -- The fourth and latest round of United Nations-led talks, bringing together representatives from Morocco and the Frente Polisario, wrapped up today on the outskirts of New York City, with both sides once again pledging to continue negotiations.
• Sudanese-Chadian relations vital to ending Darfur conflict, says UN envoy UN News Centre 18 Mar 2008 -- Improving the relationship between Sudan and Chad is crucial to achieving a durable solution to the conflict wracking Darfur, the United Nations and African Union envoys said today after wrapping up two days of consultations in Geneva with key members of the international community.
• Trial of former top Serbian security figures delayed by UN war crimes tribunal UN News Centre 18 Mar 2008 -- The start of the war crimes trial of two former high-level officials with the Serbian secret service was today postponed by the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with worst crimes in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s because of the medical problems of one of the men.
• Chad: UN agency moves Central African refugees away from border area UN News Centre 18 Mar 2008 -- The United Nations refugee agency has begun moving some of the estimated 14,000 refugees who recently fled violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) away from the border in southern Chad to more accessible areas.
• U.S., Russia urge Kosovo sides to refrain from violence RIA Novosti 18 Mar 2008 -- The United States and Russia believe all sides in Kosovo must refrain from violence and avoid any provocation, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Moscow on Tuesday.

News Reports

• International tribunal for Lebanon killings reaches start-up phase - UN report UN News Centre 18 Mar 2008 -- The international tribunal being set up to try those responsible for political killings in Lebanon, particularly the 2005 attack that killed former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, has moved into its start-up phase, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
• Credible referendum and election process in Myanmar's interests, says UN envoy UN News Centre 18 Mar 2008 -- It is in Myanmar's interest to ensure that its upcoming referendum and elections are as credible and inclusive as possible and to engage without delay in dialogue with the detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the United Nations envoy to the Asian country told the Security Council today.
• China blames Dalai Lama for Tibet violence RIA Novosti 18 Mar 2008 -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao lashed out at the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on Tuesday, accusing him of being behind the recent violent demonstrations in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
• Tibetan Government-in-Exile Says 19 More Shot Dead in New Protests VOA 18 Mar 2008 -- Tibet's India-based government-in-exile says at least 99 people have been killed in unrest over the past week, including 19 Tibetans who were shot dead by security forces Tuesday in new protests in China's western Gansu province.
• Dalai Lama Says He Will Resign If Violence in Tibet Continues VOA 18 Mar 2008 -- Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, says he will resign as head of the Tibetan exile administration if violence in his homeland worsens
• China's Premier Denounces Dalai Lama VOA 18 Mar 2008 -- China's premier is calling the Dalai Lama a separatist and blaming him for organizing the violence in Tibet last week that killed at least 13 people
• Russia: Election-Season 'Hostages' Find Release RFE/RL 18 Mar 2008 -- Like most Russians, Maksim Reznik knew the March 2 presidential election was sure to end in a landslide victory for Dmitry Medvedev, the anointed successor of outgoing President Vladimir Putin