• 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 27 Jan 2015 [PDF]
• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Rear Adm. Kirby in the Pentagon Briefing Room DoD 27 Jan 2015 -- Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby
• Competent, Willing Partnerships Result in Gains Against ISIL AFPS 27 Jan 2015 -- The success of Kurdish forces battling Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani is an example of what can be done with a reliable, willing and capable partner, the Pentagon press secretary said today.
• Update: air strikes in Iraq UK MOD 27 Jan 2015 -- British forces have continued to conduct air operations to assist the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL.
• Guardsmen Remain Ready as New York Dodges Worst of Storm AFPS 27 Jan 2015 -- The New York National Guard had 394 soldiers on duty this morning as New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley entered the second day of a three-day weather event.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Cope South 15 launches in Bangladesh AFNS 27 Jan 2015 -- U.S. Air Force and Bangladesh air force (BAF) personnel took to the sky Jan. 24, for the launch of exercise Cope South 15, a Pacific Air Forces-sponsored, bilateral tactical airlift exercise at BAF Base Bangabandhu, Bangladesh.
• Altus AFB assists with Army National Guard jump training AFNS 27 Jan 2015 -- Even with the noise of the aircraft flying 1,000 feet above the ground, the mood is quiet.
• US, Greece reinforce proven partnership through airpower AFNS 27 Jan 2015 -- Over the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S. and Greek air forces continue bilateral flying training missions here.
• Battaglia Readies for Enlisted, Counterpart Visit in Asia AFPS 27 Jan 2015 -- As the Defense Department's highest ranking enlisted leader primes for his visit to military installations in the Far East, he stressed the importance of having an "American footprint" there given the United States' long-standing relationship with Korea and Japan.
• NATO Allies, Partner Nations and Marines complete Platinum Lion 15 USMC News 27 Jan 2015 -- Marines and sailors with Black Sea Rotational Force spent the month of January alongside soldiers from the nations of Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania during Platinum Lion 15, a multi-nation training exercise at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria.
• VMA-223 naval aviators hone landing skills aboard USS Kearsarge USMC News 27 Jan 2015 -- Pilots with Marine Attack Squadron 223 continued integration training with the crew of the USS Kearsarge Jan. 20, building the squadron's proficiency for operations at sea.
• Special Ops Commander Discusses Challenges, Priorities AFPS 27 Jan 2015 -- Skill, precision, cultural acuity, cutting-edge capability, flexibility, professionalism and teamwork still are the hallmarks of America's special operations community, Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel said here today.
• MAPS, PREL achieve all work cages ready for duty AFNS 27 Jan 2015 -- All 17 of the 341st Missile Wing's guided missile maintenance platforms (GMMP) became available for field use Jan. 14, according to Lt. Col. John Briner, the 341st Missile Operations Squadron commander. This feat is unprecedented in recent memory.
• 341st MMXS missile communications train for field AFNS 27 Jan 2015 -- When it comes to ensuring the U.S.'s intercontinental ballistic missiles are ready at a moment's notice, an essential piece to the puzzle is proper maintenance on its communications network.
• Navy Installations to Conduct Exercise Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield 2015 NNS 27 Jan 2015 -- Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces (USFF) and Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) will conduct Exercise Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield 2015 (SC-CS15) Feb. 2-13 on Navy installations located in the continental United States.
• Team Vinson Welcomes NAVCENT/CF5 NNS 27 Jan 2015 -- Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT)/U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F), Vice Adm. John Miller held an admiral's-call aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Jan. 26.
• MUSE Supports Portsmouth Naval Shipyard NNS 27 Jan 2015 -- The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC) Mobile Utilities Support Equipment (MUSE) division completed a vital power plant installation at Kittery, Maine in January.
• Greek Jetfighter Crash Claims 11 Lives Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- The death toll from the crash of a Greek F-16 at the Los Llanos airbase in southeastern Spain rose to 11 Tuesday after one of the French airmen who suffered serious burns died at a Madrid hospital, Spain's Defense Ministry said, AP reported.
• Germany's armed forces overstretched: Report Iran Press TV 27 Jan 2015 -- A German military report has revealed that the nation's armed forces are overstretched to unacceptable levels and their military gear and accommodation is of poor quality.
• Iran Expects Russia to Honor Contract on Delivery of S-300 Missile Systems Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- Iran expects Russia to meet its contractual obligations to deliver the S-300 air defense systems, canceled by Moscow after international sanctions were imposed on the country, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei told RIA Novosti in an interview Tuesday.
• PLA vows improved discipline in wake of Xu Caihou case People's Daily 27 Jan 2015 -- A senior officer of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has vowed to eliminate the negative influence of the corruption case of former senior commander Xu Caihou, the PLA Daily reported Tuesday.
• Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Josh Earnest and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes The White House 27 Jan 2015
• January 27, 2015 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 27 Jan 2015

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for January 27, 2015
• Putin Says Russia's Arms Exports Topped $15Bln in 2014 Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- Russia sold over $15 billion worth of military equipment abroad in 2014 and signed new contracts worth almost $14 billion during the same period, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.

Other Conflicts

• Survivors Mark Anniversary Of Nazi Death Camp Liberation RFE/RL 27 Jan 2015 -- A ceremony is set to begin today at the site of the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of its liberation amid growing concern about a resurgence of anti-Semitism in some countries.
• UN agency sounds warning over Iraqis displaced to country's South UN News Centre 27 Jan 2015 -- The United Nations has said today that many recently displaced Iraqis in the south of the strife-riven country are facing a "critical" humanitarian situation.
• Kurds carry out mop-up operations around Kobani Iran Press TV 27 Jan 2015 -- Kurdish volunteer forces continue their mop-up operations against the ISIL Takfiri militants near Kobani a day after driving the terrorists out of the strategic Syrian border town.
• Israel fires artillery into Syria's Golan Heights Iran Press TV 27 Jan 2015 -- Israeli has fired artillery rounds into the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, claiming the assault was a response to several rocket attacks that earlier targeted the Israeli-occupied part of the territory.
• Security Council strongly condemns terrorist attack on hotel in Libyan capital UN News Centre 27 Jan 2015 -- The United Nations Security Council today condemned in the strongest terms the deadly terrorist attack against the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, Libya, and underlined the need to bring the perpetrators, financiers and sponsors of such "reprehensible" acts to justice.
• Inside Libya's ghost town IRIN 27 Jan 2015 -- Six weeks ago, Bin Jawad was a sleepy coastal town, home to a community of oil workers, shepherds and fishermen.
• Militant attack on luxury Tripoli hotel claims eight lives Iran Press TV 27 Jan 2015 -- At least eight people, including five foreigners, have been killed when gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Libya's capital, Tripoli, as the North African country is beleaguered by fighting between rival militant groups.
• US Official:' A Free Europe Rises or Falls With Ukraine' VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- A top U.S. official said Tuesday that the conflict in eastern Ukraine has become a battleground for a peaceful and free Europe.
• Unity in Challenging Times: Building on Transatlantic Resolve US Dept. of State 27 Jan 2015 -- Remarks by Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Brookings Institution
• Ukraine Labels Russia 'Aggressor State' VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday approved a statement labeling Russia as an 'aggressor state,' while European Union leaders threatened to widen sanctions against it for continuing to back separatists in eastern Ukraine amid escalating violence in the region.
• China expresses concern over conflict in east Ukraine People's Daily 27 Jan 2015 -- China on Tuesday expressed its concern over the situation in Ukraine's eastern regions and urged peace in the wake of intensified fighting in the region.
• Nine Ukraine soldiers killed in fighting in east Iran Press TV 27 Jan 2015 -- At least nine Ukrainian soldiers have died and 29 others wounded over the last 24 hours in clashes with pro-Russia forces in the country's east, the military says.
• EU To Consider More Sanctions Against Russia As Fighting Persists RFE/RL 27 Jan 2015 -- European Union leaders have asked their foreign ministers to consider an appropriate response to an escalation of fighting in eastern Ukraine, including possible new sanctions against Russia, when the ministers meet in Brussels on January 29.
• Ukraine Parliament Calls Russia 'Aggressor State,' Seeks More Aid, Sanctions RFE/RL 27 Jan 2015 -- Ukraine's parliament has adopted a statement branding Russia an 'aggressor state,' a move that deputies hope will pave the way for punishment under international law.
• PACE Accuses Russia of Involvement in Escalation of Ukraine Crisis Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) accused Russia of involvement the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis in an amendment to the resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine adopted on Tuesday.
• Moscow Condemns Western Attempts to Manipulate Facts Over Ukraine Crisis Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- Western countries are trying to replace real effort aimed at resolving the Ukrainian crisis with "cynical manipulation of facts," the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
• UN moves swiftly to help people in south-eastern Ukraine forced to flee deadly weekend blast UN News Centre 27 Jan 2015 -- The United Nations refugee agency said it has "reacted swiftly" to help people forced to flee their homes when the south-eastern Ukrainian town of Mariupol came under rocket fire over the weekend, providing plastic sheeting for shelter construction.
• Lawmakers from Africa's Great Lakes Region Discuss Challenges VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- The debilitating political crisis that has wreaked havoc in the Great Lakes region became a top issue of discussion at a recent inter-parliamentary forum in Nairobi, bringing together legislators from 12 African countries within the region.
• Much aid, little long-term impact in DRC IRIN 27 Jan 2015 -- Aid agencies have sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in the past two decades. But seeing little long-term impact or prospect of stability, some are now calling for an overhaul of the way aid is delivered in the long-troubled region.
• Lack of funds forces UN agency to halt Gaza programme for repairs to destroyed homes UN News Centre 27 Jan 2015 -- The United Nations agency tasked with assisting Palestinian refugees across the Middle East announced today that a major funding shortfall has forced the suspension of its cash assistance programme that would have helped families in Gaza repair their homes and provide rental subsidies to people left homeless after last year's conflict in the enclave.
• UNICEF: 3,000 South Sudan child soldiers to be released Iran Press TV 27 Jan 2015 -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says 3,000 South Sudanese children recruited as soldiers during the violence that has plagued the world's youngest nation will be gradually released.
• Armenian President Warns Of 'Preventive' Strikes On Azerbaijan RFE/RL 27 Jan 2015 -- Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said his country is prepared for any eventuality in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and warned Azerbaijan he would use 'asymmetrical' responses to any military threats.
• World must 'wake up' to enormity of Central African Republic crisis, warns UN relief official UN News Centre 27 Jan 2015 -- The top United Nations humanitarian official in the Central African Republic (CAR) is calling for increased protection of displaced communities in the northern town of Batangafo, where relief agencies are working hard to ease suffering as the country's ongoing conflict drives a steady stream of terrified people into the area seeking safety.
• Yemen: UN special envoy welcomes release of abducted presidential aide UN News Centre 27 Jan 2015 -- The United Nations envoy on Yemen has welcomed the release today of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's chief of staff, and urged the opposition group Ansarallah – which had abducted the official last week – "to undertake steps that would be in the best interest of all political sides and the people of Yemen."
• As police, protesters clash in Egypt, UN rights chief urges end to excessive use of force UN News Centre 27 Jan 2015 -- "Deeply disturbed" by the deaths resulting from recent clashes between security forces and protesters in Egypt, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, has urged for an end to the excessive use of force, his spokesperson said today.
• Nigerian Governors Plead for Foreign Intervention Amid Boko Haram Onslaught VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- With Boko Haram intensifying its onslaught just weeks ahead of national elections, governors in the three Nigerian states hardest hit by the radical group on Tuesday called for United Nations and foreign military intervention to stem the violence.

News Reports

• Obama Seeks to Bolster Ties With Saudi Arabia VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, leading an array of current and former American statesmen in paying respects following the death of King Abdullah.
• Moscow Condemns Arrest of Alleged Russian Spy in NYC VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- Russia on Tuesday condemned the United States for the arrest of an alleged Russian spy, condemning the move as a 'provocation' that would further damage already strained ties.
• Moscow Says US Fails to Provide Evidence for Accusations of 'Russian Spies' Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- The United States has not provided any evidence to support the charges against three Russian nationals accused of gathering data and recruiting agents in the United States, Alexander Lukashevich, the spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday.
• Russian Bank Identifies Alleged Russian Spy as Employee Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- Russia's Vnesheconombank (VEB) confirmed Tuesday that Russian citizen Evgeny Buryakov, detained in the United States on spying charges, served as a deputy representative to the bank in New York.
• Questions Remain Unanswered: Inquiry Into Litvinenko's Case Opens in UK Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- More than eight years after the death of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, a public inquiry into his case opens on Tuesday, the Telegraph reports.
• Russian Alleged Agents Worked to Obtain Intelligence on Sanctions Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- A Russian alleged intelligence ring broken up by the FBI on Monday was working for the economic branch of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and directed to obtain intelligence on sanctions against Russia and US energy markets, court documents filed in the US District Court for Southern New York reveal.
• Prosecutor's Mysterious Death Prompts Argentina to Dissolve Spy Agency Sputnik 27 Jan 2015 -- Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez has announced plans to dissolve Argentina's intelligence agency, reports BBC.
• Key Senator to Hold Off on Iran Sanctions Vote VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Menendez said Tuesday that he would hold off on pushing his bill to impose additional sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program until after March 24, an interim deadline in the international talks with Tehran.
• Iran serious about peaceful use of N. energy, says Rouhani ISNA 27 Jan 2015 -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated that the Iranian nation is serious about employment of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
• Iran, G5+1 now discussing details, says Zarif ISNA 27 Jan 2015 -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran and the P5+1 group are close to reaching a final deal over the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program, adding that details are now being worked out in the talks.
• South Korea rejects North bid to detain businessman in joint zone Iran Press TV 27 Jan 2015 -- South Korea says it has rejected a North Korean bid for the right to arrest South Korean businessmen working in the Kaesong joint industrial complex if they are found not carrying out their contractual duties.
• S&P downgrade shows excessive pessimism: Russia minister Iran Press TV 27 Jan 2015 -- Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has slammed Standard & Poor's rating agency for its move to downgrade the country's rating from investment-grade to 'junk' status.
• Worried About Moscow, Belarus's Lukashenka Drifts Toward Brussels RFE/RL 27 Jan 2015 -- Alyaksandr Lukashenka isn't known for waxing poetically about the Belarusian language. But that's exactly what he did at a youth gathering in Minsk earlier this month.
• Obama: America Can Be India's Best Partner VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- President Barack Obama said India and the United States are not just natural partners, but that America can be India's best partner.
• Ebolanomics - the search for a vaccine IRIN 27 Jan 2015 -- When Ebola hit West Africa last year, it was a disease with no sign of a vaccine or cure. To those affected that may have been an indication that the wider world didn't care about them or the diseases that affected them, but in truth there has simply been no incentive for anyone to develop these therapies. Yet now pharmaceutical companies are racing to produce an effective vaccine, and on 23 January the British company GlaxoSmithKline shipped the first 300 doses of its candidate to Liberia to start phase II trials.
• IS Renews Threats Against 2 Foreign Hostages VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- Islamic State militants have threatened to kill two foreign hostages by Wednesday if demands for a prisoner exchange are not met, according to an online video message attributed to the group.
• Thailand Plans Major Infrastructure Upgrade VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- Thailand's military-backed government is looking to boost the country's ailing economy with a more than $100-billion infrastructure spending program that includes upgrading the national rail network and opening links to Southern China.
• Five New Space Missions Observe Earth VOA 27 Jan 2015 -- NASA is preparing a Thursday, January 29, launch of the first U.S. satellite to observe Earth's water cycle. The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) will help scientists better predict extreme weather, climate change, flood and droughts. The new instrument will join four others in what has been the U.S. space agency's busiest 12-month period in more than a decade.