Further Reading

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF / OND / OEF / OIR / OFS Casualty Update 08 Jul 2016 [PDF]
• Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIL in Syria, Iraq AFPS 08 Jul 2016 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• U.S. Strikes Kill 4 Al-Qaida Terrorists in Yemen AFPS 08 Jul 2016 -- The U.S. military conducted two counterterrorism strikes this month against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula near Shabwah Governorate in central Yemen, according to a U.S. Central Command news release issued today.
• Australia Extends Military Mission In Afghanistan By Six Months RFE/RL 08 Jul 2016 -- Australia has extended its military mission in Afghanistan for an extra six months to mid-2017 with the prospect that it could be prolonged further.

Defense Policy / Programs

• JMSDF Training Squadron Visits Naval Station Mayport NNS 08 Jul 2016 -- U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet (USNAVSO/FOURTHFLT) is hosting the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) Training Squadron during a three-day port visit to Mayport as part of an around-the-world deployment designed to train newly-commissioned Japanese naval officers.
• Naval Surface Warfare Center Stands Up System Depot in Support of MH-60S Seahawk Integration Program NNS 08 Jul 2016 -- Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division has been identified as a MH-60S Seahawk Carriage, Stream, Tow and Recovery System (CSTRS) depot.
• USS Frank Cable Arrives in Diego Garcia NNS 08 Jul 2016 -- Submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) arrived at U.S. Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia for a port visit, July 8.
• MUOS-5 Transfer Maneuver Temporarily Halted, Satellite Reconfigured into Safe Intermediate Orbit NNS 08 Jul 2016 -- The fifth Mobile User Objective System satellite, which successfully launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 on June 24, was projected to reach its geosynchronous orbit and enter its test location 22,000 miles above Hawaii by July 3.
• NATO Secretary General: Alliance to Send Multinational Battalions Eastward AFPS 08 Jul 2016 -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the North Atlantic Council has approved forward presence along the alliance's border with Russia.
• Obama: U.S. to be Lead Nation for Enhanced NATO Presence in Poland AFPS 08 Jul 2016 -- On the first day of the NATO Summit in Warsaw, President Barack Obama announced that the United States will be the lead nation for an enhanced NATO presence in Poland, which will see an increase in NATO and American forces and military equipment.
• Carter Discusses Issues President Will Address at NATO Summit AFPS 08 Jul 2016 -- On his way to Warsaw, Poland, for the NATO summit yesterday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter highlighted the issues he said he expects alliance leaders to discuss during the two-day meeting.
• NATO leaders bolster collective deterrence and defence NATO 08 Jul 2016 -- NATO's 28 leaders took decisions to bolster the Alliance's deterrence and defence at the first working session of the Warsaw Summit on Friday (8 July 2016). The leaders decided to send more forces to the eastern part of the Alliance, declared a milestone for Ballistic Missile Defence, and decided to recognise cyberspace as an operational domain.
• Joint statement of the NATO-Georgia Commission at the level of Foreign Ministers NATO 08 Jul 2016
• Joint declaration by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO 08 Jul 2016
• NATO Leaders Endorse New Deployments To Eastern Europe RFE/RL 08 Jul 2016 -- NATO leaders have endorsed a major new deployment of armed forces to Eastern Europe, a direct response to growing belligerence from Russia and the largest such move by the alliance since the end of the Cold War.
• NATO In The Shadow Of Brexit RFE/RL 08 Jul 2016 -- The dominant vibe in Warsaw is all about unity. The results are mostly pre-cooked. And there should be few surprises.
• NATO Looking to Conduct Counter-IS Training in Iraq VOA 08 Jul 2016 -- The NATO alliance will likely decide to start conducting counter-Islamic State training inside Iraq during the NATO summit in Warsaw, according to a senior NATO official and a senior U.S. official close to the talks.
• On Russia, NATO Shifts From Reassurance to Deterrence VOA 08 Jul 2016 -- It is being called the most critical NATO summit since the end of the Cold War.
• U.S. to Deploy THAAD Missile Battery to South Korea AFPS 08 Jul 2016 -- Based on recent consultations, the United States and South Korea have made an alliance decision to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense missile battery to U.S. Forces Korea as a defensive measure to ensure the security of South Korea and that of its people, and to protect alliance military forces from North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats, according to a Defense Department news release issued July 7.
• US, South Korea to Deploy Controversial THAAD Missile Defense VOA 08 Jul 2016 -- The U.S. and South Korea have announced plans to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense - THAAD - on the Korean peninsula to counter North Korea's ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile development programs.
• Ban on women in ground close combat roles lifted UK MOD 08 Jul 2016 -- Women to be allowed to serve on the front line in ground close combat roles for the first time.
• July 8, 2016 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 08 Jul 2016
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes, and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Elissa Slotkin in Warsaw, Poland The White House 08 Jul 2016

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for July 08, 2016

Other Conflicts

• 8 July 2016 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 08 Jul 2016
• International Court to Rule on Maritime Dispute in the South China Sea AFPS 08 Jul 2016 -- An international arbitral tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands will soon rule on the interpretation of international law governing maritime claims in the South China Sea, and American officials urged China to accept the court's ruling, a senior Defense Department official told Congress yesterday.
• Syria: UN relief wing sounds alarm on behalf of some 300,000 people trapped in war-torn Aleppo UN News 08 Jul 2016 -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has expressed serious concern for the estimated 300,000 people trapped in eastern Aleppo City, due to heavy clashes along the Castello road, the only road in and out of that part of the city.
• IS Assault On Shi'ite Shrine Kills At Least 37 In Iraq RFE/RL 08 Jul 2016 -- Islamic State (IS) militants have fired mortars on a crowded Shi'ite shrine north of Baghdad, creating a state of confusion that enabled three suicide bombers in military uniforms to infiltrate the compound and blow themselves up, Iraqi authorities say.
• House Benghazi Committee Approves Report into US Consulate Attacks in Libya VOA 08 Jul 2016 -- The United States House of Representatives' Benghazi committee adopted a report Friday into the deadly, September 11, 2012 attacks on U.S. Consulate in Libya.
• Ahead of South Sudan's fifth anniversary of independence, renewed violence draws UN concern UN News 08 Jul 2016 -- As South Sudan prepares to make its fifth anniversary of independence, United Nations officials today expressed concern over the continuing violence in parts of the country and the resulting forced displacement of people, both internally and throughout the neighbouring region.
• UN-backed meeting on forced displacement crisis in Central America urges regional responsibility-sharing UN News 08 Jul 2016 -- With people fleeing violence in Central America in numbers not seen in more than 30 years, representatives from Governments, international organizations and civil society gathered for a United Nations-backed event on the issue in San José, Costa Rica, and agreed to enhance access to asylum and increase regional responsibility-sharing.
• 'Prevailing calm should not be confused with stability,' warns UN envoy for Lebanon UN News 08 Jul 2016 -- The United Nations envoy for Lebanon has asked the UN Security Council to devote greater attention to situation there, including the deteriorating security conditions, weakening State institutions and the need for continued dispersal of funding for the refugees hosted by the country.
• Thousands fleeing violent clashes in Central African Republic - UN refugee agency UN News 08 Jul 2016 -- The United Nations refugee agency today said that more than six thousand people from the Central African Republic (CAR) have fled into Chad and Cameroon to escape renewed tension and violent clashes since mid-June.
• Central African Republic's leaders must commit to inclusive, transparent governance, Security Council told UN News 08 Jul 2016 -- The Central African Republic's (CAR) considerable progress over the past two years risks being reversed unless national authorities demonstrated commitment to inclusive and transparent governance, and to addressing the root causes of the crisis afflicting the country, the United Nations peacekeeping chief warned today.

News Reports

• US urges N Korea to avoid sparking tensions Press TV 08 Jul 2016 -- The United States has warned North Korea to avoid actions and statements that could increase tensions in the region, following Pyongyang's threat of taking "toughest countermeasures" against Washington over imposing sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
• US House of Representatives blocks Boeing sales to Iran Press TV 08 Jul 2016 -- The Republican-weighted US House of Representatives has approved measures to block sale of Boeing aircraft to Iran.
• U.S. Expels Two Russians In Connection With Diplomat Altercation In Moscow RFE/RL 08 Jul 2016 -- The United States has expelled two Russian officials following a violent altercation last month between an American diplomat and a Russian guard outside the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
• Analyst: Bangladesh Not Positioned to Fight Domestic Terrorism VOA 08 Jul 2016 -- A specialist in South Asian political and military affairs says Bangladesh is in a poor position to manage escalating terrorist attacks in the country.