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Defense Policy / Programs
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Current Operations

Defense Policy / Programs

• DOD Looks 25 Years Ahead in Unmanned Vehicle Roadmap AFPS 23 Dec 2013 -- Strategy and budget realities are two aspects of the Defense Department's new Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap, released today.
• Force management programs necessary despite budget deal AFNS 23 Dec 2013 -- Despite a congressional budget deal that lessens the impact of sequestration on the Air Force, it doesn't go far enough to halt actions to shrink the service, senior service officials said.
• Africa Command Repositions Forces to Increase Flexibility AFPS 23 Dec 2013 -- The commander of U.S. Africa Command is repositioning forces in East Africa in an effort to attain maximum flexibility to respond to State Department requests, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters here today.
• Statement By Secretary Hagel On The U.S. Marine Corps' Favorable Audit Opinion Monday, December 23, 2013 DoD 23 Dec 2013
• CLB-5 Marines provide logistical support during Exercise Steel Knight 2014 USMC News 23 Dec 2013 -- Lance Cpl. Mitchell Burri stands silhouetted, grasping his weapon while scanning his surroundings. Beside him, Lance Cpl. Archorey Baker stands watch, guarding supplies and equipment essential for the training of the units they were supporting. The two Marines are part of Combat Logistics Battalion 5, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, a battalion that worked tirelessly to provide logistical support to numerous units during Exercise Steel Knight 2014.
• USS Freedom Completes Maiden Deployment; Returns to San Diego NNS 23 Dec 2013 -- The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) returned to its homeport of San Diego Dec. 23 following the completion of its maiden deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR).
• Navy Issues Record of Decision for Hawaii-Southern California Training and Testing Environmental Impact Statement NNS 23 Dec 2013 -- The U.S. Navy issued a Record of Decision (ROD) Dec. 23 for the Hawaii-Southern California Training and Testing (HSTT) Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (EIS/OEIS).
• HMLA-167 completes UDP deployment USMC News 23 Dec 2013 -- Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 167 returned from Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 5.
• HMH-464 deploys to Japan for UDP USMC News 23 Dec 2013 -- As the war in Afghanistan winds down, the Marine Corps is going back to its normal deployment cycle in its continuous mission of keeping American presence around the world.
• US Re-balance to Asia Overshadowed by Tensions With China VOA 23 Dec 2013 -- The United States moved to pivot military, diplomatic and economic resources toward Asia in 2013, but the policy was sidetracked by bickering among allies and an increasingly assertive China.
• Kalashnikov's Uncomfortable Legacy RFE/RL 23 Dec 2013 -- Mikhail Kalashnikov, who has died aged 94 in Izhevsk, will forever be associated with one of the world's most iconic - and controversial - weapons.
• AK-47 Inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov Dies at Age 94 RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2013 -- Mikhail Kalashnikov, the 94-year-old inventor of the world's most popular firearm, the AK-47, died Monday in a Russian hospital, a local government official said.
• Russian Navy Commissions Second Borey-Class Submarine RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2013 -- The Russian Navy commissioned its second Borey-class nuclear missile submarine, Alexander Nevsky, into service Monday, a fleet representative said.
• India Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2013 -- India on Monday carried out a test of a domestically developed ballistic missile with a range of more than 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles), local media reported.
• Strategic UAV development program proceeding smoothly: official CNA 23 Dec 2013 -- A program to develop a strategic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can remain aloft for long periods has been proceeding very smoothly, the director-general of the Armaments Bureau under the Ministry of National Defense said Monday.
• U.K. not treating AWOL officer's case as political asylum: envoy CNA 23 Dec 2013 -- The case of a Taiwanese military intelligence officer who fled to the United Kingdom to avoid military service is simply an issue of a visa overstay and has nothing to do with seeking asylum, Taiwan's representative to the U.K. said Monday.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 23, 2013
• Kalashnikov Plans New Rifle, More Export Models - Director RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2013 -- The recently established Kalashnikov Concern is planning to develop a modernized main battle rifle for the Russian Army and hopes to increase the number of models available for export, its general director said in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti.

Other Conflicts

• 23 December 2013 - Press Conference by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at United Nations Headquarters United Nations 23 Dec 2013
• Syria facing major extremist offensive: Assad Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2013 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says his country is being confronted by a major offensive led by Takfiri extremists.
• Russia Delivers Chemical Disarmament Gear to Syria RIA Novosti 23 Dec 2013 -- Russia has handed over vehicles and supplies to assist Syria with destruction of its chemical weapons stockpile, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.
• As South Sudan conflict worsens, Ban proposes reinforcing UN peacekeepers UN News Centre 23 Dec 2013 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called a crisis meeting of his top advisers on the deteriorating situation in South Sudan today and proposed reinforcing the United Nations peacekeeping force there in a bid to stem a conflict increasingly marked by ethnically targeted killings.
• South Sudan President, Rival Call for Dialogue VOA 23 Dec 2013 -- The president of South Sudan and the leader of the rebellion against him are both calling for dialogue, as the country tries to deal with escalating violence.
• South Sudan Rebels Hold Two Key Cities as Unrest Continues VOA 23 Dec 2013 -- The South Sudan government has lost control of two key cities in the world's newest nation, as violence that has claimed hundreds of lives and sent thousands fleeing their homes entered a second week Monday.
• Rape, mutilations, atrocities mark Central African Republic conflict, UN experts warn UN News Centre 23 Dec 2013 -- Urgent national and international action is crucial to prevent the Central African Republic (CAR) from plunging into full-scale sectarian conflict and protect civilians, particularly women and children, from atrocities that have already killed thousands and driven 750,000 others from their homes amid reports of rape and mutilation, United Nations human rights officials have warned.
• Food Aid Distribution Difficult in CAR VOA 23 Dec 2013 -- The World Food Program says it will scale-up its emergency operations in Central African Republic to provide aid to more than one-million people over the next six months. However, in the meantime, the U.N. agency is trying to cope with growing insecurity, especially in the capital, Bangui.
• Iraq military strikes al-Qaeda camps in Anbar Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2013 -- Iraqi forces have destroyed two camps belonging to an al-Qaeda-linked militant group in the western province of Anbar, the Defence Ministry says.

News Reports

• Snowden may help Germany probe NSA spying Iran Press TV 23 Dec 2013 -- American whistleblower Edward J. Snowden has said he will help Germany investigate US National Security Agency spying if Berlin grants him political asylum.
• Al-Qaida in Yemen Apologizes for Attack on Hospital VOA 23 Dec 2013 -- Following a public outcry about an attack on a hospital inside Yemen's Defense Ministry on December 5, the leader of al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate, Qassem al Raymi, apologized for the choice of targets and vowed to pay compensation to families of the victims.
• UN rights body voices concern as Russia orders NGO to register as 'foreign agent' UN News Centre 23 Dec 2013 -- A United Nations human rights body voiced grave concern today after a court in Russia ordered a non-governmental organization (NGO) that had provided the panel with information to register as a "foreign agent."
• Three Leading Egyptian Activists Jailed RFE/RL 23 Dec 2013 -- A court in Egypt has sentenced three prominent activists who helped lead the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak to three years in prison each for a recent demonstration.