Can retired Gen. Lloyd Austin convince skeptical Democrats he will lead the Pentagon as a civilian?

“I come to this role, this new role, as a civilian leader with military experience, to be sure, but also with a deep appreciation and reverence for the prevailing wisdom of civilian control of our military,” Austin said. “I recognize that being a member of the president’s Cabinet requires a different perspective and unique responsibilities from a career in uniform, and I intend to keep this at the forefront of my mind. I look forward to surrounding myself with experienced and capable civilian appointees and career civil servants who will enable healthy civil-military relations grounded in meaningful civilian oversight.”

BIDEN: ‘THERE’S NO DOUBT IN MY MIND’: Austin like retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis before him, needs a congressional waiver from the law that requires military officers to be out of uniform seven years before serving as defense secretary in order to ensure adherence to the bedrock principle of civilian control of the military.

“There’s no doubt in my mind, not any doubt whatsoever, whether this nominee will honor, respect, and on a day-to-day basis breathe life into the preeminent principle of civilian leadership over military matters in our nation,” Biden said in introducing Austin onstage in Wilmington, Delaware, yesterday.

“I know this man. I know his respect for our Constitution. I know his respect for our system of government,” Biden said. “The civilian-military dynamic — that dynamic itself has been under great stress the past four years. I know that Secretary-designee Austin is going to work tirelessly to get it back on track.”

NOT ABOUT AUSTIN, IT’S ABOUT PRINCIPLE: Biden is running into a lot of skepticism from his own party, even among fans of Austin.

“Now, he’s fantastic. He’s amazing. And I worked with him directly over many, many years,” said Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin on CNN. “But it’s not about him specifically. It’s the principle.”

Slotkin, a former deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, says she has yet to be convinced that Austin can really set aside his four decades of military experience and act as a civilian overseeing his former comrades in arms:

“I am leaving it open. I mean, I need to hear from Gen. Austin and from the Biden administration what they’re going to do to ensure that his recently retired status isn’t going to keep him from really taking the advice and counsel of the civilian part of the Pentagon,” Slotkin said. “I think what I felt good about was hearing from Gen. Austin himself and talking about the importance of the civilian role. I mean, he verbalized that. So, that was a good start.”

Both the House and Senate have to vote on the waiver, and like Slotkin, House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith is uncomfortable with a waiver but not ruling it out.

“Civilian control of the military is an important principle in our Constitution,” Smith said in a statement. “General Austin should meet with the members of the House Armed Services Committee so they can ask questions about civilian control of the military, and to be assured that General Austin is committed to this important principle and understands what he will have to do to make sure it is upheld during his tenure as Secretary of Defense.”

Smith said yesterday Austin will also be asked to testify before a waiver is considered. “We ought to have the nominee before our committee, so that we can ask questions about his understanding of civilian control of the military, and to reassure ourselves,” he said.

MOST LIKELY OUTCOME: Some members of Congress, especially those who voted against a waiver for Mattis in 2017, will likely vote “no” on the waiver so as not to appear as hypocrites, but then vote to confirm the historic selection of Austin as the first black person to lead the Defense Department.

The vote on the waiver for Mattis was 81-17 in the Senate and 268-151 in the House, but he was then confirmed overwhelmingly in the Senate by a vote of 98-1.

There is a strong tradition in Congress for allowing presidents wide latitude in selecting Cabinet members they trust, and Democrats, in particular, will be reluctant to oppose the new president, especially by denying him a barrier-breaking nominee with a distinguished career of military service.

Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Victor I. Nava. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.

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HAPPENING TODAY: The Senate meets at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of the Conference Report to H.R.6395, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2021. The annual defense policy bill breezes to House passage this week on a veto-proof 335-78 vote.

SENATE FAILS TO BLOCK F-35 SALE TO UAE: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was the only Republican to join Democrats in an attempt to block the sale of 50 F-35 fighter jets and other high-tech weaponry to the United Arab Emirates.

Paul, along with Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, had introduced two resolutions of disapproval that would have blocked the $23 billion sale, which also includes 18 MQ-9B drones and Hellfire missiles.

Both resolutions failed. The vote to block the $10.4 billion F-35 sale lost on a 47-49 vote. The $2.97 billion drones resolution failed 46-50, with Arizona’s two Democrats, Sens. Krysten Sinema and Mark Kelly, voting against it.

STAVRIDIS: ‘WE CAN STILL SUCCEED’: Former NATO commander retired Adm. James Stavridis has some advice for President-elect Joe Biden for how to handle one of his first foreign policy challenges, deciding how to wrap up the war in Afghanistan.

“I believe we can still succeed in Afghanistan. We no longer need 150,000 troops in country, but it will require some additional thought and effort if we want to end this long, painful and fraught mission,” Stavridis writes in Time magazine. “Doing so should be a part of the Biden national security team mission from day one.”

His exit plan: “In order to push the negotiations forward, we must show the Taliban that a credible NATO force will remain. It should include combat air-to-ground capability, strong special forces, intelligence production and dissemination, and a motivated training mission. To do that will require the current force level of 10,000 troops, including 5,000 from the U.S. The Biden administration should strongly consider reinstating that very minimal troop level, and state clearly that until the Taliban lives up to a cease-fire agreement for at least 180 days there will be no further troop withdrawals.”

DOD’S 1ST VACCINE DOSES: The Pentagon announced yesterday that it expects to receive its first allotment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, 43,875 doses, within days and begin inoculations on priority military and civilian personnel at 16 locations in the U.S., Germany, and South Korea.

“The DOD prioritization plan is consistent with CDC guidance and prioritizes healthcare providers and support personnel, residents and staff of DOD long-term care facilities, other essential workers, and high-risk beneficiaries to receive the vaccine before other members of the healthy DOD population,” said Thomas McCaffery, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

“The initial phase is what we are calling a controlled pilot,” McCaffery said at a Pentagon briefing. “We will continue with this form of distribution, adding additional prioritized personnel in additional prioritized locations until 60% of our DOD, roughly 11 million personnel, have received the vaccine, at which time DOD anticipates vaccine manufacturing rates to support full scale, unrestricted vaccine distribution to department personnel. At that point, our intent is to distribute the vaccine in the same manner the department conducts its annual influenza vaccine program.”

At least initially, the vaccines will be administered on a voluntary basis.

FDA APPROVAL COMING SOON: The Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meets today, as the Pfizer vaccine is poised to receive what’s known as “emergency use authorization,” or EUA.

“We could then have an EUA within days and be administering doses of vaccine to our most vulnerable next week,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at a separate briefing in Washington.

“Based on current production schedules, we expect to have enough doses to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of this year, 50 million total by the end of January, and at least 100 million total by the end of the first quarter,” Azar said.

Army Gen. Gus Perna, CEO of Operation Warp Speed, said the vaccine could be shipped to distribution sites across the U.S. within 24 hours of approval by the FDA.

NEW SPACE FORCE BASES: Vice President Mike Pence made a bit of history in Florida yesterday when he renamed two installations to bear the name of the U.S. Space Force.

“So, it is my great honor as your vice president, as chairman of the National Space Council, on behalf of President Donald Trump, to announce that Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will now become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,” Pence said. “And just down the road, I’m also pleased to announce an Air Force base named for another pioneering general who actually founded the Army Air Corps. As of today, at the direction of the commander in chief, Patrick Air Force Base will become Patrick Space Force Base.”

“The re-designation affects the names only and falls short of officially making the facilities Space Force installations,” the Air Force noted in a release. “Until final decisions are made relating to Space Force installations, the ‘jurisdiction and command’ of both Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patrick Space Force Base ‘will remain under the Air Force until officially transferred at a future date to be determined.’”

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: Spy chief John Ratcliffe warns of threats posed by China and Russia in space

Washington Examiner: Biden team receives defense intel briefings after uproar over alleged denials

Washington Examiner: Biden defense secretary pick Gen. Lloyd Austin calls himself ‘a civilian leader with military experience’

Washington Examiner: DOD will prioritize its healthcare workers with first 44K doses

Washington Examiner: Pompeo accuses US university of abandoning student in Chinese reeducation camp

Washington Examiner: SpaceX high-altitude rocket prototype explodes during attempted landing

Breaking Defense: White House Unveils New Space Policy, But Does It Matter?

CNN: Pentagon Confirms Some Senior Leaders To Receive Coronavirus Vaccine In Earliest Phase

San Diego Union Tribune: San Diego Ship Captain, Former Naval Academy Football Star Hospitalized With COVID-19

New York Times: Iran Is Moving Key Facility At Nuclear Site Underground

AP: China restricts US official travel to Hong Kong

Reuters: Europe, U.S. Should Say ‘No’ To China’s ‘Wolf-Warrior’ Diplomacy – EU Envoy

AP: Russia Conducts Drills Of Its Strategic Nuclear Forces

Bloomberg: Trump’s 5-Year Budget Plan for Navy Would Add 82 New Vessels

Defense One: White House Shipbuilding Plan Would Shrink Ford Carrier Class Over Navy Objections

New York Times: How Biden’s Defense Nominee Overcame Barriers To Diversity

Reuters: Turkey’s Erdogan To Discuss U.S. Strains When Biden Takes Office

USNI News: Panel Details Global Artificial Intelligence Arms Race

Air Force Magazine: Pilot Missing After Wisconsin ANG F-16 Crashes

19fortyfive.com: China Seems Ready For A Fight Over Taiwan

Defense News: What’s Next For The Bonhomme Richard Warship?

Just the News: Group honors World War II veterans with free rides aboard iconic Stearman biplanes

Time: Opinion: I Commanded NATO Forces in Afghanistan. Here’s How We Could End this “Forever War”

Calendar

THURSDAY | DECEMBER 10

9:30 a.m. — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research virtual discussion: “Building transatlantic resilience: Why critical infrastructure is a matter of national security,” with Deputy NATO Secretary General Mircea Geoana; Czech Deputy Defence Minister for Industrial Cooperation Tomas Kopecny; Finland Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo; Kori Schake, AEI foreign and defense policy studies director; and Elisabeth Braw, AEI visiting fellow. http://www.american.com/watch/aei-livestream

10 a.m. — House Foreign Affairs Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation Subcommittee hearing on “Taiwan and the United States: Enduring Bonds in the Face of Adversity,” with Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia and director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Shelley Rigger, professor of political science at Davidson College; and Shirley Kan, specialist in Asian security affairs. http://foreignaffairs.house.gov Livestream also at at https://www.youtube.com/watch

10 a.m. — ThoughtSpot Beyond.2020 Digital Data Analytics conference, with Pentagon Chief Data Officer David Spirk. https://thoughtspot.events

10:30 a.m. — Military SatCom Digital Week virtual event with Shawn Barnes, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration. https://www.satellitetoday.com/event

11 a.m. — AFWERX Accelerate virtual event, with Jennifer Santos, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy; and Jay Dryer, director, Strategic Capabilities Office. https://afwerx.com/

7 p.m. — Aspen Security Forum webinar: “The View from Seoul: A Conversation with the Republic of Korea’s Foreign Minister,” with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and Nicholas Burns, executive director, Aspen Strategy Group. https://aspeninst.zoom.us/webinar/register

FRIDAY | DECEMBER 11

9 a.m. — Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative online discussion: “NATO 20/2020: 20 bold ideas to reimagine the Alliance after the 2020 U.S. election,” with NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event

12 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “Nuclear Modernization and Arms Control in 2021,” with House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash.; John Hamre, president and CEO of CSIS; and Rebecca Hersman, director of the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues. (Rescheduled from Tuesday) https://www.csis.org/events

1 p.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “The Navy’s Role in Great Power Competition,” with Geoffrey Gresh, professor of international security studies at National Defense University; Rockford Weitz, director of the Tufts University Maritime Studies Program; and Brent Sadler, senior fellow for naval warfare and advanced technology at Heritage. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event

1 p.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center Kennan Institute online discussion: “U.S.-Russia Relations in the Biden Administration,” with Victoria Zhuravleva, head of the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations’s Center for North American Studies; and Stacy Closson, global fellow and associate professor for Russia/Eurasia and polar security at the National Intelligence University. https://engage.wilsoncenter.org/a/us-russia

4 p.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center virtual discussion: “Arctic Security Dialogues: Toward a U.S. Army Arctic Strategy,” with Army Maj. Gen. Peter Andrysiak, commander of U.S. Army Alaska, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson; Canadian Brig. Gen. J.B.P. Carpentier, commander of Joint Task Force North; Iris Ferguson, senior adviser to the Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements; retired Army Lt. Gen. William Garrett, former deputy commander of the U.S. European Command; Army Maj. Gen. Bradley Gericke, director of strategy, plans and policy in the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff; Sherri Goodman, senior fellow at the WWC Polar Institute and Environmental Change and Security Program and former deputy Defense undersecretary for environmental security; retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Shields, senior vice president of advanced technology for mission adoption at CACI International Inc.; National Guard Brig. Gen. Randolph Staudenraus, director of strategy and plans for the National Guard Bureau (J5) and representative of the chief of the National Guard Bureau; and Jim Townsend, global fellow at the WWC Polar Institute and former deputy assistant Defense secretary for Europe and NATO https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/arctic-security

TUESDAY | DECEMBER 15

9 a.m. — Council on Foreign Relations Virtual Roundtable: “A Conversation With Gen. David Berger,” the 38th commandant of the Marine Corps, moderated by Max Boot, senior fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/

10:30 a.m. — Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress virtual book discussion on The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, The U.S., and Iran’s Global Ambitions, with author Arash Azizi, journalist and historian, New York University; Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., incoming ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Glenn Nye, president and CEO, CSPC. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register

12 p.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual event: “Deal or No Deal: The Iran Nuclear Challenge,” with Fred Fleitz, president and CEO, Center for Security Policy; David Albright, founder and president, Institute for Science and International Security; James Phillips, senior research fellow, The Heritage Foundation; and Luke Coffey, director, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy. https://www.heritage.org/arms-control/event

2 p.m. — The SETA Foundation at Washington D.C. webinar: “The Biden Administration’s Foreign Policy Priorities,” with Charles Kupchan, professor, Georgetown University; Shadi Hamid, senior fellow, Brookings Institution; and Kilic Kanat, research director, SETA Foundation. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register

WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 16

2 p.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual event: “Building Tomorrow’s Army Today: Modernizing with Science, Technology and Engineering,” with Maj. Gen. John George, commanding general, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command; and Thomas Spoehr, director, Center for National Defense. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event