COVID’S BACK: Under former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the Pentagon imposed far more extensive measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus — including strict social distancing and mask mandates — than did President Trump, who held mask-optional rallies and downplayed the risk of a deadly second wave.
Yesterday, the United States set another new record with a reported 163,405 new cases of COVID-19, and with deaths once again averaging over 1,000 a day. Thursday’s death toll was at least 1,171, which is a 33% increase in the two-week rolling average.
While the nation has now experienced 10 million cases and more than 240,000 deaths, the Department of Defense has posted a remarkable record, with only 111 deaths from 91,892 cases among the more than two million military and civilian employees and their dependents. Of the 1.2 million active duty force, only nine troops have died.
The Navy has still recorded only a single death: 41-year-old Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Charles Thacker, who died in April after being infected during an outbreak on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
LESSONS FROM THE TR: A team of Navy medical experts have just published a comprehensive analysis of what happened on the Roosevelt last spring in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The key conclusion: “SARS-CoV-2 spread quickly among the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Transmission was facilitated by close-quarters conditions and by asymptomatic and presymptomatic infected crew members. Nearly half of those who tested positive for the virus never had symptoms.”
The fact that of the 1,271 crew members who tested positive, more than 600 never appear sick shows how young, healthy working-age adults (average age on the ship is 27) can unwittingly play a role in the spread of COVID-19, says the report’s authors.
“We must continue to be aggressive about studying COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2,” said co-author, Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kasper. “It’s about keeping our operational forces ready and underway, protecting the health of our personnel, while contributing to the general body of knowledge of this virus.”
The analysis identified several risk factors contributing to complications from the coronavirus infection, including working in confined spaces, enlisted rank, history of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor use, respiratory disease, and obese body mass index.
Good Friday 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: Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller hosts an honor cordon on the steps of the Pentagon’s River entrance at 9:30 a.m. welcoming Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis.
POMPEO GLOBETROTTING AGAIN: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is embarking on a 10-day trip to consult with U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East. His first stop is Paris, where he will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, one of the many foreign leaders who have recognized Joe Biden as president-elect.
“The president congratulated Joe Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris and emphasised his desire to work together on the current issues — climate, health, the fight against terrorism and the defence of fundamental rights,” according to a statement from the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Pompeo will also visit Turkey, Georgia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia before returning to Washington, Nov. 23.
CHINA LOOKS TO BIDEN: China, which up to now had avoided weighing in on the U.S. presidential election, has become one of the last major countries to offer congratulations to Biden.
“We respect the choice of the American people,” said a foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin. “We congratulate Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris.”
ARIZONA ADDS TO BIDEN’S TOTAL: CNN and other news organizations have joined Fox News in projecting that Arizona’s 11 electoral votes will go to Biden, bringing his total to 290 to President Trump’s 217. Biden won by 11,400 votes, a margin unlikely to be overturned by a recount or fraud allegations.
Biden now leads in the popular vote 77,920,048 votes (50.8%) to Trump’s 72,609,925 votes (47.4%), a margin of 5.3 million.
‘THE BEGINNING OF A HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE’: Former national security adviser retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster is calling President Trump’s plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan a “travesty,” and warns the rush to get out could hand the country over to the Taliban, to the detriment of the United States.
“The biggest failure of the Trump administration foreign policy is this approach toward Afghanistan — and prioritizing withdrawal to the extent that we actually partnered with the Taliban and against the elected Afghan government. I think that’s a real travesty,” McMaster said in an appearance on the BBC program, Hardtalk.
McMaster, who is making the rounds promoting his new book, Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World, told the BBC’s Stephen Sackur that Trump’s withdrawal plan amounts to a total capitulation to the Taliban.
“I think what we’re already seeing is the beginning of a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, and we may be back on the path toward the Taliban and jihadist terrorists again controlling territory, controlling a narcotics trade, and then vastly expanding their threat to all civilized people,” McMaster said.
“What I’m concerned about also is that a Biden administration might continue in that direction,” he continued. “So, I think what Americans need at this point is they need a leader to articulate a sensible and sustainable approach to foreign policy. And to recognize that when we work together with our allies and partners, we share the burden, and we can advance all of our interests together.”
LET THE TRANSITION BEGIN: A group of 150 former national security officials — mostly Democrats, but including some Republicans — is urging President Trump to direct the GSA to free up funds for the transition to a Biden administration, arguing the move will not impact Trump’s legal challenge to the vote count.
“It must be noted that your ascertainment that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the ‘apparent successful candidates’ will not impact President Trump’s ability to pursue any valid legal claims or his efforts to contest the results of the presidential election,” the officials say in an open letter to Trump.
But the letter also says, “Although counting is still ongoing in some states, the math makes apparent what will soon become official: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have clearly prevailed. Nor has any evidence been presented in any forum that raises any realistic possibility of changing that result.”
Meanwhile a growing number of Republican senators are calling for Biden to get classified security briefings, including Oklahoma’s James Lankford, who says getting Biden up to speed does not presume to call the election in his favor.
“There’s nothing wrong with Vice President Biden getting the briefings to be able to prepare himself,” Lankford said. “And if that’s not occurring by Friday, I will step in as well … and say that this needs to occur so that regardless of the outcome of the election, whichever way that it goes, people can be ready for that actual task.”
Other Republicans who say it’s time for Biden to get intelligence briefings include Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Thune of South Dakota.
RELATED: ‘No evidence’ any voting system lost or changed votes, Trump’s election security agency says
HELICOPTER CRASH KILLS 5 US PEACEKEEPERS: A helicopter crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has killed seven international peacekeepers, including five American soldiers, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday.
“The Defense Department is deeply saddened by the loss of five U.S. and two partner nation service members in a helicopter crash in the Sinai Peninsula operating with the United Nations Multinational Force and Observers,” said acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller in a statement. “I extend the Department’s condolences to the families, friends and teammates of these service members.”
The Multinational Force and Observers mission was created by Egypt and Israel as part of a 1979 peace agreement. The force monitors the border and the Strait of Tiran.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Biden likely to scrap parts of Trump decision to pull troops from Germany
Washington Examiner: Republican senator ‘will get involved’ if Biden isn’t receiving presidential briefings by Friday
Washington Examiner: UK Declares China In Breach Of Treaty Governing Hong Kong Handover
Washington Examiner: Transgender veteran added to Biden’s Department of Defense transition team
Washington Examiner: Pompeo team urges Biden to use Trump sanctions as ‘leverage’ in expected Iran talks
Washington Examiner: ‘No evidence’ any voting system lost or changed votes, Trump’s election security agency says
AP: Military voters fear they’re part of unsupported fraud claim
Military.com: New DoD Adviser Has Made Controversial Proposal: Get Rid of the Marine Corps
Washington Post: Two senior Homeland Security officials forced out as White House firings widen
Stars and Stripes: Seven U.S. Military Installations Restrict Travel As Coronavirus Cases Increase
The Capital: Naval Academy Restricts Liberty As Coronavirus Cases Rise In Anne Arundel, Maryland
Reuters: COVID-19 Fatality Rate Down 30% Since April, Study Finds
New York Times: Afghans Look To Biden For Stability As U.S. Troops Leave
AP: Military Wary That Shakeup Could Upend Its Apolitical Nature
Air Force Magazine: Senators Push for More F-35 Oversight in Spending Bill
AP: Turkey’s Defense Minister Reaffirms Russian S-400 Plans
New York Times: ‘Are We Getting Invaded?’ U.S. Boats Faced Russian Aggression Near Alaska
South China Morning Post: U.S.-China Military Talks Aim To Ease Tensions With Covid-19 Prevention Focus
USNI News: New Evidence Suggests North Korea Has A Naval Marine Mammal Program
Washington Post: They served alongside U.S. soldiers. Now they fear that Iran’s allies in Iraq will strike back.
USNI News: No Margin Left: Overworked Carrier Force Struggles to Maintain Deployments After Decades of Overuse
Military.com: Marine Corps May Be Forced To Build A Sea Wall Around Parris Island, Retired General Warns
Air Force Magazine: Allvin Takes Over as USAF Vice Chief
Washington Post: Fort Hood is named for a Confederate traitor. Is it time for ‘Fort Benavidez’?
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Michele Flournoy for defense secretary
Calendar
FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 13
9 a.m. — Brookings Institution webcast: “Prospects for U.S.-South Korea Cooperation in an Era of U.S.-China Strategic Competition,” with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Korea and Japan Marc Knapper. https://www.brookings.edu/events
9:30 a.m. Pentagon River Entrance — Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller welcomes Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis to the Pentagon.
10 a.m. — Middle East Institute webinar: “America’s Future in the Black Sea Region,” with Melinda Haring, deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center; Iulia-Sabina Joja, senior fellow in the MEI Frontier Europe Initiative; Dimitar Bechev, senior fellow in the MEI Frontier Europe Initiative; and Gonul Tol, director of the MEI Turkey Program. https://www.mei.edu/events/americas-future-black-sea-region]
10 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace webinar: “The UN Nuclear Ban Treaty Enters Into Force in January. Then What?” with Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; Zia Mian, co-director of Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security; Togzhan Kassenova, nonresident fellow in the CEIP Nuclear Policy Program; and George Perkovich, vice president for studies at CEIP. https://carnegieendowment.org
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies and the U.S. Naval Institute webcast: “Information Warfare: From a Supporting Role to a Leading Role,” with Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare and Director of Naval Intelligence Vice Adm. Jeffrey Trussler; and Brian Katz, fellow in the CSIS International Security Program. https://www.csis.org/events/online-event-maritime-security
TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 17
11 a.m. — The Heritage Foundation releases its 2021 Index of U.S. Military Strength, with Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event/virtual-event
WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 18
12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army “Noon Report” webinar on Army modernization, with Lt. Gen. James Pasquarette, the Army deputy chief of staff, G-8. Register at https://info.ausa.org
FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 20
9 a.m. 2118 Rayburn/Webex — House Armed Services Committee Committee hearing: “The US military mission in Afghanistan and implications of the peace process on US involvement,” with Ryan Crocker, nonresident senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Stephen Biddle, professor of international and public affairs, Columbia University; Seth Jones, Harold Brown, Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I think what we’re already seeing is the beginning of a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, and we may be back on the path toward the Taliban and jihadist terrorists again controlling territory, controlling a narcotics trade, and then vastly expanding their threat to all civilized people.”
Former national security adviser retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster telling the BBC he believes President Trump’s withdrawal plan for Afghanistan is a “travesty.”
