Navy says sailors who decline vaccine cannot resume normal life

“None of the more than 230,000 fully immunized sailors and Marines have been hospitalized to date for COVID-19, highlighting the operational importance of widespread vaccination,” said a Navy statement issued Monday. “Fully immunized sailors allow the Navy to provide increased mission assurance while remaining equipped to deploy forward and win every day in competition, conflict and crisis.”

“The science is pretty clear, vaccinations are key to best protecting our sailors. The more sailors that are vaccinated, the better for them, their families, the Navy and the nation,” said Vice Adm. Phil Sawyer, deputy CNO for operations, plans and strategy.

BIG CARROT, LITTLE STICK: Under the standing guidance issued yesterday, commanders can allow immunized individuals making port calls in overseas “safe haven ports,” such as Guam, Bahrain, Yokosuka, Rota, or Sasebo, to enjoy the full range of base services, including “gyms, laundry facilities, commissary access and other base amenities.”

In addition, fully vaccinated personnel can skip the previously required 14-day pre-deployment quarantine, while unvaccinated sailors will still be required to spend two weeks in “ROM [Restriction of Movement] sequester” and must still undergo testing before and after the sequester to ensure they are COVID-free before embarking on a Navy ship.

Depending on the percentage of the crew vaccinated, some other health protection measures, such as masks and social distancing, may be relaxed “in order to train and operate in a more realistic and unimpeded shipboard setting.”

FOCUS ON EDUCATION: The Navy has 347,000 active-duty sailors and 186,000 active-duty Marines, so the 230,000 fully vaccinated troops in the Navy-Marine Corps team represent less than half of the force, roughly 43%.

That’s in line with the other services as well. The Pentagon said last week that 58% of the active-duty force had received at least one dose of vaccine and that only 44% are fully vaccinated.

‘We’re honest and up-front in acknowledging the department is confronting many of the same challenges that the rest of America is in maximizing vaccine acceptance,” said Dr. Terry Adirim, the Pentagon’s acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, at a briefing last Thursday. “We’re using every tool possible to increase vaccination, and we’ll continue to do so from the secretary to the most junior leader.”

The Navy’s guidance urges commanding officers “to continue to make every effort to educate their crews on the importance of vaccination and facilitate open discussions with medical professionals if there are questions.”

The Pentagon also released a memo outlining “methods to enable and encourage vaccination” last week.

MILITARY: MORE THAN HALF OF FORCE UNVACCINATED AMID HUNDREDS OF COVID-19 CASES EACH DAY

Good Tuesday 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: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel this morning, his first stop on a four-day trip to the Middle East aimed at shoring up the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after the Gaza Strip has been ravaged by 11 days of bombing by Israel.

Blinken will also visit the West Bank, Egypt, and Jordan as he attempts to rally international support to aid Gaza while at the same time ensuring Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers do not benefit from humanitarian aid and reconstruction assistance.

In Israel and the West Bank, Blinken met with “Israeli and Palestinian leaders,” a senior State Department official told reporters yesterday. “He’ll then move on to Egypt and Jordan, where he’ll meet with leaders there to discuss recovery efforts and a means of working together to build better futures for people here on the ground and in the region.”

“The most important thing is that the ceasefire does hold. It’s extremely important that it does,” the official said. “We don’t want to see a return to the bloodshed that was heartbreaking during the 11-day conflict.”

Blinken is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the region since President Joe Biden assumed office.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: ‘NO GUARANTEES’ HAMAS WON’T BENEFIT FROM US AID TO GAZA

ALSO TODAY: The Senate Armed Services Committee takes up a number of key Pentagon nominations, holding a joint confirmation hearing for Frank Kendall to be secretary of the Air Force; Susanna Blume to be director of the Pentagon’s Department of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation; and Heidi Shyu to be undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m.

THE GUARD EXITS DC: In the wake of the violent Jan. 6 protests, at one point, there were 26,000 National Guard troops deployed to protect the U.S. Capitol and immediate environs. This week the final 1,700 Guard troops are departing, with grateful thanks from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

“The National Guard are American heroes and defenders of Democracy,” said Pelosi, addressing a handful of troops from the Speaker’s Balcony of the Capitol. “Their presence in our temple of Democracy following Jan. 6, one of the most harrowing and horrific days in our history, has brought security, safety, and healing to the Congress and indeed the country. The United States Congress is profoundly grateful for their selfless service.”

“They came here from all 54 states and territories, leaving behind jobs, homes, and families, to bolster security at the Capitol in the wake of the dramatic events on Jan. 6. Many of them volunteered for this duty, and most of them did so on little notice,” said Austin in a statement. “In good weather and bad — sometimes cold and wet and tired — they provided critical capability to the Capitol Police and local authorities.”

By the end, the deployment came under criticism for lasting far longer than necessary and becoming a costly overreaction to a threat that had faded. Last week, the House passed a $1.9 billion measure to fortify the Capitol, which prevailed by a single vote.

NATIONAL GUARD’S POST-CAPITOL RIOT MISSION COST $521M BILL AS FINAL TROOPS HEAD HOME

THE BILL FOR REBUILDING THE TRIAD MOUNTS: The Congressional Budget Office is required by law to project the 10-year costs of nuclear forces every two years. You won’t be surprised to learn that its latest report, which projects costs from 2021 to 2030, shows a steep 28% increase in the cost of rebuilding and replacing America’s triad of nuclear delivery systems, bombers, land-based missiles, and submarines.

The report says if the Pentagon’s current plans are carried out, the CBO projects they would cost $634 billion over the 2021–2030 period, an average of just over $60 billion a year. That compared to the $494 billion it previously estimated over the 2019–2028 time frame.

The biggest projected increases are for the cost of building a new class of ballistic missile submarines and replacement intercontinental ballistic missiles.

PROGRESSIVES TAKE AIM: The report provided more fodder for progressive Democrats to argue for cuts in the ambitious nuclear modernization program. A bill reintroduced by Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey and Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer, both liberal Democrats, would cancel or reduce $73 billion in nuclear weapons programs over the next decade.

Among the cuts they are calling for:

• Cancel the development of a new air-launched cruise missile and an associated warhead life extension program — saving $13.3 billion.
• Cancel the development of new ICBMs and a new nuclear warhead — saving at least $13.6 billion.
• Cancel the development of a new submarine-launched cruise missile — saving $9 billion.
• Limit the plutonium pit production target to 30 per year — saving $9 billion.
• Prohibit funding for a nuclear processing facility — saving $2.6 billion.
• Retire the B83-1 megaton bomb as previously planned — saving $4.4 billion.
• Prohibit development of the new W-93 warhead — saving $7.5 billion.

BUDGET DAY IS FRIDAY: It turns out that the Pentagon’s budget will be rolled out Friday, along with the rest of the federal agencies, despite the fact that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley are scheduled to testify before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee on Thursday, the day before the budget is unveiled.

Asked to explain how that would work, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, “it’s just the way the sort of schedule played out both with the subcommittee and with OMB.”

“The testimony will be on Thursday, the budget rolls out on Friday,” Kirby said. “So, while they won’t be able to get into too many specifics with respect to actual line items, there’s certainly enough of a broad take on budgetary requirements and the budgetary direction that they’ll be able to address just in terms of the sorts of capabilities and operational concepts that we’re going to be pursuing.”

REPORTER PRIVATE RECORDS OFF-LIMITS: After President Joe Biden said last week that it was wrong for the Trump Justice Department to seek and obtain the private email and phone records of CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, the Pentagon said Secretary Lloyd Austin fully supports the president’s direction.

“The secretary has enormous respect and admiration for what members of the media do and the contributions you make to informing and educating not just the American people but republics around the world,” said Kirby. “And he believes in fostering a healthy relationship with the media, particularly the media that cover this building, and that includes enabling a measure of trust and confidence in the kinds of communications that those relationships will foster.”

BIDEN VOWS DOJ SEIZURES OF RECORDS FROM REPORTERS WON’T HAPPEN IN HIS ADMINISTRATION

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: Finally gone: National Guard leaves Capitol after four-month deployment

Washington Examiner: National Guard’s post-Capitol riot mission cost $521M bill as final troops head home

Washington Examiner: Biden administration: ‘No guarantees’ Hamas won’t benefit from US aid to Gaza

Washington Examiner: Marines stand down historic 1st Tank Battalion in continued shift to amphibious roots

Washington Examiner: Chinese owners of TikTok put out another popular app that could create concerns

Washington Examiner: Pilot killed in military contractor aircraft crash near Air Force base in Las Vegas Valley

Washington Examiner: Envelope with white powder and death threat sent to Rand Paul’s home

Air Force Magazine: Kendall Facing Senate In Quest To Become Air Force Secretary

Defense One: Biden defense budget, coming Friday, is under pressure from both sides

The Hill: Democratic Feud Erupts Over Scope Of Military Sexual Assault Bill

Stars and Stripes: Lawmakers To Launch Sweeping Legislation For Veterans Suffering From Toxic Exposure

AP: White House, Kremlin Aim For Biden-Putin Summit In Geneva

Reuters: Russia Raises Concerns Over U.S. Implementation Of Arms Control Treaty

CNN: Queen Elizabeth Visits UK’s Largest Warship, As It Set Sails For South China Sea

AP: Mysterious air base being built on volcanic island off Yemen

AP: Iran agrees to extend deal on cameras at its nuclear sites

Air Force Magazine: Most USAF Fighter Mission Capable Rates Rise in Fiscal 2020, Led by F-35

Washington Post: She’s a fighter pilot who saw a UFO. For real.

AP: Officials ID remains of soldier killed during Korean War

Marine Times: Marine Corps Marathon Returns In October – In Person

Calendar

TUESDAY | MAY 25 

8 a.m. — United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research virtual conference: “Nuclear Risk: Across Technologies and Domains,” with former Finnish Ambassador to Sweden Jarmo Viinanen. https://www.unidir.org/events

9 a.m. — U.S. Chamber of Commerce, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and CyberSC virtual NOW + NEXT Cybersecurity Conference, with Gov. Henry McMaster, R-S.C.; former National Security Agency Director and U.S. Cyber Command Commander Gen. Keith Alexander; former Army CIO Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford; and South Carolina state Senator Tom Young. https://www.uschamber.com/event/now-next-cybersecurity-conference

9 a.m. — Intelligence National Security Alliance virtual discussion on the counterterrorism mission given the renewed focus on great power competition and other competing priorities, policy initiatives and the current threat landscape, with Milancy Harris, deputy assistant defense secretary for special operations and combatting terrorism. https://www.insaonline.org/event/coffee-conversation

9:30 a.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing for Frank Kendall to be secretary of the Air Force; Susanna Blume to be director of the Pentagon’s department Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation; and Heidi Shyu to be under secretary of defense for research and engineering. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

11 a.m. — House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on fiscal 2022 Defense health and medical readiness, with Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Terry Adirim; Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director, Defense Health Agency; Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle; Navy Surgeon General Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham; and Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Dorothy Hogg. https://appropriations.house.gov/events/hearings

12 p.m. — Hudson Institute webinar with Army Gen. Stephen Lyons, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, with Bryan Clark, director of the Hudson Center for Defense Concepts and Technology; and Timothy Walton, fellow at the Hudson Center for Defense Concepts and Technology. https://www.hudson.org/events/1955-virtual-event

12 p.m. — Institute for Security and Technology Inaugural Strat-Tech Conference, with Michele Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense for policy. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/strat-tech

1 p.m. — Atlantic Council webinar, “After the Insurrection: Domestic Violent Extremism and the Intelligence Challenge” with Mitch Silber, executive director of the Community Security Initiative; former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Todd Rosenblum, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Center for Strategy and Security; former Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis Caryn Wagner, adjunct faculty member at National Intelligence University; Dina Temple-Raston, correspondent at National Public Radio; and Tom Warrick, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Center for Strategy and Security. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/after-the-insurrection

1 p.m. — Center for a New American Security “virtual fireside chat” with Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., chief of staff of the Air Force, and Stacie Pettyjohn, senior fellow and director defense program, CNAS. https://www.cnas.org/events/special-event-virtual-fireside-chat

3 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel Hearing: “Keeping Our Service Members and Their Families Safe and Ready: The Military’s Prevention and Response to Domestic Violence,” with Col. Steve Lewis, manager Army Family Advocacy Program; Col. Andrew Cruz, chief, Air Force Family Advocacy Program; Crystal Griffen, Navy deputy director Family Support commander; Lisa Eaffaldano, assistant branch head, Marine Corps Prevention and Clinical Services; and Patricia Barron, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

WEDNESDAY | MAY 26

10 a.m. — American Security Project virtual discussion: “ Maintaining a Strategic U.S. Presence in the Persian Gulf,” with Khalid Al-Khater, director of the Qatar Foreign Affairs Ministry Policy and Planning Department; retired Army Lt. Gen. Daniel Christman, former senior vice president for international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; retired Army Col. David Des Roches, associate professor in the National Defense University Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies; and retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney, ASP president. https://www.americansecurityproject.org/event

10 a.m. — Middle East Institute webinar: “Deal or No Deal: U.S.-Iran Talks and Implications for the Middle East, with former Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Rend Al-Rahim, co-founder and president of the Iraq Foundation; Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute; Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the Crisis Group; and Alex Vatanka, director of the MEI Iran program. https://www.mei.edu/events/deal-or-no-deal

10 a.m. — Center for American Progress webinar: “A New Era for Cooperation? The U.S.-Republic of Korea Alliance After the Moon-Biden Summit,” Mark Lippert, senior adviser and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Heung-kyu Kim, founder and director of the Ajou University China Policy Institute; Jenna Gibson, Korea columnist at the Diplomat; and Tobias Harris, senior fellow at CAP. https://www.americanprogress.org/events

10 a.m. — United States Institute of Peace webinar: “In Search of Peace for Afghanistan: Historical Perspectives, with former UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Syria Lakhdar Brahimi; former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson, senior adviser at USIP; former Afghanistan Ambassador to Pakistan and China Janan Mosazai, co-founder and vice president of the Heart of Asia Society; Omar Sharifi, country director at the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies; Omar Sadr, assistant professor of political science at the American University of Afghanistan; Robert Crews, professor of history at Stanford University; Kawun Kakar, executive director of the Kakar History Foundation; Belquis Ahmadi, senior program officer at USIP; and Dipali Mukhopadhyay, senior expert at USIP. https://www.usip.org/events/search-peace-afghanistan-historical-perspectives

10 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual Spring 2021 Intelligence Symposium, with Dustin Gard-Weiss, deputy director of national intelligence for policy and capabilities; Morgan Muir, deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration; John Beieler, director of science and technology in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; Dan Wang, director of CIA Labs; and Cindy Daniell, research director at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. https://www.afcea.org/event/siregister

11:30 a.m. EDT — Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley delivers commencement address at the Air Force Academy’s class of 2021 graduation ceremony at Colorado Springs, Co. https://www.usafa.edu

12 p.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “This Budget Doesn’t Add Up: How Biden’s Spending Plan Misses the Mark for Both Defense and Education,” with Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage Center for National Defense; and Lindsey Burke, director of the Heritage Center for Education Policy. https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/event

2 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group webinar: “The Future of Navy Modernization,” with Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. https://www.defenseone.com/feature/the-future-of-navy-modernization

4:30 p.m. 232A Russell — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to receive testimony on space force, military space operations, policy and programs, with Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations; John Hill, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for space policy; and Darlene Costello, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

THURSDAY | MAY 27

9 a.m. — United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research virtual conference: “From the Iran Nuclear Deal to a Middle East Zone? Lessons from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone,” with Anne-Laure Souissi-Sans. https://www.unidir.org/events/nuclear-risk

9 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Quantico-Potomac chapter virtual 11th Annual U.S. Marine Corps Information Technology Day forum, with Brig. Gen. Arthur Pasagian, commander of the Marine Corps Systems Command. https://www.afcea-qp.org

9:30 a.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing for Christopher Maier to be assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict; Deborah Rosenblum to be assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs; Frank Rose to be principal deputy administrator the National Nuclear Security Administration; and Jill Hruby to be undersecretary of energy for nuclear security and administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion on “the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance and the North Korean threat, with retired Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, former commander of U.S. Forces Korea. https://www.csis.org/events/korea

10 a.m. — German Marshall Fund of the United States webinar: “The Fate of Civil Society in Afghanistan, Post-Withdrawal,” with Kathy Gannon, news director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Associated Press; Marina Kielpinski LeGree, founder and CEO of Ascend; Metra Mehran, co-founder of the Feminine Perspectives Movement; Almut Wieland-Karimi, executive director of the Center for International Peace Operations; Ellinor Zeino, Afghanistan country director at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation; Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, former bureau chief at National Public Radio Kabul; and Rachel Tausenfreund, editorial director at GMFUS. https://www.gmfus.org/events/fate-civil-society-afghanistan-post-withdrawal

11 a.m. — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces hearing: “Department of the Navy Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request for Seapower and Projection Forces,” with Jay Stefany, acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition; Vice Adm. James Kilby, deputy chief of naval operations, warfighting requirements and capabilities; and Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, commanding general, Marine Corps Combat Development Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

11:40 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual Spring 2021 Intelligence Symposium, with Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency and chief of the Central Security Service. https://www.afcea.org/event/siregister

1 p.m. — House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing: “Fiscal Year 2022 Department of Defense Budget,” with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. https://appropriations.house.gov/events/hearings

3 p.m. — House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces hearing: “Army Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Program Update and Review of Electrification,” Tim Goddette, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition policy and logistics; and Michael Cadiuex, director, Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

FRIDAY | MAY 28

10 a.m. — Vice President Kamala Harris delivers commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy’s class of 2021 graduation ceremony in Annapolis, Md. https://www.usna.edu

MONDAY | MAY 31

Memorial Day — No Daily on Defense