Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 24 Jun 2014 [PDF]
• UN holds negotiations to broker Afghan election deal Iran Press TV 24 Jun 2014 -- The United Nations says it had stepped in to help broker a solution to Afghanistan's election crisis, hosting talks between presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah and the election authority that he boycotted over alleged vote fraud.
• Militant attack leaves 4 dead in west Afghanistan Iran Press TV 24 Jun 2014 -- At least four people, including two policemen, have been killed after a group of unidentified militants launched an attack on a security checkpoint in Afghanistan's western province of Herat.
• Resignation Of Senior Afghan Election Official Welcomed RFE/RL 24 Jun 2014 -- The resignation of Afghanistan's chief election officer is being widely welcomed as an important step in preserving the integrity of the electoral process.
• Pakistani offensive against Taliban militants uproots over 400,000 people - UN agency UN News Centre 24 Jun 2014 -- Pakistan's military offensive against Taliban militants in the north of the country has displaced more than 400,000 people and the number continues to rise, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
• UN Warns of Polio Threat as Pakistanis Flee Fighting VOA 24 Jun 2014 -- About 50,000 Pakistanis have crossed into eastern Afghanistan to escape air strikes over the past 10 days and 435,000 have fled within their homeland, which could fuel the spread of polio as many are not vaccinated, U.N. agencies said on Tuesday.
• U.S. Advisors Arrive in Iraq to Begin Assessing Insurgency AFPS 24 Jun 2014 -- The first U.S. service members ordered to Iraq to help the Iraqi military counter an advancing Sunni insurgency have arrived in the country, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Rear Adm. Kirby in the Pentagon Briefing Room DoD 24 Jun 2014 -- Presenter: Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirbye
• George Washington Carrier Strike Group Promotes Partnerships in 'The Pearl of the Orient' NNS 24 Jun 2014 -- The George Washington Carrier Strike Group (GWCSG) departed Hong Kong, June 20, after a four-day, goodwill port visit.
• USS George Washington Hosts Malaysian Distinguished Visitors NNS 24 Jun 2014 -- The U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) hosted Malaysian distinguished visitors for a tour of the ship at sea, June 24.
• 'Rim of Pacific' Maritime Exercise Kicks Off June 26 AFPS 24 Jun 2014 -- Twenty-three nations, 47 ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel will participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, maritime exercise scheduled June 26 to Aug. 1 in and around the Hawaiian Islands.
• DOD Approves Community Economic Adjustment Grant for Allen County, Ohio DoD 24 Jun 2014
• Statement By Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Announcing Presidential Nominations DoD 24 Jun 2014
• Pacific Partnership 2014 Wraps Up Mission in Timor-Leste NNS 24 Jun 2014 -- Service members and guests from Australia, New Zealand, Timor-Leste and the United States gathered at the Comoro Medical Center for a ceremony marking the end of the Pacific Partnership (PP14) 2014 in Dili, Timor-Leste, June 24.
• TR Sailors Are Ready to Show Off Their Skills During INSURV NNS 24 Jun 2014 -- The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) kicked off the three-day Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) with more than 130 inspectors, both military and civilian, coming aboard June 23.
• Makin Island ARG 'Manned and Ready' NNS 24 Jun 2014 -- The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) returned to San Diego, June 23, after completing a near two week Certification Exercise (CERTEX) in preparation for a scheduled deployment.
• Putin Wants To Revoke Mandate Sanctioning Use Of Force In Ukraine RFE/RL 24 Jun 2014 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the Federation Council to revoke the authorization it granted for military forces to intervene in Ukraine.
• Putin & Revoking Permission for Use of Force in Ukraine RIA Novosti 24 Jun 2014 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, cancelled its permission for a Russian military action in Ukraine, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
• Russian Troops Return to Permanent Bases After Military Exercise in Country's West RIA Novosti 24 Jun 2014 -- Troops of the Western Military District have returned to their respective sites of permanent deployment having completed exercise in Kaliningrad, spokesman for the Western Military District, Col. Oleg Kochetkov said Tuesday.
• Russia to Substitute 95% of Ukrainian Defense Imports RIA Novosti 24 Jun 2014 -- Russian Defense Ministry is planning to substitute 95 percent of imports from Ukraine, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said Tuesday.
• US offers to compensate Kiev losses after reduction of military-technical cooperation with Russia VoR 24 Jun 2014 -- The United States is weighing plans to expand military-technical cooperation with Ukraine and to compensate part of the Ukrainian defense industry's losses following the curtailment of Ukrainian-Russian military-technical cooperation.
• Defence Secretary visits Middle East partners UK MOD 24 Jun 2014 -- Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is in the Gulf to discuss the threat terrorist group ISIL poses to Iraq and the region as a whole.
• Chinese naval fleet returns after distant training People's Daily 24 Jun 2014 -- A Chinese Navy fleet returned to port on Tuesday after 56 days in distant waters.
• Chinese navy to participate in seven programs during RIMPAC exercise People's Daily 24 Jun 2014 -- The world's largest joint military exercise at sea, the 2014 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Naval exercise, will kick off in Hawaii on Thursday. It is the first time that China will have participated in the exercise.
• June 24, 2014 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 24 Jun 2014
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 6/25/2014 The White House 24 Jun 2014

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for June 24, 2014
• U.S. Air Force Awards Lockheed Martin Contract For Next Two SBIRS Missile Defense Early Warning Satellites Lockheed Martin 24 Jun 2014 -- The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $1.86 billion fixed-price contract to complete the production of the fifth and sixth Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites, known as GEO-5 and GEO-6, for the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS). SBIRS provides our nation continuous early warning of ballistic missile launches and other tactical intelligence.

Other Conflicts

• 24 June 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 24 Jun 2014
• Citing value for money, deputy UN chief urges generous support for Peacebuilding Fund UN News Centre 24 Jun 2014 -- Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson today appealed to Member States for continued support towards meeting the annual $100 million target of a United Nations fund that helps post-conflict countries build lasting peace.
• Kerry Urges Iraqi Kurds to Band with Baghdad Against ISIL Insurgency VOA 24 Jun 2014 -- Secretary of State John Kerry met Tuesday with Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani in a bid to convince him to close ranks with the government in Baghdad to fend off an insurgency by Sunni militants.
• US Motives in Iraq Raise Suspicions Across Sectarian Divide VOA 24 Jun 2014 -- Any American assistance to the beleaguered government of Nouri al-Maliki to push back a jihadist-led Sunni Muslim insurgency needs to take into account the widespread suspicion of U.S. motives across Iraq's sectarian divide, caution analysts.
• UN Accuses ISIL of Wide-ranging Abuses in Iraq VOA 24 Jun 2014 -- The United Nations accuses the militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant of wide-ranging human rights violations. Investigators say the Sunni Islamist group has killed hundreds of civilians and wounded many more since its invasion of Iraqi cities began early this month.
• Kerry urges Kurds to save Iraq from collapse VoR 24 Jun 2014 -- John Kerry arrived in Iraq's Kurdish region Tuesday in a US diplomatic drive aimed at preventing the country from splitting apart in the face of Sunni militants pushing towards Baghdad. Iraq's security forces have managed to retake a crucial border crossing along the frontier with Syria, but were struggling to contain advances by insurgents, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who have taken swathes of five provinces north and west of the capital.
• Iraqi envoy: Iran's IRGC force, commander not in Iraq ISNA 24 Jun 2014 -- Iraqi ambassador to Iran Mohammed Majid al-Sheikh rejected reports that Commander of Iran's Quds Force Qassem Soleimani and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces are in Iraq to protect the country against militants.
• Thousands more join Iraq army to fight against ISIL Iran Press TV 24 Jun 2014 -- A large number of Iraqi volunteers have rushed to military recruitment centers to join the battle against militants from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).
• ISIL massacred 1000 across Iraq in June: UN Iran Press TV 24 Jun 2014 -- The UN says over 1000 people have been killed in Iraq so far this month after the Takfiri militants overran parts of the northern and western regions of the country.
• Iraqi fighter jets kill over a dozen ISIL terrorists Iran Press TV 24 Jun 2014 -- Iraqi army warplanes have pounded several areas in the strategic oil town of Baiji, killing over a dozen Takfiri militants and injuring several others.
• Iraqi army continues mop-up operations against Takfiri militants Iran Press TV 24 Jun 2014 -- Iraqi armed forces are pressing ahead with their mop-up operations in the east and north of the country, inflicting heavy losses on Takfiri militants.
• 1000s volunteer to fight ISIL in Iraq's Basra: Report Iran Press TV 24 Jun 2014 -- Tens of thousands of Iraqis in the southern province of Basra have reportedly answered calls by religious figures to take up arms and join the country's armed forces in the battle against the Takfiri terrorists.
• UN: 1,000 Killed In ISIL Iraq Advance; Kerry In Kurdish Talks RFE/RL 24 Jun 2014 -- The United Nations says at least 1,075 people were killed in Iraq between June 5 and June 22 -- most of them civilians -- as Sunni-led militants seized swaths of territory in Anbar Province and to the north of Baghdad.
• Iraq violence: UN confirms more than 2,000 killed, injured since early June UN News Centre 24 Jun 2014 -- More than 1,000 people were killed in Iraq, and another 1,000 injured in the two weeks since the group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS) and its allies began to sweep across the country, the United Nations today confirmed, stressing that those figures should be viewed "very much as a minimum."
• Separatists Down Ukrainian Military Helicopter VOA 24 Jun 2014 -- Pro-Russian separatists have shot down a Ukrainian military helicopter, just a day after the rebels announced a week-long truce in eastern Ukraine matching the cease-fire announced by the country's president.
• Ukrainian army carries out artillery strikes against self-defense in Slavyansk despite ceasefire VoR 24 Jun 2014 -- Ukrainian government forces continue to carry out artillery strikes against the militia's strongholds in defiance of the declared ceasefire, the defense minister of the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk People's Republic', Igor Strelkov, has said.
• Independence Supporters Say Ukrainian Forces Continue Fighting – Donetsk RIA Novosti 24 Jun 2014 -- Representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) denied Tuesday Kiev's allegations suggesting independence supporters violated the ceasefire and accused instead the Ukrainian special forces of continuing fighting.
• Despite recent positive steps, Ukraine situation remains deeply worrying, Security Council told UN News Centre 24 Jun 2014 -- While there have been several steps recently to help de-escalate tensions in Ukraine, including a ceasefire that seems to be holding and the start of peace talks, the situation on the ground remains deeply worrying, senior United Nations officials reported to the Security Council today.
• Removal of Declared Chemical Materials from Syria US Dept. of State 23 Jun 2014
• Suspected Boko Haram Militants Kidnap Dozens in Nigeria VOA 24 Jun 2014 -- Suspected Boko Haram militants have abducted more than 60 women and young girls, as well as 31 boys, in restive northeast Nigeria, a local official and a vigilante leader said on Tuesday.
• UN officials welcome move to set up interim administration for south-west Somalia UN News Centre 24 Jun 2014 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the top United Nations envoy in Somalia have welcomed the agreement reached to establish a new interim regional administration in the south-western part of the country.
• UN envoy denounces latest attack on Lebanese security forces UN News Centre 24 Jun 2014 -- The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon has strongly condemned the suicide bombing that took place yesterday at the entrance to the southern suburbs of Beirut in which a member of the security forces was killed and a number of people were injured.
• Illegal trade in wildlife, timber products funding criminals, armed groups – joint UN report UN News Centre 24 Jun 2014 -- Global environmental crime, possibly worth more than $200 billion annually, is helping finance criminal, militia and terrorist groups and threatening the security and sustainable development of many nations, notably in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new joint United Nations-INTERPOL report.

News Reports

• EU Attempts to Punish Crimea for Reunification with Russia Unacceptable - Moscow RIA Novosti 24 Jun 2014 -- The European Union's attempts to punish Crimea for its reunifying with Russia is completely unacceptable, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
• EU Actions Undermine Partnership With Russia RIA Novosti 24 Jun 2014 -- The latest actions of the European Union cast doubt on the strategic nature of its relations with Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
• Spokesman for CPRK Slams U.S., S. Korean Puppet Forces for Their Racket for Confrontation with DPRK KCNA 24 Jun 2014 -- The spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) Tuesday issued a statement denouncing the south Korean puppet group for kicking off the conspiratorial moves for confrontation with the DPRK with the June 25 Korean war as a momentum.
• Iran agrees to receive final installments of blocked assets by India ISNA 24 Jun 2014 -- Iran has agreed to receive final $550 millions installments of blocked $4.2 billion assets on nuclear deal with G5+1 through India, ISNA learned.
• New fueling process at Bushehr plant completed: AEOI Iran Press TV 24 Jun 2014 -- Iran has completed the new process of loading fuel into the Bushehr nuclear power plant, says the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
• Iran, Russia to ink nuclear plants deal: Official Iran Press TV 24 Jun 2014 -- Tehran and Moscow are soon to sign a deal on the construction of new nuclear power plants in Iran, an Iranian official says.
• Organized Opposition to Thailand Coup Emerges VOA 24 Jun 2014 -- The first sign of organized opposition to Thailand's military coup has emerged, with an ex-government minister vowing to work with fellow dissidents to restore 'democratic principles.'
• Egypt's Sissi: Court Rulings Not to Be Criticized VOA 24 Jun 2014 -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi says he will not interfere with judicial verdicts, a day after a Cairo court sentenced three Al-Jazeera journalists to seven years in prison on charges of supporting the banned Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false news.
• Edward Snowden denies any connection to Russian gov't VoR 24 Jun 2014 -- Former NSA employee Edward Snowden denies ties to the Russian government and states that he would like to live a normal life. These are the statements he made on Tuesday during a live video broadcast of a meeting of the PACE's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.