Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 12 Apr 2012 [PDF]
• NATO and Afghanistan committed to partnership beyond 2014 NATO 12 Apr 2012 -- NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on 12 April expressed the Alliance’s continued strong commitment to Afghanistan after talks with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul.
• NATO Secretary General witnesses Afghan Army strength NATO 12 Apr 2012 -- During a visit to Afghanistan on 12 April, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited the Afghan commandos at their training facility at Camp Morehead located in the outskirts of Kabul.
• Afghan Troop Pullout to Make Things Worse - CSTO Chief RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2012 -- The planned 2014 withdrawal of international coalition forces from Afghanistan will only aggravate the situation in the country and the region, the head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) said on Thursday.
• 'Red Patchers' support aerial travel in Helmand Province USMC News 12 Apr 2012 -- In the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II, infantry Marines and the shore party got mixed up after the initial landings on the beach. As gear and supplies were offloaded to support the assault, the shore party was unable to effectively direct the distribution of the cargo because they could not be distinguished in the swarm of other Marines on the beach. To mitigate the confusion, the shore party began wearing a red patch on their trousers and covers to identify themselves.
• Royal Engineers ready for Helmand UK MOD 12 Apr 2012 -- Royal Engineers who will help develop road networks and canal and irrigation systems in Afghanistan have finished their final training exercise.
• Afghan President Considers Holding Early Elections VOA 12 Apr 2012 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday he is considering either holding elections a year earlier - in 2013 - or accelerating the withdrawal of international combat troops so that the country does not have to deal with major security and political transitions at the same time.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Prosecutor Says Reformed Guantanamo Trials Ensure Justice AFPS 12 Apr 2012 -- The chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba took exception with defense lawyers' characterizations of proceedings on the base as being done without the protections of the U.S. Constitution.
• Cyber Operations Give Leaders New Options, Official Says AFPS 12 Apr 2012 -- Senior Pentagon officials are working to determine how the centuries-old Law of Armed Conflict applies to potential conduct of operations in the newest military domain of the Internet, the deputy assistant secretary for cyber policy said yesterday.
• Readout of Secretary Panetta’s Meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba DoD 12 Apr 2012
• Precision loading could play key role in efficiency for redeploying forces from Afghanistan AFNS 12 Apr 2012 -- Air Mobility Command aerial ports around the world have adopted more efficient cargo loading processes in recent years. Those same processes, applied correctly, could also facilitate more efficient retrograde airlift out of Afghanistan.
• Galaxy rising: With C-5M a 'super' culture, capability change are taking place AFNS 12 Apr 2012 -- The culture of the Air Force C-5 community is changing...and it's changing in a 'super' way.
• Mass casualty exercise tests deployed first responders AFNS 12 Apr 2012 -- After the loud explosion, smoke quickly billowed from the front of the auditorium. Several service members were slowly being engulfed in a thick white cloud which limited visibility to little more than three feet.
• Readout of Secretary Panetta's Meeting with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Defense, Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud DoD 12 Apr 2012
• Marines make water better than the bottled kind at training exercise in Morocco USMC News 12 Apr 2012 -- Water purification specialists with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, put their water purification systems to the test on a Moroccan beach April 10, during the bi-lateral exercise named African Lion 2012.
• Connecticut Returns Home from WESTPAC Deployment NNS 12 Apr 2012 -- The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) returned to its homeport of Naval Base Kitsap April 12, concluding a four-month deployment to the Western Pacific.
• USS New York Participates in African Lion 2012 NNS 12 Apr 2012 -- The amphibious transport dock landing ship USS New York (LPD 21) began participating and serving as the supporting platform for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) during during the commencement of African Lion 2012, April 9.
• ONR Taps Research Teams to Help Reduce Jet Noise NNS 12 Apr 2012 -- The deafening roar of supersonic aircraft can cause hearing damage to Sailors and Marines on flight decks, so the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is funding a new project to help reduce jet noise, officials announced April 12.
• Judge Sets New Deadline for Nashiri Defense Team AFPS 12 Apr 2012 -- A military judge has given defense lawyers an extension to May 1 to provide a theory of the case in the United States vs. Abd al-Rahim Hussein Mohammed Abdu al-Nashiri.
• UN expert regrets US court decision preventing oversight of intelligence services UN News Centre 12 Apr 2012 -- An independent United Nations counter-terrorism expert today expressed profound regret at a decision by a United States court to refuse freedom of information requests by a British organization on extraordinary renditions.
• Russian Warship to Join Anti-Piracy Mission in May RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2012 -- A task force from Russia's Northern Fleet, led by the Udaloy class destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov, will arrive in the Gulf of Aden in the beginning of May to join an anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast.
• MOD personnel help secure portable air defence systems UK MOD 12 Apr 2012 -- MOD personnel deployed in Libya to make safe man-operated portable air defence systems (MANPADS) have now returned to the UK.
• Navy minehunter in Gulf exercises with US Navy UK MOD 12 Apr 2012 -- Royal Navy minehunter HMS Middleton has recently flexed her hunting prowess during a recent exercise with the US Navy in the Gulf.
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 4/12/12 The White House 12 Apr 2012

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for April 12, 2012

Other Conflicts

• 12 April 2012 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 12 Apr 2012
• Annan Tells UN Security Council That Syria Must Withdraw Troops RFE/RL 12 Apr 2012 -- Kofi Annan, the international envoy for Syria, has told the UN Security Council that Syria has not fully complied with the terms of his peace plan, despite observing a cease-fire that went into effect at the start of the day.
• Damascus Promising To Observe Cease-Fire RFE/RL 12 Apr 2012 -- Damascus is promising to observe a cease-fire that is scheduled to start early this morning.
• Syrian Ceasefire Comes into Force RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2012 -- The UN-backed Syrian ceasefire plan appeared to take hold on Thursday, lifting hopes for an end to the deadly clashes between opposition and pro-government forces that have killed over 9,000 people in the past year, Al Arabiya reported.
• Syrian Cease-Fire Holds Despite Scattered Violence VOA 12 Apr 2012 -- U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan says he is 'encouraged' by reports that a shaky cease-fire between government troops and rebels in Syria seems to be holding, despite scattered violence.
• South Sudan Refuses Border Town Withdrawal VOA 12 Apr 2012 -- South Sudan's president has refused to pull back troops who seized a disputed border town from Sudan this week.
• Security Council demands unconditional end to Sudan-South Sudan fighting UN News Centre 12 Apr 2012 -- The Security Council today voiced growing alarm at the escalating conflict between Sudan and South Sudan, warning that fighting threatens to take both countries to full-scale war, which in the past brought only death, suffering, destruction of infrastructure, and economic devastation.
• War Games Begin Amid China-Philippines Tension VOA 12 Apr 2012 -- U.S. troops are in the Philippines this month for the 28th annual exercises that will include war games in the South China Sea. Close to 8,000 troops from both countries are scheduled to participate. This year's drills are scheduled to take place in three locations including Palawan, a nearly 600-kilometer-long island bordering the Sea and come amid heightened tensions between the Philippines and China over a disputed island chain.
• UN launches first flight in expanded family visits for Western Sahara refugees UN News Centre 12 Apr 2012 -- The United Nations refugee agency on Wednesday launched the first flight in an expanded programme of visits for long-separated Sahrawi families in the Tindouf camps of Algeria and in the territory of Western Sahara.
• Darfur: UN-African mission chief reports security, humanitarian improvements UN News Centre 12 Apr 2012 -- The head of the joint United Nations-African Union mission in the western Sudanese region of Darfur (UNAMID) today reported a decrease in clashes and ethnic conflict, as well as a decline in criminal activities against civilians, including banditry, and fewer attacks on humanitarian convoys in the area.

News Reports

• Northcom Acknowledges North Korean Missile Launch, Failure AFPS 12 Apr 2012 -- North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command officials acknowledged today that U.S. systems detected and tracked a launch of a North Korean TaepoDong-2 missile at 6:39 p.m. EDT.
• North Korea's Rocket Launch Fails VOA 12 Apr 2012 -- The United States and several Asian nations say North Korea launched a three-stage, long-range rocket early Friday, but that it appeared to fall apart and harmlessly crash into the sea shortly after blast off.
• Ban renews call on DPR Korea to reconsider planned 'satellite' launch UN News Centre 12 Apr 2012 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today renewed his call on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to reconsider its decision to launch a so-called 'application satellite' in a few days time, noting that such action is a clear violation of relevant Security Council resolutions.
• Japan Remains on Alert Awaiting N. Korean Launch VOA 12 Apr 2012 -- Japanese authorities are expressing concern while countries in Asia wait for North Korea's planned rocket launch. As the first day of a five-day launch window passed without incident, Japan's Prime Minister repeated an appeal for the North to abandon plans to fire a satellite into orbit.
• UN Chief Warns North Korea About Rocket Launch VOA 12 Apr 2012 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging North Korea to heed the call of the international community by canceling an upcoming rocket launch.
• Regional Forces on Standby as N. Korean Launch Window Opens VOA 12 Apr 2012 -- Military forces in South Korea and Japan are standing by Thursday on the first day of a five-day window for a North Korean rocket launch that Pyongyang says will carry a weather satellite into space.
• Taiwan keeping close tabs on North Korean satellite launch CNA 12 Apr 2012 -- The military has formed a joint emergency response center to closely monitor developments in a North Korean satellite launch plan, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday.
• G8 Ministers Urge Iran To Take Upcoming Talks Seriously RFE/RL 12 Apr 2012 -- the five UN Security Council members and Germany -- have been 'receiving signals' that Iran is going to bring new proposals to the table.
• President criticizes US military expedition to region IRNA 12 Apr 2012 -- President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday criticized the military expedition planned by the US and its western allies into the regional countries.
• Chinese newspapers support CPC's move to sack Bo Xilai CNA 12 Apr 2012 -- China's major newspapers voiced firm support Thursday for the Communist Party of China's (CPC's) decision to suspend former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai from party posts.
• Mali's Interim President Takes Oath of Office VOA 12 Apr 2012 -- Mali has sworn in parliament speaker Dioncounda Traoré as its transitional president, launching the restoration of civilian rule after last month's coup d'état. In his inaugural speech, Traoré focused on northern Mali, saying the country is determined to recover regions occupied by rebels and Islamic militants, ideally by peaceful means but by all-out war if necessary.
• Russia to Seek Repatriation of Bout, Yaroshenko – FM Lavrov RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2012 -- Moscow will take all possible legal steps to ensure the repatriation of Russian businessman Viktor Bout and pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko sentenced to long prison terms in the United States, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
• Bout Calls on Russia to Sue U.S., Thailand in International Court RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2012 -- Convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who has been sentenced to 25 years in a U.S. jail, called on Russia on Thursday to file a lawsuit against the United States and Thailand to the International Court of Justice.
• Russian Firm to Roll Out Moon Rover RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2012 -- The prototype of the Russian moon rover competing for the Google Lunar X PRIZE will be finished by summer, developers said on Thursday.
• Putin Calls for Space Launch Development Strategy RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2012 -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday a national strategy was needed for the development of the country's space launch centers.
• Russia Looks for Commercial Space Projects RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2012 -- Russia needs to invigorate its efforts to implement commercial space projects jointly with the European Space Agency and individual space powers, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.