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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 12 Apr 2013 [PDF]
• At least 13 Afghan soldiers killed in Taliban attack Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- Taliban militants have attacked an army outpost in Kunar Province near the eastern border with Pakistan, killing at least 13 soldiers, Press TV reports.
• ANA commandos teach new soldiers mortar system USMC News 12 Apr 2013 -- Afghan National Army Sgt. Jan Agha, a commando with 215th Corps' 7th Kandak, knows the tools of the infantryman trade. He's been trained by and fought alongside coalition forces for the past three years.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Secretary of the Navy Names Multiple Ships DOD 12 Apr 2013 -- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the names of seven ships: three joint high speed vessels (JHSV), the USNS Trenton, the USNS Brunswick and the USNS Carson City; an amphibious transport dock ship (LPD), the USS Portland; two littoral combat ships (LCS), the USS Wichita and the USS Manchester; and an ocean-class auxiliary general oceanographic research (AGOR) ship, the R/V Sally Ride.
• AF installations chief testifies to Congress on BRAC, MILCON AFNS 12 Apr 2013 -- In testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction-Veteran Affairs here April 12, a senior Air Force leader announced the fiscal year 2014 budget for the service's installation programs.
• Multinational Planners Ensure Successful Exercise NNS 12 Apr 2013 -- Representatives from 10 nations met to plan the 41st Exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) at the naval base in Kiel, Germany, April 9-11.
• Airmen learn to make leaner, more efficient Air Force AFNS 12 Apr 2013 -- Airmen first class to colonels and civilians from more than 10 Air Force specialties discussed ways to improve work center processes and remove waste during the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century Continuous Process Improvement Course here April 1-4.
• Air Force Secretary Discusses $114.1 Billion Budget Proposal AFPS 12 Apr 2013 -- The Air Force's top civilian leader today presented his service's fiscal year 2014 $114.1 billion baseline budget request to Congress and shared some of the fiscal challenges the Air Force has faced.
• Army completes environmental study on future force structure reductions Army News 12 Apr 2013 -- The Army published a Finding of No Significant Impact following completion of the Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Army 2020 Force Structure Realignment.
• Southcom Tailors Exercise Program in Light of Budget Squeeze AFPS 12 Apr 2013 -- Confronted with sequestration and more anticipated budget cuts for the next fiscal year, officials at U.S. Southern Command are making tough choices as they scale back the exercise program they call integral to regional stability and U.S. national security.
• Budget Request Provides For Best Air Force Possible, Welsh Says AFPS 12 Apr 2013 -- The Air Force's $114.1 billion fiscal year 2014 budget request will provide for the most capable airpower arm possible, the Air Force chief of staff said here today.
• Senior Defense Official Makes Case for BRAC to Congress AFPS 12 Apr 2013 -- The acting deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment and his service branch counterparts presented their military construction budget requests to Capitol Hill legislators here today and made a case for another round of base realignment and closure.
• Blackfoot Company arrives for Balikatan 2013 USMC News 12 Apr 2013 -- Marines and Sailors with Company B., Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrive here to train alongside the Philippine Marine Corps as part of exercise Balikatan, April 6.
• US, Philippines conducting joint military exercises in Tarlac Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- The United States and the Philippines are conducting joint military exercises in Tarlac Province of the Southeast Asian country's Central Luzon region.
• Space Command's ops chief discusses new warfighter role AFNS 12 Apr 2013 -- The Director of Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations for Air Force Space Command spoke at the Space Warfighters Luncheon April 9 during the 29th National Space Symposium held at the Broadmoor Resort, Colorado Springs, Colo.
• DOD, Interagency Rehearse Hurricane Response Procedures AFPS 12 Apr 2013 -- With projections of an active 2013 hurricane season and lessons of Hurricane Sandy still fresh in their minds, members of the military and their interagency partners met this week to fine-tune their coordinated response procedures.
• Obama Pick for NATO Commander Calls for Russia 'Partnership' RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- US President Barack Obama's nominee to become supreme allied commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said Thursday that the United States should not pursue an antagonistic relationship with Moscow but rather one of partnership and reciprocity.
• End force-feeding of Guantanamo hunger strikers: Red Cross Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- The Red Cross has condemned the force-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, while urging a solution to the plight of inmates at the prison.
• Gitmo hunger strikers to die in near future: Lawyers Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- Lawyers representing hunger-striking prisoners at the United States' infamous Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba say some of the hunger strikers will lose their lives in the ongoing protest.
• Opening remarks by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the press conference held at the National Press Club in Seoul, Republic of Korea NATO 12 Apr 2013
• Russia Builds Up Mediterranean Task Force RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- Russia's naval task force in the Mediterranean will be augmented next week with the Ropucha-II Class landing ship Azov from the Black Sea Fleet, navy spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Vyacheslav Trukhachev said on Friday.
• Yemen: Ban welcomes efforts to reform armed forces in line with Security Council resolutions UN News Centre 12 Apr 2013 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi's efforts to restructure the country's security sector in line with international agreements and United Nations Security Council resolutions.
• Remarks With Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se After Their Meeting US Dept. of State 12 Apr 2013
• April 12, 2013 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 12 Apr 2013

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for April 12, 2013
• Ukraine Ready to Go Ahead With An-70 Project on Its Own - PM RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- Ukraine will continue its project to build Antonov An-70 tactical transport aircraft even if Russia withdraws from it, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Friday.

Other Conflicts

• 12 April 2013 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 12 Apr 2013
• S.Korea Offers Talks With North - Spokesman RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- Seoul is open for talks with Pyongyang to ease the escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman said on Friday in comments reported by a local news agency.
• South Korea doubts North could launch nuclear-armed missile Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- South Korea says it doubts that North Korea has the ability to launch a nuclear-armed ballistic missile, as earlier claimed by the United States.
• N Korea vows avenge if Japan intercepts missile launch Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- North Korea has vowed to launch a strike on Japan if Tokyo persists in what it called hostilities against Pyongyang and intercept any of its test missiles.
• US warns North Korea against new missile launch Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned North Korea against a new missile launch amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
• Kerry: North Korean Threats 'Unacceptable' RFE/RL 12 Apr 2013 -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says North Korea's threats of war are 'unacceptable' and that the United States "will, if needed, defend our allies and defend ourselves."
• North Korea Missile Launch Would be ‘Provocation’ – US RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- US Secretary of State John Kerry warned North Korea on Friday that any test of a mid-range missile would further isolate it from the international community.
• Kerry: North Korean Missile Launch Would be 'Huge Mistake' VOA 12 Apr 2013 -- America's top diplomat, at the start of a four-day trip to Asia, is warning North Korea it will face further consequences should it test-fire a new missile.
• Analysts Downplay US Report on N. Korean Missiles VOA 12 Apr 2013 -- Analysts and officials are cautioning against drawing too many conclusions from the partial disclosure of a U.S. intelligence report that suggests North Korea has succeeded in being able to place a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile.
• Will China Shift Its Stance on N. Korea? VOA 12 Apr 2013 -- Weeks of threats by North Korea against the South and the United States have provoked strong criticism from countries around the world. However, the response from Pyongyang's longtime ally China has been more nuanced.
• In Oval Office meeting Ban and Obama discuss crises from Syria to climate change UN News Centre 11 Apr 2013 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon conferred with President Barack Obama in Washington today on a host of issues ranging from the conflict in Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to tensions on the Korean peninsula and climate change.
• UN says $81 million urgently needed for food relief to 3.5 million Syrians UN News Centre 12 Apr 2013 -- The United Nations food relief agency today said it urgently needs $81 million to assist 2.5 hungry people inside Syria and one million refugees in neighbouring countries until June, and warned that without funding it would have to stop many of its current aid programmes.
• Mali Residents Wary As French Troops Withdraw VOA 12 Apr 2013 -- France has pulled its first 100 soldiers out of Mali, part of a gradual drawdown to bring their 4,000 troops there down to just 1,000 by the end of the year.
• Hunger at crisis levels in northern Mali IRIN 12 Apr 2013 -- Hunger in Mali has reached crisis levels in the northern Kidal Region and has reached critical levels in Gao and Timbuktu regions, according to food security agencies and the government's early warning body.
• Doctors Without Borders says 74,000 Malian refugees need urgent aid Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says 74,000 Malians who have taken refuge in the desert of Mauritania need urgent help and humanitarian assistance.
• Mali: UN reaffirms support for African military force after deadly terrorist attack UN News Centre 12 Apr 2013 -- The United Nations today reaffirmed its determination to back the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) after a terrorist suicide bombing killed three Chadian members of the force, which is helping national efforts to recover the northern Sahara region of the trouble-wracked country from insurgents.
• Ban welcomes discussions in Juba between Presidents of Sudan and South Sudan UN News Centre 12 Apr 2013 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said he was 'encouraged' by the positive dialogue between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir who is on his first visit to Juba since South Sudan seceded in 2011.
• Sudan's Bashir Pays Historic Visit to South Sudan VOA 12 Apr 2013 -- Sudanese President Omar al Bashir paid a historic first visit to South Sudan Friday, fueling hopes of peace and cooperation between the two countries, after a tense year that has brought them to the brink of war over oil rights and territorial claims.
• Sudan's Bashir says he wants peace with southern neighbor Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has called for peace and normal ties with South Sudan as the neighbors move to reestablish relations.
• Fresh tribal clashes in Darfur trigger largest influx of refugees into Chad in years, UN says UN News Centre 12 Apr 2013 -- Some 50,000 refugees from south-western Darfur have arrived in Chad following fresh tribal clashes, the United Nations refugee agency said today, urging more shelter, clean drinking water, food and medicine in what is called the largest influx of refugees from Sudan into Chad since 2005.
• DR Congo suspends officers implicated in mass rapes in what UN calls 'important' step UN News Centre 12 Apr 2013 -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has suspended for further investigation the commanding officers of two of its battalions implicated in mass rapes and other human rights violations in what the United Nations today called "an important signal of the commitment of the Congolese authorities to hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable."
• UN: CAR Groups Still Recruiting Child Soldiers VOA 12 Apr 2013 -- The United Nations Children's Fund reports that armed groups in the Central African Republic are continuing to recruit child soldiers. UNICEF condemns this practice, calling it a grave violation of international law.

News Reports

• Ball in P5+1 court in talks: Iran official Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- The deputy to Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the P5+1 group of world powers says Tehran offered its proposals in the latest round of negotiations and the other side must respond now.
• Iran rejects claims about registration of 'time machine' Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- Iran's Deputy Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad Mehdinejad Nouri has dismissed claims about the registration of a 'time machine' in the country.
• United States Publishes 'Magnitsky List' RFE/RL 12 Apr 2013 -- The United States has imposed visa bans and asset freezes on 18 people, many of them Russian, who are named on what is known as the Magnitsky List.
• US Releases Names of Russian Officials on Magnitsky List RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- The United States on Friday released the names of 18 Russians to be slapped with visa and financial sanctions under the controversial Magnitsky Act, which punishes individuals Washington deems complicit in human rights abuses.
• Magnitsky List Will Harm US-Russia Ties - Kremlin RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- The expected publication this week by the United States of a list of Russian officials subject to sanctions over suspected human rights abuses will damage US-Russia relations, the Kremlin said on Friday.
• Russian president allocates $50 bn to space sector Iran Press TV 12 Apr 2013 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a bid to uplift his country's space industry, has earmarked over $50 billion to Moscow's space sector.
• Russia to Explore Moon, Mars by 2030 - Deputy PM RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- Russia will develop new technology including huge new rockets for manned flights to the Moon and Mars by 2030, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday.
• Russia Must Close Deep Space Exploration Gap Says Putin RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- Russia must catch up with other space powers in deep space exploration and higher priority should be given to applied projects in space research, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
• AFNS 12 Apr 2013 -- The Director of Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations for Air Force Space Command spoke at the Space Warfighters Luncheon April 9 during the 29th National Space Symposium held at the Broadmoor Resort, Colorado Springs, Colo.
• NASA Plans for Asteroids, Astronauts and a Trip to Mars RIA Novosti 12 Apr 2013 -- Planned space adventures over the next few decades for the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) read like a science fiction thriller with a touch of the wild west thrown in, with plans to journey farther and faster than anyone from Earth has gone before.
• UN expert calls for support to protect Burkina Faso from terrorism threat UN News Centre 12 Apr 2013 -- A United Nations independent expert today called for international support to ward off terrorism from Burkina Faso, stressing it remains vulnerable to radicalization and violent extremists.