Operations
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF / OND / OEF / OIR / OFS Casualty Update 02 Oct 2017[PDF]
• Officials Provide Details of Latest Strikes Against ISIS AFPS 02 Oct 2017 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria over the weekend, conducting 69 strikes consisting of 88 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Afghan Government Enlists Locals to Guard Shi'ite Religious Sites VOA 02 Oct 2017 -- Following numerous Islamic State attacks on Afghanistan's Shi'ite minority in several provinces, the government in Kabul has enlisted hundreds of Shi'ite civilians to protect their religious sites against the growing IS threat.
• Trump: Government Has Brought 'Tremendous' Amount of Aid to Puerto Rico VOA 02 Oct 2017 -- U.S. President Donald Trump says the government has brought a "tremendous" amount of food and supplies into storm-ravaged Puerto Rico, following criticism that his administration has been slow to respond to the disaster.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Modular Handgun to begin fielding before Christmas Army News 02 Oct 2017 -- Come November, the XM17 handgun, also called the "Modular Handgun System," or MHS, will drop the "X," which designates it as "experimental" and will instead be called the M17.
• Navy Submarine Rescue Unit Participates in NATO Exercise AFPS 02 Oct 2017 -- Undersea Rescue Command, in concert with nine NATO allies, wrapped up the Dynamic Monarch 2017 submarine search and rescue exercise off the coast of Marmaris, Turkey, Sept. 22.
• Exercise KAMANDAG begins in the Philippines USMC News 02 Oct 2017 -- In collaboration with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 3D Marine Expeditionary Brigade will participate in the inaugural Exercise KAMANDAG from Oct. 2-11, 2017, at multiple locations on the island of Luzon, Philippines.
• VMFA-251 pilots maintain CBRN equipment skills during training drills USMC News 02 Oct 2017 -- Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251, also known as the "Thunderbolts", stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, continue to showcase unit readiness through training for every possible scenario, while forward deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan.
• Ronald Reagan Arrives in Hong Kong NNS 02 Oct 2017 -- The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) anchored in Hong Kong Harbor Oct. 2.
• USS Ashland Arrives in Yokosuka for Training-Focused Stop in Indo-Asia-Pacific Deployment NNS 02 Oct 2017 -- The amphibious dock landing ship, USS Ashland (LSD 48), pulled into Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Oct. 2, for a training availability and to complete shipboard assessments and certifications.
• USS Donald Cook Arrives in Faslane, Scottland NNS 02 Oct 2017 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) arrived in Faslane, Scottland, for scheduled port visit Sept. 29.
• URC Completes NATO Exercise Dynamic Monarch 2017 NNS 02 Oct 2017 -- Undersea Rescue Command (URC) in concert with nine NATO allies wrapped up the submarine search and rescue exercise Dynamic Monarch 2017 off the coast of Marmaris, Turkey, Sept. 22.
• Training Air Wing ONE Confirms T-45 Mishap in Tennessee NNS 02 Oct 2017 -- At approximately 9:40 a.m. Oct. 2, Training Air Wing ONE, based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Miss., confirmed the T-45 belonging to Training Squadron SEVEN (VT-7) that went missing yesterday afternoon has crashed in East Tennessee.
• US Army to install Israeli equipment on Abrams tanks Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- The US Army will install Israel's Trophy active-protection system on its third-generation main battle tanks, M1A2 Abram, making it the first foreign army to use the system which is designed to detect and neutralize incoming projectiles.
• Shiny New Trophy: US Tanks to Be Equipped with Israeli Anti-Missile System Sputnik 02 Oct 2017 -- The US military will be installing the Israeli-built Trophy Active Protection System (APS) meant to intercept and destroy incoming missiles or rockets on their M1A2 Abrams tanks. This will make the US military the only other besides the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to use the defensive system.
• US Navy jet crashes in Tennessee, fatalities expected Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- The US Navy says one of its aircraft with two aviators on board has crashed during a training flight in East Tennessee.
• Army initiates new network modernization plan to enhance cyber capabilities Army News 02 Oct 2017 -- As the Army introduces concepts such as the multi-domain battle (MDB) into joint operations, it also examines how its current network requires modification in order to support warfighters from multiple services in varying areas of operations and with numerous network and cyber challenges.
• Minuteman III receives upgrade AFNS 02 Oct 2017 -- As part of move to further modernize the nuclear enterprise, Airmen from the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base recently implemented a $68 million upgrade to the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
  First used on June 23, 2017, this new device – known as the Data Transfer Unit, was designed to replace the legacy Cartridge Tape Unit and Launch Facility Load Cartridge systems.
• Hyten: U.S. Strategic Command is Reorganizing for 21st Century Warfighting AFPS 02 Oct 2017 -- The commander of U.S. Strategic Command is reorganizing to improve its warfighting structure.
• Secretary General participates in Hybrid Centre of Excellence inauguration with Finnish leaders and EU High Representative NATO 02 Oct 2017 -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, together with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Ms Federica Mogherini, are in Helsinki, Finland today (2 October) to attend the inauguration of the Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. They are attending as guests of Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Juha Sipilä.
• Russian-Serbian Joint Aviation Drills Kick Off in Central Russia - MoD Sputnik 02 Oct 2017 -- Joint Russian-Serbian BARS tactical flight drills kicked off in the Russian central city of Lipetsk, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Monday.
• All Russian Troops Left Belarus After Zapad-2017 Drills - Russia's Ambassador Sputnik 02 Oct 2017 -- All Russian servicemen, that were taking part in the Zapad-2017 (West) joint drills have left Belarus after the end of the event.
• Australia - GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II) DSCA 02 Oct 2017 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Australia for GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II). The estimated cost is $815 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on September 29, 2017.
• Egypt Seizes Massive Weapons Haul from North Korean Smugglers Sputnik 02 Oct 2017 -- Egyptian port authorities seized a North Korean ship stuffed with rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) that was part of an illegal weapons smuggling scheme in August 2016, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The incident is the apparent root of tensions between Egypt and the US, allies who have been at odds in recent months for ambiguous reasons.
• North Korean Missiles Moved from Research Center Ahead of Likely New Launch Sputnik 02 Oct 2017 -- North Korea's upcoming national holidays, combined with intelligence from South Korean and US sources that Pyongyang has recently moved missiles from a research and development facility, have experts warning that a new weapons test of some sort by the country may be imminent.
• Commander: Army spares no effort to develop Makran coastline IRNA 02 Oct 2017 -- Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Monday that Army is responsible to implement policies of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces concerning development of Makran coastline in the southeastern parts of the country and spares no effort in this regard.
• Iran, Iraq to hold joint military drills along Kurdistan region border ISNA 02 Oct 2017 -- A senior Iranian military commander announced that Iran and Iraq will hold joint military exercises along their border with the Kurdistan region in the coming days.
• Iran, Iraq Hold Joint Drill Near Iraqi Kurdish Region RFE/RL 02 Oct 2017 -- Iran says its military has held a joint military drill with the Iraqi armed forces amid tensions over a recent referendum on independence in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.
• Iran, Turkey Agree to Boost Military Ties After Referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan Sputnik 02 Oct 2017 -- Turkey and Iran have agreed to boost military ties following the referendum in the Iraqi Kurdistan where more than 90 percent of voters supported the idea of independence from Iraq.
• Growing Use of Turkish Military Stokes Fears of Foreign Policy Shift VOA 02 Oct 2017 -- Turkey's armed forces chief, General Hulusi Akar, is in Tehran for talks with Iran's political and military leadership, including President Hassan Rouhani. His visit precedes President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit, scheduled for Wednesday, and comes as analysts suggest the use and threat of and military force are increasingly becoming part of Turkish foreign policy.
• Ukrainian Army Lost More Shells in Ammo Depot Fire Than in 3 Year Civil War Sputnik 02 Oct 2017 -- Officials have calculated that last week's massive fire at an ammunition depot in central Ukraine has caused $800 million in damage, destroying over a quarter more ammo than Kiev has used over the course of its three-year war with independence supporters in eastern Ukraine.
• US, Philippines launch new counter-terrorism drills Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- The Philippines has launched joint drills with the United States as it struggles to accomplish a costly, protracted battle against the Daesh terrorist group in the south of the country.
• King of the Skies: Russia Starts Delivering MiG-29 Warplanes to Serbia Sputnik 02 Oct 2017 -- On Monday, Russia has started the first delivery of six Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets to Serbia, a source in the sphere of military-technical cooperation told Sputnik.
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, 10/2/2017, #18 The White House 02 Oct 2017

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for October 02, 2017

Other Conflicts

• 2 October 2017 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 02 Oct 2017
• 'Nothing enduring can be built on violence,' UN Assembly President says, recalling words of Gandhi UN News 02 Oct 2017 -- Noting that in today's world, violence has become a "tool of choice" for many and new evidence, of destruction and suffering, every day resulting from this choice, the President of the United Nations General Assembly has called for greater efforts to prevent conflict and for the Organization to promote the use of non-violence across all three pillars of its work.
• World must step up protection for refugees, do more to solve conflict - UN agency chief UN News 02 Oct 2017 -- The global community is letting down millions of refugees and internally displaced people, and needs to renew efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts, focusing on protection and solutions, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said today.
• INTERVIEW: Global humanitarian needs have never been higher, says UN official UN News 02 Oct 2017 -- The number of those needing humanitarian assistance is at its highest since the end of the Second World War – some 145 million people. Several protracted crises in Africa and the Middle East are deteriorating and climate-induced emergencies, sometimes combined with violent conflict, continue to wreak havoc on vulnerable communities. Amid all this, United Nations-coordinated response plans remain severely underfunded.
• UNHCR: Countries Increasingly Using Refugees as Political Football VOA 02 Oct 2017 -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, warns that asylum for people fleeing war and persecution is eroding as countries increasingly use refugees as a political football to further their local and national interests.
• Over two million fled as refugees this year, says UN Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says conflicts, violence, and persecution across the world, including in Myanmar, South Sudan and Syria, have forced over two million people to flee as refugees this year.
• Saudi airstrike kills at least 5 people in southwestern Yemen Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- At least five people have been killed as Saudi Arabia's warplanes conducted an airstrike on a road in Yemen's southwestern province of Ta'izz.
• For Yemenis and migrants, protracted conflict an 'endless nightmare' - head of UN agency UN News 02 Oct 2017 -- Amid worsening famine and cholera in war-torn Yemen, the head of the United Nations migration agency has called for greater humanitarian access to enable relief workers reach those most in need and save lives.
• Syrian forces repel Daesh attack on army posts in Homs: SANA Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- Syrian forces have thwarted a major attack by Daesh Takfiri terrorists against military positions in the Arab country's central province of Homs, killing a large number of the terrorists in the process.
• Multiple terrorist bomb attacks kill 15 people in Damascus Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- At least 15 people have been killed and scores injured after multiple terrorist explosions hit a southern neighborhood of Syria's capital Damascus, state media say.
• Iraq's Hashd al-Sha'abi forces retake 18 villages near Hawijah Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- Iraqi fighters from Popular Mobilization Units have regained control over more than a dozen villages near town of Hawijah as they engage in joint military operations with army troops to purge Daesh Takfiri terrorists from their last bastion in the country's oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk.
• UN finds 'unimaginable' suffering on visit to Myanmar's Rakhine Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- A United Nations team visiting the violence-ridden state of Rakhine in western Myanmar says the scale of suffering of remaining Rohingya Muslims in the area is far beyond imagination.
• Bangladesh, Myanmar to form 'working group' on refugee crisis Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to set up a "joint working group" tasked with paving the way for the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, who have fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar's Muslim-majority Rakhine State.
• Kyiv, Activists Cry Foul As Russian FSB Detains Crimean Tatars RFE/RL 02 Oct 2017 -- Lawyers say the authorities in Russia-controlled Crimea have detained four Crimean Tatars on suspicion of extremism in what activists and the Ukrainian government said was part of a discriminatory campaign targeting members of the Muslim group.
• Three Kashmiri civilians dead as Indian, Pakistani troops exchange fire Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- Indian and Pakistani forces have engaged in another cross-border firing, reportedly leaving three civilians dead on the opposite sides of the disputed border which divides the Himalayan Kashmir region.
• Amid 'critical' resource shortage, UN agency cuts food rations for refugees in Kenya UN News 02 Oct 2017 -- For 420,000 refugees living in northern Kenya, insufficient funding has forced the United Nations food relief agency to cut rations by 30 per cent, as it appeals for nearly $30 million for assistance.

News Reports

• Trump Hosts Thai Military Coup Leader at White House VOA 02 Oct 2017 -- Thailand's prime minister is visiting the White House, a rare honor for a military leader who seized power in a 2014 coup and has resisted returning the country to democratic rule.
• EU Shies Away From Condemning Spain, to Dismay of Catalans VOA 02 Oct 2017 -- It took more than 24 hours before the European Commission spoke out about Sunday's violence during an independence referendum in Spain's northeast province of Catalonia, where a violent crackdown in a bludgeoning show of force, by Spain's national police and Civil Guard, left more than 800 people injured.
• Spain's PM Rajoy says there was no Catalan independence referendum People's Daily 02 Oct 2017 -- Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday gave a televised speech defending government actions following violent clashes which left hundreds injured in a banned referendum.
• Catalonia: 90% vote 'yes' to become an independent state Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- Catalonia's regional government has announced that 90 percent of those who participated in an independence referendum banned by Spain's central government choose to be separated from the country.
• Catalan Leader Says Not Seeking 'Traumatic' Split With Madrid RFE/RL 02 Oct 2017 -- Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has said that he is not pursuing a "traumatic" split from Spain but a "new understanding."
• Violence, 'Hypocrisy' In Catalonia: Russia Reacts To Spanish Turmoil RFE/RL 02 Oct 2017 -- Russian media have devoted extensive coverage to police violence that marred a referendum in the Spanish region of Catalonia, painting a picture of double standards in a European Union rattled by referendums and fighting for survival.
• Catalan Parliament to Decide on Unilateral Independence Declaration Sputnik 02 Oct 2017 -- Ninety percent of more than 2.26 million participants of the referendum in Catalonia voted in favor of region's independence. Catalonia's leader Carles Puigdemont pledged to declare independence unilaterally as the breakaway region has won the "right to statehood".
• JCPOA has more than 50 percent chance of surviving: Zarif ISNA 02 Oct 2017 -- Despite US President Donald Trump's threats to blow it up, the Iran nuclear deal still has a "better than 50" percent chance of surviving the next year, Iranian foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said.
• Iran's FM calls for Kurdish talks with Baghdad Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- Iran says a recent controversial secession referendum in the northern Iraq runs counter to the Arab country's constitution, calling on Kurdish authorities to negotiate with Baghdad regardless of the outcome of the vote.
• Iran, Turkey back Iraq's integrity, voice opposition to Kurdish secession Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- The military brass of Iran and Turkey have voiced their opposition to the separation of Iraq's Kurdish region and expressed support for the country's territorial integrity.
• Any change in borders spreads insecurity, instability in region: Rouhani Press TV 02 Oct 2017 -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has stressed the need to bolster central governments in Syria and Iraq, saying that any change in geographical borders will cause insecurity and instability to spread across the region.
• China Focus: How Chinese leaders are elected to Party congress People's Daily 02 Oct 2017 -- Xi Jinping and other 47 leaders of Communist Party of China (CPC) membership have been elected delegates to the Party's 19th National Congress that is to open on Oct. 18.
• Movement Restricted After Deadly Unrest in Cameroon's Anglophone Regions VOA 02 Oct 2017 -- Movement in Cameroon's two English-speaking regions remains restricted following deadly unrest Sunday as activists took to the streets demanding independence. Local media report as many as a dozen people were gunned down by security forces.