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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 29 Dec 2010 [PDF]
• First Navy EOD Group To Assume Key Iraq Mission NNS 29 Dec 2010 -- Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group (EODGRU) 1 departed Naval Air Station, North Island Dec. 28 to assume duties as the first Navy EOD brigade to command Joint Task Force (JTF) Troy in Iraq.
• Quiet Ashoura holiday highlights Iraq security success Army News 29 Dec 2010 -- As Shiite pilgrims slowly filtered out of religious shrines in Karbala Dec. 17, the quiet passing of the Muslim religious holiday of Ashoura made a loud statement about the capabilities of Iraqi Security Forces in the area.
• 'Ghost' troops assist ISF in Qara Qosh Army News 29 Dec 2010 -- Residents of Qara Qosh, Iraq, enjoyed an afternoon free of worries here recently as Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, assisted Iraqi Security Forces in providing security for the people of the town.
• Seabee Battalions Fortify Positions, Foster Friendships in Afghanistan NNS 29 Dec 2010 -- Active duty and Reserve Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCB) 18, 26 and 40 worked together to build up and fortify a forward operating base (FOB) on the northern fringes of Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Dec. 11.
• Airstrike Stops Enemy Attack in Afghanistan AFPS 29 Dec 2010 -- An International Security Assistance Force patrol that came under small-arms fire today in the Nad’Ali district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, called in an airstrike that killed one insurgent and derailed the enemy attack, military officials reported.
• Nation-wide health care sets new challenge for Marines in Afghanistan USMC News 29 Dec 2010 -- At first, it looks like a clinic. Afghan children and men mill about the tents with over-the-counter medicine and pamphlets. Coalition forces help distribute supplies to locals after Afghan soldiers teach classes. But this outreach program is about more than just free medicine.
• Live-fire exercise demonstrates Afghan artillery school's capabilities Army News 29 Dec 2010 -- For the second time since the founding of the Artillery School at Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC), Afghan National Army (ANA) students conducted a live fire gunnery exercise, Dec. 26.
• AFGHANISTAN: Bleak outlook for food security in 2011 IRIN 29 Dec 2010 -- The UN World Food Programme (WFP) plans to assist 7.3 million people in Afghanistan in 2011 but only has enough funding to feed the most vulnerable for a few months, and needs US$400 million to continue its humanitarian activities next year.
• Pakistani PM condemns US drone strikes IRNA 29 Dec 2010 -- Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani here Wednesday condemned US drone strikes in tribal regions and said these are counterproductive.

Defense Policy / Programs

• DoD News: Littoral Combat Ship Contract Award Announced DoD 29 Dec 2010 -- The Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. and Austal USA each a fixed-price incentive contract for the design and construction of a 10 ship block-buy, for a total of 20 littoral combat ships from fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2015.
• Navy T-45 Crashes Near Tallahassee NNS 29 Dec 2010 -- A U. S. Navy T-45C Goshawk training jet assigned to Training Air Wing Six crashed east of Tallahassee, Fla. while conducting a training mission at approximately 10:15 a.m. CST, Dec. 29.
• NHCP Security Department Conducted ASF Training NNS 29 Dec 2010 -- Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton's (NHCP) security department completed training and weapons qualifications Dec. 21 for the auxiliary security force (ASF), a force that provides extra security to aid the hospital's security department in the event of an increased force protection requirement.
• Combat camera Airmen learn battlefield forensics AFNS 29 Dec 2010 -- It was a first for the Air Force when a cadre of instructors from Six3 Systems Inc. arrived here to teach a battlefield forensics course to 4th Combat Camera Squadron Airmen.
• First cadre of deployment transition facilitators headed home AFNS 29 Dec 2010 -- Ten minutes into his first mission as a convoy commander, everything had gone as wrong as it possibly could for Tech. Sgt. Lorenzo Zapata.
• 18th CSSB runs partnership range with Bundeswehr reserve soldiers Army News 29 Dec 2010 -- The 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion "Warhammers" conducted a partnership range at the Grafenwoehr Training Area here with the German Bundeswehr Reservist Comando Oberpfalz soldiers in December.
• USARPAC deployment team attains operationally capable status Army News 29 Dec 2010 -- Army Pacific Contingency Command Post Deployable Assessment Team B, a new concept to the Theater Army, was certified fully operational capable by U.S. Army Pacific Commander Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon here on Dec. 22.
• Operational security goes digital AFNS 29 Dec 2010 -- Click through any photo-sharing site and you will likely find at least one random shot of someone you know doing something highly inappropriate.
• Flight recorder, body fragments 'found' at Russian crash site RIA Novosti 29 Dec 2010 -- A flight recorder and body fragments have been discovered at the central Russian crash site of an Antonov An-22 Cock heavy transport aircraft, investigators said Wednesday.
• Engine failure suspected as cause of crash as Tu-95 and An-22 fleet grounded RIA Novosti 29 Dec 2010 -- The Russian Air Force command has grounded the entire fleet of its Antonov An-22 transports and Tupolev Tu-95MS bombers after an An-22 was destroyed in a crash on Tuesday killing all twelve crew on board, the Force says.
• An-22 military transport aircraft crashes in central Russia RIA Novosti 29 Dec 2010 -- An Antonov An-22 military transport aircraft crashed on late Tuesday on the border of the Tula and Oryol Regions in central Russia, the Defense Ministry said.
• Russian missile maker to build two plants, expand exports RIA Novosti 29 Dec 2010 -- Russia's Almaz-Antei conglomerate will receive a government loan to build two new production facilities to expand the export of missile defense systems, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Wednesday.
• President Medvedev sacks space officials over satellite loss RIA Novosti 29 Dec 2010 -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed two senior space industry officials and reprimanded the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov on Wednesday over the recent loss of three Glonass satellites.
• India deploys four warships in Arabian Sea IRNA 29 Dec 2010 -- India has deployed four warships in Arabian Sea to check piracy incidents.
• India launches first indigenous Aerostat surveillance system IRNA 29 Dec 2010 -- India's first indigenously Aerostat Surveillance System has been successfully launched at Agra.
• China Seen Moving Closer to Deployment of 'Carrier Killer' Missile VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- A senior U.S. commander has recently revealed that China's development of an anti-ship ballistic missile that is designed to target aircraft carriers is now operational. Defense analysts say that while China has a way to go to perfect the weapon system, the development and deployment of the missile will have a major impact on security in Asia.
• The future of China's fifth-generation stealth fighter RIA Novosti 29 Dec 2010 -- Both experts and amateurs who have studied the blurred photos of an unfamiliar fighter jet on a runway in China have concluded that Beijing has started testing its fifth-generation stealth fighter.
• All-volunteer military system to be launched in 2015: MND CNA 29 Dec 2010 -- Taiwan will introduce an all-volunteer military system in 2015, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Wednesday.
• December 29, 2010 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 29 Dec 2010

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 29, 2010
• U.S. Navy Awards Lockheed Martin Contract to Construct Up to 10 Littoral Combat Ships, Provides $437 Million for First Ship Lockheed Martin 29 Dec 2010 -- The U.S. Navy has awarded a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-led industry team a fixed-price-incentive-fee contract to construct up to 10 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).
• Oshkosh Defense to Bolster the U.S. Marine Corps’ Heavy Fleet Oshkosh 29 Dec 2010 -- Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), will supply the U.S. Marine Corps with more than 100 Logistics Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) Cargo Variants and 120 enhanced protection kits following an order from the Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM).
• Raytheon Receives $52 Million U.S. Navy Contract to Retrofit Radars Raytheon 29 Dec 2010 -- Naval Air Systems Command has awarded a $52 million contract to Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) to produce APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars for F/A-18 Super Hornet tactical aircraft.

Other Conflicts

• Thousands Flee Ivory Coast Stand-Off VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says at least 15,000 Ivorians, mostly children, have fled to neighboring Liberia fearing Ivory Coast's violent post-electoral political stand-off could spark civil war.
• Côte d’Ivoire: UN will robustly fulfil mandate to protect civilians – top official UN News Centre 29 Dec 2010 -- The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire will “robustly” fulfil its mandate, breaking through roadblocks if needed, to protect civilians and the “legitimate Government” after the outgoing president’s refusal to step down in the face of his rival’s internationally recognised electoral victory, a top UN official warned today.
• Ivory Coast Tensions at Fever Pitch VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- The window for a diplomatic solution to Ivory Coast's violent, month-long political crisis appears to be narrowing, as tensions continue to mount.
• Envoys Fail To Persuade Ivory Coast's Gbagbo To Step Down, Military Action Possible RFE/RL 29 Dec 2010 -- The possibility of foreign military intervention in Ivory Coast has drawn closer following the failure of top West African envoys to persuade incumbent President Lauren Gbagbo to lay down his office.
• Nigeria’s Niger Delta Called Pacified VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- As the Nigerian military tries to quell the religious and ethnic violence in Jos in Plateau State, the situation in the Niger Delta is very different. The oil-rich region known for its violence and kidnappings is now relatively peaceful.
• SUDAN: What they're saying about the referendum IRIN 29 Dec 2010 -- A series of reports have been issued ahead of Southern Sudan’s 9 January 2011 independence referendum. They cover developments on the ground, prospects for a future divided country and the risks of renewed war. Here are some of the highlights:
• UN-African mission helps deliver aid to newly displaced in Darfur amid tension UN News Centre 29 Dec 2010 -- Thousands of newly displaced people who fled their villages as a result of the recent fighting in Sudan’s troubled region of Darfur are continuing to receive humanitarian aid, the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) reported today, adding that areas of the latest clashes remained tense.
• UN reports ongoing expulsions of DR Congo citizens from Angola UN News Centre 29 Dec 2010 -- Citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) expelled from neighbouring Angola continued to arrive in their country of origin this month, with many reporting that they were subjected to mistreatment, including sexual violence, the United Nations humanitarian office said today.
• Palestinians Will Ask UN Security Council to Condemn Settlements VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- Palestinian officials say they plan to ask the United Nations Security Council early next month to approve a motion condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and demanding a complete halt to their construction.

News Reports

• US Has No Face to Take Issue with DPRK's Nuclear Activities KCNA 29 Dec 2010 -- The DPRK's light water reactor and its operation of uranium enrichment factory are outcome of United States as it broke its promise to provide reactors.
• KCNA on Japanese drill KCNA 29 Dec 2010 -- Some days ago Japan conducted a drill for the inspection of cargo of airliners bound for the DPRK.
• Iran Remains Key Foreign Policy Issue for Obama VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- One of the central foreign policy questions facing the Obama administration is how to persuade Iran to end its uranium enrichment program.
• Iranians disappointed enemies during post-elections riots: Supreme Leader IRNA 29 Dec 2010 -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Iranians disappointed enemies during last year's post-elections riots through their courage and faith.
• Iran Thirst for Fuel Slackens on Subsidy Slash VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- A four-fold rise in gasoline prices is slashing demand for fuel across Iran.
• Danish Security Foils 'Imminent' Terror Attack VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- Denmark's intelligence service says it has arrested four people plotting what it called an "imminent" terrorist attack against the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, which printed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
• Indonesian Terror Suspect Goes on Trial VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- One of Indonesia's top militant suspects went on trial on multiple terrorism charges Wednesday. Prosecutors say Abdullah Sunata helped militants plotting to assassinate senior officials and attack Western hotels and embassies in Jakarta.
• Belarus Starts Releasing Election Protesters From Jail RFE/RL 29 Dec 2010 -- Belarusian authorities have started to release people detained during a postelection demonstration on December 19, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.
• Belarus top court reviewing Russian detainees' cases RIA Novosti 29 Dec 2010 -- Belarus's Supreme Court is studying the cases of Russian nationals arrested during opposition protests, a court spokesman said on Wednesday.
• Nine Detained Over Kyrgyz Blast, 'Foiled' Bombing RFE/RL 29 Dec 2010 -- Authorities in Kyrgyzstan say nine people have been detained in connection with a foiled bomb attack in Bishkek at the weekend, and a blast in the capital last month that injured four people, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports
• UN agency invested nearly $6 million this year to aid Kyrgyzstan’s most vulnerable UN News Centre 29 Dec 2010 -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) spent nearly $6 million this year in Kyrgyzstan, where it is assisting 240,000 conflict-affected people in the south and 380,000 other vulnerable people in six out of seven of the country’s provinces.
• Cross-strait negotiating channel will not be replaced: MAC CNA 29 Dec 2010 -- The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) reassured a group of foreign diplomats in Taipei Wednesday that a proposed cross-Taiwan Strait committee will only serve as a negotiation tool and will not replace the existing communication channels authorized by both governments.
• Liberia Prepares for Election Despite Challenges VOA 29 Dec 2010 -- Despite the challenges of bad roads in some parts of Liberia, the country is starting voter registration ahead of the October 2011 election.
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• YEMEN: Somali pirates threaten fishermen's lives, livelihoods IRIN 29 Dec 2010 -- Salem Khames Balghay, 53, says his son and brother, who are fishermen like him, have been held by Somali pirates since October. "In mid-October, we lost contact with them," he said.