October 16, 2012

Saber Junction tests U.S., partners’ interoperability

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Approximately 1,800 forces from 18 European nations train for the post-Afghanistan fight using the U.S. Army’s most-current doctrine for unified land operations. At the Grafenwoehr Training Area, also called GTA, and Hohenfels Training Area, or HTA, and more than 1,300 square miles in-between installation facilities 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, also known as 2CR, engages a complex enemy.

October 12, 2012

Parliament tour encourages cross-nation partnership

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Leadership from the 52nd Fighter Wing toured the Rheinland-Pfalz parliament in Mainz Oct. 10, 2012.

October 10, 2012

Bayonet brigade deactivates at Baumholder

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The 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team conducted a casing of the colors ceremony Oct. 9 in the Hall of Champions on Smith Barracks. The ceremony marked the end of an era which saw the presence of combat Soldiers in Baumholder for more than 50 years.

October 4, 2012

JMTC’s new Driver’s Training Complex officially opens

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Under cloudy autumn skies the Joint Multinational Training Command’s Training Support Activity Europe, officially opened a new state-of-the-art Advanced Driver’s Training Complex on the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Oct. 4.

October 15, 2012

Brussels and the Balkans

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I spent the early part of the week at the meeting of the NATO Defence Ministers at NATO Headquarters up in Brussels, about 45 minutes north of my operational command in Mons, Belgium. The second was with the NATO and additional troop contributing nations to our ongoing mission in Kosovo.

October 1, 2012

Interagency Synchronization Forum

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The EUCOM IASF was born of necessity as a response to the Russian invasion of Georgia in August 2008. It was organized then by the J9 to better link the geographic combatant commander with the Crisis Response Team established at the State Department.

September 27, 2012

Last LOGEX conference before the exercise

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The LOGEX 13 Final Coordination Conference and associated workshop was held in Tirana, at the Albanian Military Training Doctrine Center.

September 26, 2012

An Interagency Persepctive on the Battle of Antietam

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I couldn’t help but contrast the battlefield with my classroom setting of federal executives debating today’s contentious national policy issues.

September 20, 2012

Kansas NG partners with Armenia for demining

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YEREVAN, Armenia - (Sept. 20, 2012) Sgt. 1st Class Travis Eichhorn, a Pittsburg, Kansas native, gives an update on today's training with humanitarian demining soldiers in Armenia. Kansas National Guardsmen and the HDTC representative are instructing Armenian peacekeepers and engineer battalions on international demining standards as part of the Humanitarian Mine Action program and will assist the Armenian government in developing a national standard operating procedure for demining.

September 19, 2012

Kansas NG partners with Armenia for demining

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YEREVAN, Armenia - (Sept. 19, 2012) Kansas National Guard Capt. Michael Liotta takes viewers to some on site demining classes with the Armenian engineering and demining battalions. Kansas and Armenia have a long partnership stretching back to Senator Bob Dole being nursed backed to health in World War II by an Armenian doctor and calling for the U.S. to be the first to recognize Armenia’s independence.

September 18, 2012

Environmentally friendly military bases

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In an era of decreasing financial resources, it’s even more important to use all of our resources in a responsible manner. AFN’s Aaron Talley reports on an Assistant Secretary of the Army whose job is to ensure soldiers have the resources they need to complete their mission.

September 18, 2012

Welcome to the Air Assault Course

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Soldiers from more than fifteen units throughout US Army Europe are in Schweinfurt, Germany to take on the challenges of earning the Air Assault Badge. SGT Benjamin Boggess has more.

October 16, 2012

Analysis: Israel's Netanyahu faces wild cards

(AP) - The Israeli government has called a general election for Jan. 22, and polls suggest Benjamin Netanyahu's rightist-religious coalition is likely to win a renewed majority — but an array of wild cards make the outcome of this campaign unpredictable nonetheless.

October 16, 2012

EU to sanction Iran, Syria, help Mali reconquer

(AFP) - Europe's foreign ministers will sharply ramp up the pressure on Iran and Syria at talks Monday, while taking a "big step" in Africa by agreeing to assist Mali reconquer its north from rebels and Islamist extremists.

October 16, 2012

France to Make Surveillance Flights over Russia, Belarus

(RIA Novosti) - French observers will conduct inspection flights over Russia and Belarus under the Open Skies Treaty, while Russian inspectors will do the same over the territory of Norway, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said.

October 16, 2012

As Tension Escalates, Turkey Issues a Ban on All Syrian Aircraft

(New York Times) - Turkey’s foreign minister announced on Sunday a ban on all Syrian aircraft entering his country’s airspace, days after the authorities discovered what they said were Russian military munitions on board a passenger plane bound for Damascus.

October 16, 2012

Turkey searches Syria-bound Armenian plane

(AP) — Turkey's foreign ministry spokesman says Turkish authorities are searching the cargo of an Armenian plane bound for Syria.

October 16, 2012

Turkey asks Europe for help with Syrian refugees

(AFP) - Turkey's Europe minister Monday called on Europe to do more to help his country tackle the more than 100,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria, accusing the bloc of being fixated on its debt crisis.

October 15, 2012

Downed drone managed to transmit photos of joint drill preparations, says report

(Times of Israel) - The foreign drone that Israel shot down last week reportedly transmitted pictures of preparations for a joint Israeli-US military drill, as well as ballistic missile sites, main airfields and, possibly, the nuclear reactor in Dimona.