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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 28 Aug 2009 [PDF]
• 13th ESC Soldiers killed by roadside bomb (Baghdad)
• Aug. 27 airpower summary: B-1B destroys enemy position AFNS 28 Aug 2009 -- Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and ISAF in Afghanistan during operations.
• Sniper’s Eye Counters Smuggling in Iraq AFPS 28 Aug 2009 -- Marine Corps snipers and designated marksmen have been operating across the vast Iraqi deserts since the outbreak of hostilities in 2003.
• Holbrooke, Karzai Reportedly Argue Over Alleged Afghan Vote Fraud RFE/RL 28 Aug 2009 -- According to reports from Kabul, U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke is believed to have had an argument with Afghan President Hamid Karzai -- with Holbrooke complaining alleged fraud by members of Karzai's own campaign team, as well as by other candidates
• US Envoy, Afghan Incumbent President Have Tense Exchange Over Runoff VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- A private lunch meeting between incumbent Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke is reported to have turned testy when Holbrooke raised the issue of vote-rigging and fraud.
• Quick Declaration in Afghan Presidential Election Unlikely VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- Hopes are fading in Afghanistan of quickly declaring last week's presidential election a success amid widespread fraud allegations.
• Combined Forces Protect Civilians, Seize Weapons AFPS 28 Aug 2009 -- Afghan forces and troops of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force protected civilians from insurgent attacks, seized an enemy weapons stockpile and detained two suspected militants in recent operations in Afghanistan.
• Fort bragg's 4th BCT heads to Afghanistan Army News 28 Aug 2009 -- 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers departed Fort Bragg en-route to Afghanistan for a 12-month deployment.
• Ugly Angels Transfers Authority to Pegasus USMC News 28 Aug 2009 -- Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362 "Ugly Angels" transferred control of air support for Marine Aircraft Group 40, Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan, to HMH-463 "Pegasus" during a transfer of authority ceremony, Aug. 11
• Sand Sharks Fuel Marine Aircraft Group 40 USMC News 28 Aug 2009 -- Located at the "hot spot" of the flight line, Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 "Sand Sharks", Marine Aircraft Group 40, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, fuel aircraft from numerous the Forward Air Refueling Points to increase air combat effectiveness
• Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 Builds One of the Largest Marine Corps Airfields USMC News 28 Aug 2009 -- Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron-371 have been working diligently on the expansion of the airfield here. Once finished, it will be one of the largest airfields in the Marine Corps, with multiple interconnected taxiways and aircraft maintenance bays

Defense Policy / Programs

• Top Officer Criticizes US Military 'Strategic Communications' VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- The top U.S. military officer has written a sharp critique of the Defense Department's efforts to communicate with people around the world.
• DoD News: Navy Announces Delay of Environmental Impact Statement for East Coast Landing Field Sites DoD 28 Aug 2009-- The Navy announced today that it will delay the expected release of a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) that examines five sites in Virginia and North Carolina for an outlying landing field (OLF) to support training for aircraft stationed at and transient to Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana and Naval Station Norfolk
• Farragut Executes Second Fleet Initiative to Enhance Readiness Navy NewsStand 28 Aug 2009 -- Sailors aboard USS Farragut (DDG 99) enhanced their ability to operate independently for non-traditional missions while underway Aug. 24-26. This exercise was part of a U.S. Second Fleet initiative to better prepare ships to operate independently in modern, complex environments.
• Doyle Sailors, Colombian Military Serve Community Navy NewsStand 28 Aug 2009 -- Sailors from the guided-missile frigate USS Doyle (FFG 39) and Destroyer Squadron 40 and members of the Colombian military conducted a multinational community relations (COMREL) project at the Buena Aventura school in Santa Marta, Colombia, Aug. 25.
• Italian Submarine Scire Visits Groton Navy NewsStand 28 Aug 2009 -- As Italian Submarine (ITS) Scire arrived for a port visit to Naval Submarine Base New London Aug. 27, it marked the second submarine visit from that country to the United States in as many years.
• Navy, Marines Set Stage for Alaskan Village Move Navy NewsStand 28 Aug 2009 -- A joint military team has established a base camp on Western Alaska's Nelson Island, the first step in a five-year project to relocate the eroding Yup'ik village of Newtok.
• Secretary Mabus Tours Nimitz, Praises Critical Work of Sailors in the Pacific Navy NewsStand 28 Aug 2009 -- The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) visited Tokyo and Yokosuka Aug. 26-27 to meet with Sailors, U.S. Navy and Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) leadership, and senior Japanese and American government officials.
• Sailors Support Army Troops Deploying to Middle East Navy NewsStand 28 Aug 2009 -- Working around-the-clock in 12-hour shifts, Navy Reservists assisted a team of active-duty Army and Navy personnel and civilians with a massive loadout of the MV Green Ridge (T-AK -9655) July 31–Aug. 2.
• PSYOP Soldiers try out for team to serve alongside Army Rangers Army News 28 Aug 2009 -- Five psychological operations specialists assigned to the 4th Psychological Operations Group recently underwent a grueling, five-day assessment to determine if they are fit to serve and fight with the 75th Ranger Regiment.
• Corona Warfare Center Partners with Premier Pacific Range Facility Navy NewsStand 28 Aug 2009 -- The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Corona and the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) signed a agreement Aug. 26 in Kauai, formalizing a partnership between the Navy's leading independent assessment agent and the Navy's premier ballistic missile defense training range.
• Mobile Construction Battalion 74 Assumes Command at Camp Natasha Navy NewsStand 28 Aug 2009 -- Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74 relieved NMCB 5 of command of Camp Natasha at Camp Leatherneck in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan at a transfer of authority ceremony Aug. 18.
• Mobile Construction Battalion 1 Deploys to Korea Navy NewsStand 28 Aug 2009 -- Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 arrived at Commander, Fleet Activities Chinhae (CFAC) in Chinhae, Korea, in early August.
• New vice chief of staff takes office AFNS 28 Aug 2009 -- Gen. Carroll H. "Howie" Chandler is the new vice chief of staff of the Air Force, succeeding Gen. Douglas M. Fraser III who held the position since October 2008.
• Launch of civilian marketing campaign pivotal in filling Air Force jobs AFNS 28 Aug 2009 -- Over the next five years, Air Force officials plan to hire 20,000 more civilians into civil service. To help bases better market civilian job openings and recruit qualified applicants for current and future jobs, Air Force Personnel Center specialists will roll out the "Your Future" marketing and recruiting campaign in September.
• OC-ALC to refurbish Navy E-6 aircraft AFNS 28 Aug 2009 -- Workers from the 566th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron here will begin work next month on the first of the Navy's E-6B Mercury aircraft scheduled for a service life extension program refit.
• Contractor, U.S. Attorney agree on $15 million fraud suit settlement AFNS 28 Aug 2009 -- Earlier this month, the United States Attorney and Dynamics Research Corporation, known as DRC, corporate officials reached a settlement agreement in a False Claims Act suit filed by government officials recently.
• New supercomputer supports ISR research, development AFNS 28 Aug 2009 -- Desch, one of the world's most powerful supercomputer's, will be dedicated during a ceremony here August 31.
• Base of preference requests can now be initiated online through vMPF AFNS 28 Aug 2009 -- Air Force Personnel Center officials have revamped the Voluntary Assignments Base of Preference Program to allow eligible enlisted members to initiate BOP requests online.
• Officials outline adoption process for military working dogs AFNS 28 Aug 2009 -- Military working dogs have come a long way since the days of ancient Persia and Assyria, where they donned armor, spiked collars and warned of impending attack or charged on the enemy's cavalry.
• Conference to Deliver Latest in Military Family Care AFPS 28 Aug 2009 -- The Defense Department’s first joint family readiness conference in nearly a decade will take place next week in Chicago, the director of the Office of Family Policy/Children and Youth said.
• PAMSXXXIII closes, presented dynamic challenges, discussion Army News 28 Aug 2009 -- Pacific Armies Management Seminar XXXIII came to a close Aug. 28 after a week of intense discussions at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo
• Russia to help guard Abkhazia's territorial waters RIA Novosti 28 Aug 2009 -- The Russian Federal Security Service's coast guards will work with Abkhazia's border service to protect ships passing through Abkhazia's territorial waters from Georgian forces, the FSB border service said Friday.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for August 28, 2009
• ATK Demonstrates Integrated Weapon Systems Capability at Ft. Benning ATK 28 Aug 2009 -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) demonstrated its innovative firepower capabilities at the U.S. Army's Ft. Benning Red Cloud Range, on August 27, 2009.
• Raytheon Standard Missile-6 Completes Key Developmental Test Raytheon 28 Aug 2009 -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-6 has completed tests which validate the extended-range anti-air warfare missile's airframe and autopilot performance.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 28 Aug 2009
• DRC: Mutinous soldiers add to civilian fear in east IRIN 28 Aug 2009 -- A mutiny over pay, by a section of the army in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Uvira territory, is restricting population movement and heightening fear, say officials.
• UN: LRA Attacks in E. Congo Displace Thousands VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- The UN refugee agency reports at least 125,000 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been forced to flee from villages attacked by the Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army, in the last three weeks.
• Arrest of remaining two fugitives major concern for UN’s Yugoslav tribunal UN News Centre 28 Aug 2009 -- The United Nations tribunal set up to try those responsible for atrocities committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s has once again called for the arrest of the two suspects who still remain at large.
• Sri Lanka: UN rights expert calls for probe into video of alleged executions UN News Centre 28 Aug 2009 -- A United Nations human rights expert today called for the immediate establishment of an independent inquiry into the authenticity of a video which purportedly depicts the extrajudicial execution of two naked and helpless men by the Sri Lankan military and the presumed prior executions of others.
• Nepal army personnel must be held accountable for rights abuses, says UN official UN News Centre 28 Aug 2009 -- A senior United Nations official in Nepal has stressed the need to investigate alleged human rights violations committed by members of the national army during the country’s decade-long civil war and to ensure perpetrators are held accountable.
• Thousands still fleeing Ugandan rebel attacks in eastern DR Congo – UN agency UN News Centre 28 Aug 2009 -- Civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are continuing to suffer at the hands of a notorious Ugandan rebel group, whose attacks have forced at least 125,000 people in Orientale province to flee their homes in the last three weeks alone, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
• UN voices concern as fresh fighting in Myanmar uproots thousands UN News Centre 28 Aug 2009 -- The United Nations refugee agency today voiced its concern about reports that between 10,000 and 30,000 refugees have fled violence in Myanmar's north-eastern Shan state in recent weeks and headed to China's Yunnan province.
• As fighting worsens in Yemen, UN calls for safe corridors for aid and civilians UN News Centre 28 Aug 2009 -- The United Nations refugee agency has called for the establishment of safe corridors in northern Yemen so civilians can flee heavy fighting between Government forces and rebels and humanitarian workers can reach the displaced to deliver much-needed aid.
• Ban Says Palestinians Must Unite to Revive Peace Talks VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on Palestinians to show a united front to help revive stalled Mideast peace talks.
• Humanitarian Situation Deteriorating in Northern Yemen VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is appealing for safe corridors in northern Yemen as the humanitarian situation in the area of conflict continues to deteriorate.
• China Urges Burma to End Conflict in Border Area VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- China has called on Burma to end combat operations in a border area that has sent thousands of people fleeing into China this month.

News Reports

• Suicide Bomber Wounds Saudi Prince VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- Saudi Arabia's state news agency says a member of the royal family who heads the kingdom's anti-terrorism operations suffered minor injuries when a suicide bomber detonated a blast at his home.
• Russia to start production of swine flu vaccine in October RIA Novosti 28 Aug 2009 -- Russia will start to produce a vaccine against the swine flu virus in October 2009, to be administered to around 40 million people by next March, the country's chief sanitary official said on Friday.
• Navy Historian Traces Rise of Piracy AFPS 28 Aug 2009 -- Pirates often are in the news for their criminal activities at sea, but their antics are far from new.
• Venezuelan Case Recalls Russia's Khodorkovsky RFE/RL 28 Aug 2009 -- A leading business figure is arrested. Prosecutors allege fraud, but it is obvious that the case is about more than financial rule-breaking
• US Says Iran Still Not Addressing International Nuclear Concerns VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- The State Department said Friday the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran's nuclear program shows it is still not being responsive to concerns that it might be seeking nuclear weapons. Senior diplomats from major world powers meet next week in Germany to discuss nuclear diplomacy with Iran.
• Iran's Ahmadinejad Calls For Prosecution Of Opposition Leaders RFE/RL 28 Aug 2009 -- Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has called for opposition leaders to be punished over the unrest sparked by his disputed election victory
• Ahmadinejad urges severe punishment for post-election rioters RIA Novosti 28 Aug 2009 -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for severe punishments to be administered to those behind the unrest that followed the June 12 presidential election, Press TV said on Friday.
• Iran Six representatives to meet in Germany on September 2 RIA Novosti 28 Aug 2009 -- Diplomats from the Iran Six group of countries will discuss the situation around Iran's controversial nuclear program on September 2 in Germany, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
• German Leader Warns Iran of New Sanctions VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing Iran to resume talks on its disputed nuclear program, or face new sanctions.
• Iranian President Calls for Prosecution of Opposition Leaders VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the prosecution of the opposition leaders who led the unrest that followed his re-election in June.
• N.Korea promises to release S.Korean fishermen on Saturday RIA Novosti 28 Aug 2009 -- In the latest move to rebuild ties with Seoul, North Korea has announced that it will free on Saturday four South Korean fishermen detained last month in its territorial waters.
• North, South Korea agree to hold reunion of separated families RIA Novosti 28 Aug 2009 -- Delegations from North and South Korea agreed at talks on Friday to hold reunions in late September of families separated by the Korean War more than half a century ago.
• North, South Korea Reach Agreement on Family Reunions VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- Red Cross envoys from North and South Korea agree to hold reunions for separated families
• Iraqis Mourn Death of Shi'ite Leader VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad Friday amid tight security to mourn the death of Shi'ite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim.
• Britain Pledges $1 Billion to Stabilize Pakistan VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- Britain has pledged $1 billion in aid to Pakistan to help stabilize its violent border regions and to address the underlying causes of extremism.
• Japan Poised for Historic Political Shift in Predicted Election Landslide VOA 28 Aug 2009 -- More than half a century of all but uncontested political leadership in Japan appears set to end this weekend, as voters elect new parliamentary representatives.
• 60 Years After First Soviet Nuclear Test, Legacy Of Misery Lives On In Kazakhstan RFE/RL 28 Aug 2009 -- "First Lightning," a 22-kiloton nuclear bomb, exploded at 7 a.m. local time on August 29, 1949, at the Semipalatinsk testing site in northern Kazakhstan