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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 15 Aug 2014 [PDF]

Defense Policy / Programs

• Bomber crews showcase take-off talents AFNS 15 Aug 2014 -- Ten B-52H Stratofortress bombers took part in a minimum interval takeoff exercise, or MITO, showcasing ground and aircrew's abilities, here Aug. 14.
• Readout of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's Phone Call with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu DoD 15 Aug 2014
• Marines execute evacuation drills for Large Scale Exercise 2014 USMC News 15 Aug 2014 -- Marines with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, performed a tactical non-combatant personnel evacuation training mission via aircraft as part of Large Scale Exercise 2014 at the Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif., Aug. 13.
• Blue Ridge Now Second Oldest Behind Constitution NNS 15 Aug 2014 -- U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) now holds the honor of being the oldest ship in the U.S. Navy's active duty fleet, next to USS Constitution, after the decommissioning of the USS Denver (LPD 9) Aug. 14.
• 5th Bomb Wing turns 95 AFNS 15 Aug 2014 -- Today marks the 95th Anniversary of the 5th Bomb Wing. Originally activated August 15, 1919 as the 2nd Observation Group at Luke Field in the Territory of Hawaii, the men and women of the 5th BW have seen action in WWII and Operations Desert Fox, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, to name a few.
• New rotation takes reigns at Powidz AB, Poland AFNS 15 Aug 2014 -- With a shrill squeal, rubber met road as two C-130J Super Hercules' touched down Aug. 14, at Powidz Air Base, Poland -- their crews ready to begin a flying training deployment in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, or OAR.
• AWACS upgrade achieves initial operational capability AFNS 15 Aug 2014 -- The commander of Air Combat Command, Gen. Mike Hostage, declared initial operational capability for the 552nd Air Control Wing's E-3G Sentry, an Airborne Warning and Control System Block 40/45 aircraft, July 28, here.
• Dempsey Building Trust in Vietnam Visit AFPS 15 Aug 2014 -- Building trust and confidence is the theme for the first visit by a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Vietnam since 1971.
• 24th MEU conducts PMINT USMC News 15 Aug 2014 -- Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit caught their first glimpse of what their life will consist of while deployed aboard the USS Iwo Jima, USS New York, or the USS Fort McHenry, during Amphibious Squadron/ Marine Expeditionary Unit Integration, or PMINT, August 6—13.
• US Marines to Modernize Equipment Stored in Norwegian Prepositioning Caves USMC News 15 Aug 2014 -- U.S. Marines, in coordination with the Norwegian military, are scheduled to conduct a pre-planned Single Ship Movement and offload of military equipment from a Maritime Prepositioning Force ship in the Trøndelag region of Norway mid-August.
• Standard Missile Shows Versatility With 'Juliet' Flight Test NNS 15 Aug 2014 -- The Navy executed a successful flight test of the surface-to-air Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) at White Sands Missile Range, Aug. 14.
• Wales Summit to focus on readiness, Secretary General says in Denmark NATO 15 Aug 2014 -- Next month's NATO Summit in Wales will focus on the Alliance's readiness to deal with the full range of threats, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on a visit to Copenhagen on Friday (15 August). ''We will adopt a Readiness Action Plan to make ourselves faster and more agile,'' he said.
• Kim Jong Un Guides Tactical Rocket Test-fire KCNA 15 Aug 2014 -- On the occasion of the 69th anniversary of the liberation of Korea, the DPRK test-fired an ultra-precision high-performance tactical rocket of Korean style which was developed on the initiative of supreme leader Kim Jong Un and under his guidance.
• Mercenaries, Extremists Become Major Balkans Export RFE/RL 15 Aug 2014 -- During the Cold War, Yugoslavia sent thousands of teachers, doctors, engineers, and other professionals to work in all corners of the globe.
• DPRK leader guides test-fire of ultra-precision high-performance tactical rocket People's Daily 15 Aug 2014 -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un has guided the test- fire of a Korean style ultra-precision high-performance tactical rocket on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of the nation's liberation, the official KCNA news agency reported Friday.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for August 15, 2014

Other Conflicts

• US: No Confirmation on Reports Russian Military Entered Ukraine VOA 15 Aug 2014 -- The White House says it cannot confirm reports that Ukrainian troops destroyed a Russian military convoy that had allegedly crossed into eastern Ukraine.
• Moscow Slams Kiev's Use of Aircraft, Heavy Weaponry Against Civilians as Unacceptable RIA Novosti 15 Aug 2014 -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a phone call with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Friday that Kiev's use of combat aircraft and heavy artillery against civilian population in eastern Ukraine was unacceptable.
• Russia Says Weapons Supplies to Ukraine by EU Countries Violate Arms Trade Treaty RIA Novosti 15 Aug 2014 -- Moscow says weapons supplies to Ukraine by EU member-countries violate legally binding obligations on arms exports embargo, Russian Foreign Ministry Friday.
• Alleged Russian 'Incursion' Into Ukraine is Pure Fantasy - Defense Ministry RIA Novosti 15 Aug 2014 -- The Russian Defense Ministry denied on Friday allegations of Russian incursion into eastern Ukraine, calling the claims a 'fantasy' that is not worth discussing.
• Russia, Ukraine Begin Customs Process on Humanitarian Aid at Russian Border RIA Novosti 15 Aug 2014 -- Russia's Ukraine-bound humanitarian aid is being processed at the Donetsk border crossing in Russia, the operation's information center said Friday.
• UN, humanitarian partners launch health plan in crisis-torn eastern Ukraine UN News Centre 15 Aug 2014 -- Conflict in eastern Ukraine, mainly in the areas in and around the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, has affected nearly four million people, including 156,000 internally displaced people, many of whom lack access to healthcare, a United Nations health official said today as he appealed for funds to help address the situation.
• Ukraine Says Destroyed Part Of Russian Armored Column RFE/RL 15 Aug 2014 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says Ukrainian forces have destroyed part of a Russian armored column that crossed the border.
• Ukraine Says It Attacked Russian Armored Column Near Border VOA 15 Aug 2014 -- The Ukrainian government says its troops have destroyed military vehicles that crossed the border from Russia into eastern Ukraine.
• Russia armored vehicles join aid convoy near Ukraine Iran Press TV 15 Aug 2014 -- Russia has reportedly stationed a dozen heavy military vehicles near the border with Ukraine, where Moscow's aid convoy destined for Ukrainian civilians awaits permission to enter the country.
• Ukraine Inspects Convoy Amid Reports Russian APCs Cross Border RFE/RL 15 Aug 2014 -- Ukrainian authorities have begun inspecting a Russian convoy carrying what Moscow says is humanitarian aid destined for eastern Ukraine, amid a continuing government offensive against pro-Russian rebels.
• EU Approves Arming Of Kurds; US Says Air Strikes Will Continue VOA 15 Aug 2014 -- European Union foreign ministers on Friday approved sending weapons to Iraq's embattled Kurds, as Kurdish forces, bolstered by U.S. air strikes, struggle to push back against advancing Islamic State militants.
• Emergency Aid Boosted for Iraq's Refugees VOA 15 Aug 2014 -- Aid agencies are scaling up humanitarian operations in Iraq in response to the recent U.N. declaration that the displacement crisis in the country has reached its highest level of emergency.
• Iraq aid response "inadequate" despite funding boost IRIN 15 Aug 2014 -- Tens of thousands of Iraqis have yet to receive aid despite funding pouring into relief efforts, according to NGOs.
• Iraq's top cleric voices support for newly designated premier Iran Press TV 15 Aug 2014 -- Iraq's top Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has urged lawmakers to cooperate with the country's newly designated Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to form a new government.
• 15,000 Izadi Kurds find refuge in north Syria: UNHCR Iran Press TV 15 Aug 2014 -- The United Nations refugee agency says tens of thousands of Izadi Kurds in Iraq have fled the ISIL-fueled violence in their homeland and sought refuge in northern Syria.
• EU Ministers Give Nod To Arming Iraqi Kurds RFE/RL 15 Aug 2014 -- European Union ministers meeting in Brussels have given their approval to EU states that wish to send weapons to beleaguered Kurdish forces in northern Iraq.
• Senior UN officials commend decision of Iraq's al-Maliki to back his successor UN News Centre 15 Aug 2014 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his envoy in Iraq welcomed Nouri al-Maliki's decision to step aside as Prime Minister and urged national political leaders to build consensus on how to address security threats and other challenges facing the country.
• EU Ministers Approve Arming Iraqi Kurds VOA 15 Aug 2014 -- European Union leaders have approved sending arms to Kurdish forces who are battling Islamic extremists in northern Iraq.
• Adopting resolution, Security Council approves sanctions against militants in Iraq, Syria UN News Centre 15 Aug 2014 -- Expressing its "gravest concern" that parts of Iraq and Syria are now under the control of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Al-Nusra Front, the United Nations Security Council today placed six individuals affiliated with the terrorist groups on its Al-Qaida sanctions list and threatened measures against those who finance, recruit or supply weapons to them.
• Syria troops restore peace to key town near Damascus Iran Press TV 15 Aug 2014 -- Syrian government says army soldiers are trying to fully secure a freshly-liberated town near the capital, Damascus.
• Attacks curb aid work in north Cameroon IRIN 15 Aug 2014 -- An escalation of attacks by Nigerian radical Islamist Boko Haram militia is restricting aid operations in the Far North Region of Cameroon where thousands of Nigerian refugees have sought safety, say aid workers.
• South Sudan: UN mission condemns Bentiu clashes, takes swift action to protect people UN News Centre 15 Aug 2014 -- The United Nations mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has condemned this morning's outbreak of violence in Bentiu which caused hundreds of people to seek shelter at the nearest airport.
• Disarmament Try in Mogadishu Results in Combat VOA 15 Aug 2014 -- Heavy fighting broke out in Mogadishu Friday between Somali government forces supported by African Union troops and a militia loyal to a former warlord. Security officials say more than 10 people died in the fighting and a dozen others were arrested.

News Reports

• Ebola Hurts Economies in West Africa VOA 15 Aug 2014 -- The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa is likely to hurt economic growth and government finances in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and perhaps Nigeria, according to a key analyst. Prevention efforts are crimping commerce, sports, travel and trade.
• Ebola: cases, deaths 'vastly underestimated,' says UN health agency UN News Centre 15 Aug 2014 -- Health workers at Ebola outbreak sites are seeing evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths "vastly underestimate" the magnitude of the crisis as they work around the clock to stop the disease from spreading, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).
• Relief Group: Ebola 'Moving Faster' Than It Can Handle VOA 15 Aug 2014 -- The head of an international medical aid group says the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is moving faster that relief workers can respond to it and may take six months to bring under control