Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Casualty Update 01 May 2015 [PDF]
• Airstrikes Hit ISIL in Syria, Iraq AFPS 01 May 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.
• ISIL Experiencing Setbacks in Iraq, Syria, Centcom Says AFPS 01 May 2015 -- While Beiji and Ramadi in Iraq remain contested between Iraqi security forces and extremist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants, ISIL is experiencing setbacks, a U.S. Central Command spokesman said today.
• Update: air strikes in Iraq UK MOD 01 May 2015 -- British forces have continued to conduct air operations to assist the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL.
• 'Inter-Afghan Dialogue' in Qatar Aims to Foster Peace Talks VOA 01 May 2015 -- Afghan officials, members of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, Taliban representatives and those of other warring factions, and independent experts are gathering in Qatar's capital, Doha, for 'an inter-Afghan dialogue' beginning Saturday.
• Navy to Escort U.S.-Flagged Ships in Strait of Hormuz AFPS 01 May 2015 -- Ships from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain have begun accompanying U.S.-flagged maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Department officials said.
• Report: Djibouti Skies Dangerous for US Planes, Drones VOA 01 May 2015 -- A published report says aircraft at the U.S. military base in Djibouti are often placed in danger because of hostile or lax civilian air traffic controllers who oversee the camp's runways.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Pentagon's Africa Command: Big Assistance with 'Small Footprint' VOA 01 May 2015 -- Africa Command (AFRICOM) is the newest geographic command in the U.S. military structure, and despite the vast size of the African continent, it is also the smallest military command. It has only one base in Africa, and it is headquartered in Germany. Still, the command carries out hundreds of operations per year aimed at making Africa a more stable place to live.
• Department of Defense Press Briefing on Sexual Assault in the Military in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room DoD 01 May 2015 -- Presenters: Presenters: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Brad Carson, and Dr. Nathan Galbreath, senior executive advisor for the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office
• DoD Efforts to Combat Sexual Assault Begin Paying Off AFPS 01 May 2015 -- The attention the military is paying to preventing sexual assault in the military is paying off, the director of the Defense Department's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office said in a DoD News interview this week, as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevent
  <li><a href="mil-150501-afns01.htm">AMC to relocate KC-135 simulator to Pittsburgh</a> <u>AFNS</u> 01 May 2015 -- As Air Mobility Command fields the KC-46A Pegasus, displaced KC-135 Stratotanker simulators are being designated for relocation to improve efficiency and effectiveness across the total force mobility enterprise by maximizing flying hour cost avoidance through improved simulator access.</li>
  ion Month drew to a close.
• Independent Survey Shows Decline in Military Sexual Assaults AFPS 01 May 2015 -- An independent survey confirms the prevalence of sexual assault in the military has dropped, Defense Department officials said today.
• Obama Sends Pay, Retirement Commission Recommendations to Congress AFPS 01 May 2015 -- President Barack Obama sent the recommendations of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission to Congress yesterday.
• AMC to relocate KC-135 simulator to Pittsburgh AFNS 01 May 2015 -- As Air Mobility Command fields the KC-46A Pegasus, displaced KC-135 Stratotanker simulators are being designated for relocation to improve efficiency and effectiveness across the total force mobility enterprise by maximizing flying hour cost avoidance through improved simulator access.
• US Ships Arrive in Busan to Strengthen Partnerships and Experience Korean Culture NNS 01 May 2015 -- Sailors from the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Preble (DDG 88) and USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) along with the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Pasadena (SSN 752) arrived in Busan, South Korea, May 1, to strengthen partnerships with the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy.
• Naval Weapons Station Yorktown 'Hunkers Down' for Hurricane Exercise Citadel Gale NNS 01 May 2015 -- Naval Weapons Station (WPNSTA) Yorktown rehearsed their ability to 'hunker down' with a small contingent of base personnel in the event of a hurricane, April 27, as part of Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) Hurricane Exercise (HURREX)/Citadel Gale. The exercise, running April 20 through May 1, simulates a hurricane striking the Hampton Roads area as a Category One storm.
• Broad partnerships: NATO Marine forces work with West African partners USMC News 01 May 2015 -- A team of approximately 21 Marines, 10 representing the United States, six from Great Britain, and five from Spain, conducted training in countries along the West African coast February through April 2015.
• Let the Games Begin: Norway to Host NATO Sub-Hunt Exercise for 5,000 Troops Sputnik 01 May 2015 -- Norway said that up to 5,000 NATO troops would take part in anti-submarine warfare exercises off its coast in early May.
• Breedlove: Russia Now Taking 'Different Path' AFPS 01 May 2015 -- The West assumed the best of Russia once the Cold War ended, but Russian President Vladimir Putin had other plans and NATO must remain strong in face of the threat from the East, Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove said here yesterday.
• US, NATO concerned over Russia's growing presence in Arctic - NATO commander TASS 01 May 2015 -- The United States and NATO are concerned over Russia's military drills in the Arctic, Supreme Allied Commander of EUCOM and NATO, General Philip Breedlove told the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 5/1/2015 The White House 01 May 2015
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 01 May 2015

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for May 01, 2015

Other Conflicts

• 1 May 2015 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 01 May 2015
• UN Security Council Meeting on Yemen Ends Without Action VOA 01 May 2015 -- The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Yemen Friday but failed to agree on a statement on the growing humanitarian crisis there.
• Saudi Arabia Repels Cross-Border Attack by Houthi Rebels VOA 01 May 2015 -- Saudi Arabia says it has killed 'dozens' of Yemeni Shi'ite rebels who were carrying out a large-scale cross-border attack on the kingdom.
• Saudi Arabia launches fresh airstrikes on Yemen Press TV 01 May 2015 -- Saudi Arabia has reportedly conducted fresh aerial attacks on Yemen, blitzing several areas across the impoverished country including the capital, Sana'a.
• Yemen conflict claims 1,244 lives: WHO Press TV 01 May 2015 -- The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) says nearly 1,250 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict in Yemen since mid March.
• Peshmerga forces kill 21 ISIL Takfiri terrorists in northern Iraq Press TV 01 May 2015 -- Iraq's Kurdish Peshmerga forces have managed to kill nearly two dozen members of the ISIL Takfiri terrorists during a fierce exchange of gunfire in the northern province of Nineveh.
• Syrian forces attack militants in Latakia province Press TV 01 May 2015 -- Syrian army forces have carried out an offensive against militants in the coastal province of Latakia.
• US, Ukraine Urge Russia to Pursue Political Solution to Ukraine Conflict VOA 01 May 2015 -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk have urged Russia to fulfill its commitments under the Minsk agreement, which calls for a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine and a de-escalation of military involvement.
• Russia Rejects Ukraine's Claim It Proposed Soldier-Peacekeepers For Donbass Sputnik 01 May 2015 -- Russian Presidential Secretary Dmitri Peskov has officially denied a claim made by the press office of Ukraine's president, which stated that in the course of a recent telephone conversation in the Normandy Four format, President Vladimir Putin had proposed sending Russian peacekeepers to Donbass.
• Amid spike in arrivals, number South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia passes 200,000 - UN UN News 01 May 2015 -- The number of South Sudanese refugees who have fled to Ethiopia since fighting broke out in South Sudan in mid-December 2013 has passed the 200,000 mark and more are expected amid fresh conflict across the border, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
• Security Council demands immediate end to hostilities in Mali, urges parties to abide by ceasefire UN News 01 May 2015 -- The United Nations Security Council today expressed its deep concern at the outbreak of violence that has occurred in Mali this past week, which "threatens to undermine the peace process, and demanded that the hostilities cease immediately."
• Central African Republic: UN investigation into sexual abuse allegations continues UN News 01 May 2015 -- The United Nations is proceeding with its investigation of the events surrounding the release to a third party of an internal report on allegations of sexual misconduct by French military personnel in the Central African Republic (CAR), a spokesperson for the Organization has confirmed.
• Ex-rebels in CAR live in fear and rotting barracks IRIN 01 May 2015 -- There is a hospital across the road, but even the pregnant women are too scared to go. A dirty stream runs between roofless buildings that are being reclaimed by nature. This is how some 1,500 former rebels live in the Central African Republic, languishing in a disused barracks in the capital, still armed.

News Reports

• Analysts: Saudi Leadership Changes Signal Bold New Views VOA 01 May 2015 -- As regional and global alliances shift, Saudi Arabia is shaking up its leadership - ensuring a clear line of succession with younger, more aggressive men hoping to expand the kingdom's regional power as the king nears his 80th birthday.
• Prince Talal objects to Saudi King Salman's reshuffle Press TV 01 May 2015 -- Outspoken Saudi Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has strongly criticized the recent reshuffle announced by King Salman, arguing that the measure runs contrary to the principles of the oil-rich kingdom.
• Cash is King: Saudi Arabia Spending Foreign Reserves at Record Speed Sputnik 01 May 2015 -- Saudi Arabia is burning through foreign reserves at an unprecedented pace as the new king's generosity toward state workers and conflict in the region further strain public finances already damaged by the slump in oil prices.
• NSA Spied on Austria From German Intelligence Station Sputnik 01 May 2015 -- The United States' National Security Agency (NSA) used the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) station in Bad Aibling in Bavaria, to monitor Austrian authorities.
• Austrian Court Rejects U.S. Request To Extradite Ukrainian Oligarch RFE/RL 01 May 2015 -- An Austrian court on April 30 rejected a U.S. request to extradite Ukrainian industrialist Dmytro Firtash to face corruption charges.
• US Envoy Rails at N. Korean Diplomats for UN Disruption VOA 01 May 2015 -- The U.S. envoy to the United Nations on Thursday strongly criticized North Korean diplomats for disrupting a U.N. event on North Korean human rights.
• In Nepal, top UN official urges continued funding for earthquake relief efforts UN News 01 May 2015 -- Emergency funding for relief efforts are streaming into Nepal as the country begins to recover from last Saturday's devastating earthquake, the top United Nations humanitarian official said today as she urged the international community to increase its support for the landlocked Himalayan nation.
• Nepal earthquake: UK aid response UK MOD 01 May 2015 -- Latest updates and summary of the UK's humanitarian response to the Nepal earthquake.
• UN Warns Burundi Could Descend Into Chaos VOA 01 May 2015 -- UN aid agencies warn the growing standoff between protesters and the Burundian government over upcoming presidential elections may results in the country descending into chaos and possibly civil war.