Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 17 Dec 2012 [PDF]
• ISAF Commander Condemns Kabul Explosion, Offers Condolences AFPS 17 Dec 2012 -- The commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan strongly condemned today's explosion in Kabul, which reportedly killed at least one Afghan civilian and injured more than a dozen others, military officials said.
• Taliban Claims Responsibility for Attack on US Company VOA 17 Dec 2012 -- The Taliban have claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a U.S. contracting company on the outskirts of Kabul which killed at least one Afghan, injuring several others.

Defense Policy / Programs

• AETC declares Eglin ready for F-35 training AFNS 17 Dec 2012 -- Following an independent evaluation of Eglin's capability to conduct F-35A Lightning II pilot training, Air Education and Training Command announced Dec. 17 that the 33rd Fighter Wing can do so starting January 2013.
• Statement by Secretary Panetta on the Passing of Senator Daniel Inouye DoD 17 Dec 2012
• Readout of Secretary Panetta's Meeting with Norwegian Minister of Defense Strom-Erichsen DoD 17 Dec 2012
• Seabees Build Patio, Tear down Walls NNS 17 Dec 2012 -- Fifteen volunteers from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 took their 'can do' spirit to the local Camarillo community Dec. 17 to construct an 8-foot high, 26-foot long patio for a women's teenage group home.
• 31st MEU Marines practice mass casualty evacuation USMC News 17 Dec 2012 -- Dozens of simulated casualties are strewn about the open field in varying conditions, anxiously awaiting the welcome sound of rotors from incoming CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters.
• Air Force NCO training takes on international flavor AFNS 17 Dec 2012 -- Eight Latin American students from Chile, Paraguay and Panama, and two U.S. Air Force students graduated from the Inter-American Air Forces Academy NCO course here Nov. 12, 2012.
• DOD Announces 2013 Housing, Subsistence Allowance Rates AFPS 17 Dec 2012 -- On Jan. 1, 2013, service members can expect to see an average increase of about $60 in their 2013 basic allowance for housing, Cheryl Anne Woehr, the BAH program manager, said Dec. 13.
• Department of Defense Releases 2013 Bah Rates DoD 17 Dec 2012 -- The Department of Defense released today the 2013 Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates, which take effect Jan. 1, 2013. Overall rates will increase an average of 3.8 percent this year.
• Northcom Strives to Promote Safe, Secure Arctic AFPS 17 Dec 2012 -- The Arctic, the northernmost part of the Earth, is one of the last frontiers -- a region so isolated and impenetrable that few humans have ever experienced its unforgiving conditions and austere beauty.
• Eurasia Parnership Capstone Completes Training NNS 17 Dec 2012 -- The multinational training exercise Eurasia Parnership Capstone (EPC) 2012 concluded during a ceremony held at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center, Dec. 14.
• Ohio (Blue) Welcomes New Commander NNS 17 Dec 2012 -- The Blue Crew of the guided-missile submarine USS Ohio (SSGN 726) welcomed a new commanding officer during a ceremony at the Naval Undersea Museum Dec. 14.
• USS New Hampshire Changes Commanders NNS 17 Dec 2012 -- The third commanding officer of Virginia-class attack submarine USS New Hampshire (SSN 778) assumed command during a time-honored change of command ceremony at the Naval Submarine Library and Museum in Groton, Conn., Dec. 17.
• NATO Counter-Piracy Mission Making Real Progress NATO 17 Dec 2012 -- A combination of factors including stepped up naval patrols closer to shore is leading to a drop in pirate attacks off the Somali coast, the former commander of NATO's counter-piracy mission said Monday (17 December).
• Secretary General thanks Belgium for its contribution as a reliable Ally NATO 17 Dec 2012 -- The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen congratulated Belgium for its important role in NATO-led operations during a meeting with the Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo and Defence Minister Pieter De Crem.
• Russia to Start Testing New Helicopter Gunship Engine RIA Novosti 17 Dec 2012 -- Russia's leading aircraft engine maker OAO Klimov will soon start testing an advanced engine for attack helicopters, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Monday.
• IRGC launches ScanEagle production line, commander IRNA 17 Dec 2012 -- Navy Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi announced Monday that the production line of the ScanEagle drone has been launched.
• Iraqi Air Force receives three C130J aircraft AFNS 17 Dec 2012 -- The Iraqi Air Force celebrated an important milestone when they received a third C-130J aircraft at a rollout ceremony held at Lockheed Martin's factory here Dec. 12, 2012.
• December 17, 2012 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 17 Dec 2012
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 12/17/12 The White House 17 Dec 2012

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 17, 2012
• Russian Arms Sales at $14 Bln in 2012 RIA Novosti 17 Dec 2012 -- Russia's overseas arms sales exceeded $14 billion this year, outperforming forecasts by more than $500 million, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

Other Conflicts

• 17 December 2012 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 17 Dec 2012
• UN Chief Says Syria Violence Escalating RFE/RL 17 Dec 2012 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed alarm over what he describes as a "dramatic escalation of violence" in Syria in recent days.
• UN Chief Concerned Over Escalating Violence in Syria RIA Novosti 17 Dec 2012 -- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern and alarm over growing violence in Syria, after reports that Syrian forces attacked the Yarmouk refugee camp.
• Alarmed at rising violence, Ban urges protection of civilians and end to Syria fighting UN News Centre 17 Dec 2012 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed by the continued dramatic escalation of violence in Syria over the past several days, and the grave danger facing civilians in areas under fire, according to his spokesperson.
• UN Chief 'Firmly Condemns' Syria Violence Escalation VOA 17 Dec 2012 -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the escalation of violence in Syria, saying reports of government warplanes bombing a Palestinian refugee camp are of 'grave concern.'
• Pakistan Violence Leaves At Least 22 Dead RFE/RL 17 Dec 2012 -- Violence in Pakistan has left at least 22 people dead, with a bombing in the northwest tribal region, a Taliban attack on Pakistani soldiers, and a shooting apparently related to sectarian problems in the southwest.
• All Attackers on Pakistani Airport Killed RIA Novosti 17 Dec 2012 -- The five remaining members of a group of Taliban militants who carried out a daring attack on a Pakistani airport on Saturday have been killed in an ensuing operation conducted by police and the army, local media reported.
• Iraq Attacks Kill 26, Many in Kurdish-Claimed Areas VOA 17 Dec 2012 -- Iraqi authorities say bombings and shootings across the country have killed at least 26 people, about half of them in northern regions whose territory is disputed between autonomous Iraqi Kurds and Baghdad's central government.
• UN envoy strongly condemns wave of deadly violence in Iraq UN News Centre 17 Dec 2012 -- The top United Nations envoy in Iraq strongly condemned today attacks that have claimed dozens of lives across the Middle Eastern nation since Sunday, in many cases targeting civilians.
• Situation in Kivu provinces of eastern DR Congo remains 'tense and fragile' - UN spokesperson UN News Centre 17 Dec 2012 -- The situation on the ground in the Kivus – two provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which have experienced violent clashes and civilian displacement involving armed groups over recent months – remains "tense and fragile," a United Nations spokesperson said today.
• Citing need for staff retention, Security Council extends judges on UN Yugoslav tribunal UN News Centre 17 Dec 2012 -- Given the importance of staff retention for the timely completion of the work of the United Nations tribunal set up in the wake of the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, the Security Council today adopted a resolution extending the terms of a number of judges so they can finish the cases assigned to them.
• BANGLADESH: NGO ban hurting undocumented Rohingya IRIN 17 Dec 2012 -- Some 40,000 undocumented Rohingya refugees are being adversely affected by a government ban four months ago on NGOs working at two makeshift sites in southeastern Bangladesh.
• PAPUA NEW GUINEA: West Papuan refugees hope for citizenship IRIN 17 Dec 2012 -- Access to citizenship could prove the best hope yet for thousands of West Papuan refugees living in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

News Reports

• Iran seeking sustainable security in Persian Gulf, IRGC commander IRNA 17 Dec 2012 -- Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Commander Rear-Admiral Ali Fadavi said Monday that Iran is pursuing establishment of sustainable security in the Persian Gulf region.
• Safavi: Iran using its PG islands as defense bases IRNA 17 Dec 2012 -- Supreme Leader's Senior Advisor Brigadier General Yahya Rahim Safavi said Iran uses its Persian Gulf islands overlooking the Hormuz Strait as territorial defense bases.
• FM spokesman: Accusing Iranian nationals, part of west's anti-Iran scenario IRNA 17 Dec 2012 -- Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says leveling accusations against Iranian nationals is part of the West's anti-Iran scenario.
• Iran issues indictments against 18 American officials IRNA 17 Dec 2012 -- Judiciary spokesman Hojjatoleslam Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said on Monday that Iran's Judiciary has issued indictments for 18 American officials on charges of involvement in many crimes against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Japan Conservatives Regain Power in Landslide Election RIA Novosti 17 Dec 2012 -- Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its traditional partner New Komeito party won 325 seats in the 480-seat lower house of parliament during elections on Sunday securing an impressive return to power after three years in opposition.
• China Keeps Close Eye on Japan Politics VOA 17 Dec 2012 -- China says it is highly concerned about the direction of Sino-Japanese relations following Sunday's elections in Japan, which will bring a conservative government to power. Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent months over an island dispute in the East China Sea.
• NASA to Intentionally Crash Twin Probes into Moon RIA Novosti 17 Dec 2012 -- Two NASA moon probes, designed to help scientists learn more about the internal structure and composition of the moon, will be intentionally crashed into a mountain near the moon's North Pole on Monday, the United States space agency said.
• NASA's Twin Probes Crash Into Moon VOA 17 Dec 2012 -- The U.S. space agency NASA says the twin spacecraft of its lunar-mapping mission have completed their assignment and have been deliberately crashed into the rim of a moon crater.
• MALAWI-ANGOLA: Some facts on food crises and response IRIN 17 Dec 2012 -- Prolonged dry spells have driven almost four million people to food insecurity in Malawi and oil-rich Angola, in Southern Africa. Humanitarian aid agencies have been trying to shine a spotlight on crises in the region, even as the situations in Syria and the Sahel continue to dominate headlines.