Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF / OND / OEF / OIR / OFS Casualty Update 04 Mar 2016 [PDF]
• Military Strikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq AFPS 04 Mar 2016 -- 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.
• Iraqi Forces Preparing for Mosul Assault, OIR Spokesman Says AFPS 04 Mar 2016 -- With coalition support, Iraqi security forces are preparing for the assault to reclaim the key city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman said today.
• Dunford Says Afghans Applying Security Lessons Learned in 2015 AFPS 04 Mar 2016 -- While the highlight of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's visit to Afghanistan was the change of command in Kabul, he also took advantage of the visit to check on operations in the eastern part of the country.
• Afghan Security Forces Clear Dahana i Ghuri District of Taliban Insurgents Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- Afghan troops on Friday broke through the Taliban defense line in the Dahana i Ghuri area and managed to clear it of insurgents, Baghlan police security department head, Abdul Rashid Bashir, said.
• Afghan Diplomat Still 'Optimistic' About Taliban Talks VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- A senior Afghan diplomat said Friday that he remained "optimistic" that peace talks with Taliban insurgents would start within days, dismissing speculation they would be delayed.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Media Availability by Secretary Carter in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington DoD 04 Mar 2016 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter
• Remarks by Secretary Carter at a Troop Event at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington DoD 04 Mar 2016 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter
• James, Welsh testify before Congress AFNS 04 Mar 2016 -- The Air Force's top two senior leaders testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Defense March 2 and the Senate Armed Services Committee March 3.
• Chièvres AB: Separated, self-sufficient AFNS 04 Mar 2016 -- Standing at the end of the short runway, only chickens can be heard clucking from a family farm just a stone's throw away.
• Deputy SecDef: Exciting technology being developed at Wright-Patterson AFNS 04 Mar 2016 -- The civilian and military personnel at the laboratories here are working on cutting-edge technologies to maximize human performance, protect the warfighter, and secure the nation.
• 'Let's be Ambitious Together' Pacom Commander Urges in India AFPS 04 Mar 2016 -- Strengthening conversations, advancing relationships, and ambitiously realizing a joint strategic vision were a few of the goals the leader of U.S. Pacific Command shared with an international audience at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi this week.
• 26th MEU Female Engagement Team trains with Kuwaiti Police USMC News 04 Mar 2016 -- U.S. Marines assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted an exchange of information with the Kuwait Ministry of the Interior VIP Protection Unit, Female Division, Jan. 31 to Feb. 11, 2016, in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
• EOD conducts final field exercise in preparation for SPMAGTF-CR-AF USMC News 04 Mar 2016 -- Marines with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Platoon, Combat Logistics Battalion 2, conducted a field training exercise at Camp Lejeune, March 2.
• USS Fort McHenry Participates in Cold Response 2016 NNS 04 Mar 2016 -- USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship homeported in Mayport, Fla., is underway Mar. 3 participating in Exercise Cold Response 2016.
• Naval EOD School Gets SMART NNS 04 Mar 2016 -- The Scalable Mobile Applications and Ready Training (SMART) initiative is a pilot training modernization effort at the school.
• Equipment Backload completes success of Exercise Cobra Gold NNS 04 Mar 2016 -- Civilian mariners, contractors and Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 3 began conducting a backload of equipment used in Exercise Cobra Gold 2016 (CG-16) from Military Sealift Command (MSC) USNS 1st Lt. Jack Lummus (T-AK 3011), Feb. 29, bringing a successful close to the exercise.
• Japan to halt work on US base relocation in Okinawa: PM Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he will temporarily halt construction work on relocating a US base on the Okinawa island, amid intense protests by locals to the presence of American troops.
• Japan Decides to Stop Works on US Airbase Relocation in Okinawa Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- Tokyo decided to accept a court-mediated settlement plan concerning the relocation of a US airbase.
• A Strong NATO for a New Strategic Reality - Keynote address by NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow at the Foundation Institute for Strategic Studies, Krakow (Annual Conference: 'NATO as an Active Guardian - Expectations Before the Warsaw NATO Summit') NATO 04 Mar 2016
• China Cuts Defense Spending as Economy Stumbles VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- China's slowing economy is having an impact on government spending, including the country's closely watched military budget.
• China to raise 2016 defense budget by 7-8 pct: spokesperson People's Daily 04 Mar 2016 -- A spokesperson of the national legislature talked on Friday about what could be China's slowest military budget increase for six years, as the world's second largest economy feels the chill amid rising headwinds.
• China increases military spending to be smallest in 6 years Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- China is set to increase its defense spending by 7 to 8 percent this year, the lowest rise in the country's military budget over the past six years.
• China's J-20, J-31 likely to be deployed on aircraft carriers, military expert says People's Daily 04 Mar 2016 -- China's fourth generation fighters like J-20 and J-31 are likely to be deployed on aircraft carriers, according to a military export.
• Kim Jong Un says to further strengthen nuclear weapons in quality People's Daily 04 Mar 2016 -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un said that the only way to defend the nation's sovereignty is to further strengthen nuclear forces in quality and the military should be prepared to deliver nuclear warheads at any time.
• S.Korean navy, coast guards stage joint maritime exercise against DPRK People's Daily 04 Mar 2016 -- South Korea's navy and coast guards on Friday carried out a joint maritime exercise against possible terrorist attacks from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a local broadcaster YTN reported.
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 3/4/2016 The White House 04 Mar 2016
• March 4, 2016 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 04 Mar 2016

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 04, 2016

Other Conflicts

• 4 March 2016 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 04 Mar 2016
• Sexual Abuse Allegations Against UN Peacekeepers on the Rise VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- Allegations of sexual abuse by United Nations peacekeepers and staff rose in 2015, despite the institution's 'zero tolerance' policy on such misconduct.
• 'We must not allow protectors to become predators' - UN field support chief UN News 04 Mar 2016 -- With 99 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse uncovered by the United Nations in 2015 – 69 of these in countries where peacekeeping operations are deployed – the Organization is today presenting its latest report on special measures to protect people from these crimes.
• US Sends Aircraft Carrier, Destroyers to South China Sea VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier and several escorts to the South China Sea in an apparent show of force to China.
• 'US strike carrier group enters South China Sea' Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- The United States Navy has dispatched a small strike carrier fleet to the disputed waters of the South China Sea, media reports say.
• Fishing area boundaries not part of Taiwan-Japan fishery talks CNA 04 Mar 2016 -- Taiwan and Japan agreed at a meeting on Friday to maintain existing fishing rules in waters north of the Yaeyama Islands and did not touch on curtailing access to Taiwanese fishermen to waters near the disputed Diaoyutai Islands, a Taiwanese official said.
• US drone strikes kill 4 in southern Yemen, gunmen kill 16 Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- At least four people are killed in a US drone strike in southern Yemen, while unknown gunmen kill at least 16 people, including four Indian nurses.
• Civilians bear brunt of Yemen's unrest, UN human rights office warns UN News 04 Mar 2016 -- The number of civilians killed in Yemen continues to rise, almost doubling between January and February, the United Nations human rights office today announced.
• UN Reports Sharp Rise in Civilian Casualties in Yemen VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- The United Nations human rights office says civilian casualties are mounting in conflict-ridden Yemen.
• All Hands On Deck: Russian Military Sets Up High-Tech Radar System in Syria Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- Russian military have set up electronic systems, which allows monitoring violations of the ceasefire in Syria.
• Water returns to Syria's Aleppo after Daesh stoppage Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- Water has returned to pumping stations in Syria's Aleppo city after Daesh Takfiri terrorists stopped water supplies to residents for 48 days.
• UN envoy calls for no foreign interference in Assad fate Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- The UN special envoy for Syria says it is only the Syrian people who should decide the fate of their President Bashar al-Assad, rejecting foreign interference in the country's affairs.
• Arms supplied daily to Syria militants via Turkey border: Russia Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- Columns of trucks carrying cargo and weapons for militants in Syria cross into the war-wracked country from Turkey on a daily basis, Russian Defense Ministry says.
• Syria militants not observing agreement on cessation of hostilities: YPG Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- A Syrian Kurdish group says foreign-backed militants in Syria's northern Aleppo Province have not been observing an agreement for cessation of hostilities in the country.
• Britain, France, Russia, Germany Pledge Work Toward Syria Peace RFE/RL 04 Mar 2016 -- Leaders from Britain, France, Russia, and Germany pledged to work toward a more substantial peace process to resolve the crisis in Syria, even as a U.S.-Russian-brokered truce began to show signs of unraveling and a major Syrian opposition group dismissed the chance for new talks.
• US State Dept Asserts Syrian Diaspora Vote to Result in Assad's Ouster Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- The votes cast in the new elections in Syria by the diaspora, displaced from the country during the five year civil war, will most likely result in the ouster of the sitting Syrian President Bashar Assad, US Department of State spokesman Mark Toner said on Friday.
• Denmark Considers Sending Extra Servicemen, Fighter Jets to Syria Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- The office of the Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen announced on Friday that the country may expand its anti-Daesh campaign in Syria by sending F-16 fighter jets, C130J transport aircraft and 400 military personnel to the war-torn country.
• Russian MoD Accuses Turkey of Ongoing Hostilities in Syria's Aleppo, Idlib Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- Ankara is fully responsible for ongoing hostilities in Syria's Aleppo and Idlib provinces as Turkey ensures steady supply of weapons to terrorists and keeps shelling groups of Kurdish militia fighting against al-Nusra Front, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
• Truce Reached With Syria's Jaysh al-Islam, Opposition Groups – Russian MoD Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- A ceasefire deal has been reached with the field commander of Syria's militant group Jaysh al-Islam and five other opposition forces, the commander of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation said Friday.
• Syria Parliamentary Election Not to Interfere in Peace Process - Kremlin Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- Russian President Vladimir Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a telephone conference with the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Britain that the Syrian authorities' decision to hold parliamentary election in April would not interfere in the peace process in the country, the Kremlin's press service said Friday.
• Kurdish Militia Chief Slams Ankara for Backing Terrorists' Advance in Syria Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- Turkey has been giving cover to Islamist militants and aiding them in the fight against Kurdish self-defense forces near its border with Syria, the head of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) has alleged.
• Military Sources: Turkish Tanks Not Shelling YPG VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- Turkish tanks shelled Islamic State positions in northern Syria and not those of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, Turkish military sources said on Friday, after the YPG said it was being targeted.
• Turkey Pushes Programs to Educate Syrian Refugee Children VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- With an estimated 500,000 Syrian refugee children in Turkey not attending school, the government is continuing to push for more educational programs. In a suburb of Istanbul, a pilot project is addressing the massive problem of educating children living outside refugee camps.
• Paris Talks On Ukraine Peace Fall Flat RFE/RL 04 Mar 2016 -- Progress was seen but no breakthrough made during talks aimed at jumpstarting a fragile peace deal in Ukraine, ending with Moscow and Kyiv failing to agree on a proposal to hold elections in eastern Ukraine this year.
• Two more Turkish soldiers killed in PKK militant attack Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- Two Turkish army soldiers were killed Friday in an attack by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on government forces in the volatile southeastern province of Sirnak.
• UN joins partners in pledging support for President-elect of Central African Republic UN News 04 Mar 2016 -- The United Nations today, in a joint statement with other multilateral organizations, welcomed the final results of the second round of the presidential elections in the Central African Republic (CAR) announced earlier this week, congratulating President-elect Faustin-Archange Touadéra.
• Masses Fleeing Boko Haram Broil in Sun in Niger Camp VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- Hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes are now living in the Diffa region of eastern Niger. Makeshift camps are everywhere on each side of the RN1, the country's main highway. The asphalt is boiling hot.
• Cameroon Vigilantes Hunt for Boko Haram Landmines VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- Cameroon has repeatedly praised the work of civilian self-defense groups in the north who are assisting security forces in the war against Boko Haram. Soldiers have given the militia some training and the state has now handed over motorcycles and bicycles so militia can monitor border areas.
• Tackling 'triple peril' facing the Sahel region is top priority for UN, Ban says in Mauritania UN News 04 Mar 2016 -- With a "triple peril" of environmental degradation, poverty and insecurity facing the Sahel, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today during a visit to Mauritania that improving the situation in the region is a top priority for the United Nations.
• Israeli Parliament's 'Expulsion' Bill Stirs Hot Debate VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- For decades Israel has prided itself as the only real democracy in the Middle East, but some senior Israeli officials are saying newly proposed legislation could tarnish that image.

News Reports

• South Korea Expects Backlash After UN Sanctions on North VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye says her country must make it clear the North Korean regime will not survive if it does not give up its nuclear program.
• Three reasons why China voted in favor of new sanctions resolution on DPRK People's Daily 04 Mar 2016 -- The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to impose new and tougher sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday. China, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, voted in favor of the resolution.
• North Korea 'puts nukes on standby for firing' Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un orders the country's nuclear arsenal prepared for use at any time and the military to be in 'pre-emptive attack' mode, citing growing threats from enemies.
• White House Warns North Korea to Refrain From Provocative Actions Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- The United States is warning North Korea to refrain from any further provocative actions in response to the country's leader Kim Jong-un saying he was readying its nuclear weapons after the UN Security Council (UNSC) decided to expand sanctions on Pyongyang, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest stated during a press briefing on Friday.
• U.S. and S. Korean Warmongers' Coming War Exercises under Fire KCNA 04 Mar 2016 -- The U.S. and the Park Geun Hye group of traitors are mulling kicking off joint military exercises Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 16 on March 7.
• DPRK Foreign Ministry Spokesman Rejects UNSC 'Resolution on Sanctions' KCNA 04 Mar 2016 -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry issued the following statement on Thursday:
• DPRK Govt. Spokesman Clarifies Its Stand to Resolutely Counter UN 'Resolution on Sanctions' KCNA 04 Mar 2016 -- A spokesman for the government of the DPRK issued the following statement Friday:
• Project of Paektusan Hero Youth Power Station Progresses Apace KCNA 04 Mar 2016 -- The construction of Paektusan Hero Youth Power Station No. 3 has been pushed forward in the DPRK.
• Agenda set for China's legislative session People's Daily 04 Mar 2016 -- China's national legislators elected Friday a presidium and set the agenda for the legislature's annual session, which will open Saturday.
• Xi underscores adherence to China's basic economic system People's Daily 04 Mar 2016 -- China should adhere to its basic economic system, with public ownership playing a dominant role and diverse forms of ownership developing side by side, President Xi Jinping said on Friday.
• Nine Takeaways From Iran's Elections RFE/RL 04 Mar 2016 -- Iran's moderates and reformists have had nearly a week to celebrate their return from a decade of political marginalization in elections that recast the ranks of the parliament and the clerically dominated Assembly of Experts, which selects and oversees the supreme leader. But how much has really changed?
• Iraqis protest against widespread corruption Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- Tens of thousands of Iraqis held demonstrations in major cities Friday to protest against widespread corruption and call for reforms.
• Iraqis Fear Collapse of Poorly-maintained Mosul Dam VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- More than a million Iraqis are in danger of being killed if the poorly maintained Mosul dam collapses and the Tigris River rushes out. The government began urgent maintenance work on the dam Thursday. Authorities have warned people who live along the Tigris to move at least six kilometers away from the banks
• Turkey seizes control of opposition paper Zaman Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- A Turkish court has ordered a board of trustees to take charge of the mainstream opposition newspaper Zaman.
• US criticizes Turkey over seizure of paper Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- The United States has criticized the Turkish government for deciding to take control of the mainstream opposition newspaper Zaman, calling the decision "troubling".
• Erdogan Accuses Turkey's Constitutional Court of Breaching Constitution Sputnik 04 Mar 2016 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the country's Constitutional Court on Friday of violating the Constitution by releasing two journalists from pre-trial detention who had been arrested for investigating the delivery of weapons from Ankara to militants in Syria.
• Lithuanian Sentenced To Prison As Spy For Belarus RFE/RL 04 Mar 2016 -- A Lithuanian court has jailed a former military medical officer after finding him guilty of spying for neighboring Belarus.
• Juncker Says Ukraine Not Likely To Join EU, NATO For 20-25 Years RFE/RL 04 Mar 2016 -- It will take Ukraine at least 20 to 25 years to join the European Union and NATO, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said March 3.
• Nigerian protesters call for release of Shia cleric, Zakzaky Press TV 04 Mar 2016 -- Nigerians have staged fresh protest rallies across the country to call for the immediate release of jailed Shia cleric and leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.
• UN refugee chief presents detailed plan to solve crisis in Europe, warning time is 'running out' UN News 04 Mar 2016 -- Warning Europe is running out of time to solve the current refugee situation, the UN refugee chief today outlined a detailed six-point plan ahead of a key meeting of European Union leaders and Turkey in Brussels next week.
• UN: Burundi Refugees Top 250,000 VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- The United Nations refugee agency says the number of people who have fled Burundi because of violence and political tension has climbed to a quarter-million.
• Mugabe Digs In on State Seizure of Diamond Mining VOA 04 Mar 2016 -- Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said late Thursday that he will not back down on his decision to seize control of the diamond industry. Last month, Mugabe gave foreign mining companies 90 days to stop work and leave the country.Scaring away foreign investors may be the last thing Zimbabwe needs right now.