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Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 07 Jul 2009 [PDF]
• July 6 airpower summary: Tanker crews put in long hours AFNS 07 Jul 2009 -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and ISAF troops in Afghanistan during operations.
• HMLA-169’s OIF detachment to join squadron in Afghanistan (Al Asad) MNF-I 07 Jul 2009 -- After serving in Iraq for approximately three months, a detachment of Marines from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 will soon join the remainder of their squadron serving in Afghanistan
• Transportation Soldiers adapt to ever-changing mission Army News 07 Jul 2009 -- Soldiers of 3/70th Transportation Company have adapted to ever-changing mission requirements here.
• New engineer excavator stands up to anti-tank mine Army News 07 Jul 2009 -- Army's new High Mobility Engineer Excavator saved life of a Soldier in Iraq, when an anti-tank mine exploded as he was digging trench.
• U.S. Marines Secure Southernmost Point of Operations in Afghanistan USMC News 07 Jul 2009 -- United States Marine Corps secured the southernmost point of operations in Helmand province.
• Soldiers Assess Afghan Polling Sites to Ensure Security AFPS 07 Jul 2009 -- Soldiers from the 554th Military Police Company assessing polling sites here for next month’s Afghan elections.
• On the Ground: U.S. Forces Boost Security, Commerce in Afghanistan AFPS 07 Jul 2009 -- U.S. forces are helping to equip Afghan forces with the tools they need to improve security and commerce in Afghanistan.
• Kyrgyz president signs law on U.S. Manas transit center RIA Novosti 07 Jul 2009 -- Kyrgyz President Bakiyev signed a law allowing US to continue using Manas base for the transit of troops and supplies to Afghanistan.
• Suspected US Drone Attack Kills 14 in Pakistan VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Intelligence officials in Pakistan: Suspected US drone has fired missiles into a Taliban training camp in northwest Pakistan.
• PAKISTAN: IDP health in the spotlight IRIN 07 Jul 2009 -- The health problems faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the over 20 camps in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) are being made worse by a combination of lack of funds, a lack of women doctors and cultural constraints which dictate that it is not appropriate for male doctors to tend to women or girls.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Obama Proposes New Security Relationship with Russia AFPS 07 Jul 2009 -- President Obama called on current generations free from Cold War antipathy to chart a new course of US-Russian relations.
• Obama Urges Partnership With Russia, But Also Issues Challenges RFE/RL 07 Jul 2009 -- US President Obama: US and Russia can put aside their past roles as adversaries and cooperate on common interests.
• Obama Outlines Vision of Common Goals Between US, Russia VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- US President Obama is urging Russians to work with the United States to tackle the big security and economic problems of our time.
• U.S. media praise Obama-Medvedev summit despite doubts RIA Novosti 07 Jul 2009 -- US media and experts generally hailed summit of Obama and Medvedev as reengagement, but little had really changed.
• Russia's Lavrov says U.S. missile shield plans counterproductive RIA Novosti 07 Jul 2009 -- Moscow hopes Washington will realize the 'counter productivity' of its plan to deploy missile shield in central Europe.
• Obama pledges to consider Russia's missile defense concerns RIA Novosti 07 Jul 2009 -- US President Obama pledged to consider Russia's concerns on missile defense.
• Top Defense Lawyer Calls for Military Commissions Reform AFPS 07 Jul 2009 -- Closing detention center in Guantanamo Bay and reforming military commissions will enhance national security.
• Air Force Announcements DoD 07 Jul 2009 -- The chief of staff, Air Force announces the assignment of the following general officers
• GW Carrier Strike Group Sailors Volunteer for Aussie Wildlife Navy NewsStand 07 Jul 2009 -- A group of George Washington Carrier Strike Group Sailors performed maintenance and upkeep at an animal rehabilitation center July 4 as part of a community relations (COMREL) project.
• New Pearl Harbor Fitness Center Centralizes Personal Readiness Navy NewsStand 07 Jul 2009 -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific awarded Kiewit Building Group, Inc. of Honolulu, a $24.4 million firm-fixed price contract July 6 for the construction of a new fitness center to meet the physical readiness, training, and recreational needs of military personnel at Naval Station (NS) Pearl Harbor.
• 'Gold Eagle' Begins First Chapter of Second Lifespan with New Captain Navy NewsStand 07 Jul 2009 -- USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) held a change of command ceremony July 7.
• Stethem Sailors Strengthen Ties in Russia Navy NewsStand 07 Jul 2009 -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63), departed the port city of Vladivostok after a five-day visit beginning July 1.
• Essex Welcomes Australian Public Navy NewsStand 07 Jul 2009 -- Thousands of visitors toured the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) during a four-day port visit to the Australian city of Cairns July 2-5.
• Chairman Cites Dialogue as Key to Middle East Strategy AFPS 07 Jul 2009 -- Strategy in greater Middle East “is not about how many enemy we kill, but about how many civilians we protect."
• 1st Armored Division Brigade activated at Fort Bliss Army News 07 Jul 2009 -- Evolution of Fort Bliss and the Army continued with activation ceremony of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division.
• Devil Brigade first to field new grenade launcher Army News 07 Jul 2009 -- Barrels hot in the Army's charter fielding of the new M-320 grenade launcher at Range 23.
• NASA research to help aircraft avoid ocean storms, turbulence AFNS 07 Jul 2009 -- NASA officials funding development of system to provide aircraft with updates about severe storms and turbulence as they fly.
• Navy Commands Leverage Supply Chain Expertise in Southeast Region Navy NewsStand 07 Jul 2009 -- Material management and related purchase functions transferred from Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast to Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Jacksonville.
• USS Shoup Supports NORAD in Air Defense Exercise Navy NewsStand 07 Jul 2009 -- Guided-missile destroyer, USS Shoup (DDG 86) wrapped up participation in joint air and space exercise Amalgam Dart.
• Air mobility, tanker support key elements of Global Thunder AFNS 07 Jul 2009 -- Air Mobility Command airlift and tanker support were key contributors to Exercise Global Thunder 2009.
• Former U.S. Navy Helicopters Delivered to Argentina Navy NewsStand 07 Jul 2009 -- Two former US Navy UH-3H helicopters were delivered to Argentina to become part of that country's navy.
• Two dead, 1 wounded in MiG-29 crash near Serbian capital RIA Novosti 07 Jul 2009 -- Two people were killed and one slightly wounded after a MiG-29 belonging to the Serbian Air Force crashed.
• UN to strengthen peacekeeping efforts amid rising demand UN News Centre 07 Jul 2009 -- Secretary-General Ban highlighted a new effort to strengthen United Nations peacekeeping.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 07 Jul 2009

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for July 07, 2009
• Modified Boeing Chinook Mk3 Successfully Completes 1st Test Flight Boeing 07 Jul 2009 -- Boeing Defence UK Ltd., a subsidiary of The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], today announced that a UK Chinook Mk3 helicopter successfully completed its first test flight on June 6 at the Ministry of Defence's Boscombe Down facility during the flight testing and evaluation phase of the Mk3 reversion program.
• U.S. Army Receives First Lockheed Martin EQ-36 Counterfire Target Acquisition Radar System Lockheed Martin 07 Jul 2009 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has delivered the first Non-Recurring Engineering Enhanced AN/TPQ-36 Counterfire Target Acquisition (EQ-36) Radar System to the U.S. Army.
• Northrop Grumman Delivers Upgraded U.S. Navy Targets Northrop Grumman 07 Jul 2009 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has delivered to the U.S. Navy two retrofitted BQM-34 Firebee aerial targets, the first delivery in a series of BQM-34 targets retrofitted with current production avionics hardware and software capability from the BQM-74E product line.
• Manufacturing of Northrop Grumman's First Low-Rate Initial Production E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Begins Northrop Grumman 07 Jul 2009 -- Manufacturing of Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) first Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, the sixth E-2D to be produced, has kicked off with the start of keel assembly at the company's East Coast Manufacturing and Flight Test Center in St. Augustine, Fla.
• SAIC Awarded $13 Million Contract to Support Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Machine Reading Program SAIC 07 Jul 2009 -- Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE: SAI) today announced it has been awarded a prime contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U. S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). SAIC will create a research framework for the development of reading system technologies and evaluate the performance of these technologies in support of DARPA's Machine Reading program. The contract has a five year period of performance and is valued at more than $13 million. Work will be performed primarily in Arlington, Va.
• CACI Awarded New $34 Million Prime Contract to Continue Support for U.S. Army Intelligence Database CACI 07 Jul 2009 -- CACI International Inc (NYSE:CACI) announced today that it has been awarded a new $34 million prime contract to continue supporting a classified U.S. Army intelligence database that is part of the Facilities, Infrastructure, and Engineering Systems (FIRES) program. CACI had previously served as subcontractor on this effort but has now been awarded the prime position as a result of the contract being recompeted.
• GE Aviation Performs Navigation System Flight Testing for Aerial Refueling Applications GE Aviation 07 Jul 2009 -- GE Aviation successfully completed initial flight testing of its Electro-Optical Grid Reference System (EOGRS) for aerial refueling applications in late June. This activity demonstrates that GE's grid navigation system is on target to support automatic aerial refueling of both manned and unmanned aircraft using either probe and drogue or boom and receptacle techniques.
• GE's GE38 Engine Initiates First Full Engine Testing GE Aviation 07 Jul 2009 -- GE ushered in a new era of helicopter propulsion on June 24 when the GE38 engine began its first full engine test at GE Aviation's Lynn, Massachusetts, facility.
• U.S. Army and Oshkosh Defense Start Preproduction Efforts for the New Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET A1) Oshkosh 07 Jul 2009 -- Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), received a $9.4 million contract modification from the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC) to begin durability and performance testing of the new Oshkosh® Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) A1 model. Testing of the HET A1, which includes several performance, maintenance and survivability enhancements, will take place at Yuma Proving Ground.
• A cut above – construction of biggest ever British warships begins Thales 07 Jul 2009 -- Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal marked the start of construction on the first of two new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers for the UK’s Armed Forces, by ceremonially cutting steel for the hull of the Queen Elizabeth.
• Bristol aircraft carrier team celebrate royal steel cutting ceremony Thales 07 Jul 2009 -- A significant milestone in the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier programme was achieved today when The Princess Royal performed the steel cutting of the first of the ships at BVT Surface Fleet’s Govan shipyard in Glasgow.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 07 Jul 2009
• Israeli, Egyptian Presidents Hold Talks in Cairo VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Israeli President Peres told Egyptian President Mubarak the Jewish state has no desire to increase settlement activity, and it accepts a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
• Unresolved issues hindering permanent peace between Israel and Lebanon - UN report UN News Centre 07 Jul 2009 -- Cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon continues to hold but remains fragile owing to a number of unresolved issues.
• Moscow rejects blame for closure of UN, OSCE Caucasus missions RIA Novosti 07 Jul 2009 -- Western "regret" over the withdrawal of the UN and OSCE missions from the Caucasus "hypocritical."
• Georgia Won't Extradite Russian Deserter RFE/RL 07 Jul 2009 -- Georgia will not extradite former Russian Army Sergeant Aleksandr Glukhov, a Georgian official has said.
• Somalia Seeks Urgent Support as it Faces Rebel Ultimatum VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Intense diplomatic activity is underway in East African capitals aimed at saving Somalia's embattled government from a determined onslaught by well-financed radical Islamist rebels.
• Number of Somalis uprooted by violence in capital tops 200,000 - UN UN News Centre 07 Jul 2009 -- More than 200,000 people have now been forced to flee the Somali capital Mogadishu since fighting broke out in early May.
• SOMALIA: Conditions worsen as more IDPs flood into Kismayo IRIN 07 Jul 2009 -- As more flee fighting in Mogadishu for southern coastal city of Kismayo, conditions for thousands already living there deteriorating.
• DRC: MONUC denounces coalition between Mayi-Mayi and Rwandan rebels IRIN 07 Jul 2009 -- UN Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo denounced a coalition formed by Congolese militia and Rwandan rebels.
• Eastern DR Congo still faces security, humanitarian challenges - Ban UN News Centre 07 Jul 2009 -- Ban: Security and humanitarian situation in the far east of DRC continues to crumble.
• Bomb Blasts Rattle Southern Philippines VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- A series of bomb blasts in the southern Philippines has killed at least six and injured scores of people.
• Prosecutors Urge ICC to Charge Bashir With Genocide VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Prosecutors at the ICC appealing court's decision not to charge Sudan's president with carrying out genocide in Darfur.
• Former Liberian Warring Factions Criticize Truth Commission Final Report VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Some former warring factions in Liberia's recent civil conflict say TRC final report is biased and politically motivated.
• Security Council extends terms of judges on UN war crimes tribunals UN News Centre 07 Jul 2009 -- UNSC extended the terms of the judges serving on the UN war crimes tribunals set up to deal with the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.
• Mali's President Says in 'Total Fight' With Al-Qaida VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Mali's President Amadou Toumani Toure: Government is waging a "total fight " against al-Qaida.

News Reports

• International Poll Finds U.S. Still Viewed As World's Bully RFE/RL 07 Jul 2009 -- A new poll conducted in 20 countries representing more than 60 percent of the world's population says feelings toward the United States haven't changed much since Barak Obama became the U.S. president.
• On Second Day Of Visit, Obama Addresses Civil Society Issues In Russia RFE/RL 07 Jul 2009 -- U.S. President Barack Obama began his day by having breakfast with Russia's hard-line prime minister, Vladimir Putin.
• Election Underscores Splits Among Iranian Clerics VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- The disputed Iranian presidential election has highlighted the divide in Iran's clerical establishment.
• Iran Opposition Calls for Release of Detainees VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Iranian reformist leaders urging authorities to release those detained during unrest that followed country's disputed presidential election.
• Mass arrests in Iran spark grave concerns from UN human rights experts UN News Centre 07 Jul 2009 -- UN human rights experts voiced concerns about the mass arrests and ill-treatment of opposition supporters.
• Clinton Urges Chinese, Uighur Restraint in Xinjiang VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Secretary of State Clinton renewed the US call on all parties in China's troubled Xinjiang region to exercise restraint after ethnic unrest.
• Protesters call for release of detainees in China riots RIA Novosti 07 Jul 2009 -- People took to the streets demanding the release of relatives arrested during inter-ethnic riots in China's Muslim Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
• Officials Impose Curfew on Restive Muslim Region of China VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Chinese state media: Government in western region of Xinjiang declared a curfew following ethnic unrest that has paralyzed the main city of Urumqi.
• Chinese Media: 1434 Arrested in Xinjiang Riots VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- State-run Chinese media say police have arrested 1,434 suspects in the deadly ethnic riots in the western Xinjiang region.
• Chinese Crack Down on Xinjiang Protesters VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- The capital of China's Xinjiang region, Urumqi, has been rocked by more protests, following a deadly clash that left more than 150 people dead.
• China says order restored in Urumqi after riots RIA Novosti 07 Jul 2009 -- China: Order restored in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, where at least 156 people were killed Sunday in interethnic clashes.
• UN human rights chief alarmed by 'major tragedy' in western China UN News Centre 07 Jul 2009 -- Top UN human rights official expressed her alarm at the high number of casualties sustained during this weekend’s rioting in Urumqi.
• Clinton Says Costa Rican President will Mediate Honduran Crisis VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- US Secretary of State Clinton: Costa Rican President Oscar Arias agreed to serve as a mediator in the Honduran political crisis.
• US Secretary of State Clinton to Meet with Ousted Honduran President VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Ousted Honduran President Zelaya scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Clinton as he continues to seek international support for his return to power.
• Demonstrations, Counter Protests Expected in Honduras VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- Both the interim government of Honduras and supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya plan demonstrations for Tuesday in the Central American nation's capital, Tegucigalpa.
• H1N1 cases confirmed in Elmendorf community AFNS 07 Jul 2009 -- Officials from Alaska Public Health Laboratory and AF School of Aerospace Medicine Laboratory confirmed several cases of influenza virus.
• Russia's row with Japan over disputed islands escalates RIA Novosti 07 Jul 2009 -- Russia's upper house of parliament called Japan's renewed claims on the Kuril islands an "insult to the Russian people."
• East Timor Leader Says Voters Will Judge Former Indonesian Military Strongman VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta says it is up to Indonesian voters to judge a former army commander who hopes to become vice president in Wednesday's elections.
• South Africa Opposition Party Dismisses Zuma's Proposed Merger VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- In South Africa, the opposition Inkatha Freedom Party has rejected as improper President Jacob Zuma's proposed merger with the ruling African National Congress.
• Nepal's Deposed King Gyanendra Expresses Concern About Country VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- BA year after he stepped down, Nepal's deposed King Gyanendra has expressed concern about his country.
• Kenya Divided on Trying of Violence Perpetrators VOA 07 Jul 2009 -- The ethnic violence following the December, 2007 elections in Kenya resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,500 people.