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WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2010 – The United States recently donated a number of water trucks, field artillery cannon and patrol boats to the Pakistani government, according to U.S. State Department news releases. The United States donated five fast-patrol boats to Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency at the Karachi shipyard Feb. 13, 2010. The U.S. government also recently donated field artillery and water trucks to the Pakistani military. The U.S. government is set to donate four more fast boats to Pakistan later this year. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Four water trucks were provided to the Pakistani Army’s special...

U.S. Air Force members of the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron take down a tent structure that had previously been used within their compound at Ali Air Base, Sept. 30. The squadron has been downsizing and consolidating materials and equipment to send to U.S. war fighters in Afghanistan. Photo by Airman 1st Class Scott Saldukas, 407th Air Expeditionary Group. ALI BASE — The 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron here is preparing for the drawdown of U.S. forces by inventorying materials and equipment for possible use elsewhere. Soon after arriving in June, the 407th ECES completed an inventory of all items...

THE 207 faces of our Afghanistan dead are stark reminders of the bloody war we are fighting. Each represents a sacrifice made for democracy and freedom in the name of Britain. Yet, to its shame, our Government doesn't seem to want to face up to the fact we are in the middle of a savage conflict. Our leaders are pretending the war isn't happening. Today, The Sun asks the Government and Gordon Brown: Where is your leadership? As the hearses carrying our heroes are saluted in silent Wiltshire streets, Mr Brown and his ministers are missing in action. There is...

Paris - The top pilots' union at Air France demanded on Wednesday that European airspeed monitors be replaced by US-made models across the airline's fleet after a new malfunction was reported this month. An Airbus 320 equipped with new speed probes made by European electronics giant Thales was flying from Rome to Paris on July 13 when the sensors, known as pitot tubes, broke down, Air France said late on Tuesday.

January 26, 2009 Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/January/09-nsd-064.html Former Oak Ridge Complex Employee Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Disclosure of Restricted Atomic Energy Data WASHINGTON – Roy Lynn Oakley, 67, a resident of Harriman, Tenn., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, to count one of an indictment charging him with unlawful disclosure of Restricted Data under the Atomic Energy Act, in violation of 42 U.S.C., Section 2274(b). The guilty plea was announced today by Matthew G. Olsen, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and James R. Dedrick, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of...

KNOXVILLE, TN—On Thursday, June 18, 2009, in U.S. District Court in Knoxville,Tenn., U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan, Jr., sentenced Roy Lynn Oakley, 67, of Harriman, Tenn., to six years in prison for trying to sell parts of uranium enrichment equipment that he had stolen from a U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) facility in Oak Ridge. Oakley had illegally taken this equipment while employed at a building formerly known as the K-25 plant. The K-25 building, now known as the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), was operated by DOE as a facility to produce highly enriched uranium used in the...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2009 – Equipment critical to both domestic and warfighting missions and aircraft essential to guarding the nation’s air sovereignty remain areas of concern for the National Guard. Army Maj. Gen. Raymond W. Carpenter, acting deputy director of the Army National Guard, and Air Force Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard, prepare to testify before the House Armed Services Committee’s air and land forces subcommittee, May 5, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. That was the message Air Force Lt. Gen. Harry...

BAGHDAD, April 21, 2009 – Clearing rubble at the northern end of the Baghdad International Airport runway, soldiers of the 277th Engineer Company leveled the ground to expand the safety distance zone. Army Pfc. Eric Salinas, left, explains controls and maneuvers in the cab of a bulldozer to his Iraqi army counterpart through an interpreter on Victory Base Complex in Baghdad, April 16, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Howard Alperin  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But in addition to working on the project, the soldiers also imparted their skills and knowledge as heavy-equipment operators to their 6th...

An Iraqi student dances with an Iraqi flag during graduation from a Heavy Equipment Operator's Course funded by the Coalition at the Adl Sports Center in Kadamiyah, March 5. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mark Burrell, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. BAGHDAD — There was a large celebration March 5 at the Adl Sports Center in Kadamiyah, where 150 Iraqi students graduated from a Heavy Equipment Operator's Course that began Dec. 4. These students are the first to graduate from the course, said the contracting officer representative for the project, 1st Lt. Justin Casey.  “They learned to operate dump trucks, street sweepers,...

On the face of it a layer of orange jelly may not sound the best way to protect a soldier's head from high velocity bullets and shrapnel.But the British Army's standard-issue combat helmet is set to be upgraded with a liner made from gooey miracle gel, which responds to a sudden impact by locking instantly into a solid form - absorbing huge amounts of energy harmlessly.A UK-based technology company was today celebrating a £100,000 contract from the Ministry of Defence to develop its D3O shock-absorbing gel to help save the lives of British troops fighting on the frontline in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2009 – Army officials are creating a new way to field force-protection products, such as mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, to speed their delivery to deployed soldiers in Iraq. Army Pfc. Joshua Hunter, a quick reaction force gunner with the 10th Mountain Division, speaks with a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle driver during training at Camp Victory, Iraq, Jan. 1, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Amber Emery  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. As equipment comes available, it’s shipped to Iraq immediately and tested to see how it incorporates with the mission, officials said. The “fieldings” are geared...

Arms & The Manpower by: Amanda Busse, January 25, 2008 Analysts predict that equipment shortages in the military may become a source for debate in the upcoming 2008 Presidential election. As America enters its fifth year in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a growing need to replace “worn out” equipment, according to Brad Curran, Senior Industry Analyst for Frost and Sullivan. Both the need for new equipment and calls to expand the number of military personnel have led to increased projected spending in the Department of Defense budget for 2008. Analysts at Frost and Sullivan assert that spending is expected...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Jasim Jaffar, participated in an event Dec. 30 to distribute soccer equipment donated by the Colorado Rush Soccer Club of Littleton, Colo. The equipment's distribution to about 100 grateful young Iraqis took place in Zawar Park in Baghdad. Mr. Phil Reeker, Counselor for Public Affairs, represented the United States Embassy in Baghdad, and Col. Guy Beougher represented Multi-National Force - Iraq. According to Minister Jaffar, the soccer equipment has thus far been distributed to the Iraqi Legal Union in Baghdad, as well as to youths in the neighborhoods of Al Umal,...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2007 – Highly experienced Afghan pilots soon will take to the skies in newly acquired aircraft as part of a concerted effort to accelerate progress of Afghanistan’s nascent air corps, a coalition commander said today. Air Force mentor Master Sgt. Michael Stoller (second from right) works with members of the Afghan National Army Air Corps at the Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. Stoller is a vehicle maintenance craftsman and is deployed from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Photo by Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “When you look at the country...

World-class equipment and top-rate logistics are playing a vital part in helping British troops bring stability to some of the most hostile parts of Afghanistan. Report by Jason Impey. For those troops on the front-line in Afghanistan equipment and logistics play a vital part in helping them achieve their mission as they take the fight into the Taliban's heartland in order to help rebuild a nation's shattered infrastructure. Supporting more than 7,700 troops from all three Services as well as thousands of vehicles and machines is an immense task and conditions in the southern Afghan deserts in and around Helmand...

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2007 – The National Guard force is second to none in terms of the quality of its people, but severe equipment shortfalls are keeping it from being fully ready, the chief of the National Guard Bureau told Congress today. Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum urged the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee to support the fiscal 2008 National Guard budget requests to ensure the Guard can continue serving as the country’s “21st century Minutemen and -women.” Guard forces deployed overseas are “superbly equipped and superbly trained, … and we want for nothing,” Blum told the subcommittee. But...

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2007 – One of our greatest blessings as Americans is that we have brave citizens who step forward to defend us, President Bush said during his weekly radio address today. “Every man or woman who wears our nation’s uniform is a volunteer, a patriot who has made the noble decision to serve a cause larger than self,” Bush said the day before Easter. “This weekend, many of our service men and women are celebrating the holidays far from home.” Noting that men and women in uniform deserve the gratitude of every American, Bush stressed military members...

New equipment for troops in Afghanistan By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent and George Jones Last Updated: 1:18am GMT 27/02/2007 The British force in Afghanistan is to be substantially reinforced with armour and artillery as commanders prepare themselves for a major Taliban offensive, it was announced yesterday. But other Nato countries have come in for severe criticism after failing to provide a second battle group at a time when the country's security hangs in the balance. Warrior armoured fighting vehicles are to be sent to Afghanistan The British reinforcements will include, for the first time in Afghanistan, Warrior armoured vehicles and...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2007 – The combination of available money and around-the-clock work is enabling the Army to increase the pace of refurbishment of equipment that’s damaged or worn out from service in Afghanistan and Iraq, senior military leaders testified before a joint U.S. House committee on Capitol Hill yesterday. Gen. Benjamin Griffin, commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command, shows Army Secretary Francis Harvey a metal vehicle track that was to soon have new rubber tread applied to it at Red River Army Depot, in Texarkana, Texas, on Jan. 25, 2006. Army equipment that’s been worn or damaged during...

Boosting U.S. troop levels in Iraq by 21,500 would create major logistical hurdles for the Army and Marine Corps, which are short thousands of vehicles, armor kits and other equipment needed to supply the extra forces, U.S. officials said. The increase would also further degrade the readiness of U.S.-based ground forces, hampering their ability to respond quickly, fully trained and well equipped in the case of other military contingencies around the world and increasing the risk of U.S. casualties, according to Army and Marine Corps leaders. "The response would be slower than we might like, we would not have all...