Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Airstrikes Destroy ISIL Infrastructure in Syria, Iraq AFPS 18 Aug 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
• Essex Amphibious Ready Group and 15th MEU Support Operation Inherent Resolve with Harrier Strikes NNS 18 Aug 2015 -- AV-8B Harriers conducted strike missions in Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
• US drone strikes kill seven in eastern Afghanistan Press TV 18 Aug 2015 -- Two separate US drone attacks in the central-eastern region of Afghanistan have killed at least seven people, Press TV reports.
• Medical team provides critical bridge between battlefields, higher-level care AFNS 18 Aug 2015 -- An Aug. 7 attack on a U.S. military installation in Kabul left service members injured.
• RED HORSE: A legacy of leaving it better than how they found it AFNS 18 Aug 2015 -- As the sun sets and stars begin to glow in the night sky, a group of engineers arrive at their construction site. Generator powered lights cause the darkness surrounding the unfinished structure to slowly recede.
• Record civilian casualties and widening conflict stretch humanitarian capacities in Afghanistan – UN UN News 18 Aug 2015 -- The Afghan conflict has intensified in 2015, resulting in record high levels of civilian casualties and new displacements.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Readout of Secretary Carter's Meeting with Georgia Minister of Defense Tinatin Khidasheli DoD 18 Aug 2015
• New Bulgaria-based Marine unit to deter Russian aggression with tanks, artillery USMC News 18 Aug 2015 -- U.S. Marines now have tanks, artillery, and light-armored reconnaissance vehicles in Europe to support NATO allies and international partner countries.
• US moves tanks, heavy artillery across Europe to deter Russia ‘threats’ Press TV 18 Aug 2015 -- US Marines stationed in Bulgaria are expected to receive tanks and heavy artillery as part of efforts to move military equipment across the continent to Eastern Europe to deter alleged threats from Russia.
• Lithuanian, US troops tackle Poland mission Army News 18 Aug 2015 -- Equipment is checked and rechecked. Supplies are loaded up and secured. A distinctive scent fills the air as engines crank and diesel fuel turns into smoke.
• USAF Tanker Test Flight Delayed After Wrong Chemicals Used In Refueling Line Sputnik 18 Aug 2015 -- After a series of postponements, the US Air Force’s KC-46 tanker plane was set to undertake its first flight at the end of the month.
• 94 men, two women to earn Ranger Tab Aug. 21 Army News 18 Aug 2015 -- The U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence announced 94 men and two women met the standards of the Swamp Phase and will graduate the Ranger Course.
• Dempsey Worried About Refugee, Immigration Crisis in Europe AFPS 18 Aug 2015 -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today he is worried about the effects migration, immigration and mass migration are having in Europe.
• Parachute water survival moves to Fairchild AFNS 18 Aug 2015 -- Detachment 2, 66th Training Squadron, 336th Training Group at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, relocated to Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.
• Joint Mission Almost Complete on Saipan NNS 18 Aug 2015 -- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and federal officials announced that the Department of Defense disaster relief mission on Saipan is coming to a close.
• 200 Active Troops to Join California Firefighting Efforts AFPS 18 Aug 2015 -- About 200 active-duty service members will help battle California wildfires as early as Sunday.
• Russia To Build New Radar Stations In Azerbaijan, Near Arctic Circle RFE/RL 18 Aug 2015 -- Moscow has plans to start building new early warning radar stations in Azerbijan and near the Arctic Circle.
• Iran Expects New S-300 Deal With Russia by End of Next Week Sputnik 18 Aug 2015 -- Iranian Defense Minister said that Iran expects that a renewed contract on the delivery of Russian S-300 missile defense systems could be signed this or next week.
• Spain Prepares for Exercise Trident Juncture 2015 NATO 18 Aug 2015 -- Foreseen to be the hub of a Joint Task Force Headquarters manned by JFC Brunssum personnel, a tent city is rising from the ground in an extremely ambitious time schedule and equally demanding weather conditions.
• China to take over strategic US military base in Djibouti Press TV 18 Aug 2015 -- The tiny African state of Djibouti has reportedly ordered the US to vacate its secondary Obock military base in the nation in a bid to turn over the installation to the Chinese military and its contingent of 10,000 troops.
• Japan's army forces launch annual live-fire drills Press TV 18 Aug 2015 -- Japanese military forces have launched four-day live-fire drills near Mount Fuji as Tokyo seeks to expand the role of the army.
• Second stage of Han Kuang exercises set for Sept. 7-11 CNA 18 Aug 2015 -- The second stage of the "Han Kuang 31" series of military exercises will be held from Sept. 7 to 11 on Taiwan proper and on the country's outlying islands and will simulate an attack from China.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing, August 18, 2015 US Dept. of State 18 Aug 2015

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for August 18, 2015

Other Conflicts

• Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, 18 August 2015 United Nations 18 Aug 2015
• Security Council welcomes Ban’s pledge to strictly enforce ‘zero tolerance’ against sexual abuse by UN personnel UN News 18 Aug 2015 -- The Security Council stressed the importance of the UN quickly investigating the most recent allegations of misconduct by peacekeepers.
• Evolving peacekeeping landscape requires stronger global-regional partnership, Security Council told UN News 18 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations increasingly shares responsibility for peace and security with regional organizations.
• IS Threatens Turkey, Calls Erdogan 'Traitor' VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- A new Islamic State video is taking aim at Turkey, issuing a call to arms to "conquer Istanbul."
• Al-Qaeda Claims Kyrgyz Sniper Injured In U.S. Drone Strike Regains Consciousness RFE/RL 18 Aug 2015 -- A Kyrgyz militant injured in a U.S. drone strike against Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra has "regained consciousness from a coma," according to Nusra's Russian-language media wing White Minaret.
• Former Iraqi PM Blames Fall of Mosul on Turkey's Erdogan VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- Former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is blaming disaster on Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan and Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani.
• Libya: UN human rights office alarmed by reports of ISIL-led violence, reprisal killings UN News 18 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations human rights office today expressed concern over violence in Sirte, Libya, involving militants claiming allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
• Ukraine Fighting Eases as Putin Blames Kyiv for Hostilities VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- Fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and Russia-backed rebels eased Tuesday.
• Putin Warns Crimean Tatars Not To Seek Special Status RFE/RL 18 Aug 2015 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned minority ethnic Tatars that they should not strive for special status on the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine last year.
• S. Korea Weighs China’s WWII Anniversary Invite VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye has yet to decide on whether or not she will accept China’s invitation to attend celebrations in Beijing to mark the end of World War II early next month.
• North Korea installs speakers of its own along border with South: Seoul Press TV 18 Aug 2015 -- North Korea has reportedly retaliated for the South’s border propaganda warfare, reinstalling loudspeakers of its own to broadcast anti-Seoul messages along the border between the two countries.
• Injured AMISOM Soldiers, Families Go Years Without Compensation VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- Last month, the United Nations Security Council authorized the African Union to maintain the deployment of its peacekeeping mission in Somalia, AMISOM, until next May.
• Boko Haram ambush kills up to 150 in Nigeria Press TV 18 Aug 2015 -- Up to 150 people have been shot dead or drowned in a river in northeastern Nigeria while fleeing violence by the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists.
• Statement by the National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice on the Peace Agreement in South Sudan The White House 18 Aug 2015
• S. Sudan Rebels: Kiir Opposes Power Sharing VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- A South Sudanese rebel spokesman said President Salva Kiir refused to sign Monday’s peace deal aimed at ending the country's 20-month civil war because he is afraid of power sharing.
• South Sudanese ‘Hail’ President Kiir Refusal to Sign Accord VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- South Sudan’s foreign minister says the government will on Wednesday begin consultations with civil society, political parties and other stakeholders to determine how best to move the peace process forward.
• South Sudan Wants Two Weeks to Review Peace Deal VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- South Sudan's government says it needs two more weeks to consider a proposed peace deal with rebels that President Salva Kiir has refused to sign.
• South Sudan government refuses to sign peace deal with rebels Press TV 18 Aug 2015 -- South Sudan’s government has refused to sign a peace deal with the rebels in the country despite the threat of international sanctions.
• South Sudan: UN chief looks forward to President Kiir’s endorsement of peace agreement UN News 18 Aug 2015 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the signing by former South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar and the Former Detainees of the compromise peace agreement.
• UN Mission Must Withdraw from DRC, Says Chief VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- The head of the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Martin Kobler, told reporters Monday the mission - MONUSCO - must withdraw from the country.
• Israel resumes work on separation wall in West Bank Press TV 18 Aug 2015 -- Israeli military forces have uprooted dozens of Palestinian olive trees in the occupied West Bank as part of plans to resume constructing a separation wall that snakes across occupied Palestinian territories.
• After new displacements, UN officials call for an immediate halt to demolitions in the West Bank UN News 18 Aug 2015 -- Senior United Nations officials are calling today for an immediate freeze on demolitions in the West Bank, after dozens of structures were demolished yby Israeli authorities.

News Reports

• U.S. Senate GOP Leader Concedes Iran Deal 'Likely' To Succeed RFE/RL 18 Aug 2015 -- U.S. President Barack Obama has "a great likelihood of success" in his showdown with congressional Republicans on the Iran nuclear deal, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has acknowledged.
• Khamenei: Iran Will Block US Influence VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed that even if a nuclear deal goes through, Iran will not open its doors to foreign influence.
• US intrudes on China’s anti-graft drive People's Daily 18 Aug 2015 -- It seems that the esteemed NYT has mistaken Chinese police officers as "special agents" in charge of national security.
• Tianjin Rain Raises Concerns About Toxicity VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- Rain has begun to fall in China’s blast-struck northeastern port city of Tianjin as officials raced to prevent the further spread of hazardous chemicals and explosives from the site.
• Sri Lanka’s Ex-President Rajapaska Loses Comeback Bid VOA 18 Aug 2015 -- Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has failed to stage a political comeback in the recent parliamentary elections.