Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 09 Apr 2012 [PDF]
Combined Force Seizes Explosives Cache AFPS 09 Apr 2012 -- An Afghan and coalition security force seized more than 2 tons of a roadside-bomb ingredient and detained several suspected insurgents in the Zurmat district of Afghanistan's Paktia province yesterday, military officials reported.
• U.S.-Afghan Pact Shows Relationship's Evolution, Official Says AFPS 09 Apr 2012 -- A special operations agreement U.S. and Afghan officials signed yesterday is part of the 'natural evolution' as Afghans take on more security responsibility in Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon official said today.
• Memo Acknowledges Afghan Paradigm Shift, Spokesman Says AFPS 09 Apr 2012 -- A memorandum of understanding between the United States and Afghanistan on special operations acknowledges the paradigm shift occurring in the country, a senior Pentagon spokesman said today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Readout of Secretary Panetta's Call with Korean Defense Minister DoD 09 Apr 2012
• HSV Swift Makes Port Call In Split, Croatia NNS 09 Apr 2012 -- High-Speed Vessel Swift (HSV) 2 departed Lora Naval Base in Split, Croatia after a three-day port visit, April 6.
• USS Virginia Participates in Deplaquing Ceremony, Marking End of Maintenance Period NNS 09 Apr 2012 -- Virginia-class attack submarine USS Virginia (SSN 774) participated in a'deplaquing' ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard April 3, marking the end of the submarine's maintenance period.
• ND-SPS 12 Trinidad and Tobago Comes to an End NNS 09 Apr 2012 -- U.S. Navy divers, assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, Company 2-1, wrapped up a three-week subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) with Trinidad and Tobago coast guard divers, April 5.
• South Ossetian Election Marathon: All's Well That Ends Well? RFE/RL 09 Apr 2012 -- Voters in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia succeeded on April 8 at the fourth attempt in electing a new de facto president.
• Reserve, active duty F-22 pilots fly long-range strike exercise AFNS 09 Apr 2012 -- A mix of personnel from the 477th Fighter Group, 3rd Wing, and 673rd Air Base Wing left Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, to participate in a long range strike exercise on April 4.
• Air Force rewards outstanding munitions unit AFNS 09 Apr 2012 -- Members of the 31st Munitions Squadron at Aviano Air Base recently earned the Air Force's 2011 Maintenance Effectiveness Award, excelling in all graded areas, particularly after acting as the lead munitions squadron for NATO forces during Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector.
• Odierno concludes European tour Army News 09 Apr 2012 -- Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Ray Odierno, and his wife, Linda, concluded their tour of the European Theater, Friday.
• Defense Ministry Seeks $9.2 Bln More For Housing RIA Novosti 09 Apr 2012 -- Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has asked Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to increase budget expenditures on housing for the military fourfold to over $12 billion, the Kommersant business daily reported on Monday.
• S-400 Missiles Deployed in Russia's Baltic Fleet RIA Novosti 09 Apr 2012 -- Russia has deployed a battalion of S-400 Triumph air defense missile systems at a Baltic Fleet base in the exclave of Kaliningrad, the Izvestia daily reported on Monday.
• Russian Warship Patrols Syrian Waters RIA Novosti 09 Apr 2012 -- A Russian guided-missile destroyer that called in the Syrian port of Tartus last week left it to carry out unspecified tasks near the country's shores, a military-diplomatic source said on Monday.
• Georgia to Test First Domestically Designed UAV RIA Novosti 09 Apr 2012 -- Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Monday he will attend Tuesday's test of Georgia's first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
• April 9, 2012 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 09 Apr 2012
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 4/9/12 The White House 09 Apr 2012

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for April 09, 2012
• Russian Missile Maker to Build New Plant in 2015 RIA Novosti 09 Apr 2012 -- Russian missile manufacturer Almaz Antei will build a new air defense systems plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region by 2015, regional industry minister Vladimir Nefyodov said on Monday.
• Russian Helicopters 2011 Profit Up 13% to $230 Mln RIA Novosti 09 Apr 2012 -- Russian Helicopters, which designs and manufactures civil and military rotorcraft, saw its 2011 IFRS net profit rise 12.7 percent year on year to 7 billion rubles ($233 million), the company said on Monday.

Other Conflicts

• 9 April 2012 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 09 Apr 2012
• As ceasefire deadline nears, Ban renews demand on Syria to halt violence UN News Centre 09 Apr 2012 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated his demand that the Syrian Government immediately cease all military actions against civilians, amid a growing refugee flow into neighbouring countries and fatal cross-border fire that has resulted in deaths and injuries.
• UN: Syria Must Stop Assault by Tuesday VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- The United Nations has reiterated its call for the Syrian government to comply with a Tuesday deadline for ceasing military action against civilian areas. But an escalation of violence fed withering hopes that the government would honor its commitments.
• Journalist Reported Killed At Lebanon's Border With Syria RFE/RL 09 Apr 2012 -- A Lebanese TV journalist has been reported killed near Lebanon's border with Syria.
• Gunfire From Syria Wounds 5 in Turkey VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- Turkish officials say Syrian forces fired across the border at a refugee camp, wounding at least five people Monday, a day before a U.N.-brokered cease-fire is supposed to take effect.
• Former KGB Chief Declared Winner of South Ossetia Presidential Election RFE/RL 09 Apr 2012 -- A former head of South Ossetia's KGB has been declared the winner of a presidential election in Georgia's breakaway region.
• South Ossetia Elects ex-KGB Head as New President RIA Novosti 09 Apr 2012 -- Former South Ossetian KGB head Leonid Tibilov has been elected new president of the breakaway republic in a vote condemned by Georgia and welcomed by Russian lawmakers.
• Pakistani PM terms Zardari India visit successful IRNA 09 Apr 2012 -- Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has described as fruitful the visit to India by President Asif Ali Zardari.
• Weather Hampers Avalanche Recovery Efforts in World's Highest Battlefield VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- Poor weather conditions are hampering recovery efforts two days after an avalanche buried more than 135 Pakistani soldiers and civilians in what is known as the world's highest battlefield.
• Thousands Of South Sudanese Marooned In Sudan VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- One day after Sudan's April 8TH deadline expired, the government began registering Southern Sudanese as foreigners. Majority of them have been stripped of their identity cards and other documents, and most of them don't have the money to pay the hefty registration fees. Several months ago, after South Sudan declared its independence from Sudan, Sudanese authorities issued an ultimatum to South Sudanese to either become Sudanese citizens, register as foreigners, or leave the country.

News Reports

• Japan Heightens Military Alert for North Korean 'Space Launch' VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- North Korea's plan for a third attempt to propel a satellite into orbit is prompting a military alert in Japan. Authorities there and in other countries say the blast-off, expected by mid-April, would violate U.N. resolutions banning North Korea from utilizing ballistic missile technology.
• US Urges China to Convince N. Korea to Scrap Missile Launch VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- The Obama administration is urging China to help convince North Korea to abandon its planned ballistic missile launch. There are new concerns that North Korea may also be planning another nuclear test.
• N. Korea Prepares 'Space Launch' Amid Reports of Plans for Nuclear Test VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- North Korea has placed a three-stage rocket on the launch pad at a new, more sophisticated facility facing the Yellow Sea. It plans to launch what it calls an earth observation satellite as early as Thursday. There are also indications the reclusive and impoverished country is preparing for a third nuclear weapons test, as well.
• Iran Urges West To Drop Conditions Ahead of Nuclear Talks VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- Iran has confirmed it will meet with Western powers in Istanbul Saturday but is urging them to take pre-conditions off the table ahead of the nuclear talks.
• Abbasi: Iran to do 20-percent uranium enrichment just for its needs IRNA 09 Apr 2012 -- Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) Fereidoon Abbasi announced late Sunday that Iran will do 20-percent uranium enrichment just to meet its own needs.
• Iran never accepts preconditions ahead of nuclear talks with G5+1 IRNA 09 Apr 2012 -- Iran said on Monday that it never accepts preconditions ahead of the nuclear talks with Group 5+1.
• Iran Confirms Istanbul As Venue For Nuclear Talks RFE/RL 09 Apr 2012 -- Tehran has agreed to hold a fresh round of nuclear talks with world powers in Istanbul on April 14.
• Ma unhappy with Taiwan's progress in international affairs CNA 09 Apr 2012 -- President Ma Ying-jeou said Monday in Burkina Faso that there is still much work to do to narrow differences between Taiwan and China and to remove constraints that prevent Taiwan from participating in international activities.
• Burma's Karen Delegation Meets Aung San Suu Kyi VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- The leaders of Burma's longest-running insurgent movement met Sunday with democracy leader and newly elected parliament member Aung San Suu Kyi at her home in Rangoon.
• 'Anonymous' Warns of More Cyber Attacks in China VOA 09 Apr 2012 -- The computer hacking group Anonymous, blamed for a spate of cyber-attacks in China in the past week, says it will continue to target government websites to protest Internet censorship and human rights abuses.