Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Casualty Update 19 Feb 2015 [PDF]
• Department of Defense Background Briefing via teleconference by an Official from U.S. Central Command DoD 19 Feb 2015 -- Presenter: Official from U.S. Central Commande
• Centcom Official: Mosul Fight Could Begin Within Weeks AFPS 19 Feb 2015 -- Preparations are underway by coalition and Iraqi forces to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists, an operation that could begin as early as April and will require an Iraqi-led military force of at least 20,000 troops, a U.S. Central Command official said today.
• Offensive to Retake Mosul from Islamic State Planned for April or May VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- A U.S. Central Command official says an Iraqi and Kurdish military force is being prepared to recapture the city of Mosul from Islamic State fighters, likely in April or May.
• Operation Inherent Resolve Airstrikes Continue in Syria, Iraq AFPS 19 Feb 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Update: air strikes in Iraq UK MOD 19 Feb 2015 -- British forces have continued to conduct air operations to assist the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL.
• Taliban slams UN report on Afghan civilian casualties Iran Press TV 19 Feb 2015 -- The Taliban militants have censured the United Nations for what they describe as its "unjust and political motives" in attributing a rise in the number of Afghan civilian casualties in 2014 to the group's militancy.
• US, Afghan Taliban Deny Peace Talk Reports VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- The U.S. and Afghanistan's Taliban have denied media reports that they plan to hold peace talks in Qatar's capital Doha.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Dempsey: Russia, Terrorists, Cyber Among Top Threats AFPS 19 Feb 2015 -- The global security environment contains a host of threats, including Russian aggression that threatens NATO allies, and the violent extremists network from western Pakistan to north Africa, said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Fly-Away Team Replaces Gas Turbine Engine on USS Jason Dunham NNS 19 Feb 2015 -- When the gas turbine engine that powers one of the generators aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) failed, a fly-away team from Mayport, Florida, was dispatched from the Southeast Regional Maintenance Center (SERMC) with engine in-hand.
• DOD Announces Operation Freedom's Sentinel Qualifies for Campaign Medal DoD 19 Feb 2015-- The Department of Defense announced today Operation Freedom's Sentinel as a qualifying operation for award of the Afghanistan Campaign Medal. Additionally, the transition from Operation Enduring Freedom to Freedom's Sentinel also marks a new campaign phase, "Transition II," for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.
• USS Fort Worth Crew 104, HSM 35 and SUW Detachments Return Home NNS 19 Feb 2015 -- The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) Crew 104, Detachment 1 from the 'Magicians' of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35, and Surface Warfare (SUW) Mission Package Detachment 3 returned to San Diego Feb. 18.
• Louisville Returns to Yokosuka During Western Pacific Deployment NNS 19 Feb 2015 -- The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Louisville (SSN 724) arrived at Fleet Activities Yokosuka Feb. 19, for a port visit during its deployment to the Western Pacific.
• Commander U.S. Fleet Forces Command Discusses Fleet Readiness at AFCEA West NNS 19 Feb 2015 -- Commander U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Adm. Phil Davidson, speaking to a group of military leaders, government officials and members of private industry discussed the need to increase the fleet's readiness during a key note address at the United States Navy Institute 25th Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) West Conference Feb. 11.
• Canadian Warship to Receive Navy Meritorious Unit Award NNS 19 Feb 2015 -- The U.S. Navy's top admiral will present a U.S. Navy unit award to a Canadian warship Feb. 20.
• High-Precision Laser Weapon Systems for US Navy to Be Developed by Boeing Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- US Navy has awarded Boeing, the American multinational corporation with a $29.5 million contract to design and develop a so-called 'beam control system' in order to provide accuracy for US warships' laser weaponry.
• US Air Force Tests Anti-Ship Missile With In-Flight Targeting Updates Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- The US Air Force has successfully tested a long range anti-ship missile that is equipped with in-flight targeting updates, US defense contractor Lockheed Martin said in a statement on Thursday.
• SBIRS constellation forms under one roof AFNS 19 Feb 2015 -- Airmen from the 460th Operations Group have made history by successfully completing the first series of Space Based Infrared System satellite and antenna communication on Jan. 28-30 from Block 10, the new operations floor, on Buckley Air Force Base, Colo.
• Nonexistent Eastern Threat' Pretext for NATO Buildup in Europe - Moscow Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- A rise in NATO's military presence in Eastern Europe to contain the alleged threat of Russian aggression could undermine the region's security, Russia's Foreign Ministry's spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told journalists Thursday.
• Estonia to Spend 40 Million Euro Hosting Additional NATO Forces Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Estonia's Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas announced that the country is ready to host additional NATO forces, adopting a special investment program for this purpose.
• U.K. Official: Putin A 'Danger' To Baltics As Russian Planes Buzz Britain RFE/RL 19 Feb 2015 -- British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon says Russia poses a 'real and present danger' to Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia and NATO is preparing for possible attacks against the Baltic states.
• Russia's Strategic Missile Forces Check Combat Readiness During Drills Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Russia's Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) have completed command and staff exercises testing troops' combat readiness for war, SMF spokesperson Col. Igor Yegorov said Thursday.
• Russia Begins Deployment of New Nebo-M Anti-Missile Radar Facilities Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Russian Strategic Missile Defense troops have begun deploying the new Nebo-M (Heaven-M) anti-missile radar facility systems, a spokesman from the Russian Defense Ministry's press service said Thursday.
• Russia Ends Su-34 Strike-Fighter Exercises in Country's South Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- The Russian military has ended exercises with a dozen of Su-34 (Fullback) strike fighter jets in the Rostov and Volgograd Regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.
• Russian Navy Kicks Off Anti-Cruise Missile Attack Drills in Black Sea Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Warships from Russia's Black Sea Fleet have begun exercises with its anti-missile defense systems and naval aviation to deflect cruise missile attacks, a source in the Crimean Naval Base told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
• Russian Air Force Awaits Cutting-Edge Transport Planes Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- The Russian military plans to buy an additional number of Ilyushin IL-76 MD-90A transport planes as part of its modernization program.
• Major investment to boost UK fast jet home in East of England UK MOD 19 Feb 2015 -- More than £300m invested at RAF Marham to help prepare for the arrival of the UK's first F-35B Lightning II
• India Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Missile Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- India has successfully test-flown a nuclear-capable, surface-to-surface missile from a test range in the eastern state of Odisha.
• Russia Ready to Expand Deliveries of Carrier-Based MiG Jets to India Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG is ready to expand the supply of the carrier-based fighter aircraft Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB (Fulcrum-D) to India, if New Delhi files a commercial offer, MIG CEO Sergei Korotkov told RIA Novosti Thursday.
• Russia Ready to Send More MiG-29K Fighters to India Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Russia is ready to send additional Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB aircraft to India if New Dehli decides to increase its MiG-29K/KUB fleet.
• Slovakia – UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters DSCA 19 Feb 2015 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Slovakia for UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $450 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on February 18, 2015.
• EU set to dispatch armored vehicles to Ukraine: Official Iran Press TV 19 Feb 2015 -- The European Union reportedly plans to provide armored vehicles to Ukraine with the declared aim of monitoring a ceasefire deal recently signed between the Kiev government and pro-Russia forces in Minsk, Belarus.
• Two Polish Warships Collide in Baltic Sea Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Two warships of the naval forces of Poland collided in the Baltic Sea during maneuvers.
• Press Gaggle by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz en route Chicago, IL, 2/19/2015 The White House 19 Feb 2015

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for February 19, 2015

Other Conflicts

• 19 February 2015 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 19 Feb 2015
• Ukraine Fighting Shifts to Mariupol After Debaltseve Takeover VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- Hopes for a tattered Ukrainian cease-fire continued to fade Thursday with reports of fresh fighting near the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
• Separatists Violate Cease Fire in Ukraine, Official Says AFPS 19 Feb 2015 -- Separatists in Ukraine have committed several violations of the cease-fire agreement signed last week in Minsk, Belarus, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said today.
• Ukraine aims to destroy ceasefire deal: Russian UN envoy Iran Press TV 19 Feb 2015 -- Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Vitaly Churkin has accused Kiev of seeking to "destroy" a recent ceasefire agreement by calling for the deployment of UN-mandated peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine to enforce the deal.
• 90% of Ukraine troops retreat from Debaltseve: Spokesman Iran Press TV 19 Feb 2015 -- A vast majority of Ukrainian forces have retreated from the strategic eastern Ukrainian town of Debaltseve, which has been besieged by pro-Russia forces, a Ukrainian military spokesman says.
• 3,088 Ukraine troops killed in Debaltseve: DPR Iran Press TV 19 Feb 2015 -- The Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has announced that a total of 3,088 government troops have been killed in the battle for the flashpoint city of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine.
• Russia, Separatists Dismiss Ukraine Call For Peacekeepers RFE/RL 19 Feb 2015 -- Russia has dismissed Ukraine's calls for UN-mandated peacekeepers to enforce a shaky cease-fire deal in the country's east.
• Donetsk Observes Ceasefire, Does Not Respond to Kiev 'Provocations' Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- The situation near the contact line between Kiev-led forces and eastern Ukrainian militia is stabilizing, and the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) is continuing the withdrawal of its heavy weapons, deputy commander of the DPR independence forces said Thursday.
• Kiev Distorts Own Conclusions on Russian Military Activity Absense - Moscow Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Authorities in Kiev are trying to distort the official conclusions of an inspection by its own Armed Forces regarding the absence of proof of any military activity in Southern Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday.
• Russia Begins Gas Deliveries to Eastern Ukraine - Luhansk Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Russian gas has started flowing to the territory of self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LPR), LPR chief Igor Plotnitsky told RIA Novosti Thursday.
• Russian PM Instructs Energy Ministry, Gazprom to Deliver Gas to Donbas Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has instructed the country's Energy Ministry and gas giant Gazprom to prepare proposals on delivering fuel to eastern Ukraine as humanitarian aid.
• Around 3,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed in Debaltseve Battle - DPR Official Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Approximately 3,000 Ukrainian troops were killed during battles in the city of Debaltseve, the east Ukrainian self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic's negotiator said Thursday.
• UN food agency scales up food assistance in Ukraine to people displaced, trapped by fighting UN News Centre 19 Feb 2015 -- Several days after parties to the conflict in Ukraine signed a ceasefire, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today it is scaling up its emergency operations to feed close to 190,000 vulnerable people displaced and trapped in the beleaguered country.
• Syria army kills 24 ISIL terrorists in Homs Iran Press TV 19 Feb 2015 -- Syrian army forces have killed around 24 operatives of the Takfiri terrorist group ISIL in the western province of Homs.
• Britain Rejects Foreign Military Intervention in Libya VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- Britain on Thursday rejected sending international forces to Libya and lifting an arms embargo on the North African nation, a day after an emergency United Nations Security Council session on escalating violence in the country.
• Jordan Urges UN Security Council Action on Libya VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- Jordan circulated a draft United Nations Security Council resolution late Wednesday that would lift an arms embargo against the Libyan government, work toward halting the flow of weapons to militants, and push for Libya's internationally recognized government to return to the capital in Tripoli.
• Conflict forces thousands to flee in Darfur, UN humanitarian office reports UN News Centre 19 Feb 2015 -- Some 41,000 people have been forced to flee conflict in Darfur so far this year, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which warned that needs for the displaced have been significantly higher because relief agencies have been largely denied access to areas where some of the heaviest fighting is reportedly taking place.
• Sudan's Darfur conflict displaced 41k in 2 months: UN Iran Press TV 19 Feb 2015 -- The deadly conflict in Sudan's western region of Darfur has resulted in the displacement of more than 41,000 people over the past two months, the United Nations says.
• Japan, China to resume stalled security talks Iran Press TV 19 Feb 2015 -- Japan and China are reportedly set to resume their long delayed talks concerning security issues amid territorial disputes over the sovereignty of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.
• Military: Nigerian Warplanes Bomb Boko Haram Camps VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- Nigeria's military says it carried out airstrikes Thursday that struck Boko Haram bases in the northeast and killed a 'large number' of militants.

News Reports

• Outlining an Action Agenda to Counter Violent Extremism US Dept. of State 19 Feb 2015 -- Remarks by John Kerry, Secretary of State at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism
• Obama: 'Ugly Lie' That West Is at War With Islam VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- U.S. President Barack Obama declared Thursday that any contention by terrorist groups that Western nations are fighting a war against Islam is an 'ugly lie.'
• Preventing violent extremism, promoting human rights go hand-in-hand, Ban tells Washington summit UN News Centre 19 Feb 2015 -- In Washington D.C. for a summit hosted by the United States on countering violent extremism, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon today warned leaders against "discarding our moral compass" and giving into fear, as he called for "cool heads and common sense" to deal with what may very well be "the greatest test our human family faces in the 21st century."
• Kurds' Ascendance With West Further Isolates Turkey VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- French President Francois Hollande's hosting this month of the leading members of the Syrian Kurdish group, Democratic Union Party (PYD), is regarded as further evidence Turkey is becoming increasingly isolated and outmaneuvered by its Kurdish rivals.
• Fighters Not the Only Foreigners Seeking IS VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- The so-called Islamic State movement wants more than fighters.
• IS Urges Jihadist Attacks on Rome VOA 19 Feb 2015 -- Islamic State militants are goading Italy on their social media accounts by urging jihadist recruits to go to Libya in preparation for attacks on Rome, saying the strategic location of the conflict-torn North African country is perfect.
• IAEA report indicates peaceful nature of Iran nuclear program: Envoy IRNA 19 Feb 2015 -- Iran's Ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog Reza Najafi has said the latest report of the IAEA about Iran's nuclear activities reveals again the peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program.
• Prosecutors investigate record numbers for bribery People's Daily 19 Feb 2015 -- Chinese prosecutors investigated 24 provincial, ministerial or higher level officials in the first 11 months of 2014, an official with the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Thursday.
• Kaspersky Lab Cannot Confirm NSA Behind Espionage Program on 30 Countries Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- Kaspersky Lab cannot confirm that the US National Security Agency (NSA) or any other intelligence agency is behind the discovered cyberespionage program affecting at least 30 countries, the company told Sputnik on Thursday.
• UK Government Admits Bugging Lawyer-Client Calls Sputnik 19 Feb 2015 -- The UK Government has dramatically admitted allowing its intelligence agencies to illegally spy on lawyer-client communications and now faces a legal case brought by two victims of an MI6-orchestrated rendition operation.
• UN rights chief calls on Syria to release detainees, describes ?grim’ conditions, torture UN News Centre 19 Feb 2015 -- Syrian authorities should release all those held by Government forces and its militias, without due process, in some cases for years on end, the United Nations rights chief urged today, noting which said that activists, lawyers and human rights defenders had been particularly targeted.