Pentagon empowers local commanders to begin return to normal operations

The memo from Esper outlines the conditions that must be met in order for commanders to make “deliberate, risk-based decisions” to begin to loosen the current restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus, including:

• A downward trajectory of recorded cases of COVID-like and influenza-like illnesses must have taken place over the preceding 14-day interval.
• A downward trajectory must be documented for COVID-19 cases or positive tests as a percentage of total tests over the preceding 14-day interval.
• Military facilities or local hospitals must have the capacity to treat patients and have an adequate program for diagnostic testing of COVID-19 in place for healthcare workers and those showing signs of COVID-19.
• Comprehensive processes for health surveillance must be in place to monitor COVID-like illnesses and provide surveillance laboratory testing.

SIGNS OF HOPE: The move to begin something closer to normal operations comes amid a few hopeful signs that, if not ending, the threat of the deadly virus is becoming more manageable.

Numbers are low. The overall number of COVID-19 cases among U.S. military personnel, their families, DOD civilians, and contractors as of Wednesday was 8,764, including 359 who had to be hospitalized at some point and 4,507 who have since recovered. The death toll, which had been holding at 27, has increased to 29 with the deaths of two DOD contract employees this week.

But out of a population of more than 2 million, the numbers show that the Pentagon’s strict mitigation measures have limited the impact of COVID-19 on the force. While the total number of infections is up 554 cases since last week, the number of recoveries is also up by 645 cases since the same time last week.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt is back at sea. The Navy announced that after almost two months of quarantine in Guam, the carrier set sail for the Philippine Sea this morning and has begun qualification flights for the embarked air wing. The ship is operating with a reduced crew, which the Navy refers to as “scaled manning,” because over 1,000 sailors have not yet been cleared to return to the ship.

“After moving nearly 4,000 crewmembers off ship and cleaning the entire ship from bow to stern, the appropriate number of crewmembers to operate the ship underway have returned from quarantine after passing rigorous return-to-work criteria,” the Navy said in a statement issued from the carrier.

“It feels great to be back at sea,” said Rear Adm. Stu Baker, commander of the Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group.

Retesting positive may not mean you’re infectious. There was news this week from the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on a study of 285 patients who tested positive after they were thought to have recovered, indicating they have immunity from the disease and are not capable of transmitting the infection to others.

The so-called “re-positive” patients showed no signs of illness, and the virus samples collected from them couldn’t be cultured in the lab. Last week, at least five sailors from the Roosevelt tested positive after recovering from COVID-19 and were removed from the ship along with other crew members they came in close contact with.

“Just because you have a positive PCR test, these genetic tests, does not mean you’re infectious,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama, in an interview on CNN Monday, discussing the case of re-positive sailors.

“It may be that you’re just continuing to shed dead virus. We don’t really know how long that happens,” she said. “There is apparently somebody who’s been shedding for about 85 days that I’m aware of. So remember, it doesn’t mean that you’re infectious.”

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 David Sivak and Tyler Van Dyke. 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: We’ll hear more later this afternoon about the Pentagon’s return to what will be the new normal when Air Force Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, takes part in a virtual town hall meeting, sponsored by Blue Star Families.

“Hyten will join other DOD leaders and experts to explore how the novel coronavirus has affected the military, as well as how future deployments, field exercises, recruitment and retention, and the day-to-day lives of service members can expect to change and adapt moving forward,” the group said in a release. You can register for the 3 p.m. webcast here.

NEW CHINA REPORT: The White House has released a congressionally mandated report, “U.S. Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China,” which labels China a threat to U.S. national security interests and a challenge to American values.

“As China has grown in strength, so has the willingness and capacity of the [Chinese Communist Party] to employ intimidation and coercion in its attempts to eliminate perceived threats to its interests and advance its strategic objectives globally,” the report says. “Beijing’s actions belie Chinese leaders’ proclamations that they oppose the threat or use of force, do not intervene in other countries’ internal affairs, or are committed to resolving disputes through peaceful dialogue.”

The 16-page white paper calls for the United States to “return to principled realism” and “rethink the policies of the past two decades which assumed engagement with rivals and their inclusion in international institutions and global commerce would turn them into benign actors and trustworthy partners.”

“For the most part, this premise turned out to be false,” the report says.

DOING RIGHT BY THE GUARD: “It makes me sick to my stomach.” That’s what retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, president of the National Guard Association of the United States, told my colleague Abraham Mahshie yesterday upon hearing that the Trump administration may end the deployment of Guard troops one day short of eligibility for some federal benefits. “Why the hell June 24 for such an important due date? It’s on a Wednesday. It just makes zero sense.”

The report of the move, which would deny thousands of National Guard troops who were among the first to activate in the federal coronavirus response post-9/11 GI Bill education and retirement benefits, stoked more outrage on Capitol Hill.

“The Trump Administration’s repeated attempts to nickel and dime members of the National Guard would be wrong under any circumstance, but it is particularly offensive when these troops are responding to a deadly COVID-19 pandemic that has already killed more than 90,000 Americans,” said Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran and member of the Armed Services Committee.

Duckworth is a co-sponsor, along with 17 other Democrats and independent Bernie Sanders, of legislation that would extend Title 32 authority for all troops activated in response to the crisis until the end of the public health emergency, thereby guaranteeing the benefits.

POMPEO ON THE DEFENSIVE: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashed out at his critics, who accuse him of having the State Department’s inspector general fired to quash a number of investigations into his personal conduct. “I frankly should have done it some time ago,” he said.

“There are claims that this was retaliation for some investigation that the Inspector General’s Office here was engaged in. It’s patently false,” Pompeo said at a news conference yesterday. “I have no sense of what investigations were taking place inside the Inspector General’s Office.”

Pompeo, however, admitted he did know about one investigation Steve Linick was conducting, into Pompeo’s emergency declaration to sell arms to Saudi Arabia, over congressional objections. “I was asked a series of questions in writing; I responded to those questions with respect to a particular investigation. That was some time earlier this year, as best I can recall, responding to those questions. I don’t know the scope,” he said. “Again, it’s not possible for there to have been retaliation.”

CONFLICT OF INTEREST? Pompeo has replaced Linick with Stephen Akard, who will serve as IG while apparently keeping his job as the head of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Missions.

That is a clear conflict of interest, Sen. Robert Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, told Josh Rogin of the Washington Post.

“The independence of inspectors general is paramount. Embedding a political ally to serve as IG who is still working in the very agency they are supposed to oversee is very problematic and an affront to that independence,” said Menendez. “I have trouble seeing how Ambassador Akard could fulfill those duties effectively given the circumstances and without stepping down from his current role.”

Pompeo accused Menendez of leaking stories to smear him and said the New Jersey senator is “not someone who I look to for ethics guidance.”

“I don’t get my ethics guidance from a man who was criminally prosecuted, case number 15-155 in New Jersey federal district court, a man for whom his Senate colleagues, bipartisan, said basically that he was taking bribes,” Pompeo said as he wrapped up his news conference.

IRAN SANCTIONS: The U.S. has announced that it is sanctioning Iran’s interior minister, who is accused of allowing Iranian security forces to kill hundreds of peaceful protesters.

“We have reason to believe Minister Rahmani Fazli gave carte blanche orders authorizing Iranian police forces to use lethal force on peaceful protestors and bystanders,” the State Department said yesterday. “His — and the regime’s — goal was to quash these peaceful protests and suppress the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression at any cost. His orders led to the killing of many protestors, including at least 23 minors.”

INDUSTRY WATCH: Amid rising tension between the U.S. and China, the State Department has approved the potential sale of 18 MK-48 Mod6 Advanced Technology Heavy Weight Torpedoes to Taiwan for $180 million, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The sale, which technically would be to TECRO, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, has no prime contractors associated with it, as all materials will be procured from U.S. Navy stocks.

“The proposed sale will improve the recipient’s capability in current and future defensive efforts. The recipient will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense,” said DSCA in a release.

CONGRATULATIONS: At the same time, Pompeo issued official congratulations to Tsai Ing-wen, who was reelected to a second term as Taiwan’s president.

“Her re-election by a huge margin shows that she has earned the respect, admiration, and trust of the people on Taiwan,” said Pompeo in a statement. “The United States has long considered Taiwan a force for good in the world and a reliable partner. Support for Taiwan in the United States is bipartisan and unanimous, as demonstrated by the recent enactment of the TAIPEI Act which strengthens our overall relationship and supports a closer economic partnership.”

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: ‘It makes me sick to my stomach’: National Guard Association slams looming benefits cuts to coronavirus responders

Washington Examiner: Michael Flynn’s name wasn’t masked in FBI report on contacts with Russian envoy

Washington Examiner: White House counsel advised Susan Rice to write memo on Oval Office discussion about Michael Flynn

Washington Examiner: US sanctions Iranian official it says ordered lethal force against demonstrators in November protests

Reuters: U.S. has not cut Afghan security funds despite Pompeo vow of immediate slash – source

AFP: North Korea Halting Talks With US Until Election Is Over, Russia Says

Washington Post: U.S., China feud anew, with Taiwan in the mix

Washington Post: An explosive summer is brewing in Hong Kong

Roll Call: Artificial intelligence, the Pentagon and the pandemic

Palm Beach Post: After More Than Seven Weeks Battling The Coronavirus, Retired Navy Pilot Can Go Home

National Defense Magazine: Navy Seeing Rebound In Attendance, Productivity At Shipyards

McClatchey: 3M billed government $7.63 for 85-cent earplugs. It now has $1 billion COVID contract

Military.com: After Mistakes In Iraq And Afghanistan, Marines Create New Learning Doctrine

Forbes: We Can Only Count On 33 F-22s To Fight Tonight

Washington Post: Presence of women in military has grown only slightly in recent years, study finds

The Atlantic: Since I Met Edward Snowden, I’ve Never Stopped Watching My Back

AP: Ex-Green Beret nabbed in exec’s escape has lived on the edge

Washington Examiner: Opinion: Richard Burr’s insider trading scandal is a national security risk

Calendar

THURSDAY | MAY 21

12 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies “Korea Chair Capital Cable” webcast, on “breaking events on the Korean peninsula related to North Korea, South Korea’s COVID-19 response efforts, and issues related to U.S. alliances in East Asia,” with Victor Cha, senior adviser and Korea chair at CSIS; Mark Lippert, nonresident senior adviser and Korea chair at CSIS; and Sue Mi Terry, senior fellow and Korea chair at CSIS. https://www.csis.org/events/online-event

1:30 p.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association webinar: “Artificial Intelligence+Machine Learning: The Virtual Experience,” with George Duchak, CIO of the Defense Logistics Agency; David Spirk, chief data officer of the U.S. Special Operations Command; and Air Force Lt. Gen. John “Jack” Shanahan, director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. https://dcevents.afceachapters.org/aiml20virtualexperience

2 p.m. — Defense One and the Intelligence National Security Alliance webcast: “The Human Machine Team: Narrowing the Skills Gap,” with Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Information and Data Nancy Morgan; Ari Chanen, vice president of artificial intelligence at Strategic Education Inc.; Tony Frazier, executive vice president of global field operations at Maxar Technologies; and Patrick Tucker, technology editor at Defense One. https://www.defenseone.com/feature

3 p.m. — Blue Star Families virtual town hall: “How Will COVID-19 Change the Military?,” with Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten; retired Lt. Gen. David Barno, senior fellow, Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies; Brig. Gen. Brett Sylvia, deputy commander, 1st Cavalry Division; Andy Napoli, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, & Environment; and Nora Bensahel, distinguished scholar in residence, School of International Service, American University. https://covid19militarysupport.org/event

FRIDAY | MAY 22

10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Nuclear Deterrence Forum webcast on the implications of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “escalate to win policy,” with Mark Schneider, senior analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy; Stephen Blank, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute; and retired Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem. Attendance is limited, but a recording of the webcast will be posted afterward at https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/aerospace-nation.

12 p.m. — Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies book discussion webinar on “The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare,” with author Christian Brose, former staff director for the Senate Armed Services Committee. https://sais.jhu.edu/campus-events

WEDNESDAY | MAY 27

2 p.m. — George Washington Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conference call conversation with Gen. John Murray, commander, Army Futures Command; and Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics, and technology. https://nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu

5 p.m. — National Security Institute “NatSec Nightcap” conversation on the national security implications of pandemics, climate change, and the erosion of faith in public institutions, with former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and NSI Founder and Executive Director Jamil Jaffer. Register: https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/natsec-nightcap-may-27-2020/