• 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 17 June 2010 [PDF]
• Transcript: DOD News Briefing with Geoff Morrell from the Pentagon DoD 17 Jun 2010 -- Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell
• Iraqis Arrest Terror Group Members, Associates AFPS 17 Jun 2010 -- Iraqi security forces arrested two al-Qaida in Iraq members and four suspected criminal associates in combined operations with U.S. advisors in Iraq today, military officials reported.
• Gates Concerned About Pessimism on Afghanistan AFPS 17 Jun 2010 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is concerned about emerging public pessimism and cynicism regarding the outcome of U.S. operations in Afghanistan, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said here today.
• Five Soldiers charged in murders of Afghans Army News 17 Jun 2010 -- Five Soldiers have been charged with the premeditated murders of three Afghan civilians.
• Combined Force Captures Key Taliban Operative AFPS 17 Jun 2010 -- A combined Afghan-international force captured a Taliban subcommander responsible for coordinating attacks and the movement of bomb-making materials and detained several suspected insurgents in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province last night, military officials reported.
• Engineers Work to Train Leaders in Afghanistan AFPS 17 Jun 2010 -- Engineers with NATO Training Mission Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan are working with their Afghan partners to build infrastructure to support the growth of the Afghan national security forces, a senior officer involved in that effort said yesterday.
• AFGHANISTAN: Avoid using schools in elections, say agencies IRIN 17 Jun 2010 -- Putting a polling station in a school would be run-of-the-mill in most countries, but in Afghanistan it can be an invitation to an attack by Taliban insurgents, opposed to the government and western-style democracy.
• Eight Pakistan soldiers, 38 militants die in fighting IRNA 17 Jun 2010 -- At least eight Pakistani soldiers and 38 militants were killed in a tribal region Wednesday, official sources said.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Gates, Mullen Urge Senate to Ratify Arms Reduction Treaty AFPS 17 Jun 2010 -- The United States is better off with the new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia than it is without it, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee today.
• Damage Control a Major Focus for ULTRA "S" Navy NewsStand 17 Jun 2010 -- USS Wasp (LHD 1) is preparing for Unit Level Training Assessment-Sustainment (ULTRA-S) inspection July 19-23 and one critical area of focus is damage control.
• USNH Guam Hosts Change of Command Navy NewsStand 17 Jun 2010 -- U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Guam hosted a change of command ceremony at the command's auditorium June 11.
• Navy's Incentivized Energy Conservation Program Continues to Realize Fleet Dividends Navy NewsStand 17 Jun 2010 -- Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) announced June 17 that Navy ships realized 386,000 barrels of fuel avoidance during the first half of fiscal year 2010 as part of the Incentivized Energy Conservation (i-ENCON) initiative.
• USN, JMSDF Ships Arrive in Kure, Continue Joint Port Visits Together Navy NewsStand 17 Jun 2010 -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) arrived in Kure, Japan June 12 for a joint port visit with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF).
• Keel To Be Laid for Future USS Michael Murphy Navy NewsStand 17 Jun 2010 -- Symbolically recognizing the beginning of ship construction, the Navy will authenticate the keel for future USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) June 18 at General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine.
• Air Force officials ban use and possession of spice, mood-altering substances AFNS 17 Jun 2010 -- Air Force officials issued guidance banning the knowing use and possession of any substance, other than alcohol or tobacco, that is ingested to alter mood or function.
• SecAF discusses Minuteman III, space at Vandenberg AFNS 17 Jun 2010 -- Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley visited Vandenberg Air Force Base June 15 to 16 to tour the base and observe the Minuteman III test launch.
• Jump week brings five NATO countries together AFNS 17 Jun 2010 -- More than 100 paratroopers from five NATO countries conducted about 300 personnel drops June 15 here.
• Air Force officials discuss mental health options, confidentiality AFNS 17 Jun 2010 -- Airmen in need of psychological intervention or counseling have myriad options available through a number of Air Force programs, officials said here June 16.
• Wind Tunnel Explores Dynamics of High-Speed Flight AFPS 17 Jun 2010 -- Wind tunnels, the tools used to simulate airspeed environments to test flight capabilities, have come a long way since the Wright brothers built a box with fans to test a kite model.
• Army engineers award 54.3 million euro contract for housing construction in Wiesbaden Army News 17 Jun 2010 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District awarded a two-year, 54.3 million euro contract May 28 to Ed. Züblin AG, headquartered in Stuttgart, to construct townhouses, duplexes and single-family homes on the northwest corner of the Army Family Housing area at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield.
• Army testing fuel cell technology for Abrams tank Army News 17 Jun 2010 -- and ultimately other combat vehicles -- More than 100 paratroopers from five NATO countries conducted about 300 personnel drops June 15 here.
• Army seeks technology development partnerships Army News 17 Jun 2010 -- The Army's scientific and engineering community showcased research and development contract opportunities during a two-day event June 16-17 at Harford Community College.
• Detroit Arsenal participates in Vigilant Guard exercise Army News 17 Jun 2010 -- The Detroit Arsenal participated in a multi-state exercise this week designed to improve command, control and operational relationships with civilian and military partners at the local, regional, state and national levels.
• Makani Pahili 2010 debuts emerging rapid response capability Army News 17 Jun 2010 -- Each year,the local and state Hawaii government, U.S. Federal Government and Department of Defense participate in a statewide scenario-driven hurricane preparation exercise known as Makani Pahili, which means "strong wind" in Hawaiian, held this year May 24 through June 4.
• 1-5 Infantry prepares for mountain combat Army News 17 Jun 2010 -- Stryker brigade Soldiers recently took on the mountains of the Alaska Range to conduct more challenging and complex training.
• Future aviators learn to fly CH-47F models at Fort Rucker Army News 17 Jun 2010 -- Knox Army Heliport is now home to three new CH-47F Chinooks.
• Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) Agreement Signed Army News 17 Jun 2010 -- On June 14, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command signed an agreement to develop a state-of-the-art hybrid airship that will provide persistent time-on station for additional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to the theater commander.
• Russia's 5G fighter to be '3 times cheaper than foreign analogs' RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010 -- Russia's fifth generation fighter will be about three times as cheap as its foreign analog, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
• UK criticised for excluding nuclear arms from defence review IRNA 17 Jun 2010 -- Britain’s new coalition government has come under renewed fire for excluding controversial plans to replace the country’s nuclear Trident missile system from the current Strategic Defence Review.
fifth generation fighter will be about three times as cheap as its foreign analog, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
• June 17, 2010 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 17 Jun 2010
• Press Briefing by the Vice President and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, 6/17/2010 The White House 17 Jun 2010

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for June 17, 2010
• Lockheed Martin’s SMSS Vehicle Demonstrates Autonomous Performance For Logistics Centers Lockheed Martin 17 Jun 2010 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] recently proved in a series of demonstration tests that its Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) vehicle can perform detailed logistics tasks without human control. The testing was conducted at the Lockheed Martin facility in Littleton, CO, for several military attendees.
• General Dynamics Awarded $642.2 Million to Modernize NASA Satellite System Ground Segment General Dynamics 17 Jun 2010 -- General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a seven-year contract by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center for the Space Network Ground Segment Sustainment (SGSS) project. The company will modernize the ground system and network for NASA’s Tracking Data and Relay Satellite (TDRS) constellation. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract has a total potential value of approximately $642.2 million, including options. The period of performance is from June 21, 2010, through June 20, 2017.
• Lockheed Martin and Alaska Aerospace Partner for GMD Development and Sustainment Contract Lockheed Martin 17 Jun 2010 -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Alaska Aerospace Corporation announced today that they are partnering to pursue the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Development and Sustainment Contract.

Other Conflicts

• 17 June 2010 - Daily Press Briefing by the Offices of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General and the Spokesperson for the General Assembly President United Nations 17 Jun 2010
• US, Seoul Cooperating on Warship Sinking Response VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- As South Korea pushes the United Nations Security Council to censure North Korea, a senior American diplomat is reiterating Washington's full cooperation with Seoul.
• ISRAEL-OPT: Flotilla aid to enter Gaza under UN supervision IRIN 17 Jun 2010 -- After intense diplomatic negotiation with Israel, the UN has agreed to oversee the transfer of 70 truck-loads of humanitarian aid that Israel seized from a flotilla of six ships on 31 May.
• UN chief hopes easing of Israeli blockade will help improve lives in Gaza UN News Centre 17 Jun 2010 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he hopes Israel’s announcement that it will ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip to allow more civilian goods to enter the territory will lead to an improvement in the lives of the 1.5 million Palestinians living there.
• Aid Groups Worry US Aid to Gaza Won't Clear Israeli Blockade VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to move forward with $400 million in aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Some of this amount counts that which was promised at last year's international donor conference, that followed that followed Israel's military incursions into Gaza. But aid groups say because of Israeli border closings, aid may not reach those in need.
• Israel To Partly Ease Gaza Blockade RFE/RL 17 Jun 2010 -- Israel's inner cabinet has approved a plan to ease partially the land blockade of the Gaza Strip, following an international outcry over the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
• Turkey says will revise ties with Israel if receives no apologies over Freedom Flotilla assault RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010 -- Turkey will revise its relations with Israel if the Jewish state does not bring official apologies in a month for the attack on a humanitarian aid convoy, local media said on Thursday.
• Israel to ease Gaza blockade RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010 -- The Israeli government said on Thursday it will ease the land blockade of the Gaza Strip.
• Israel to Ease Gaza Blockade VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- Israel's security Cabinet has agreed to ease its blockade on Gaza. The decision follows intense international criticism that came after a deadly Israeli raid last month on an aid flotilla that was trying to break the blockade.
• Number of civilians uprooted by Kyrgyz crisis on the rise – UN refugee agency UN News Centre 17 Jun 2010 -- Some 400,000 people have been uprooted by the violence that began in Kyrgyzstan last week, the United Nations refugee agency said today, citing figures provided by governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the ground.
• Aid Trickles Into Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, But Obstacles Remain VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- A week after deadly riots killed more than 190 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of others in southern Kyrgyzstan, foreign aid deliveries are starting to arrive in neighboring Uzbekistan. But aid groups say they are having trouble reaching the people desperately in need of humanitarian aid in the violence-hit areas of Kyrgyzstan, where the situation remains tense.
• Political Instability, Economic Woes Fuel Kyrgyz Interethnic Unrest VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- Kyrgyzstan has slipped into a precarious peace. The violence that killed nearly 200 people in the southern region has abated, but an observer with Human Rights Watch calls the situation extremely tense and highly volatile. Kyrgyzstan and its neighbors have long been buffeted by ethnic tensions, but political and social factors also have played a role in promoting the recent violence.
• Aid Arrives To Help Kyrgyzstan Refugees As Stories Of Rape, Torture Emerge RFE/RL 17 Jun 2010 -- International humanitarian aid is arriving in the Uzbek border city of Andijon for tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbek refugees who have fled violence in southern Kyrgyzstan.
• Kyrgyzstan to cancel constitution referendum if country remains in state of emergency RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010 -- The Kyrgyz interim government introduced amendments under which the country's constitution referendum could be canceled if the Central Asian republic remains in a state of emergency, a document published on Thursday on the interim government's website said.
• Situation in S. Kyrgyzstan 'under control' RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010 -- The situation in the Kyrgyz city of Osh, the scene of mass interethnic clashes, has been taken under control, a deputy interim prime minister said on Thursday.
• Death toll in Kyrgyz ethnic clashes rises to 191 RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010 -- At least 191 people have been killed in inter-ethnic clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz Health Ministry reported on Thursday.
• Aid Arrives in Southern Kyrgyzstan VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- Foreign aid deliveries are slowly flowing into southern Kyrgyzstan, where the United Nations estimates 400,000 people have been displaced by deadly ethnic clashes.
• Post-conflict solutions in Sri Lanka must tackle underlying issues – UN official UN News Centre 17 Jun 2010 -- Political solutions that address the grievances which fuelled the long-running civil war in Sri Lanka are necessary to heal the wounds left by the conflict, the top United Nations political official said today as he wrapped up a two-day visit to the South Asian country.
• Somalia Transitional Federal Government Called Weak, Bad Option VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- In Washington, a congressional panel heard a pessimistic assessment of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government, or TFG.
• Friction Between Turkey, Kurdish Rebels Increasing VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- Turkish military forces crossed into Northern Iraq this week in pursuit of Kurdish rebels of the PKK. The one day incursion is the first of its kind in two years and is seen as the latest step in a growing escalation in fighting between the Turkish state and PKK. Last year the government announced steps to end the more than two-decade-long conflict. But those efforts have stalled and as hopes of peace are now fading.
• ECOWAS Court to Hear Arguments in Habré Complaint Against Senegal VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- Former Chadian president Hissène Habré wants West Africa's regional court to prevent Senegal from trying him for crimes against humanity. The court hears arguments in the case Friday in Abuja. Mr. Habré remains under house arrest in Dakar, Senegal.

News Reports

• Poland court deliberates German extradition bid for Mossad operative IRNA 17 Jun 2010 -- A Polish court on Thursday began deliberations on a German request to extradite an alleged Mossad operative linked to the murder of a senior Hamas official in Dubai, news reports said.
• EU Slaps New Sanctions on Iran VOA 17 Jun 2010 -- European Union leaders have agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran - joining the United States and United Nations in putting additional pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.
• Iran to retaliate any ship inspection in open seas IRNA 17 Jun 2010 -- Rapporteur of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazem Jalali said Thursday that Iran would retaliate any possible inspecting of its ships in the high seas.
• Russia 'disappointed' by additional U.S., EU sanctions on Iran RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry has called 'disappointing' plans by the United States and European Union to impose new sanctions against Iran, in addition to those approved by the UN last week.
• U.S. Treasury spearheads new UN sanctions campaign against Iran RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010 -- The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on Iran leading the international efforts to curb Tehran's controversial nuclear and missile programs.
• Tough sanctions against Iran needed, expert RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010
• Iraqi Lawmaker Wants Protection For Ethnic, Religious Minorities RFE/RL 17 Jun 2010 -- A senior Iraqi parliamentarian has warned that Iraq risks losing its ethnic and religious diversity unless a special government body is established to protect religious minorities, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports.
• McNaught comet passes Earth, heads for the Sun RIA Novosti 17 Jun 2010 -- The C/2009 R1 McNaught comet passed the Earth on Wednesday at the closest proximity of 170 million kilometers and continues moving toward the Sun, a Russian astronomer said.
• Myanmar: UN rights expert urges release of Aung San Suu Kyi UN News Centre 17 Jun 2010 -- A United Nations independent human rights expert today urged authorities in Myanmar to immediately release the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other prisoners of conscience, saying this will help create the conditions for inclusive elections in the Asian nation.
• UN officials underscore need to tackle ever-growing threat of organized crime UN News Centre 17 Jun 2010 -- Top United Nations officials today underscored the urgency of combating organized crime, which a new report has found is gaining in global reach and posing a greater threat to peace, development and even national sovereignty.