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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 05 Aug 2011 [PDF]
• NATO and Libya - Operational Media Update: 04 Aug 2011
• Tripoli dismisses reports of Gaddafi's son's death - agency RIA Novosti 05 Aug 2011 -- Libyan authorities dismissed on Friday reports that Muammar Gaddafi's younger son Khamis was killed in a NATO airstrike, Reuters reported.
• NATO underestimated strength of Gaddafi regime - French minister RIA Novosti 05 Aug 2011 -- NATO has underestimated the ability of Muammar Gaddafi's regime to offer resistance to rebel forces assisted by NATO-led air campaign, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said.
• Iraq Drawdown on Track, Transcom Official Says AFPS 05 Aug 2011 -- From pens to Bradley fighting vehicles, 1.7 million pieces of military equipment have been moved out of Iraq so far, as the Dec. 31 deadline for U.S. forces to be out of Iraq approaches, a U.S. Transportation Command official said this week.
• Scouts in Iraq perform airborne missions to uncover weapons caches Army News 05 Aug 2011 -- Cavalry scouts bundle into two Black Hawk helicopters on a flight line at Camp Taji, Iraq. Loaded with weapons, ammo, radios, and metal detectors, the Scouts take off and fly to an area containing suspected weapons caches.
• Combined Force Kills Taliban Leader AFPS 05 Aug 2011 -- A combined Afghan and coalition force yesterday killed a Taliban leader and one suspected insurgent during a security operation in the Baraki Barak district of Logar province, military officials reported.
• Pakistan to impose tax on NATO trucks IRNA 05 Aug 2011 -- Pakistan is mulling to levy special tax on trucks, carrying oil and other items for foreign troops in the neighbouring Afghanistan, official sources said on Friday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Soldiers to begin 2012 with nine-month deployments Army News 05 Aug 2011 -- Beginning Jan. 1, most Soldiers will deploy for nine months, meaning more time at home with their families.
• DoD News: Army Announces Nine Month Deployment Period DoD 05 Aug 2011 -- The Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced today a change in the length of future unit operational deployments from 12 months to nine months. This change will be fully implemented by April 2012, and applies to division-level-and-below units.
• Winnefeld Takes Over as Vice Chairman AFPS 05 Aug 2011 -- Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr. took the oath of office here yesterday to become the ninth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Transcript: Remarks by Secretary Panetta to Service Members at US Strategic Command DoD 05 Aug 2011 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta
• Panetta Discusses Security Challenges in Stratcom Visit AFPS 05 Aug 2011 -- Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today spoke to service members about national security concerns and the defense budget during a visit to U.S. Strategic Command headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
• Obama Announces Veteran Workforce Initiatives AFPS 05 Aug 2011 -- President Barack Obama today announced a series of administration initiatives to help military veterans find jobs.
• Joint training builds NATO partnership AFNS 05 Aug 2011 -- About 230 Sabers recently returned from Campia Turzii, Romania, where Romanian and U.S. Air Force Airmen conducted combined training and strengthened the partnership between the NATO countries.
• Fox Company wraps up training Down Under USMC News 05 Aug 2011 -- Marines and Sailors of Company F., Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit successfully completed bilateral exercise Raider Dawn with a squad competition as the culminating event of the week-long training with the Australian Defence Forces.
• NAVFAC Awards $300M Energy Architect-Engineering Contract NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- Specialty Center Acquisitions Naval Facilities Engineering Command (SCAN) awarded a maximum amount $300 Million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering (A/E) services contract July 27, to CH2M Hill/Clark Nexsen Energy Partners, J.V., Englewood, Colo.
• Local Contractor Receives Contract For Work At Blount Island Command NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $5.8 million contract July 29 to Sauer, Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., for work to be done at Marine Corps Support Facility (MCSF) Blount Island (BI) Command, Fla.
• Contract Awarded to Renovate Corry Station Facility NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $14.7 million contract July 28 under a previously awarded multiple-award construction contract to Sauer, Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., for work to be done at Corry Station, a part of Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.
• Submarine Group 10 Changes Command NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- Rear Adm. (select) Joseph Tofalo relieved Rear Adm. Barry Bruner as battle commander of the Atlantic Fleet's Ohio-class ballistic missile and guided-missile submarines, Submarine Group 10 during a change of command ceremony at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Aug. 5.
• Samuel B. Roberts Crew Honors US Ambassador to Tanzania NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- The U.S. ambassador to Tanzania was honored with a reception aboard guided-missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) during a port visit in support of Africa Partnership Station (APS) East´s Tanzania hub Aug. 2.
• Maritime Civil Affairs Team 103 Returns From Pacific Partnership Mission NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- Maritime Civil Affairs Team (MCAT) 103 returned from Pacific Partnership 2011 Aug. 5 after a five-month deployment that took them to five Pacific countries.
• MSRON 3 Returns To San Diego From Deployment NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- More than 125 Sailors from Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron (MSRON) 3, returned to Naval Base Coronado Aug. 4 following a six-month deployment to Camp Patriot in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility (AOR).
• Beachmaster Unit 2 CO Relieved of Command NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic (COMNAVSURFLANT), relieved the commanding officer of the Little Creek-based Beachmaster Unit 2 (BMU), Aug. 5, due to loss of confidence in his ability to command.
• Department of Navy Extends Proposal for Guam Medical Clinic NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- The Department of the Navy announced its decision Aug. 5 to extend the proposal expiration date for the Apra Harbor Medical Clinic project in Guam for 180 days. The solicitation was set to expire Aug. 9.
• U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/C4F hosts Change of Command Ceremony NNS 05 Aug 2011 -- U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet (COMUSNAVSO/C4F) changed command during a ceremony at Naval Station Mayport Aug. 5.
• U.S., Ukrainian forces close out Rapid Trident 2011 Army News 05 Aug 2011 -- After two weeks of multi-national airborne operations and training, Rapid Trident 2011 came to a close at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center here Aug. 5.
• For paratroopers, Rapid Trident 2011 more than multinational exercise Army News 05 Aug 2011 -- Paratroopers have a long and storied history, from their experimental beginnings to the famous Band of Brothers of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during World War II, to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team's 'Sky Soldiers' of Vietnam and Iraq. If there is anything that history has shown it's that wherever there is conflict, there are paratroopers.
• Paratroopers from several nations come together in Ukraine during Rapid Trident 2011 Army News 05 Aug 2011 -- Rapid Trident 2011 is about building lasting international partnerships and friendships, in addition to its military goals. To that end, Soldiers from all 13 nations at the exercise attended a dinner at the parade field here, July 30, for a night without training to get to know one another.
• American/Australian Planners Spent Two Years Preparing for Talisman Sabre Exercise Army News 05 Aug 2011 -- Two years before 23,000 Australians and Americans kicked off Exercise Talisman Sabre on July 11; 500 Americans and Australians thrown together as Combined Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) started planning for that day.
• Fort Riley aviation brigade spins up aircraft for training with ground troops Army News 05 Aug 2011 -- Fort Riley's aviation brigade hit the skies heavy this week to train with its 1st Infantry Division counterparts on the ground.
• Rapid Equipping Force develops 'Energy to the Edge' program Army News 05 Aug 2011 -- The U.S. Army's Rapid Equipping Force has partnered with the Defense Technical Information Center's Weapon Systems Technology Information Analysis Center to procure, deploy and assess hybrid alternative and renewable energy systems in an effort called 'Energy to the Edge'.
• 31st MEU shares knowledge of amphibious operations with Australian service members USMC News 05 Aug 2011 -- The Marine Corps is world renowned for its amphibious capabilities. Whether it's conducting amphibious assaults, or humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations, the Marine Corps has earned the reputation as an elite amphibious fighting force.
• Joint training builds NATO partnership AFNS 05 Aug 2011 -- About 230 Sabers recently returned from Campia Turzii, Romania, where Romanian and U.S. Air Force Airmen conducted combined training and strengthened the partnership between the NATO countries.
• Hurlburt Field preferred for MQ-1 remote split-operation unit AFNS 05 Aug 2011 -- Air Force officials announced Aug. 4 that Hurlburt Field, Fla., is the preferred alternative for the Air Force Reserve Command MQ-1 remote split-operations squadron.
• Morocco receives first F-16s AFNS 05 Aug 2011 -- Morocco is the latest U.S. partner nation to receive the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a historic event marked by a ceremony here Aug. 4.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for August 05, 2011
• Bath Iron Works Awarded $111 Million for DDG 1001 and DDG 1002 Advanced Material Procurement and Support General Dynamics 05 Aug 2011 -- The U. S. Navy has awarded Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), a $110.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract for long-lead construction for DDG 1001, procurement of long-lead-time material for DDG 1002 and engineering, production and support services.
• Northrop Grumman Awarded $795 Million in E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Contracts Northrop Grumman 05 Aug 2011 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded $795 million in contracts by the U.S. Navy for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Program.
• Raytheon Chosen by DARPA for Critical Cybersecurity Research Program on Insider Threats Raytheon 05 Aug 2011 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been selected to support an insider threat research program led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Other Conflicts

• 5 August 2011 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 05 Aug 2011
• HORN OF AFRICA: Fast facts about the drought IRIN 05 Aug 2011 -- The Horn of Africa is facing what has been called the worst drought in 60 years, with an estimated 12.4 million people urgently needing food.
• SOMALIA: UNHCR airlifts aid to Mogadishu IRIN 05 Aug 2011 -- The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, will fly its first humanitarian airlift to Somalia in five years next week, the agency said at a briefing in Geneva on 5 August.
• KENYA: Hunger amid plenty IRIN 05 Aug 2011 -- Harvests are going to waste in parts of Rift Valley province - Kenya's grain basket - as farmers lack markets for their produce, even though severe drought ravages the country's northern regions.
• ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: 'Silent crisis' as more Eritreans flee IRIN 05 Aug 2011 -- More and more Eritrean refugees, mostly educated young men, continue to arrive in Ethiopia, with the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, expressing concern over the rising numbers.
• UN agencies step up deliveries of food aid to famine-stricken Somalis UN News Centre 05 Aug 2011 -- As more and more Somalis, the majority of them women and children, continue to flee the famine in their homeland, United Nations agencies are ramping up efforts to meet the rising humanitarian needs, especially nutrition for the youngest among them.
• UN: Al-Shabab Preventing Somalis from Fleeing Country VOA 05 Aug 2011 -- A United Nations Refugee official says Islamist al-Shabab militants are preventing Somalis from fleeing to neighboring countries in search of assistance. The official was in Somalia Thursday to assess conditions in that famine-stricken country. In a telephone linkup from Nairobi to journalists in Geneva, the official says al-Shabab wants to keep people from leaving so they can be recruited as fighters.
• Medvedev Criticizes U.S. Senate Over Georgia RFE/RL 05 Aug 2011 -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has criticized the U.S. Senate over a resolution urging Moscow to withdraw troops from Georgia's breakaway regions.
• Medvedev: I will never forgive Saakashvili RIA Novosti 05 Aug 2011 -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has dismissed claims that Moscow was gearing up for the 2008 war with Georgia and said he 'will never forgive' Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili for the deaths of Russians caught up in the conflict.
• Washington was not behind Georgian attack on S. Ossetia - Medvedev RIA Novosti 05 Aug 2011 -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he does not believe that the United States encouraged Georgia's aggression against its breakaway republic of South Ossetia in 2008, but could have given President Mikheil Saakashvili 'wrong ideas.'
• Press Conference by Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail on Situation in South Kordofan United Nations 05 Aug 2011
• Another UN-AU peacekeeper slain after ambush in Sudan's Darfur region UN News Centre 05 Aug 2011 -- A peacekeeper serving with the joint United Nations-African Union force in Darfur (UNAMID) has been killed and another blue helmet is seriously wounded after an ambush today in the south of the beleaguered Sudanese region.
• Taiwan will not consult China on Spratlys issue: MND CNA 05 Aug 2011 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Friday nixed the possibility of Taiwan consulting with China over the controversial Spratly Islands issue.
• 'Smart power' strategy needed for South China Sea claims: scholar CNA 05 Aug 2011 -- A research fellow of Academia Sinica, Taiwan's highest research institute, said Friday that the government should use a 'smart power strategy' to defend Taiwan's South China Sea sovereignty claims.
• Is South Ossetia's 'Independence' Under Threat? RFE/RL 05 Aug 2011 -- Three years after the Russia-Georgia war that served as the catalyst for Moscow's recognition of Georgian's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has suggested that South Ossetia could become part of the Russian Federation if 'the Ossetian people' give their approval.

News Reports

• UN human rights experts urge Syria to end use of violence against civilians UN News Centre 05 Aug 2011 -- As the crackdown by the Syrian Government against its own people continues unabated, a group of United Nations human rights experts today renewed their call for an immediate end to the violence used by the authorities against ongoing protests.
• 8 Killed in Syrian Anti-Government Protests VOA 05 Aug 2011 -- Syrian security forces are firing on protesters who staged mass rallies on Friday in defiance of a government crackdown.
• Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Tymoshenko Arrested RFE/RL 05 Aug 2011 -- Police in a Kyiv courthouse surrounded Yulia Tymoshenko, the charismatic former Prime Minister of Ukraine, and escorted her into a law-enforcement vehicle after a judge ordered her arrest.
• Ukrainian ex-premier Tymoshenko arrested RIA Novosti 05 Aug 2011 -- A Ukrainian court in Kiev sanctioned on Friday the arrest of the country's former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko.
• Ukraine's Tymoshenko no longer understands Russian RIA Novosti 05 Aug 2011 -- Ukraine's former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, on trial over the 2009 gas deal with Russia, demanded during a court session on Friday that testimony given by the country's current premier, Mykola Azarov, in Russian be translated into Ukrainian.
• Complex Web of Violence Grips Karachi VOA 05 Aug 2011 -- The Pakistani city of Karachi is caught in a wave of violence that by some estimates has killed more people in the past three years than terrorist attacks in all the rest of Pakistan during that same period. It is the worst violence the city has seen since 1995, driven by a complex web of ethnic, political, and social tensions.
• SWAZILAND: South Africa throws lifeline to a king IRIN 05 Aug 2011 -- A 'no-strings attached' R2.4 billion (US$350 million) South African loan to Swaziland to prevent a meltdown of the tiny economy has met with dismay and anger from civil society bodies in both countries.
• Yingluck Shinawatra Elected Thailand's First Female PM VOA 05 Aug 2011 -- The Thai parliament has elected Yingluck Shinawatra, to be the country's first woman prime minister during a special session of the House of Representatives. The rookie politician's first challenge is to ensure stability with the selection of a new Cabinet and making good on election promises.
• Juno Spacecraft Launches Toward Jupiter VOA 05 Aug 2011 -- The U.S. space agency launched the Juno spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday, beginning a five-year journey to Jupiter.
• Lockheed Martin-built Juno Spacecraft Lifts Off for Six Year Voyage to Jupiter Lockheed Martin 05 Aug 2011 -- NASA's Juno spacecraft, designed and built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], was successfully launched this morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 12:25 p.m. EDT aboard an Atlas V 551 rocket provided by United Launch Alliance.
• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Successfully Launches Juno Spacecraft on Mission to Study Planet Jupiter Pratt & Whitney 05 Aug 2011 -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne demonstrated its continued support of NASA by successfully boosting the Juno spacecraft on its mission to study planet Jupiter.
• PAKISTAN: Hunger stalks millions as food insecurity grows IRIN 05 Aug 2011 -- Saleem-ud-Din, 35, is happy today. The disabled beggar has been able to buy some cooked lentils as well as six 'rotis' [flat bread] for his family of six. 'Today we will have a feast. Usually we share two or three 'rotis', at best, between us - but someone put a Rs.100 [US$1.17] note in my bowl, and along with the other smaller notes and coins, it is enough to buy a proper meal,' Saleem told IRIN in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore.
• 'Wonder' treatment on front line of UN battle against acute malnutrition UN News Centre 05 Aug 2011 -- As thousands of desperately malnourished children from famine-wracked Somalia pour into United Nations refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, small sachets of a peanut-based paste are often all that stands between them and almost certain death.