Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Casualty Update 28 Aug 2015 [PDF]
• Iraq Progresses in ISIL Fight, Key Extremist Confirmed Dead AFPS 28 Aug 2015 -- Progress continues across the battlespace in Iraq’s fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant extremists.
• Airstrikes Continue Against ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq AFPS 28 Aug 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
• Update: air strikes in Iraq UK MOD 28 Aug 2015 -- British forces have continued to conduct air operations to assist the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL.
• IS British Hacker Killed in US Airstrike in Syria VOA 28 Aug 2015 -- The Islamic State group’s top English-speaking hacker and recruiter has been killed in an airstrike.
• US Airstrike Killed Top ISIL Hacker – CENTCOM Sputnik 28 Aug 2015 -- US Central Command confirms that a top hacker for ISIL was killed in a US military airstrike earlier in the week.
• U.S. Asks Uzbekistan To Join Fight Against Islamic State RFE/RL 28 Aug 2015 -- The United States has asked Uzbekistan to join the multinational coalition fighting the Islamic State group.
• Battle Rages for Control of Key Afghan District VOA 28 Aug 2015 -- Fierce fighting is raging in southern Afghanistan, where national security forces with the help of the U.S.-led foreign military coalition have undertaken a counteroffensive to halt Taliban advances.
• U.S, NATO Forces Join Afghan Effort To Oust Taliban From Helmand RFE/RL 28 Aug 2015 -- NATO and U.S. forces joined an Afghan army campaign August 27 to try to stop a Taliban advance in southern Afghanistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Speech: Remarks Announcing a New Manufacturing Innovation Institute in Silicon Valley DoD 28 Aug 2015
• DoD Announces Award of New Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Hub in Silicon Valley DoD 28 Aug 2015
• FACT SHEET: Obama Administration Announces New Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Hub in San Jose, CA The White House 28 Aug 2015
• Carter Announces Manufacturing Initiative to Aid Warfighters AFPS 28 Aug 2015 -- The Defense Department is partnering with a large-scale consortium in the creation of a National Manufacturing Innovation Institute to produce hybrid electronics.
• US, South Korea Hold Joint Military Drill VOA 28 Aug 2015 -- The U.S. and South Korea have held their largest-ever joint military drill.
• China, U.S. vow closer military cooperation People's Daily 28 Aug 2015 -- Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, met with U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice in Beijing on Friday, with the pair vowing greater military cooperation.
• 'Underway! Shift Colors!' Ike Concludes Availability with Triumphant Return to Sea NNS 28 Aug 2015 -- The crew of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) returned to sea, Aug. 28, following a 23-month dry-docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY).
• Paratroopers ensure Global Response Force is always ready to go Army News 28 Aug 2015 -- The 82nd Airborne Division is capable of deploying a brigade-sized force anywhere in the world - a GRF - within 96 hours.
• USS America hosts Japanese Sailors in San Diego for Dawn Blitz NNS 28 Aug 2015 -- Amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) began hosting Japanese Sailors Aug. 17 as they prepare for the annual amphibious assault training exercise Dawn Blitz 2015 (DB 15) in early September.
• Counting Down: Navy's Latest Communication Satellite Ready for Launch NNS 28 Aug 2015 -- The Navy's fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite is awaiting countdown - and the whims of Tropical Storm Erika - for launch Aug. 31. The launch window is between 6:07 and 6:51 a.m. ET.
• 20th CBRNE completes exercise in South Korea Army News 28 Aug 2015 -- Soldiers from 20th CBRNE Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives) completed Exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian in South Korea Aug. 28.
• LAAD gunners aim high USMC News 28 Aug 2015 -- Class 3-15 will be the first to graduate four enlisted female LAAD gunners.
• Remembering Hurricane Katrina a Decade Later AFPS 28 Aug 2015 -- Forecasters said the hurricane would be bad, but no one expected a Katrina.
• Northern Command Applies Lessons Katrina Taught AFPS 28 Aug 2015 -- In 2005, Hurricane Katrina rocked the nation’s complacency in how it would face a major disaster.
• Civil Air Patrol joins total force ‘Airmen’ AFNS 28 Aug 2015 -- When conducting missions for the Air Force as the official Air Force auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol is now included in the Air Force’s definition of the total force.
• Hurricane Hunters to fly Tropical Storm Erika AFNS 28 Aug 2015 -- The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters are operating out of Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, flying their state-of-the-art WC-130J Super Hercules into Tropical Storm Erika in support of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
• Iran Mulls Russian Military Aircraft Purchase, Joint Space Projects Sputnik 28 Aug 2015 -- Iran is holding active talks with Russia on the purchase of military aircraft.
• Indian Warships Enter Iranian Port Bandar-e-Abbas Sputnik 28 Aug 2015 -- Two Indian warships entered an Iranian port on Thursday as part of a “goodwill visit to strengthen the bilateral relations” between the two countries.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for August 28, 2015

Other Conflicts

• Security Council condemns use of sexual violence as ‘tactic of war’ in Iraq and Syria UN News 28 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations Security Council ondemned the use of sexual violence, in particular sexual enslavement and sexual violence “related to or resulting from forced marriage, committee, including as a tactic of war, in Syria and Iraq.”.
• Yemeni Official: Battle for Capital Imminent VOA 28 Aug 2015 -- Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin insisted during a visit to Cairo Friday that the “liberation” of Yemen's capital, Sana'a, from Houthi rebels will begin within the next two months.
• Saudi airstrikes kill five in northwestern Yemen as ground invasion begins Press TV 28 Aug 2015 -- Saudi warplanes have conducted new attacks on Yemen’s northwestern Sa’ada Province, killing five people there.
• Saudi-Led Coalition Prepares to Storm Sanaa, Al-Qaeda Gains Ground in Yemen Sputnik 28 Aug 2015 -- Competing forces and an increasingly fractured society threaten Yemen’s future as a single and unified nation state.
• S. Sudan's Kiir Tells Army to Observe Truce VOA 28 Aug 2015 -- South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has ordered the army to halt all military operations, ahead of a full cease-fire that goes into effect Saturday.
• Fresh peace deal ‘first step’ in resolving South Sudan crisis – Security Council UN News 28 Aug 2015 -- The Security Council called on all the parties, with the help of the United Nations, to implement the accord and adhere to the permanent ceasefire.
• UNICEF announces release of 163 more children by armed group in Central African Republic UN News 28 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations Children’s Fund announced today that 163 children have been released by an armed group in the Central African Republic.

News Reports

• Obama Says Iran Nuclear Deal Relies On Verification, Not Trust RFE/RL 28 Aug 2015 -- U.S. President Barack Obama has sought to reassure the Jewish-American community about a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran during a webcast with Jewish organizations.
• Obama Assures American Jewish Leaders on Iran Deal VOA 28 Aug 2015 -- President Barack Obama told American Jewish leaders the P5+1 nuclear agreement with Iran is the best option for preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, saying that “true friendship,” like that between the United States and Israel, allows room for debate.
• Parchin not a nuclear site: US State Department Press TV 28 Aug 2015 -- The US Department of State has acknowledged that Iran’s Parchin site is a “conventional” military facility, marking a departure from allegations about nuclear activities there.
• Suspected Tehran Hacking Scam Targets Iranian Activists RFE/RL 28 Aug 2015 -- Iranian expatriates and activists are being targeted by an “elaborate phishing campaign” that enables hackers to take control of their Google account, research from Citizen Lab says.
• Inter-Korean Deal Raises Hope for Separated Families VOA 28 Aug 2015 -- The recent agreement ending a military standoff between North and South Korea is raising hope for reunions of Korean families separated during the Korean War six decades ago.
• North Korea leader dismisses top officials Press TV 28 Aug 2015 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has removed several high-ranking officials from their posts following the recent escalation of tensions with the neighboring South.
• Ban urges all parties in Burundi to ‘look beyond political differences,’ revive spirit of landmark peace accord UN News 28 Aug 2015 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all the country’s political leaders, including those in exile, to find common cause.
• Kyrgyz President Cancels September Trip To U.S. RFE/RL 28 Aug 2015 -- Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev has canceled a trip to the United States that was planned for late September, citing looming elections but hinting at deepening strains in the relationship between Washington and Bishkek.
• Erdogan approves makeup of pre-election cabinet Press TV 28 Aug 2015 -- Following the failure of coalition talks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved the makeup of an interim government that will run the country until snap elections.
• At Security Council, UN officials warn political turbulence in Guinea-Bissau puts past gainst at risk UN News 28 Aug 2015 -- Top United Nations official there expressed hope today that political leaders would rise to their “historic responsibility” to preserve the gains made so far in the interest of the country and people.
• UN human rights office calls on Colombia and Venezuela to resolve border situation through dialogue UN News 28 Aug 2015 -- The United Nations human rights office called on the authorities in both countries to ensure the situation is resolved through “calm discussion and dialogue, firmly grounded in their obligations under international human rights law and refugee law.”
• Tanzania Opposition Chadema to Launch Campaign Saturday VOA 28 Aug 2015 -- Tanzania’s main opposition Chadema political party will officially launch its campaign for the October 25 general election Saturday in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
• New Walls Rise After Iron Curtain’s Fall RFE/RL 28 Aug 2015 -- The idea of erecting barriers to keep undesirables at bay did not crumble with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Iron Curtain.