• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Kerry in Afghanistan to push for deal on military presence Iran Press TV 11 Oct 2013 -- US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit Friday for urgent security talks as an end of October deadline looms for completing a deal that would allow American troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014.
• New Afghan battle school opens UK MOD 11 Oct 2013 -- Afghan troops are enrolling in courses at a newly-launched battle school at Camp Shorabak in Helmand province.
• Local, Utah Guard Members Aid Colorado Flood Response AFPS 11 Oct 2013 -- The 36th Infantry Division's Domestic All-Hazards Response Team-West continues to coordinate assistance requests and support for the Colorado flood relief effort.
• South Dakota National Guard Continues Storm Aid AFPS 11 Oct 2013 -- South Dakota National Guard members continue to support the state after the Oct. 4 winter storm that crippled western South Dakota.

Defense Policy / Programs

• 20th Air Force commander relieved of command AFNS 11 Oct 2013 -- Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, relieved Maj. Gen. Michael Carey from command of 20th Air Force today due to a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership and judgment.
• Statement by George Little on Death Gratuity Payments DoD 11 Oct 2013
• MOUT training highlights urban warfighting USMC News 11 Oct 2013 -- Marines with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, conducted Military Operations in Urban Terrain training at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, 2013. The company utilized the Infantry Immersion Training facility to sustain urban warfighting tactics and to integrate junior Marines into a kinetic 360-degree environment.
• DOD Leaders Worry About Shutdown's Effect on Civilian Morale AFPS 11 Oct 2013 -- The partial government shutdown is hurting DOD civilian morale, the department's comptroller told Congress yesterday.
• VMA-223 prepares for upcoming deployment USMC News 11 Oct 2013 -- Marines with Marine Attack Squadron 223 trained to obtain underwater helicopter escape certifications at the Camp Lejeune combat training pool Oct. 3.
• Washington Navy Yard Recovery Task Force Established NNS 11 Oct 2013 -- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Oct. 10 the establishment of the Washington Navy Yard Recovery Task Force.
• Retrograde Process Saves Lives, Money AFPS 11 Oct 2013 -- As the December 2014 Afghanistan drawdown deadline draws near, thousands of service members and civilians at bases around Afghanistan are preparing tens of thousands of vehicles and containers filled with equipment and supplies for an intricate journey.
• National Guard Faces the Shutdown AFPS 11 Oct 2013 -- National Guard personnel are feeling the effects of the government shutdown and leaders are worried about the readiness of the component, Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, the vice chief of the National Guard Bureau said today.
• Navy Cancels, Postpones Zumwalt Christening NNS 11 Oct 2013 -- The Navy announced today that the christening of the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) originally scheduled for Oct. 19 has been cancelled and postponed until a future date.
• NATO Secretary General praises Croatia's contribution NATO 11 Oct 2013 -- Croatia makes a valuable contribution to NATO, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after meeting the country's leaders in Dubrovnik on Saturday 12 October. "Croatia plays a valuable role in our operations. Croatia plays a valuable role in our debates. And Croatia plays a valuable role in building cooperation and dialogue in the Western Balkans region," the Secretary General said after meeting Speaker of Parliament Josip Leko.
• 'Defence matters': Speech by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the 2013 annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dubrovnik, Croatia NATO 11 Oct 2013
• MND denies reported plan to retire all Knox-class warships CNA 11 Oct 2013 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Friday denied a report that the Navy plans to cut Taiwan's number of frigates by six to cut costs.
• Pakistan Government Slow on Key Military Appointments VOA 11 Oct 2013 -- The Pakistani government has been slow in making key military leadership appointments.
• Russia test-fires nuclear-capable Topol missile Iran Press TV 11 Oct 2013 -- Russian military says it has successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable RS-12M Topol missile in the nation's southern region as part of what it describes as a series of tests of new combat equipment.
• End of British military flying in Germany UK MOD 11 Oct 2013 -- The last 1 Regiment Army Air Corps Lynx helicopter has left Gütersloh in Germany, marking the end of British military flying in the country.
• MOD orders more Starstreak missiles UK MOD 11 Oct 2013 -- The Ministry of Defence is to buy 200 extra missiles as part of a multi-million-pound deal announced today by the Prime Minister.
• Kim Jong Un Guides Maneuvers of Newly Built Warships KCNA 11 Oct 2013 -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and first chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission, looked round newly built warships and guided their maneuvers.
• October 11, 2013 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 11 Oct 2013

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Security Council approves joint OPCW-UN mission to oversee destruction of Syria's chemical weapons UN News Centre 11 Oct 2013 -- The Security Council has formally approved a first-ever joint United Nations mission with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning global chemical weapons watchdog to oversee the destruction of Syria's stockpiles and production facilities.
• Syria militants get chem. training in Afghanistan: Russia Iran Press TV 11 Oct 2013 -- Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has cited reports saying that a number of countries are training Syrian militants in Afghanistan to use chemical weapons.
• UN Security Council Members Back Joint Syria Team RIA Novosti 11 Oct 2013 -- Members of the UN Security Council on Thursday backed the UN chief's initiative to establish a joint mission tasked with eliminating chemical weapons in Syria.
• Some 800,000 Syrian refugees to benefit from new UN electronic voucher programme UN News Centre 11 Oct 2013 -- The United Nations food relief agency today announced that a new electronic voucher programme in Lebanon will allow hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees to meet their food needs while boosting the local economy.
• DR Congo: Mission chief condemns rebel attack on unarmed UN helicopter UN News Centre 11 Oct 2013 -- The head of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today condemned an armed rebel attack on a UN helicopter carrying out a reconnaissance mission in the skies above the vast country's restive eastern region.
• Mali takes baby steps toward protecting former child soldiers IRIN 11 Oct 2013 -- Just a handful of the hundreds of Malian children believed to have been drawn into the country's recent conflict are formally receiving help. Bamako authorities say the involvement of children in conflict is a new phenomenon in the country, and they are striving to protect the minors under a fledgling set of regulations.

News Reports

• Nobel Peace Prize Goes To Chemical-Weapons Watchdog RFE/RL 11 Oct 2013 -- The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been named as the winner of the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
• Ban lauds awarding of Nobel Peace Prize to international chemical watchdog UN News Centre 11 Oct 2013 -- Hailing its work on disarmament and non-proliferation, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for being awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
• Hillary Clinton Cautious on Iran Talks VOA 11 Oct 2013 -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says it is too soon to know whether the different approach to nuclear talks taken by Iran's new government will result in real progress on the issue that has divided Iran and the international community for years. Clinton spoke at Chatham House in London.
• Tehran to put forward new plan in talks with P5+1 IRNA 11 Oct 2013 -- Foreign Minister and Iran's top nuclear negotiator with Mohammad Javad Zarif is to put forward a new plan to resolve the dispute over Iran nuclear activities during the next round of talks with the G5+1 which is to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, later this month.
• Clear-cut nuclear solution possible: Iran speaker Iran Press TV 11 Oct 2013 -- Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani says Iran and the six major world powers can work out a "clear-cut solution" to the West's dispute with Tehran over its nuclear energy program.
• Snowden, other US leakers meet in Moscow Iran Press TV 11 Oct 2013 -- American intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden has secretly met with other former US security authorities who have joined the campaign against abusing state secrecy, WikiLeaks whistleblower website reports.
• Fukushima Radiation Leaks Raise Raises Alarm about TEPCO VOA 11 Oct 2013 -- The owners of Japan's damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, TEPCO, have apologized after several workers at the site were accidentally doused with highly radioactive water this week. Authorities do not believe they were exposed to a health risk. But the accident is just the latest in a series that have called into question TEPCO's ability to manage a clean-up operation that could last decades.
• Musharraf cant be stopped from leaving Pakistan: Court IRNA 11 Oct 2013 -- A Pakistani court on Friday ruled that former President Pervez Musharraf cannot be stopped from leaving Pakistan.
• South Korea indicts 100 over scandal Iran Press TV 11 Oct 2013 -- South Korea has officially charged 100 people with corruption in a scandal over fake safety certifications for parts in the country's nuclear reactors.
• S. Korea Charges 100 Officials Over Nuclear Reactor Corruption VOA 11 Oct 2013 -- South Korea has charged 100 officials and suppliers in its nuclear energy industry with corruption over faked safety certificates for nuclear reactor parts. The scandal, coming on the heels of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, has led to much criticism about how the nuclear industry is regulated.
• Aides: Libyan PM Abduction Was Political Plot VOA 11 Oct 2013 -- A day after Libya's prime minister was abducted and held for a few hours by militants, his aides said the episode is part of a broad plan on the part of his political opponents to destabilize the government.
• Despite reforms, corruption rife among Liberian police IRIN 11 Oct 2013 -- A decade of efforts to reform the Liberia National Police (LNP) has resulted in an increasingly professional police force, yet abusive behaviour, a culture of impunity, and endemic corruption continue to erode the force's credibility, according to researchers. As a result, many Liberians fear the LNP rather than depend on it for protection.
• Water Discovered in Extrasolar, Rocky World VOA 11 Oct 2013 -- Water has been discovered for the first time on a piece of rocky debris 150 light years away from Earth.
• African Nations Discuss Stance on ICC VOA 11 Oct 2013 -- African Union leaders are meeting in Ethiopia to discuss the International Criminal Court, which some countries charge is biased against African nations.