• 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

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 18 Dec 2014 [PDF]
• Inherent Resolve Airstrikes Continue Against ISIL AFPS 18 Dec 2014 -- U.S. and partner-nation military forces attacked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq today, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported.
• Coalition Will Defeat ISIL, Task Force Commander Says AFPS 18 Dec 2014 -- The strength of the 40-plus nation coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ultimately will defeat the terrorist group, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said here today.
• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Lt. Gen. Terry in the Pentagon Briefing Room DoD 18 Dec 2014 -- Presenters: Lieutenant General James L. Terry, commander, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve
• Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby on ISIL Leadership Killed DoD 18 Dec 2014 -- "I can confirm that since mid-November, targeted coalition airstrikes successfully killed multiple senior and mid-level leaders within the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)."
• US General: 3 Top IS Commanders Killed in Airstrikes VOA 18 Dec 2014 -- Three top Islamic State leaders were killed in a series of targeted airstrikes in Iraq, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said Thursday.
• Afghanistan: UN officials urge reforms, fight against drug trade to ensure country's security UN News Centre 18 Dec 2014 -- As Afghanistan builds upon recent political developments, including the formation of a unity government, the country's authorities and the international community must not ignore the immense challenges that lie ahead, from simmering insecurity to an escalating drug crisis, two senior United Nations officials declared today during their briefing to the Security Council.

Defense Policy / Programs

• AF delivers Iraqi F-16s for training in US AFNS 18 Dec 2014 -- For more than 65 years the Air Force has embraced the concept of flexibility being the key to airpower. Now Airmen from the Arizona Air National Guard are sharing that capacity to find creative ways to overcome problems with one of the Air Force's newest allies – the Iraqi air force.
• AF's largest solar array celebrates first anniversary AFNS 18 Dec 2014 -- December 2014 marks the one-year anniversary of the Air Force's largest operational solar array, located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
• Delay announced for US-Japan Defense Guideline's final report DoD 18 Dec 2014 -- Today, officials from the U.S. and Japan announced their decision to delay the final report on the revision of the Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation scheduled for release later this month.
• Wharf Extension on Guam Improves Support for Navy Mission NNS 18 Dec 2014 -- The Tango Wharf extension ribbon-cutting ceremony on U.S. Naval Base Guam (NBG), was conducted Dec. 18 to celebrate the improvements in infrastructure and capabilities the base can provide to support the Navy's mission.
• Marines team up with Singaporean Armed Forces for Valiant Mark USMC News 18 Dec 2014 -- Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, alongside elements of the 7th Singaporean Infantry Brigade cleared a simulated combat town while utilizing rocket assets as part of Exercise Valiant Mark 14.2 at Camp Pendleton, California, Dec. 15, 2014.
• Russian Navy Frigate Ship Begins Passage Through Suez Canal: Ministry Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- Russia's Baltic Fleet frigate ship, the Yaroslav Mudry, has begun its passage through the Suez Canal and is headed for the Mediterranean after drills in the Red Sea, the Western Military District said in a statement released Thursday.
• Russian Sailors Trained for Mistral Weighs Anchor Leave French Port Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- A Russian training ship, the Smolny, has weighed anchor and is departing the port of Saint-Nazaire, France, with Russian sailors trained to operate the Mistral helicopter carrier, a municipal council member said on his Facebook page Thursday.
• Putin: Russia's Defense Ministry Budget to Grow to $50 Billion in 2015 Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- Russia's Defense Ministry's budget will increase to $50 billion in 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday during his annual year-end press conference.
• Poroshenko Submits Bill to Cancel Ukraine's Non-Aligned Status Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday submitted a bill to the parliament on ending the country's non-aligned status, a statement on the presidential website said.
• Top Secret Japanese Submarines Likely to Replace Australia's Aging Fleet Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- Australian leadership are considering an arm deal with Japan to buy 12 submarines based on Soryu-class vessels.
• Iranian army to use home-made militaty chopper in upcoming wargames IRNA 18 Dec 2014 -- Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Armys Ground Force Brigadier General Kioumars Heidari announced that the home-made military helicopter will be deployed in the upcoming military maneuvers codenamed Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
• PLA has to win the anti-graft war first People's Daily 18 Dec 2014 -- One after another, many corrupt military officers have been exposed. From Xu Caihou, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, to lower-ranking officers, the list if corrupt officers is long.
• Press Briefing by the Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 12/18/14 The White House 18 Dec 2014

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 18, 2014

Other Conflicts

• 18 December 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 18 Dec 2014
• EU could de-escalate sanctions if Russia shifts on Ukraine: France Iran Press TV 18 Dec 2014 -- France says the European Union (EU) could "de-escalate" sanctions against Russia if Moscow alters its stance on the crisis in Ukraine.
• EU approves new sanctions against Crimea Iran Press TV 18 Dec 2014 -- The European Union has slapped additional bans on Crimea, which reunified with the Russian Federation earlier this year.
• EU Adopts New Crimea Sanctions As Summit Weighs Crisis RFE/RL 18 Dec 2014 -- The European Union on December 18 agreed to new sanctions against Moscow-annexed Crimea as EU leaders prepared to discuss a 'tough and responsible' strategy toward Russia following its involvement in Ukraine.
• Statement by the President on the Ukraine Freedom Support Act The White House 18 Dec 2014
• Putin Comments on Possibility of Peace in Ukraine During Press Conference Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is looking to restore peace in his country, but many senior officials are opposed to this idea, Russian President Vladimir Putin Said Thursday.
• Kurdish forces end ISIL siege on Mount Sinjar: Official Iran Press TV 18 Dec 2014 -- Kurdish Peshmerga forces have managed to end a siege by the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group on Mount Sinjar in Iraq, a senior Kurdish official says.
• Iraqi Sunni Leaders Denounce Islamic State VOA 18 Dec 2014 -- Iraq's top Sunni religious, political and tribal leaders met in the Kurdish regional capital Irbil Thursday to denounce Islamic State terrorists and call for the formation of a National Guard to help combat them.
• UN launches appeal for life-saving aid to millions of Syrians, support to host communities UN News Centre 18 Dec 2014 -- As Syria's war rages on into its fifth year, the needs for food, shelter and medicine are astronomical, several United Nations agencies said today as they launched a major appeal, requesting over $8.4 billion to help nearly 18 million people in Syria and throughout the region.
• Who Are the Pakistani Taliban? VOA 18 Dec 2014 -- The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, is an umbrella group of militant organizations. Baitullah Mehsud, a leading militant leader from Waziristan in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, formed a coalition of 13 groups in 2007. At its peak, the group claimed 30 or more groups as members. Since then, the group has divided into several factions, often clashing with each other. The U.S. State Department declared it a foreign terrorist organization in September 2010.
• Boko Haram abducts 185, kills 33 in Nigeria village Iran Press TV 18 Dec 2014 -- Boko Haram terrorist group has abducted at least 185 people from Nigeria's northeastern village of Gumsuri.
• Nigerians Fleeing Boko Haram Languish in Camp Near Capital VOA 18 Dec 2014 -- In its five-year effort to impose Islamic law in northeastern Nigeria, the Boko Haram extremist group has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee. Some of those who ran for their lives now live in squalor on the edges of the capital, Abuja.
• CAR Army's 1st Battalion Screened for Crime Suspects VOA 18 Dec 2014 -- International peacekeepers in the Central African Republic have started vetting the fractured nation's army -- known as the FACA -- to try to exclude suspected criminals. The mission is starting with the first battalion to be deployed on active service as part of rebuilding the country.
• CAR Sees Child Soldier Increase VOA 18 Dec 2014 -- A growing number of fighters in Central African Republic's two year old civil war are children. It's estimated there may be as many as 10-thousand child soldiers, four times more than when the conflict began.
• Chaotic closure of a North Kivu IDP camp IRIN 18 Dec 2014 -- The authorities in North Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hope soon to close the 60-odd camps housing some 210,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) on its territory: They say peace has returned.
• UN rights chief welcomes conviction of Congolese army officer for crimes against humanity UN News Centre 18 Dec 2014 -- The top United Nations official on human rights issues has welcomed the recent conviction and sentencing of a senior army officer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for crimes against humanity, adding that the move would help garner momentum for other similar cases currently underway in the country.
• IGAD-brokered S Sudan peace talks resume in Ethiopia Iran Press TV 18 Dec 2014 -- South Sudan peace talks have resumed in the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Ababa, with mediators urging both sides of the conflict to end the bloodshed.

News Reports

• News conference of Vladimir Putin President of Russia 18 Dec 2014 -- The President's news conference was broadcast live by Channel One, Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 TV channels, and by the Radio Rossii, Mayak and Vesti FM radio stations. 1259 Russian and foreign journalists have been accredited to cover the news conference.
• Highlights of Putin's Big Annual Press Conference 2014 Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin held the tenth annual press conference earlier today. During the session, Putin discussed important issues that Russia is currently facing: the situation in Ukraine, the fall of the ruble and economic problems, as well as intensifying relations with the West.
• Defiant Putin Criticizes West, Promises Russians Economic Recovery RFE/RL 18 Dec 2014 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of building a new 'virtual' Berlin wall and promised his compatriots that the country's economy will recover, as he seeks to soothe anxiety over the falling ruble and present an image of strength in the face of adversity from abroad.
• Putin Draws Line Between Opposition, Fifth Column During News Conference Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- During his annual year-end press conference Russia's President Vladimir Putin drew a fine line between opposition and the so-called fifth column, stating that the latter operates in the interest of foreign governments and lacks patriotism.
• Putin: Russia to Pursue Independent Global Policy, Preserve Its Identity Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- Western reluctance to see Russia as an equal partner or to accept its desire to pursue its own global policy is the core problem of today's international relations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
• Putin: Russia Punished By Sanctions for Desire to Preserve National Identity Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- By imposing sanctions on Russia, Western countries punished Moscow for its willingness to preserve the country's national identity, not for reunification with Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
• Putin: Russian Economy to Rebound in 2 Years VOA 18 Dec 2014 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he is confident the country's struggling economy will rebound within two years and the ruble will stabilize after the currency's dramatic fall in value, but offered no new remedies for the crisis.
• Russia's Neighbors Scramble To Cope With Ruble's Tribulations RFE/RL 18 Dec 2014 -- Despite more than two decades of separation, the economies of the region remain deeply interconnected. Currencies throughout the region - from the Moldovan leu to the Kazakh tenge have seen drops in value of between 10 and 20 percent this year. Governments are watching with concern as their exports become increasingly expensive for customers in their giant neighbor.
• Turkey accuses daily chief of terror activity Iran Press TV 18 Dec 2014 -- Prosecutors in Turkey have accused the editor-in-chief of a popular daily of establishing an armed terror network.
• Mystery over Ebola survivors' ailments IRIN 18 Dec 2014 -- For some Ebola survivors, overcoming the lethal viral assault has not heralded a full return to good health. An array of ailments including headache, joint pains, vision and hearing problems have afflicted convalescents; experts are still uncertain of the exact cause.
• N Korea Involved in Sony Hack: US Investigators Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- US authorities have determined that North Korea is responsible for the recent cyber attack against Sony Pictures, which is now reviewing its options for an effective response to the new threats aimed at movie theaters by Pyongyang-backed hackers.
• US: Sony Cyberattack Is 'Serious' National Security Matter' VOA 18 Dec 2014 -- U.S. officials are treating a cyberattack on Sony Pictures as a 'serious national security matter,' with the National Security Council considering a proportionate response, the White House said Thursday.
• All Four European Communication Satellites Put Into Orbit: Space Agency Sputnik 18 Dec 2014 -- All four European communication satellites were put into orbit by a Russian-made Soyuz ST-B rocket from the Kourou space center in French Guiana, a spokesperson for the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, said Friday.