DEFENSE SPENDING MARKUP SCHEDULED: The defense budget process is steaming ahead and now we have a hearing date for the Senate’s 2019 spending bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee says it plans to hold its markup of the legislation during the last week of June. Meanwhile, the committee will take testimony from Army and Air Force leaders today and Thursday, respectively. On the other side of Capitol Hill, the House Appropriations Committee held a closed budget hearing at the end of April on its annual appropriations spending bill with testimony from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, indicating it may also be close to finishing its work.

MISSILES FROM MOSCOW: In an interview with the BBC, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted he had no choice but to buy a sophisticated Russian air defense system from Moscow because he couldn’t get the weapons he needed from the U.S. or anyone else. The impending purchase of the S-400 system has raised concerns at NATO because it is not compatible with NATO systems, along with fears that by using the Russian system Turkey could compromise sensitive information about NATO air defenses. Erdogan is in London for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

Erdogan said he told President Trump, “If I can’t buy any weapon I would like from the United States, or another NATO country, I am going to purchase it from wherever I find it.” He said the deal with Russia also includes “joint production” of the system.

However, I’m told the U.S. did offer Erdogan superior American technology, but that Erdogan so far has spurned the offer.

PIVOT TO THE DARK SIDE? The flap over Russian air defense missiles is just one of a number of troubling moves by Turkey that call into question whether the NATO ally is increasingly tilting away from the West and can still be counted on as a reliable member of the 29-nation alliance.

“Turkey is effectively an ally no more,” argues Frank Gaffney, president and CEO of the right-wing Center for Security Policy. “I think we have been divorced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who seeks to become the leader of a new Ottoman caliphate.”

“There is a worrying trend and that is the spike in anti-American, anti-Western, anti-Christian, and anti-Semitic sentiment in Turkey,” said Aykan Erdemir, a former member of the Turkish parliament. “So here we have a NATO ally dedicating a significant portion of its official discourse to attacking, smearing, targeting its Western allies.”

Read more in this week’s Washington Examiner magazine.

MANAGING MANBIJ: Another potential flashpoint in U.S.-Turkey relations is the northern Syrian town of Manbij, where several hundred American forces are based, along with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), including some elements of the Kurdish YPG militia that Turkey considers terrorists.

The SDF offensive to finish off the last remnants of the Islamic State is back on track after a pause of several months forced by Turkey’s offensive against Kurds in northern Syria. The U.S is hoping to be done with ISIS by the end of the year. But Turkey wants Manbij cleared of Kurds, as part of its plan to create a Kurd-free buffer zone along its southern border in northern Syria.

For now, the U.S. troops and their Kurdish partners remain in Manbij, but the presence of Kurds continues to be a source of simmering tension between Washington and Ankara.

DUNFORD AT NATO: I’m reporting this week from NATO headquarters in Brussels, traveling with Dunford, who is meeting with other NATO military chiefs ahead of next month’s defense ministerial conference and the annual NATO summit in July.

Despite the political tensions with Turkey, U.S. officials have consistently said the military-to-military relations remain strong. Dunford will be conferring with his Turkish counterpart during meetings today and tomorrow, but the issues between the two countries mostly have to be addressed by elected leaders, not the uniformed military.

OFF THE RECORD: Traveling with Dunford is a chance for reporters to hear the chairman’s thinking on the full range of issues, but most of what he tells us is “off the record,” which means we can’t repeat what he says. People often ask me, “What good is it to get the inside scoop if you can’t report it?” It’s a good question. The answer is that by hearing Dunford’s take, we get a more nuanced understanding of policy, and a framework to judge the accuracy of what we hear elsewhere. And Dunford doesn’t have to worry about how his remarks will be portrayed.

It’s not like Dunford is spilling any big secrets. The Dunford we see in private is not that much different from the Dunford you would see testifying before Congress. Careful, considered and assiduously non-political. The most valuable thing he gives us is context and perspective that informs our reporting in largely invisible ways.  

And Dunford, like any savvy public figure, knows full well that in Washington nothing is ever totally, 100 percent off the record, as I explained years ago in a piece I wrote for the now-defunct American Journalism Review.

HAPPENING TODAY: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is here in Brussels trying to salvage the nuclear deal scuttled by Trump last week. Europe is bracing for a fight over the possibility that the U.S. may sanction European companies who still do business with Iran. “France rejects the principle of extraterritorial sanctions,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a Monday bulletin. “We ask the United States to ensure that sanctions do not apply to French and European companies that trade with Iran or invest there, in keeping with the nuclear agreement. France is acting to protect its companies.”

In a scathing opinion piece in the Washington Post, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt called Trump’s decision “nothing less than a massive assault on the sovereignty of European states and the European Union.

“They are deprived of their right to decide on their policies and actions by brutal dictates from a foreign — and allegedly friendly — country,” Bildt wrote over the weekend.  

ALSO TODAY: Iceland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson visits the Pentagon today. He will be greeted on the steps of the River Entrance at 2 p.m. by Mattis.

THUNDERBIRDS FLYING AGAIN: The Air Force’s Thunderbirds squadron is resuming its air show demonstrations following its first fatal mishaps in 36 years. “It’s been challenging to get us to this point but the team is resilient, focused and ready to get back to our mission of recruiting, retaining and inspiring,” Lt. Col. Kevin Walsh, the Thunderbird 1 commander, said in a statement. Maj. Stephen Del Bagno was killed during training in Nevada last month. The squadron’s first show back will be Air Power over Hampton Roads at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia this weekend.

MORE MARINES: Dozens of Marines were added to security details at the U.S. embassies in Israel, Jordan and Turkey due to rising concerns over the violence linked to the official opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Five U.S. defense officials said Monday that the State Department and Pentagon are considering more security at U.S. embassies in six other countries in the Middle East with histories of unrest and large-scale protests, including Lebanon, Egypt, and Pakistan, NBC News reported.

VIOLENCE IN GAZA: White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah said Monday that Hamas is responsible for the death of dozens of Palestinians who were shot by Israeli troops during violent protests in Gaza. “The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas,” Shah said at the White House. “Hamas is intentionally and cynically providing this response, and as the secretary of state said, Israel has the right to defend itself.”

At least 58 Palestinians were killed in during protests that took place as Israel was celebrating the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

TURKEY RECALLS AMBASSADORS: Turkey is reportedly recalling its ambassadors to the U.S. and Israel in response to the Palestinian deaths. Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag announced the recall on yesterday, coinciding with Erdogan accusing Israel of committing a “genocide,” according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

ANOTHER SUBPOENA IN TRANSGENDER CASE: Add the Liberty Counsel to the list of conservative groups that have been subpoenaed by troops suing Trump over his proposed transgender military policy. The religious advocacy nonprofit says it received a subpoena to turn over all its communications with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and their staff related to the transgender policy. “This new subpoena is outrageous because it even requests ‘conversations’ on any topic related to LGBT issues,” said Mat Staver, the chairman of Liberty Counsel. “The LGBT activists essentially want to be brought into any conversation pro-family groups have on the topic of LGBT issues.”

The subpoena is part of the Karnoski v. Trump federal lawsuit filed in Seattle. Liberty Counsel called it “retaliation” for its support of Trump’s effort to roll back the open service policy enacted by the Obama administration. The Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council and Center for Military Readiness have also received subpoenas from active-duty troops and transgender rights groups who are pressing in court to determine who advised Trump on changing the transgender policy.

GOING, GOING: Satellite photos taken April 20 and May 7 show that North Korea has begun shutting down the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, according to an analysis by 38 North.

“Several key operational support buildings, located just outside the North, West and South Portals, have been razed since our last analysis,” the site said. “Some of the rails for the mining carts, which had led from the tunnels to their respective spoil piles, have apparently been removed. Additionally, some carts seem to have been tipped over and/or disassembled, and several small sheds/outbuildings around the site had been removed.”

You can see the before and after satellite photos here.

AIR FORCE UNIFORM CHANGE: The Air Force is adopting a new camouflage pattern for its uniforms as of October — the Army’s. Service leaders asked airman what they wanted and this was the overwhelming choice. The Air Force details the rollout schedule here.

McCAIN TWEETS: Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, still being treated for his brain cancer, sent a get-well tweet to former Sen. Harry Reid after news he had surgery for pancreatic cancer. “From one cantankerous senator to another, sending my prayers & best wishes to @SenatorReid as he recovers from a successful surgery.”

THE RUNDOWN

Reuters: U.S. Navy expects ‘uncertainty’ in Gulf after Iran deal withdrawal

Washington Post: How Moqtada al-Sadr went from anti-American outlaw to potential kingmaker in Iraq

Bloomberg: Costly Helicopter Rides for U.S. Officials Show Afghanistan’s Security Decline

Daily Beast: A ‘Firefight’ in Somalia Exposes Weaknesses of Pentagon Combat Rules in Africa

Reuters: Pompeo reaches out to European counterparts amid Iran tensions

Business Insider: Russian air defenses were caught on video getting beaten badly by Israeli forces in Syria — here are Russia’s excuses

Defense News: Pentagon used IDIQ contracts 40 percent of the time

USNI News: First Chinese Domestic Aircraft Carrier Leaves Yard for Sea Trials

Task and Purpose: The Air Force Is Down With The Army’s OCP. The Other Branches, Not So Much

Defense One: Hey, Big Tech, Don’t Abandon Uncle Sam’s Cyber Warriors

UPI: Army taps Lockheed for ballistic radar system support