Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF / OND / OEF / OIR / OFS Casualty Update 22 Mar 2017[PDF]
• Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS in Syria, Iraq AFPS 22 Mar 2017 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Local Forces Launch Daring Assault Behind Enemy Lines in Syria AFPS 22 Mar 2017 -- Local forces in Syria launched a multi-pronged offensive that included a daring air assault behind enemy lines to liberate Tabqa Dam, located 25 miles upstream from the city of Raqqa, the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve public affairs officer said today.
• US-led coalition air-drops allied militants near Daesh-held Raqqah Press TV 22 Mar 2017 -- The US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group has air-dropped ground forces near Syria's militant-held northern city of Raqqah in what the US military describes as preparations to recapture the extremists' main stronghold in the Arab country.
• Afghanistan Backs U.S. Call For More Troops To Help Battle Taliban RFE/RL 22 Mar 2017 -- Afghanistan wants the United States to send more forces to help battle the Taliban and the Islamic State extremist group, the country's top diplomat has said.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Mattis Urges Congressional Support for Additional $30 Billion for Defense AFPS 22 Mar 2017 -- The $30 billion in requested additional defense funding for fiscal year 2017 would be used to strengthen the military and protect the nation against emerging global security challenges, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Capitol Hill today.
• Dunford: Now is the Time to Address Military Readiness Shortfalls AFPS 22 Mar 2017 -- Military readiness must be bolstered, Defense Department leaders told the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee today.
• U.S., Australian Airmen Participate in 'Diamond Shield' Exercise AFPS 22 Mar 2017 -- U.S. airmen from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, touched down at Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown in New South Wales, Australia, this week for Exercise Diamond Shield 2017.
• Active Duty and National Guard work CBRN operations with Allies in Slovakia Army News 22 Mar 2017 -- Members of the Indiana National Guard work alongside Allies and active duty members to improve their skills in reacting to a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear response, and search and rescue techniques during Toxic Lance at Training Center Lest from March 20-23, 2017.
• Readout of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis' Telephone Call with Egyptian Minister of Defense General Sedki Sobhy DoD 22 Mar 2017
• III Marine Expeditionary Force Visits Bonhomme Richard NNS 22 Mar 2017 -- Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force, visited amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) while at sea, March 21.
• Green Bay, 31st MEU Conclude AIT NNS 22 Mar 2017 -- Amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD 20) and Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) completed amphibious integration training (AIT), March 19.
• USS Montgomery Completes Final Contract Trials NNS 22 Mar 2017 -- Littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) completed final contract trials, March 17, marking the completion of the construction and initial operating testing of the Navy's eighth LCS.
• USS Michael Murphy Conducts PASSEX with JS Teruzuki NNS 22 Mar 2017 -- Forward-deployed, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), under U.S. 3rd Fleet command and control, conducted a passing exercise (PASSEX) with Akizuki-class destroyer JS Teruzuki (DD 116) of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), March 17.
• Statement by Ministers of the Global Coalition: Meeting on the Defeat of ISIS US Dept. of State 22 Mar 2017
• Remarks at the Ministerial Plenary for the Global Coalition Working to Defeat ISIS US Dept. of State 22 Mar 2017
• The Global Coalition - Working to Defeat ISIS US Dept. of State 22 Mar 2017
• Tillerson: Anti-IS Coalition 'United' in Stopping Terror Group VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that U.S. policy is to "destroy and demolish" Islamic State, but that this could not happen if allies did not commit adequate funds and resources.
• Tillerson Taking 'New Ideas' to Global Meeting on Countering IS VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- After keeping a very low public profile in his first couple of months on the job, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is in the spotlight Wednesday and Thursday at a gathering in Washington aimed at countering the Islamic State terror group.
• NATO Secretary General attends meeting of Global Coalition to Counter ISIL NATO 22 Mar 2017 -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attended a meeting of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL at the US Department of State on Wednesday (22 March 2017). Discussions focused on the military campaign against ISIL and progress on the liberation and stabilisation of Raqqa and Mosul. On the anniversary of the Brussels attacks, nations reaffirmed their shared mission to defeat ISIL.
• Trump will attend NATO summit in Brussels in May: White House Press TV 22 Mar 2017 -- The White House has announced US President Donald Trump's travel plans to Europe for a NATO summit in May, a day after it was revealed that his secretary of state will skip the April 5-6 NATO meeting in Brussels.
• Tillerson Urges U.S. Senate To Approve Montenegro's NATO Bid RFE/RL 22 Mar 2017 -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has written to the leaders of the U.S. Senate urging them to approve Montenegro's bid to join NATO, saying it is "strongly in the interest of the United States," media reported.
• Lithuania Boosts NATO's Baltics Border Defenses With Eye on Russia VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- A German-led NATO battle group of tanks, armored vehicles, and troops, including Lithuanians, engaged "enemy attackers" mid-March on a field outside a military base in Rukla, Lithuania.
• Russia's Military Exports Volume in 2016 Exceeded $15 Billion - Putin Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- The volume of Russian exports in the sphere of military-technical cooperation in 2016 exceeded $15 billion, the country has retained the world's second place, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
• Russian Aerospace Forces to Receive Six T-50 Stealth Jets Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive six Sukhoi T-50 (PAK FA) fifth-generation fighter aircraft, spokesman said Wednesday.
• UK armoured vehicles arrive in Estonia UK MOD 22 Mar 2017 -- The first of hundreds of UK military vehicles have arrived in Estonia to support the UK's enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup.
• Moscow, Jakarta Looking Into Deal on Deliveries of Russian Be-200 Aircraft Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- Moscow and Jakarta are discussing possible deliveries of Russian Be-200 amphibious aircraft, but it is unclear yet how many Indonesia may want to buy, the deputy director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said Wednesday.
• Philippines Interested in Purchasing Russian Military Equipment Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- The Philippines has expressed interest in purchasing Russian military equipment, the deputy director of Russia's FSMTC told Sputnik Wednesday.
• Russia, Sri Lanka Discuss Delivery Contract of Gepard 3.9 Frigates Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- Russia and Sri Lanka are in discussions over a contract on the delivery of Gepard 3.9-class frigates to Colombo, the deputy director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) told Sputnik.
• S. Korean military confirms DPRK missile test failure People's Daily 22 Mar 2017 -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-fired missiles on Wednesday but apparently ended in failure, South Korea's military said.
• New North Korea missile test ends in failure: Seoul Press TV 22 Mar 2017 -- South Korea says the North has attempted to launch another missile, but the test appears to have ended in a failure.
• North Korea 'Ready for War' With the US Despite New Failed Missile Launch Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- North Korea has claimed it is "ready for war" with the United States despite its most recent ballistic missile test failing moments after it was launched on Wednesday, March 22.
• US, South Korea Say North Korean Missile Test Fails VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- The United States and South Korea say a North Korean missile test Wednesday ended in failure.
• Indian Air Force Pushes for Terrain Warning System on Super Hercules Aircraft Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- The Indian Air Force has ordered terrain warning awareness system for its six Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft due this year to avoid accidents in Himalayan terrain. The aircraft will be based with the mountain strike corps being raised on the Line of Actual Control with China.
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sean Spicer, 3/22/2017, #26 The White House 22 Mar 2017

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for March 22, 2017

Other Conflicts

• 22 March 2017 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 22 Mar 2017
• China Angers Philippine President with Reported Plan to Build in Disputed Sea VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- China's reported proposal to build a monitoring station on a tiny shoal disputed by Manila would erode a fragile trust between the two countries and fluster the Philippine president, who is anxious to seek Chinese economic assistance.
• China denies reported construction plan for Huangyan Island People's Daily 22 Mar 2017 -- The reported plan to build an environmental monitoring station on Huangyan Island in the South China Sea is not true, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday in Beijing.
• China Not to Build Monitoring Facility on Disputed S China Sea Shoal Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- Beijing is not planning to build a monitoring facility on the disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
• Iran Steps Up Supplies to Houthis, Including 'Kamikaze' Drones VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- They are nicknamed "kamikaze" drones. Houthi forces and those aligned with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen are using them to target the missile-defense systems of Saudi-led coalition forces, weapons analysts say.
• Russia Deals Major Blow to Turkey's Syria Policy VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- Russian and Turkish soldiers are facing off over the Syrian Kurdish canton of Afrin. Ankara says the area that borders its territory is under the control of PYD 'terrorists' affiliated with the Kurdish insurgent group the PKK. But Moscow, like Washington, views the PYD and its YPG militia which controls Afrin as key to fighting Islamic State.
• Syria conflict aimed at transforming Arabs' identity: Assad Press TV 22 Mar 2017 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says sponsors of the ongoing militancy in his country seek to change the identity and culture of Arabs through dissemination of Takfiri ideologies, which condone acts of violence as legitimate methods of achieving certain goals.
• Syrian Kurdish militias, Turkish military exchange cross-border fire Press TV 22 Mar 2017 -- Cross-border tensions are rising between Kurdish militias in Syria and Turkey's military after a Turkish soldier was fatally shot from a Kurdish-controlled area in northwestern Syria.
• Coalition Airdrops SDF Forces in Syria's Tabqa, Backs Offensive With Air Fire Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- The US-led coalition against the Daesh terror group banned by numrous countries has airdropped partner forces to the vicinity of Tabqah dam near the Syrian city of Raqqa, US Central Command spokesperson Maj. Josh Jacques told Sputnik on Wednesday.
• Israel Vows to Continue Launching Airstrikes on Targets in Syria Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed that Tel Aviv will continue to carry out operations aimed at disrupting weapons transfers from Iran to Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based Shia movement which Israel considers to be one of the top threats to its security.
• Most of Daesh Leader Baghdadi's Deputies Dead - Tillerson Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- Most of the deputies of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of Daesh, have been killed by the US-led coalition against the terror group, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at the coalition ministerial in Washington on Wednesday.
• Monitor: Airstrike Kills 33 Civilians in Northern Syria VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- A Syrian war monitor said Wednesday an airstrike believed to be carried out by a U.S.-led coalition has killed at least 33 people at a school near the key city of Raqqa.
• Battling IS, Kurdish Fighters Court Russia And US to Forge New Future VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- Kurdish commanders in northern Syria said this week Russia is building a military base there, and will help train its fighters. Moscow disputed the claims, but analysts say it is a sign of the Kurds' growing role in the region.
• Daesh executed hundreds of detainees, buried bodies in Mosul mass grave: HRW Press TV 22 Mar 2017 -- Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the Daesh terrorist group has executed possibly hundreds of detainees in Iraq's northern city of Mosul and buried them in a mass grave that could be the largest one discovered in the country so far.
• Iraqi Army Liberates Over 60% of Western Mosul From Daesh Terrorists Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- The Iraqi government troops liberated more than 60 percent of western Mosul from the Daesh terror group, outlawed in numerous countries, local media reported on Wednesday, citing spokesman for the Iraqi Joint Special Operations Command Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasul.
• Libyan National Army Launches Operation Against Military Gangs Sputnik 22 Mar 2017 -- The self-styled Libyan National Army has launched an offensive against illegal armed groups on the south of the country.
• Multiple bombings leave eight people dead in Nigeria Press TV 22 Mar 2017 -- At least eight people have been killed in a series of blasts that hit Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri.
• DR Congo: UN, partners need urgent aid for over 370,000 displaced in south-east province UN News 22 Mar 2017 -- Intercommunal violence in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, a top United Nations aid official in the country has said, warning that the current response is being outstripped by the needs.
• Vital for Sri Lanka to send message that 'impunity is no longer tolerated' underlines UN rights chief UN News 22 Mar 2017 -- Presenting an oral update on the rights situation in Sri Lanka, the top United Nations human rights official today said that a general lack of trust in the impartiality of the justice system in the country regarding past violations and continuing "unwillingness or inability" to address impunity reinforces the need for international participation in a judicial mechanism.
• ICC adds one year to Bemba's conviction for attempted bribery of witnesses UN News 22 Mar 2017 -- The United Nations-backed International Criminal Court (ICC) today sentenced the former Congolese Vice-President, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, to another year in prison and about $325,000 in fines for interfering with his trial.

News Reports

• AP: Former Trump Campaign Chairman Manafort Proposed Plan To Benefit Putin RFE/RL 22 Mar 2017 -- The Associated Press is reporting that Paul Manafort, U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, secretly proposed a political strategy to benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin and undermine his opponents.
• Ex-Trump Campaign Chief Earned Millions from Russian Aluminum Magnate VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, is acknowledging that he worked for a Russian aluminum magnate under a multi-million-dollar contract a decade ago, but is pushing back on claims that his efforts were aimed at advancing the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Oligarch Tied to Manafort Has Past Links to Senior US Politicians VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- Oleg Deripaska, the Russian oligarch connected in press reports Wednesday to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, has a long history of connections with senior U.S. politicians, including Senator John McCain and former senator Bob Dole.
• Cyber Firm at Center of Russian Hacking Charges Misread Data VOA 21 Mar 2017 -- An influential British think tank and Ukraine's military are disputing a report that the U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has used to buttress its claims of Russian hacking in the presidential election.
• Reports: IS Threat Led to US Laptop Ban VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- U.S. media reports say worries about an Islamic State bomb led U.S. authorities to ban passengers from carrying large electronic devices on inbound flights from some airports in the Middle East.
• Policeman, Pedestrian Killed In Westminster Terrorist Attack RFE/RL 22 Mar 2017 -- The British Parliament has come under what police described as a terrorist attack -- with an assailant driving a car into a group of pedestrians, and a man who got out of the vehicle running inside the Parliament's security perimeter, where he fatally stabbed a police officer before he was shot by security.
• 4 Dead in Vehicle, Knife Attack Near British Parliament VOA 22 Mar 2017 -- At least four people, including a suspected attacker and a police officer, have been confirmed dead in an attack near the British parliament that authorities are treating as a terrorist incident.
• Blackwater founder to open bases in Xinjiang People's Daily 22 Mar 2017 -- Military company Blackwater's founder plans to build new bases in China, a move to support the One Belt and One Road initiative.
• Taiwan ready to take on greater role in regional peace, security: Tsai CNA 22 Mar 2017 -- President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文）said Wednesday that Taiwan is ready to take on a greater role in helping to ensure regional peace and collective security.
• Draft bills on monitoring cross-strait pacts stall in Legislature CNA 22 Mar 2017 -- Six versions of draft bills on monitoring agreements between Taiwan and China made little progress in the Legislature on Wednesday in spite of ruling and opposition party caucuses' vows to deliberate them that day and the next.
• Taiwan's concerns voiced over possible 4th U.S.-China communique CNA 22 Mar 2017 -- Taiwan has clearly told the United States that it would be unwise for it to sign a fourth joint communique with China, Foreign Minister David Lee (李大維) said Wednesday at a legislative hearing.
• China, U.S. agree on principle of no conflict, mutual respect People's Daily 22 Mar 2017 -- China and the United States reached consensus on developing ties in the spirit of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation during U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's Beijing trip, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wednesday.
• China eyes new impetus in ties with Australia, New Zealand People's Daily 22 Mar 2017 -- China hopes for new impetus for trade and investment cooperation and regional prosperity through the upcoming visit of Premier Li Keqiang to Australia and New Zealand.
• US will honor Iran nuclear deal: Trump's advisor Press TV 22 Mar 2017 -- US President Donald Trump's nuclear advisor says Washington will honor the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major world powers, including the United States.
• White House Adviser Says Will Honor Iran Nuclear Deal, Ensure Iran Complies RFE/RL 22 Mar 2017 -- A senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump on nuclear matters says that the United States will honor Iran's nuclear deal with world powers for now, while seeking to ensure strict compliance by Tehran.
• S.Korean prosecutors end interrogation of ousted President Park People's Daily 22 Mar 2017 -- South Korean prosecutors ended a marathon interrogation of ousted President Park Geun-hye late on Tuesday night over a corruption scandal that led to her impeachment.
• Black Cash And Black Ops RFE/RL 22 Mar 2017 -- Some of the laundered Russian money was used to buy fancy cars. Some of it to purchase furs. Some of it paid for elite prep-school fees. And some of it was spent on real estate.