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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 30 May 2008 [PDF]
• May 29 airpower summary: C-130s transport troops AFPN 30 May 2008
• Iraq Operations See 13 Enemy Killed, 14 Captured AFPS 30 May 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi troops killed 13 enemy fighters and captured 14 others during recent operations, military officials said.
• CTF 150 Helps Maintain A Lawful Maritime Order Navy NewsStand 30 May 2008 -- Some of the world's most heavily traveled waters are in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden. Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, a multinational coalition task force, is conducting operations in these busy and sometimes dangerous waters to help build a lawful maritime order.
• Troops in Afghanistan Kill Enemy Fighters Detain 20 AFPS 30 May 2008 -- Several enemy fighters were killed and 20 were detained during separate operations in Afghanistan yesterday, military officials said.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Anniston Demilitarizes Last VX Projectile Army News 30 May 2008 -- All 139,581 nerve agent VX-filled artillery shells that had been stored here for decades have now been demilitarized at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.
• Army North Prepares for Hurricane Season Army News 30 May 2008 -- Hurricane season begins in June and U.S. Army North has been planning in order to anticipate the needs of federal, state and local partners and speed any military response to those affected by natural disasters.
• Army Expands Battlemind Training Army News 30 May 2008 -- Due to its success preparing Soldiers for deployment, the Army has decided to transition Battlemind training from a deployment cycle requirement to standard training Armywide.
• Pentagon says AFRICOM Will Be Ready for Full Operations October 1 VOA 30 May 2008 -- The U.S. Defense Department says it is committed to launching its new Africa Command on time in October, and with the same capabilities as other major U.S. military commands
• Ghost-imaging could have satellite application AFPN 30 May 2008 -- Investigators funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research are conducting research under the name of "ghost-imaging," where a visual image of an object is created by means of light that has never interacted with the object.
• U.S.-German exchange pilots showcase interoperability AFPN 30 May 2008 -- Enhancing the U.S.-German military-to-military relationship and promoting standardization and interoperability of equipment are key themes of the Berlin Airshow.
• Coin-sized sensor can detect bombs AFPN 30 May 2008 -- An Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded team has created an inexpensive sensor the size of a penny that detects bombs made with improvised peroxide explosive devices.
• Centralization at AFPC of separation actions complete AFPN 30 May 2008 -- Under the Personnel Services Delivery Transformation initiative, beginning May 30 the Air Force Personnel Center here became the service center for all separation actions to include providing Airmen with their separation orders and DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.
• Kunsan Airmen exercise with RSAF AFPN 30 May 2008 -- Enhancing interoperability and allied war fighting lethality are just a few of the aims for Kunsan Air Base airmen currently mobilized to the Republic of Singapore.
• AMC stands up first overseas wing AFPN 30 May 2008 -- Air Mobility Command officials will stand up a new wing June 5 as part of its en route structure in the Pacific.
• Kadena medics deploy on Mercy mission AFPN 30 May 2008 -- Airmen from the 18th Medical Group deployed May 22 to Pacific Partnership 2008, a joint mission with the Navy aboard the hospital ship Mercy.
• Army Adjusts to New Battlefield, General Says AFPS 30 May 2008 -- The Army has continued to refine the way it fights in today's modern battlefield, a senior military official said yesterday.
• Mullen Cites Value of Hotline, Military Contacts With China AFPS 30 May 2008 -- In the wake of the first operational use of a new hotline linking U.S. and Chinese military leaders, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today he hopes military-to-military ties between the countries continue to increase and evolve.
• First FCS Manned Vehicle to Make Public Debut Army News 30 May 2008 -- The first of the manned ground vehicles in Future Combat Systems will be unveiled in the week leading up to the Army's 233rd birthday, June 14.
• Combat Outpost Named for Fallen Soldier Army News 30 May 2008 -- Soldiers at a remote combat outpost in Nuristan province, Afghanistan, have renamed their base to remember a fallen comrade: Spc. Jacob Lowell.
• CTF 59 Completes Disaster Relief Training Exercise Navy NewsStand 30 May 2008 -- Commander, Task Force 59 (CTF 59) completed a humanitarian assistance exercise May 25, designed to improve their collective response capabilities in the event of a natural disaster.
• Kitty Hawk Bids Japan Sayonara for the Last Time Navy NewsStand 30 May 2008 -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) left Japan for the last time May 28, with hundreds of friends, family members and distinguished visitors watching as the ship left the piers where it has operated from for nearly a decade.
• ONR and NOAA Participate in Deep Partnership Navy NewsStand 30 May 2008 -- Navy technologists with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and archaeologists with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found common ground during two-week test and demonstration of autonomous underwater vehicles.
• USS Carr Completes Caribbean Security Cruise Navy NewsStand 30 May 2008 -- USS Carr (FFG 52) returned home May 24, after a two-month deployment to the Western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.
• Seabees Begin Renovations at Second El Salvador Site Navy NewsStand 30 May 2008 -- Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 303, embarked aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4) May 26, and began renovations and repairs at El Salvador's Miravalle school house as a part of Continuing Promise (CP) 2008.
• U.S. and Philippine Seabees Work Together in Palawan Navy NewsStand 30 May 2008 -- Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133, homeported in Gulfport, Miss., arrived in Puerto Princess, Palawan, a Republic of the Philippines, May 25, and began unloading supplies to help rebuild an elementary school.
• Gates Arrives in Singapore for Asia Security Summit AFPS 30 May 2008 -- Arriving here for the 7th annual Asia Security Summit, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he plans to assure regional allies and friends that the United States hasn't lost focus on or commitment to the region.
• Gates Views Massive Growth Under Way in Guam AFPS 30 May 2008 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates got a firsthand look at growth under way here to prepare for the arrival of more than 8,000 Marines from Okinawa, Japan, by 2014.
• Psychiatrist Underscores Army Leadership's Mental Health Commitment AFPS 30 May 2008 -- The Army is committed to improving its mental health services by providing better inpatient access and access to care, and eliminating the stigma associated with seeking behavioral health assistance, a senior Army psychiatrist said yesterday.
• Navy, Army Work Together in Exercise Trident Arch Navy NewsStand 30 May 2008 -- The Navy Expeditionary Medical Support Command (NEMSCOM) has been successfully running Exercise Trident Arch aboard Naval Weapons Station Yorktown-Cheatham Annex since April 9.
• Turkmenistan: NATO Finds New Partner In Central Asia RFE/RL 30 May 2008 -- NATO has a new and, some might say, unexpected partner in Central Asia -- Turkmenistan.
• Venezuela to deploy two new Russian Su-30 fighter jets RIA Novosti 30 May 2008 -- Venezuela will put two new Russian Su-30 fighter planes on combat duty on Friday, bringing the total number to 22, news agency ABN cited the president as saying.
• Navy chief says Russia could have 100 warships in Ukraine RIA Novosti 30 May 2008 -- The Russian Navy commander said on Friday the Black Sea Fleet could increase the number of warships at its base in Sevastopol, in Ukraine's Crimea, to 100.
• Delegates From 111 Countries Sign Treaty Banning Cluster Bombs VOA 30 May 2008 -- Delegates from 111 countries have formally adopted a comprehensive ban on cluster bombs.
• Press Briefing by Dana Perino The White House 30 May 2008
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 30 May 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for May 30, 2008
• Pratt & Whitney's F135 Powers First F-35B STOVL-Mode Test Pratt & Whitney 30 May 2008 -- Pratt & Whitney's F135 short-takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) propulsion system powered the first F-35B Lightning II's STOVL-mode ground test at Lockheed Martin's STOVL Operations Test Facility in Fort Worth, Texas
• Russia launches production of new MiG-29M/M2 fighter RIA Novosti 30 May 2008 -- The Sokol aircraft plant, based in Nizhny Novgorod, central Russia, is to launch production of the MiG-29M/M2 Fulcrum fighter plane, the company's general director said on Friday.
• F414-powered Gripen Demonstrator makes successful first flight GE Aviation 30 May 2008 -- The Saab Gripen Demonstrator aircraft powered by a GE F414G engine successfully completed its first flight on May 27 at Saab, Linkoping, Sweden. The flight lasted 30 minutes and completed all planned goals.
• Efficient, realistic training for ground forces Rheinmetall Defence 30 May 2008 -- Rheinmetall will soon be responsible for running the GÜZ, one of the world's most advanced combat training centres, a German Army facility located in the Altmark district of Saxony-Anhalt. Starting 1 September 2008, Rheinmetall will take over management of the GÜZ, which the company also played the leading role in creating.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 30 May 2008
• PRESS CONFERENCE ON UPCOMING SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION TO AFRICA United Nations 30 May 2008
• Blue helmets have saved countless lives, UN peacekeeping chief says UN News Centre 30 May 2008 -- United Nations peacekeepers can claim credit for saving numerous lives over the past six decades by stabilizing countries that were previously engulfed by protracted war or unrest, the head of the world body's peacekeeping operations said today.
• Bosnia-Herzegovina: Selling Information About Mass Graves RFE/RL 30 May 2008 -- News reports about trafficking in information regarding the location of human remains from the 1992-95 conflict recently caused a stir in Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Lavrov says UN talks on Georgian drone futile without Abkhazia RIA Novosti 30 May 2008 -- Russia's foreign minister said a UN Security Council meeting to be held on Friday on a dispute over a downed Georgian spy plane will be futile without the participation of the breakaway republic of Abkhazia.
• Georgia says suspends drone flights over breakaway Abkhazia RIA Novosti 30 May 2008 -- Georgia has suspended unmanned reconnaissance flights over Abkhazia, but could resume them in the event of a threat from the breakaway region, the Caucasus state's UN ambassador said on Friday.

News Reports

• Backgrounder: Profile: Hassan Nasrallah cfr.org 30 May 2008
• Analysis: Hezbollah's Shadow War cfr.org 30 May 2008 -- If politics were its principle yardstick, Hezbollah's new ability to veto the decisions of the Lebanese government might seem conclusive
• Myanmar: UN welcomes increased access for international aid workers UN News Centre 30 May 2008 -- The United Nations today welcomed the Myanmar Government's decision to allow more international aid workers into the hardest-hit areas in the country to support the ongoing recovery effort after Cyclone Nargis.
• UN Officials Condemn Burma's Forced Eviction of Cyclone Victims from Relief Centers VOA 30 May 2008 -- Burma's military government has begun forcing cyclone victims to leave relief centers and return to their homes in the devastated Irawaddy Delta
• GUINEA: Mutinous soldiers stand down after pay-off IRIN 30 May 2008 -- According to initial reports 101 people have been injured and two killed in the Guinean capital Conakry since 26 May when military officers demanding pay-offs from the government started rioting at three military camps across the city and then entered a four day stand-off with the loyalist presidential guard.
• Negotiations Begin in Guinea After Weeklong Riots Begin to Calm VOA 30 May 2008 -- Guinea military officials pleaded with young, rioting soldiers to stop this week's violence, which has left dozens injured
• Analysis: Is Georgian Opposition Still Force To Be Reckoned With? RFE/RL 30 May 2008 -- The Georgian parliamentary elections on May 21 gave President Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement for a Victorious Georgia a constitutional majority in the new legislature, but appear only to have perpetuated the political polarization that resulted from the crackdown on opposition supporters last November and the disputed preterm presidential ballot on January 5.
• Armenia: Top Police, Security Officials Dismissed RFE/RL 30 May 2008 -- In recent days, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has dismissed both the head of the State Protection Service, Girgory Sarkisian (to whom he is not related) and national police chief Lieutenant General Hayk Harutiunian in what some observers believe is an attempt to distance himself from men who played a key role in the crackdown in Yerevan on March 1-2 on opposition demonstrators protesting the perceived falsification of the February 19 presidential ballot
• Israel's PM Faces Increasing Pressure over Corruption Scandal VOA 30 May 2008 -- Israel's embattled prime minister is under increasing pressure, amid growing calls for early elections, even from within his own party
• Japan cancels plans to send aid to China in military planes RIA Novosti 30 May 2008 -- Japan's government announced on Friday it has cancelled plans to use military planes to deliver aid to a quake-hit Chinese province, and will fly the supplies over in private charter planes.
• Japan Decides Not to Send Military to Deliver Quake Aid to China VOA 30 May 2008 -- The Japanese government has announced it will not use military planes to deliver aid to earthquake victims in China.
• Russia: Putin Keeps The Upper Hand In Paris Talks RFE/RL 30 May 2008 -- As prime minister, Vladimir Putin is officially in charge of Russia's $1.3 trillion economy.