Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 06 Jul 2012 [PDF]
• Combined Force Detains Several Suspected Insurgents AFPS 06 Jul 2012 -- An Afghan and coalition security force detained several suspected insurgents during a search for a Taliban improvised explosive device expert in the Ghorak district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province today, military officials reported.
• Afghan Army step up in the fight against IEDs UK MOD 06 Jul 2012 -- Afghan National Army warriors are taking the lead role in the battle against improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Report by Richard Long.
• US Army Corps of Engineers will improve electrical distribution in Helmand province Army News 06 Jul 2012 -- Two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers districts combined their resources to award a critically important project for providing reliable electric power from the Kajaki Dam power house on the Helmand River through the Helmand province in southwestern Afghanistan.
• Suspected US Drone Strike Kills 19 in Pakistan VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- Pakistani officials say a U.S. drone strike has killed at least 19 suspected militants in the country's northwest.
• Pakistani Taliban commander shot dead in tribal region IRNA 06 Jul 2012 -- Unidentified gunmen have shot dead a Pakistani Taliban commander in South Waziristan tribal region, official sources said.
• DOD C-130 Crews Continue Western Wildfire Fight AFPS 06 Jul 2012 -- In 140 airdrop missions since they were called into action to battle fires in the Rocky Mountain region and other western locales, Defense Department C-130s equipped with the U.S. Forest Service's Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System have discharged more than 332,400 gallons of retardant as of early today, U.S. Northern Command officials reported.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Ship-to-Shore Connector Contract Announcement DoD 06 Jul 2012 -- The Navy awarded today a $212,722,820 fixed-priced incentive-fee contract for the detail design and construction of a Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) test and training craft to Textron, Inc., New Orleans, La.
• 31st FW celebrates historic operation AFNS 06 Jul 2012 -- Sixty years ago, the 31st Fighter Wing was a young wing in a young Air Force, and the technologies taken for granted today were in their infancy.
• Largest African military communications exercise concludes Army News 06 Jul 2012 -- U.S. Africa Command officials, U.S. officials and representatives to several African nations were pleased with the results of a joint military communications exercise, which concluded in Douala, Cameroon, June 27, 2012.
• Reserve wing gears up for active-duty association AFNS 06 Jul 2012 -- The 442nd Fighter Wing is scheduled to begin integrating more than 100 active-duty Airmen by October.
• Marines train with Aussies USMC News 06 Jul 2012 -- Marines hugged the walls inside buildings as they trained their eyes skyward from the edges of windows. The low hum that drove them to cover grew louder as high above the town hung the silhouette of an Australian unmanned aerial vehicle.
• Ponce Arrives In Bahrain NNS 06 Jul 2012 -- The U.S. Navy's first afloat forward staging base-interim, USS Ponce (AFSB-I), arrived in Bahrain for duty in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR), July 6.
• HSV Swift Departs Tanzania NNS 06 Jul 2012 -- High-Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) left Dar es Salaam after a 12-day port visit in Tanzania after conducting training as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS) East 2012, July 5.
• Underwood, Curts Replenish Underway with Sacagawea NNS 06 Jul 2012 -- The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigates USS Underwood (FFG 36) and USS Curts (FFG 38) conducted vertical replenishments at sea with USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2), July 5.
• HS-11 Conducts Aerial Change of Command NNS 06 Jul 2012 -- Cmdr. Ryan Keys relieved Cmdr. Edgardo 'Cheech' Moreno as commanding officer (CO) of the Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 11 Dragonslayers in an airborne change-of-command ceremony in the skies above deployed aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65), July 6.
• NATO Secretary General hails Croatia's dedication to security NATO 06 Jul 2012 -- NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen praised Croatia’s commitment to security during a visit to the Adriatic nation on 6 July 2012.
• Russian Airborne Gets New ECM System RIA Novosti 06 Jul 2012 -- Russia's Airborne Forces (VDV) have accepted into service the new multirole Infauna electronic warfare vehicle capable of jamming radio-controlled mines and improvised explosive devices, the Defense Ministry said on Friday.
• RAF's newest transport aircraft named Atlas UK MOD 06 Jul 2012 -- The RAF's next generation military transport aircraft has officially been named Atlas at the Royal International Air Tattoo, which is taking place at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
• Flying Tigers hunt submarines off Norway UK MOD 06 Jul 2012 -- Merlin helicopters and crews from 814 Naval Air Squadron (814 NAS) have returned from the Norwegian Sea, where they took part in a NATO anti-submarine warfare exercise.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for July 06, 2012

Other Conflicts

• 6 July 2012 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 06 Jul 2012
• Pentagon Welcomes Syrian General's Defection VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- U.S. military officials are welcoming the defection of Syrian Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, a commander of Syria's elite Republican Guard.
• UN Reviews Future of Syria Mission VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. ceasefire monitoring mission in Syria should be continued but he suggests that its focus should be changed to peacemaking.
• DOD Officials Call Syrian General's Defection, 'Significant' AFPS 06 Jul 2012 -- Pentagon officials called the defection of Syrian Army Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass 'significant,' saying this could be the first crack in the inner circle around Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.
• 'Friends Of Syria' Agree Assad 'Must Go,' Chide Russia And China RFE/RL 06 Jul 2012 -- The "Friends of Syria" conference has concluded in Paris with unanimous agreement that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "must go."
• UN Human Rights Council condemns violence in Syria UN News Centre 06 Jul 2012 -- Noting gross violations of human rights and the ongoing violence there, the United Nations Human Rights Council today condemned the situation in Syria, and urged authorities to immediately implement a peace plan and grant unimpeded access to assistance organizations.
• Clinton: Russia, China Blocking Progress on Syria 'Intolerable' VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says it is 'intolerable' that Russia and China continue to block a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Syria by backing President Bashar al-Assad. Secretary Clinton told a Paris meeting of governments supporting Assad opponents that the United Nations should impose economic sanctions against Damascus.
• Syrian Activist Says Top General Defects VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- A top Syrian general and one-time confidante of President Bashar al-Assad has defected from Syria and is believed to be in Turkey, a potentially serious blow to Assad's regime.
• Syrian Defection Prompts Calls for Sanctions VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- World leaders meeting in Paris have called for new global sanctions against Syria, as news emerged that a top Syrian general has defected.
• Syria Conflict: How Much Longer Will Assad Last? VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- Street demonstrations to bring an end to the Assad family's 42-year rule over Syria have turned into a bloody conflict, now in its 15th month, between one of the Middle East's best-equipped fighting forces and a growing insurgency of protesters and militia largely comprised of government soldiers who defected in support of the armed rebellion. How much longer this conflict – and President Bashar al-Assad as its apparent cause - will last is a question pondered by many today, but not easily answered.
• Mali Focus of West African Leaders' Meeting VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- Several West African leaders meet Saturday to review the situation in Mali and discuss ways of retaking the north from Islamist militants.
• UNICEF: Northern Mali Children in Peril VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- U.N. Children's Fund officials are reporting that violence against children in northern Mali is mounting and that they are gravely concerned about the growing number of children being killed, injured and grossly abused as a consequence of the fighting between Tuareg separatists, Islamist militants, and government forces.
• Secretary-General Ban regrets death of UN peacekeeper in eastern DR Congo clashes UN News Centre 06 Jul 2012 -- Expressing concern over the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deeply regrets the death of a United Nations peacekeeper killed in a recent armed clash there, his spokesperson said today.
• S. Sudan Prepares for 1st Independence Anniversary VOA 06 Jul 2012 -- After breaking away from Sudan last year, South Sudan is getting ready for its first independence anniversary celebrations. After a year marked by fighting with Sudan, corruption scandals and economic difficulties, many are looking forward to the big day.
• Taiwan will not work with China over Tiaoyutai row: foreign minister CNA 06 Jul 2012 -- Taiwan will not work with China to resolve the dispute over the Tiaoyutai Islands, Foreign Minister Timothy Yang said Friday, after Japanese authorities demanded earlier in the week that a Taiwanese fishing boat leave waters around the islands.
• CONGO: Pool Region moves on from war IRIN 06 Jul 2012 -- Shaken by sporadic civil war between 1998 and 2003, the Pool Region of southeastern Congo is moving forward thanks, in part, to a US$1 billion state infrastructure development programme.
• SRI LANKA: Donor interest in north waning IRIN 06 Jul 2012 -- Donor assistance is waning in northern Sri Lanka, where the critical priorities of food, shelter, protection and nutrition are not being covered, and many displaced people still need outside assistance more than three years after a decades-long civil war ended.
• UN and partners to discuss ways to enhance resettlement for over 800,000 refugees UN News Centre 06 Jul 2012 -- The United Nations refugee agency and its partners will meet next week in Geneva to discuss how to help the more than 800,000 refugees who are seeking resettlement.

News Reports

• Ahead of weekend elections in Libya, UN envoy reiterates call for peaceful conduct UN News Centre 06 Jul 2012 -- On the eve of the elections to the National Congress in Libya, the top United Nations envoy to the country today urged all voters 'to exercise their hard-earned democratic right.'
• MYANMAR: Coaxing farmers to grow tea, not opium IRIN 06 Jul 2012 -- Before opium, green tea was the cash crop of choice in Myanmar, and donors have tried for years to convince farmers to grow tea and other crops again. But these are less lucrative than opium poppies, the country's highest-earning crop, and few growers have been persuaded.