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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 20 Jun 2008 [PDF]
• DoD Identifies Army Casualty
• Coalition Forces Kill Four, Detain Dozens in Iraq AFPS 20 Jun 2008 -- Coalition and Iraq security forces killed four enemy fighters and detained dozens more during several operations over the past few days, military officials said.
• Afghan Officials: Suicide Bomber Kills 7 in Helmand VOA 20 Jun 2008 --Afghan officials say a suicide bomber has killed at least six civilians and one soldier serving with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan in the southern province of Helmand.
• Task Force 2/7 aids in training Afghan police recruits USMC News 20 Jun 2008 -- Afghan National Police recruits recently completed boot camp-styled military training at the Afghan National Civil Order Police training site here.
• Illinois Air National Guard gathers to help save town AFPN 20 Jun 2008 -- More than 300 Air National Guard members from across Illinois gathered June 19 to help save a small farming community from the swelling Mississippi River here.
• Guard Ratchets up in Missouri, Tackles Flooding in 5 States Army News 20 Jun 2008 -- Missouri is the latest Midwest state to see increasing numbers of National Guard Citizen-Soldiers on duty in the face of the region's worst flooding in 15 years.

Defense Policy / Programs

• President Bush Discusses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Funding For Troops The White House 20 Jun 2008
• US House of Representatives Approves Iraq, Afghanistan Funding Measure VOA 20 Jun 2008 -- After months of negotiations, a $162-billion measure to pay for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is headed for congressional approval
• Bush Praises US Congress for Cooperation on FISA, War Funding VOA 20 Jun 2008 -- U.S. President George Bush has praised Congress for its bipartisan cooperation on domestic surveillance and new war funding.
• Bush Lauds House Passage of War Funding, More GI Bill Benefits AFPS 20 Jun 2008 -- President Bush today praised the House of Representatives for passing a supplemental war spending bill that includes expanded Montgomery GI Bill benefits, and he urged the Senate to quickly do the same.
• US House of Representatives Approves Foreign Surveillance Bill VOA 20 Jun 2008 -- The House of Representatives has approved legislation updating U.S. foreign intelligence surveillance law. President Bush welcomed the bipartisan compromise measure saying it will improve U.S. capabilities to prevent another terrorist attacks
• Air Force Secretary Bids Farewell AFPS 20 Jun 2008 -- Outgoing Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne bade farewell today to the organization he's directed since November 2005.
• Symposium of War: Currently in its fourteenth year, the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise allows III MEF Marines and sailors to exchange ideas with several Southeast Asia militaries. First up for CARAT 2008: The Republic of the Philippine > USMC News 20 Jun 2008
• Air Force aims to improve electronic warfare capabilities AFPN 20 Jun 2008 -- Controlling the electromagnetic spectrum to deny or attack an adversary -- that is electronic warfare, and the Air Force is in search of ways to maximize that capability.
• 3-D imaging to help A-10 integrate latest weapons AFPN 20 Jun 2008 -- The A-10C Thunderbolt II is undergoing state-of-the-art 3-D measurement here through June 20 to help the close-air support aircraft carry the latest in smart weapons technology.
• Korea, U.S. join forces for Exercise Max Thunder AFPN 20 Jun 2008 -- Airmen and aircraft from units across the Pacific Air Forces descended June 16 to participate in Exercise Max Thunder here.
• Procurement mission at Hill transfers to DLA AFPN 20 Jun 2008 -- A June 17 activation ceremony at the Hill Aerospace Museum marked the transfer of 43 Air Force employees to the Defense Logistics Agency here.
• ACC commander speaks at Joint Warfighting Conference AFPN 20 Jun 2008 -- Gen. John Corley, Air Combat Command commander, gave the plenary address here June 20. General Corley addressed dominance, relevance and readiness during the third and final day of the Joint Warfighting Conference 2008.
• Vice Chairman Cites Need for Cyber Warfare Experimentation AFPS 20 Jun 2008 -- The services need to experiment in cyberwarfare to figure out how to use technology effectively on the battlefield, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here yesterday.
• NAS ESG Reenters the 6th Fleet Area of Operations Navy NewsStand 20 Jun 2008 -- The ships of the Nassau Strike Group (NAS ESG) reentered the Mediterranean, June 18, to conduct maritime security operations (MSO) in regional waters and theater security cooperation efforts.
• Enterprise Wins Battenberg Cup Navy NewsStand 20 Jun 2008 -- USS Enterprise's (CVN 65) commanding officer announced to the crew June 6, that for the first time in the ship's 46-year history, Big E earned the prestigious Battenberg Cup in recognition of the crew's achievements in operational excellence.
• Next Generation of Navy Uniform Arrives Navy NewsStand 20 Jun 2008 -- Five years after canvassing the fleet for suggestions on new and more practical uniforms for the 21st century, the Navy has started rolling out a year-round service uniform for Sailors E-6 and below and a Battle Dress Uniform, or BDU-style, working uniform for all ranks.
• New Russian frigate may be fitted with BrahMos cruise missiles RIA Novosti 20 Jun 2008 -- A Russian frigate being built at a shipyard in St. Petersburg may be equipped with sea-based Russian-Indian BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, a Russian defense industry official said on Friday.
• Four Russian strategic bombers patrol Arctic, Atlantic oceans RIA Novosti 20 Jun 2008 -- Four Russian strategic bombers are carrying out a routine patrol over remote areas of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, a Russian Air Force spokesman said on Friday.
• Second SBIRS payload completes early on-orbit checkout AFPN 20 Jun 2008 -- Air Force officials have successfully completed the early on-orbit checkout of the second Space Based Infrared Systems sensor operating in a highly-elliptical orbit over the northern hemisphere
• Vandenberg Airmen launch Delta II rocket AFPN 20 Jun 2008 -- Vandenberg Air Force Base officials successfully launched a Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex-2 at 12:46 a.m. June 20 here.
• Russia says missile defense talks with U.S. stalled RIA Novosti 20 Jun 2008 -- Russia's foreign minister said on Friday that talks with the United States over its missile shield plans for Central Europe have stalled.
• Press Gaggle by Tony Fratto The White House 20 Jun 2008
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 20 Jun 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for June 20, 2008
• U.S. AIR FORCE/LOCKHEED MARTIN SBIRS TEAM COMPLETES ON-ORBIT CHECKOUT OF SECOND HEO PAYLOAD Lockheed Martin 23 Jun 2008 -- A joint U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] team announced today that it has successfully completed on-orbit checkout of the second Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO-2) payload in the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation.
• F404-GE-IN20 Powers Tejas Aircraft to Successful First Flight GE Aviation 20 Jun 2008 -- The F404-GE-IN20 engine took to the skies, marking the start of flight-testing on India's Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) for the Indian Air Force. During the 44- minute flight, the F404-GE-IN20 engine demonstrated full aircraft system and instrumentation functionality, climbed to numerous mission altitudes, achieved Mach 1.1 speed and established the engine performance baseline for future flight-testing.
• Sagem Défense Sécurité proposes a new PNU artillery pointing system in collaboration with Rockwell Collins Sagem (Safran group) 20 Jun 2008 -- On the occasion of the Eurosatory 2008 exhibition, Sagem Défense Sécurité (SAFRAN Group) is presenting its new artillery Position and Navigation Unit (PNU).
• Barco and Thales partner to market command, control and intelligence solutions worldwide Thales 20 Jun 2008 -- The resulting capability combines Barco's information display solutions with tailored C4ISR content, forming a commander's decision space adapted to strategic or deployed headquarters as well as mobile command posts for defense and security customers worldwide.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 20 Jun 2008
• UN: Security Council Labels Sexual Violence A 'Tactic Of War' RFE/RL 20 Jun 2008 -- The UN Security Council has approved a resolution that demands warring governments and factions act to halt violence against women, calling rape a war crime and a component of genocide.
• War Fatalities Three Times Higher than Acknowledged VOA 20 Jun 2008 -- Researchers say three times as many people have been killed in wars over the past 50 years than has been officially acknowledged
• Russia, Serbia Oppose UN Chief's Plan to Diminish UN's Kosovo Presence VOA 20 Jun 2008 -- Divisions within the U.N. Security Council on the subject of Kosovo were apparent yet again on Friday, when the secretary-general spoke about his plan to transfer some responsibilities from the U.N. mission in Pristina to the European Union
• Kosovo plan is a 'practical and workable solution,' Ban tells Security Council UN News Centre 20 Jun 2008 -- The proposal to reconfigure the United Nations' presence in Kosovo is "a practical and workable solution" to one of the world's most intractable issues, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, warning that reaching a mutually acceptable settlement will not be easy.
• Analysis: Kosovo's Rocky Road To Statehood RFE/RL 20 Jun 2008 -- Independent Kosovo's first constitution came into force on June 15.
• UN seeks $445 million to rebuild Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon UN News Centre 20 Jun 2008 -- The United Nations and the Lebanese Government will be seeking $445 million to rebuild the devastated Nahr El-Bared Palestinian refugee camp during an international donor conference to be held in Vienna on Monday.
• DR Congo: UN mission begins sensitization training for Government troops UN News Centre 20 Jun 2008 -- Government forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are being given a week-long training course in child protection, human rights, sexual violence and military justice by the United Nations mission in the country (MONUC).
• SOMALIA: Northern Mogadishu IDPs at the mercy of the elements IRIN 20 Jun 2008 -- Exposure to the elements after heavy rains washed away shelters, and lack of adequate food, have hit many Somalis who fled the capital, Mogadishu, to seek refuge in the northern outskirts, local and civil society leaders said.

News Reports

• EU: Summit On Troubled Treaty Leaves Onus On Ireland RFE/RL 20 Jun 2008 -- EU leaders have decided to put off until October all decisions on how to proceed after Irish voters rejected the bloc's Lisbon reform treaty last week.
• Senior UN political official meets South African leader after visit to Zimbabwe UN News Centre 20 Jun 2008 -- Senior United Nations political aide Haile Menkerios met with South African President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria today, following a five-day visit to neighbouring Zimbabwe, which has been beset by deadly political violence since the first round of the presidential election on 29 March.
• Ban calls for 'redoubled' efforts on causes and consequences of forced displacement UN News Centre 20 Jun 2008 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has marked World Refugee Day today with a call for greater international solidarity to protect victims of forced displacement across the globe.
• 'Protection' the theme as UN activities mark World Refugee Day UN News Centre 20 Jun 2008 -- From recreations of refugee camp life in national capitals to film festivals, food bazaars and fashion shows, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is observing World Refugee Day today with a series of activities around the globe to draw attention to the plight faced by the displaced.
• Myanmar: UN food agency appeals for funding to keep aid helicopters flying UN News Centre 20 Jun 2008 -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it is critically short of funds to keep a fleet of ten helicopters in the air in Myanmar, where they are playing a critical role in delivering relief supplies to the 2.4 million survivors of Cyclone Nargis.
• McClellan: Bush Lost Public's Confidence VOA 20 Jun 2008 -- A former White House spokesman says Americans have lost trust in U.S. President George Bush, because he is refusing to reveal his administration's involvement in leaking the identity of a previously-covert CIA operative
• Conflicting Reports Surface on Tsvangirai Quitting Zimbabwe Runoff VOA 20 Jun 2008 -- There are conflicting reports Friday, on whether Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is considering pulling out of next week's presidential runoff election.
• European Leaders Postpone Decision on Lisbon Treaty VOA 20 Jun 2008 -- The European Union has postponed until October any decision on the future of the Lisbon Treaty.
• EU: Brussels Scraps Sanctions Against Raul Castro's Cuba RFE/RL 20 Jun 2008 -- The European Union has agreed to lift sanctions against Cuba, in a move is meant to encourage the new government in Havana to continue with reforms.