16 West Points Cadets tested Positive of COVID-19 after resuming for Graduation.

About 16 cadets from the US Military Academy Class of 2020 who were brought back for graduation where President Donald Trump is scheduled to give the commencement address have tested positive for COVID-19 according to a US Army spokesperson.
"About 1 ½ percent" of the Class of 2020 who were brought back have tested positive, the spokesperson told CNN Sunday. None of the infected cadets were symptomatic, the spokesperson said, adding "no cadet has contracted through person-to-person contact while under the Army's care" and that those infected were isolated. The graduating class size is approximately 1,000 cadets.
"The Army and West Point have done meticulous planning to ensure the health and safety of the returning cadets of the U.S. Military Academy's Class of 2020. There is mandatory screening for all and we've had a small number -- about 1 ½ percent -- test positive," the spokesperson said. "This was anticipated. None were symptomatic, and no cadet has contracted through person-to-person contact while under the Army's care. Those who test positive are isolated, and receive appropriate care and attention, while we continue an orderly reintegration of our cadets."

Rajnath Singh takes stock of armed forces'' preparedness in dealing with COVID-19

New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with the top military brass of the country on Thursday to take stock of the overall preparedness of the armed forces in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

Nations Military response to CO-VID19.

The virus has swept across the world, killing thousands and forcing millions into quarantine. Several nations have activated armed forces to help combat it.

CO-VID19 Update: USA Army Corp of Engineers Creates Alternative Care Facilities

Army Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite called it a "very complicated situation" during a Pentagon news conference today.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency gave the Corps of Engineers a mission assignment for planning and site assessments of alternate care facilities in response to the COVID-19 virus.

NYPD recruits graduate early amid coronavirus as number of infected cops doubles

The number of NYPD members infected with the coronavirus more than doubled Friday as the outbreak forced the department to move up its graduation of cadets and cancel the next class of cops at the academy, The Post has learned.

Germany use its army to fight COVID-19

Germany is to deploy the Bundeswehr to help combat coronavirus, amid an epidemic that could put civilian authorities under unprecedented strain and severely disrupt the eurozone’s largest economy.

In an interview, German defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauersaid the army would be used to help treat the sick, resolve transport bottlenecks and provide essential support to police and local authorities as infection rates climb.

“We have called on all reservists, especially those with medical experience, to register with us,” she told the Financial Times. “We are providing healthcare professionals wherever they are needed.

Developing story: Amidst Iran/USA crisis, Plane crashes in Iran.

CNN)Investigators were scrambling Wednesday to determine the cause of a crash that killed all 176 people on board a plane that came down shortly after takeoff from Tehran's international airport.

The Boeing 737 jet, operated by Ukraine International Airlines, took off early on Wednesday en route to the Ukrainian capital Kiev with 167 passengers and nine crew on board.

Earlier reports from Iranian state media had said 180 people were on board Flight PS752.

Eighty-two Iranians, 63 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians died in the crash, according to a tweet from Ukrainian foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko.

Iran VS USA continues.

What you need to know

• Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds military force and one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic, was killed early Friday in an airstrike in Baghdad. Thousands of people have mourned him in both Iraq and Iran.
• The Iranian government says it will no longer abide by key terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, lifting restrictions on centrifuges, uranium enrichment and more. President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018.
• The Iraqi Parliament approved a resolution calling on the government to expel some 5,000 U.S. troops from the country. President Trump said "we are not leaving unless they pay us back" for an air base in Iraq. 
• Mr. Trump says his administration "may discuss" releasing the intelligence that led to the strike on Soleimani. 
• Mr. Trump tweeted Saturday that the U.S. would target 52 Iranian sites if Iran retaliates for the strike. 
• The White House sent a formal notification to Congress about the airstrike as required by the War Powers Act.
• Lawmakers are divided over the strike, with Republicans applauding Mr. Trump's action and Democrats warning about the possible repercussions. 

IRAN Response:

Iran's president: "Never threaten the Iranian nation"

Hassan Rouhani, president of the Islamic Republic, responded to President Trump's threat to target 52 sites if Iran retaliates for the Soleimani strike. Mr. Trump said the number was a reference to 52 Americans who were held hostage in Iran for 444 days between 1979 and 1981, after the revolution.

Rouhani issued his response on Twitter, with a warning to "never threaten the Iranian nation":

Rouhani's reference to 290 and IR655 is a reference to Iran Air Flight 655, a passenger jet that was shot down by U.S. missiles over the Persian Gulf in 1988. All 290 people on board were killed. 

The U.S. acknowledged the incident as a "terrible human tragedy" and agreed to pay $131.8 million in a settlement with Iran before the International Court of Justice in 1998.

Iran may Retaliate against US airstrikes that Killed Soleiman

While law enforcement agencies in the United States have not announced immediate plans to boost visible police presence in light of a strike that killed a top Iranian commander in Iraq, multiple agencies say they are keeping a watchful eye on events overseas and will adjust as appropriate or as intelligence warrants.
There is concern that Iran could retaliate and that U.S. interests overseas could be targeted or that proxies could be deployed to strike Americans or their interests abroad, sources said.
Those areas include Africa and South America, as well as Yemen and Lebanon, they said.
The Defense Department late Thursday announced the death of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's secretive Quds Force, in a strike said to have occurred near Baghdad International Airport.
The strike, which the Pentagon said was conducted at President Donald Trump's direction, comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, and it could ratchet up the conflict.

Burkina Faso repel terrorist double attack during Festive periods.

At least 11 soldiers were killed in Burkina Faso on Wednesday as Burkinabes were mourning dozens of victims who had died in double attacks targeting the country's north a day earlier.

There was worldwide condemnation after Tuesday's attacks, the worst assault in the country for five years, in which at least 35 civilians, mostly women, and seven soldiers were killed in Arbinda town and at a military base in the volatile Soum province. According to the army, 80 assailants also died in gunfire exchanges.

The soldiers killed in Black hawk accident finally identified

The Minnesota National Guard released the names of three soldiers killed in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash on Thursday.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 James A. Rogers Jr., 28; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Charles P. Nord, 30; and Sgt. Kort M. Plantenberg, 28, all died in the helicopter crash approximately 16 miles southwest of St. Cloud, Minnesota.

All three soldiers were assigned to Company C, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, which is based in St. Cloud.

The troops had returned from a nine-month deployment to Kuwait in May, according to their service records. From there, they provided aerial medical evacuation in support of the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Rogers enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard on June 5, 2009, as a field artillery specialist before becoming a warrant officer in 2013.

Nord enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard on Aug. 24, 2007, as an M1 armor crewman. He became a warrant officer in 2016. Nord leaves behind his wife, Kaley, two-year-old daughter, Lydia, and a child they have been expecting.

Plantenberg enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard on March 1, 2016, as an aircraft electrician. He was a member of the Minnesota Guard biathlon team and competed in the Chief National Guard Bureau Biathlon Championships in 2018.

Plantenberg was preparing to start the state’s warrant officer program in March and then later attend flight school.

All three soldiers were born and raised in Minnesota.

The crash that took their lives occurred in a farm field in the central part of the state during a routine maintenance test flight, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on the evening of the crash.

“As a veteran of the Minnesota Army National Guard, my heart breaks for the families, the friends and the fellow soldiers,” Walz said. “The coming days will be dark and difficult. The state of Minnesota stands ready to assist the families of our fallen heroes.”

The crash is currently under investigation by a team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Anytime an accident results in a loss of life — either on the ground or in the air — Army Combat Readiness Center teams are dispatched to investigate, said Col. Shawn Manke, commander of the state’s Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade.

An emergency call was issued not long after the crew departed a Guard facility near St. Cloud Regional Airport at about 2 p.m. Thursday. The wreckage was found two hours later by first responders.

“Our Minnesota National Guard family is devastated by the deaths of these soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, the adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard. “Our priority right now is ensuring that our families are taken care of."

Jensen said during a press conference Saturday that he cannot yet say which pilot was flying at the time of the mishap. The investigation will determine what exactly went wrong, but officials stressed during the press conference that the flight itself was not out of the ordinary.

“It was a routine maintenance flight that is conducted almost daily,” Jensen noted.

The last catastrophic helicopter accident for the Minnesota National Guard occurred in 1993, Jensen said. During that mishap, two aircraft collided at Camp Ripley, near Little Falls, Minnesota, and five Guardsmen were killed.

All UH-60 Black Hawks belonging to the Minnesota National Guard have been grounded during the opening phase of the investigation, but are expected to begin flying again soon, according to Jensen.

 source: Armytimes USA

The Army is prepared to move Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his family to a safe location if necessary

The US Army is prepared to move Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his family to a secure location on a military base if it's deemed necessary, US officials told The Wall Street Journal.

Vindman has been the target of public criticism, including from President Donald Trump, over his central role in the escalating impeachment inquiry. The president, without evidence, has sought to discredit Vindman's testimony by accusing him of being a "Never Trumper."

If it's determined that Vindman or his family is in physical danger, they will be moved to a safe location, the officials told The Journal.

An Army spokeswoman, Col. Kathy Turner, told Insider in a statement that the Army "is providing supportive assistance to help Lt. Col. Vindman with the public attention."

"As a matter of practice, the Army would neither confirm nor deny any safety or security measures taken on behalf of an individual; however, as we would with any Soldier, the Army will work with civilian authorities to ensure that he and his family are properly protected," Turner added.

Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, is a key figure in the impeachment inquiry. The active-duty Army officer and Iraq War combat veteran was on a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the center of the investigation.

During the call, Trump urged Zelensky to launch investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, as well as into a debunked conspiracy theory about the 2016 US election."I was concerned by the call. What I heard was inappropriate," Vindman said in public testimony on Tuesday, adding that "it is improper for the president of the United States to demand a foreign government investigate a US citizen and a political opponent."

Republican lawmakers on the panel sought to discredit Vindman in multiple ways, including by zeroing in on the fact that he wore his military uniformand by implying that he has dual loyalty to Ukraine. Vindman came to the US from Ukraine as a refugee when he was a child and the country was still part of the Soviet Union.

Some Democrats on the panel touched on safety concerns in their questioning of Vindman, particularly given the attacks he's faced.

At the beginning of his testimony, Vindman sent an emotional message to his father, applauding his choice to bring the family to the US decades ago. He told his father not to worry, adding,"I will be fine for telling the truth."

When asked why he told his father not to worry, Vindman said: "This is America. This is the country I've served and defended, that all of my brothers have served, and here, right matters." Vindman received a standing ovation.

Source:business insider

International Criminal Court may investigate UK military for the first time over 'war crimes cover-up'

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has said it may investigate the British military for the first time after allegations that war crimes had been committed, it has been reported.

A BBC Panorama programme claims that killings of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq have been covered up by the state.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) responded that the allegations are unsubstantiated.

Leaked documents allegedly contain evidence implicating British troops in killing children and the torture of civilians.

The recent BBC/Sunday Times investigation said it had obtained new evidence from inside the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), which investigated alleged war crimes committed by British soldiers in Iraq, and Operation Northmoor, which investigated alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

The Government closed IHAT and Operation Northmoor in 2017, after Phil Shiner, a solicitor who had taken more than 1,000 cases to IHAT, was struck off from practising law amid allegations that he had paid people in Iraq to find clients.

But some former IHAT and Operation Northmoor investigators said Mr Shiner's actions were used as an excuse to close down the inquiries.

All cases investigated by IHAT and Operation Northmoor were assessed by the independent Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA), which decided not to prosecute.

The ICC said it has taken the accusations "very seriously", according to the BBC and said it would independently assess the BBC's findings. It would "begin a landmark case if it believed the Government was shielding soldiers from prosecution," the corporation reported on Monday morning.

The year-long investigation claims to have found evidence of murders by an SAS soldier, as well as deaths in custody, beatings, torture and sexual abuse of detainees by members of the Black Watch.

A senior SAS commander was referred to prosecutors for attempting to pervert the course of justice, the investigation claims.

Writing exclusively in the Telegraph, General the Lord Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff from 2006 to 2009 said his “heart sank” when he heard of the alleged wrongdoing, saying: “here we go again”.

“It is always easy to make allegations, bit it is very difficult to disprove them,” he wrote.

“Are these the repetition of previous discredited allegations?

“No one is above the law [and] when a credible allegation of wrongdoing is made then it absolutely must be investigated,” the former head of the army said, “but the vast majority of British soldiers are not thugs and murderers”.

Solicitor Hilary Meredith, Visiting Professor of Law and Veterans’ Affairs at the University of Chester, represented several soldiers investigated by IHAT, and provided evidence to the Parliamentary Inquiry which led to its closure.

“The so-called detectives continuing this financially motivated witch hunt against British troops have no credibility whatsoever.”

Ms Meredith said the investigators were not detectives at all, but civilian investigators employed by recruitment firm Red Snapper, a company that a Parliamentary Inquiry into IHAT heard had “turned up on family doorsteps and at barracks’ gates demanding information or threatening arrest, when they had no legal authority to do so.

“Soldiers who left military service many years ago, and had settled into civilian life were subjected to bully-boy tactics by investigators posing as detectives and falsely accused of unlawful killing.

“The real scandal in all of this is the untold anguish it will cause our brave - and entirely innocent - servicemen and women.”

An MoD spokesperson said “The UK has at all times complied fully with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) requests for information about its legal processes in respect of alleged war crimes and sees no justification for any further interventions by the ICC.”

Source: telegraph U.K

SEAL Gallagher a chief again

President Donald J. Trump has decided to restore convicted SEAL Edward Gallagher’s pay grade to chief petty officer, overriding a decision last week by the Navy’s top admiral, both Navy Times and Fox News learned.

Although naval officials and Navy Times discussed Trump’s looming decision on Sunday, it was announced on the morning Fox and Friends show by network contributor Pete Hegseth, who said he spoke directly with the president about intervening in three war crimes cases.

A week before Veterans Day, Trump’s move clears the way to free Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, who was convicted on a pair of murder charges for ordering his platoon to shoot and kill three Afghan men on a motorcycle in 2012 and is serving a 20-year sentence at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth.

It also is poised to end the prosecution of Green Beret Maj. Matthew Golsteyn, who is accused of executing a suspected Taliban bomb maker in Helmand Province nine years ago.

“This president recognizes the injustice of it,” Hegseth said during the broadcast. “You train someone to go fight and kill the enemy. Then they go kill the enemy the way someone doesn’t like, and then we put them in jail or we throw the book at them.”

Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher and his wife Andrea hug after leaving the Naval Base San Diego courthouse in July. (Gregory Bull/AP)

Fox’s announcement of Trump’s impending action isn’t the first time he’s intervened in Gallagher’s case.

On March 30, the president took to Twitter to announce that he ordered the Pentagon to release Gallagher from pretrial confinement in San Diego’s Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar.

“In honor of his past service to our Country, Navy Seal #EddieGallagher will soon be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits his day in court," Trump tweeted. “Process should move quickly!”

And it did, with Navy officials immediately moving to spring Gallagher from the brig.

A day after the verdict in Gallagher’s court-martial case, Trump also tweeted congratulations to the SEAL, his wife Andrea, and his entire family.

“You have been through much together. Glad I could help!” the president wrote.

And the president still wasn’t done with a case plagued by allegations of prosecutorial and police misconduct.

Before Gallagher’s trial kicked off, Navy judge Capt. Aaron Rugh sanctioned prosecutors for violating the SEAL’s constitutional rights.

Part of his punishment included booting Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak, the lead prosecutor, for a warrantless surveillance program cooked up with NCIS agents to track emails sent by defense attorneys and Navy Times.

Agents and prosecutors also were accused of manipulating witness statements to NCIS agents; using immunity grants and a bogus “target letter” in a crude attempt to keep pro-Gallagher witnesses from testifying; illegally leaking documents to the media to taint the military jury pool; and then trying to cover it all up when they got caught.

After the Navy bestowed achievement medals on several prosecutors and their enlisted aides, Trump stepped in on July 31 to nix the decorations, lampooning them as “ridiculously given" awards.

source: navytimes

Breakimg news: Abu Bakr Baghdadi IS leader blew up himself to evade capture

Baghdadi

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State (IS) group, has killed himself during a raid by US commandos in north-west Syria, President Donald Trump has said.
Baghdadi came to prominence in 2014, when he announced the creation of a "caliphate" in areas of Iraq and Syria.
His death is a major victory for Mr Trump as he faces heavy criticism for his decision to pull US troops out of northern Syria.

According to media reports 4 years before, al-Baghdadi was rumored or confirmed to be  wounded on 18 March 2015 during a coalition airstrike on the al-Baaj District, in the Nineveh Governorate, near the Syrian border. His wounds were apparently so serious that the top ISIL leaders had a meeting to discuss who would replace him if he died.
  
      However he met his doom Oct 2019, where US special forces raid his compound and a battle ensued in which he evade capture by running into a tunnel and detonated a bomb vest he attached to himself killing him and three of his children.The US began to receive intelligence on the whereabouts of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi about a month before the 26 October raid, according to Donald Trump. Intelligence officials were able to scope out his exact location – near the village of Barisha (id lib province) in north-west Syria .However his death may have look like a blow to the terrorist group, the group is still much in action and only decapitated.

US and Israel test out long-range missile as tension with Iran rocket

The US and Israel launched their Arrow 3 missile days after Iran tested a new mid-range ballistic missile in an apparent sign of defiance towards Washington's demands to end their nuclear development programme. The test of the jointly developed defence system was hailed as a "major milestone" in the collaboration between the US and Israeli military. Speaking following the launch at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, Missile Defence Agency director Vice-Admiral Jon Hill said: "These successful tests mark a major milestone in the development of the Arrow Weapon System.

Image: REUTERS•ISRAEL MINISTRY OF DEFENSE): The US and Israel tested their joint Arrow 3 defense system 

"This unique success in Alaska provides confidence in future Israeli capabilities to defeat the developing threats in the region.

"We are committed to assisting the government of Israel in upgrading its national missile defense capability to defend the State of Israel from emerging threats.”

Moshe Patel, the director of the Israel Missile Defense Organisation, insisted the success of the tests in Alaska demonstrated the Arrow 3 defence system could help both Israel and the US face "any threat."

Mr Patel said: "Ten challenging years of development have culminated in this moment - the Arrow 3 weapon system completed a test campaign, during which an Arrow 3 interceptor completed full interception of the target.

"In addition, the fact that the tests were conducted in Alaska, tens of thousands of kilometers away from Israel, is another significant achievement that demonstrates the operational capabilities of the Arrow 3 system to successfully face any threat."

Tension has been mounting in the Middle East as Tehran and the US continue to engage in a series of skirmishes over US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw his support from the Iran nuclear deal.

The agreement, originally brokered by former US President Barak Obama, was aimed at monitoring and controlling Iran's nuclear capabilities. 

Earlier this month President Trump announced a new swathe of sanctions against Tehran after the Iranian Government confirmed they would exceed the limits of enriched uranium they are permitted to hold under the deal. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif warned the US the Middle East is "ready to explode" as he called on Washington to stop arming countries in the region.

Speaking to NBC, Mr Zarif said: "American weaponry is going into our region, making our region ready to explode.

“If they want to talk about our missiles, they need first to stop selling all these weapons, including missiles.”

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo offered to travel to Tehran for emergency talks with the regime but later claimed he had been rejected.

The tension continues......

source: CNN/expressco

10 FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCE BEFORE TOMMORROW

1. In the early spring 2018, tens of thousands of Palestinians led violent uprisings against Israeli security infrastructures and the IDF. As Hamas in Gaza used its civilians as human shields, IDF planes dropped leaflets along the Gaza border warning Palestinian civilians not to approach the security fence or participate in any terrorist activities. While the IDF understands that warning civilians of upcoming retaliations of terrorist personnel and infrastructure could cause operational disadvantages, the IDF has yet again shown its true colors as the most moral army, attempting to minimize collateral damage within the Gazan population.
2. In August 2018, the Israeli Air Force appointed the first female commander of an IAF squadron. The 34 year-old was promoted to a Lieutenant Colonel after serving for 15 years in the IAF. This promotion came in the context of other important promotions for women serving in the IDF, including the army’s first four female tank commanders.
3. There are currently 176,500 active soldiers serving in the IDF.
4. Israel’s Airforce is ranked No. 1 in the world due to its space assets, advanced fighter jets, high-tech armed drones and nuclear weapons. Israeli’s military is ranked No. 1 in the Middle East.
5. The IDF is one of the world’s most informal and least hierarchical armies. Its officers do not come from academies, but rather rise through the ranks solely on the basis of their leadership and command capabilities. Officers often sleep and eat with their soldiers and the army makes scant use of saluting and parades.
6. The IDF requires conscription, meaning that every 18 year old—male and female—is required to serve. Men must serve for three years and women for two. Released soldiers continue serving as reservists into their early 50s, contributing up to over a month’s worth of service each year, both training and active service.
7. Women typically do not serve in combat roles, though there are female pilots and infantry units that allow women. According to the IDF, 535 female Israeli soldiers were been killed in combat operations between 1962-2016 (the number killed before 1962 is unknown). Women can avoid conscription through a religious exemption, in which more than third of Israeli women do.
8. Israel is the only country in the world that requires the deaf and hearing impaired to serve in the military. Sign language interpreters are provided during training and many of them serve in noncombat capacities such as mappers, office work, etc.
9. Since 2006, the IDF has fought in four major engagements, including the Second Lebanon War.
10. IDF troops do not deploy; they protect Israel, its borders and its people.The IDF have their own version of the Navy SEALs called Shayetet 13. The unit is one of the most secretive in the Israeli military and the details of many missions and the identities of active operatives are highly classified. The unit’s motto is, “As the bat emerges from the darkness, As the blade cuts through with silence, As the grenade smashes in rage.” The unit trains extensively in Krav Maga and all manner of weapons. The unit is referred to by others in the military as the “people of silence.”

SOURCE: compiled by this blog

Russia Plans $63M Military-Patriotic Youth Education Center – RBC

Russia plans to educate youngsters in military-patriotic themes in a new $63 million facility at its sprawling military-themed park outside Moscow, the RBC news website reported Monday.

The militarization of young Russians has been a controversial topic in the past several years, with President Vladimir Putin’s establishment of the Youth Army in late 2015 drawing comparisons to the Hitler Youth. With around half a million members aged 8-18, the Youth Army hopes to reach 1 million members by 2020.

High schoolers will once a year gather for a weeklong “military-patriotic education” camp at the Russian Defense Ministry’s $350 million Patriot Park west of Moscow, RBC cited two ministry officials as saying. 

“We’re discussing if [attendance at the youth education center] will be part of a compulsory or voluntary program,” one of the sources was quoted as saying.

The Moscow city and Moscow region administrations will each contribute 2 billion rubles ($31.5 million) to the project, according to one of the sources.

The “Avangard” teaching center’s construction is expected to begin in September.

The latest move comes months after state television launched a new channel targeting Russia’s youth with 24/7 programming dedicated entirely to World War II. In March, security officials announced that delinquent youngsters would be sent to military-patriotic reeducation camps.

source:themoscowtimes

The mystery of Point-5353 india:Did Army try to retake it

DRASS: As the country celebrates two decades of its victory in the Kargil conflict, there is ambiguity about a contentious area known as Point-5353 - one of the highest and strategic peaks near Line of Control in Drass sector of Jammu & Kashmir. 

The top Army commanders who led the Indian response 20 years ago have claimed that Point-5353 was occupied by the Pakistan army prior to the Kargil conflict and that the Indian Army never attempted to capture it in 1999. 

However, the Kargil war despatches, accessed by TOI, have indicated that the Army had made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the important geographical feature. 

The despatches, exchanged regarding military operations, have revealed that a team led by Major Navneet Mehta of 16-Granadiers had tried to capture Point-5353. The post was used as an artillery observation post by Pakistan troops. 

Col Puspinder Oberoi, the then commanding officer of 16 Granadiers regiment, in a communication to his superiors during the war, said: "Two attacks were made by troops of my battalion on Point-5353. Maj Navneet Mehta and 30 men carried out attack." 

"We reached the base of the cliff and tried to go up... We ended up having 13 casualties …The attacking column developed chest congestion … along with wounds due to continuous attempts. Thus, the attack had to be called off...," says the communication sent by Mehta to his commanding officer. 

When TOI contacted General VP Malik, who led the Kargil war, he claimed: "The LoC in this area was drawn in 1972 by joining several heights (points) with straight lines. The line went over Point-535 .. 

source:economictimesindiatimes