CARTER EN ROUTE TO SHANGRI-LA: Defense Secretary Ash Carter leaves today for a week-long trip to Asia, where he will head the U.S. delegation to the “Shangri-La Dialogue,” an annual meeting in Singapore. Top issues will include North Korea’s unbridled nuclear ambitions and China’s unapologetic militarization of islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Carter delivered a sharp rebuke of China in his commencement address at Annapolis on Friday, warning China risks creating a “Great Wall of self-isolation.” Carter’s first stop is Fort Huachuca, Arizona, home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, where the Army focuses on cybersecurity and drone warfare.
NORTH KOREA MISSILE DUD: North Korea has a perfect record with its intermediate-range Musudan missile. So far none has launched successfully. The latest failure came yesterday, (today Korea time) when the missile apparently exploded on its mobile launcher, according to South Korean defense officials. There were three failed tests in April.
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A BIPARTISAN BOOST? Sen. Tim Kaine told Federal News Radio that he’s open to Sen. John McCain’s plan to add $17 billion to the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill. “I’m going to see what happens on the floor, but at the end of the day we have to figure out a sequester solution, not just for defense but for nondefense too.”
TALIBAN TERROR: CNN reports that Taliban fighters killed six people and kidnapped about 185 others who were traveling by bus to Kunduz. Their two buses were stopped on the highway. Most of the passengers, including women and children, were later released, but 20 are still being held.
JUST A TAXI DRIVER?: The Pentagon says when it killed Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in Pakistan last week, it also killed another person in the vehicle that was destroyed by drone-fired missiles. Now the brother of the driver is asking for an investigation, claiming his brother was a regular taxi driver on the route and was not connected to the Taliban, according to a police report seen by Reuters. The U.S. is not commenting.
REMEMBERING THE FALLEN: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford said Monday that more than 5,000 U.S. troops have been killed since 9/11. “For the loss of each individual brings untold anguish and grief,” Dunford said at an Arlington National Cemetery ceremony, Paige Winfield Cunningham writes. “Those statistics represent sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, good friends. Those statistics represent children who grew up without their mothers and fathers, those statistics represent lives shattered, hopes and dreams never realized.”
Everyone knows about the heroics that have earned some troops the nation’s highest military honor. David Wilkes has a sampling of 13 Medal of Honor recipients you should know about.
VETERANS DESERVE BETTER: While Memorial day is about remembering and honoring the fallen, President Obama used the occasion to also talk about the living, Cunningham writes. Speaking at a ceremony at Arlington, Obama admitted the government needs to “do better” to provide veterans with what they need, “from good healthcare to a good job.”
In the days before the long weekend, Republican lawmakers were re-airing complaints about failures of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which many feel hasn’t been sufficiently reformed after coming under fire for long wait times among other problems, Sarah Westwood reports.
WINDOW OF RISK: The Institute for the Study of War warns the next 45 days are a high-risk period for attacks by ISIS. The group’s analysis notes that the Islamic State traditionally uses the Islamic holy month of Ramadan “as a justification for its attacks and as an occasion to reorient its strategy.” This year Ramadan begins June 6 and ends July 5.
DETERRENCE 101: The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments is releasing a report today, “Extended Deterrence in the Second Nuclear Age,” written by CSBA Senior Fellow Evan Montgomery. It sketches out what updated extended nuclear deterrence postures might look like in Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East. You can watch a live stream of the panel discussion at CSBA headquarters here, at noon.
AEGIS OVERSEAS: The Pentagon on Friday awarded Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems a $365 million contract for the production of the Aegis AN/SPY-1D(V) transmitter and missile fire control system. The contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy, South Korea and Japan. The equipment is part of the ship-based Aegis missile defense system, which allows ships to track and engage aerial targets.
TIME TO PONY UP: “Donald Trump thinks the United States is the victim of 69 unfair treaties involving American defense of foreign countries,” reports Joel Gehrke. “The U.S. has 69 treaties with other countries where we would have to defend them and their borders,” Trump tweeted Saturday. “How nice, but what do we get? NOT ENOUGH.”
While he’s at it, Trump is calling Hillary Clinton a liar for saying Japan and South Korea should have nuclear weapons, Gabby Morrongiello reports. Yet two months ago, he said the U.S. would be better off if they did just that.
Former CIA director Michael Hayden said Trump is hurting the country’s national security by using the same messaging as terrorist groups.
“The jihadist narrative is that there is undying enmity between Islam and the modern world, so when Trump says they all hate us, he’s using their narrative … he’s feeding their recruitment video,” Hayden said of Trump.
JAW-DROPPING NAVY CORRUPTION: Stunned disbelief is the typical reaction we’ve found to the Sunday front page exposé by the Washington Post headlined, “The man who seduced the 7th Fleet,” a riveting account of a man dubbed “Fat Leonard,” who the Post characterized as “tempting his targets with whiskey, cigars, prostitutes and cash,” helping him “rip off the Navy on an industrial scale for years and years.” Up to 30 admirals involved. It’s a long read, so get comfortable and prepare to be outraged.
SNOWDEN: PUBLIC SERVANT? Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a “public service” by prompting a debate over national surveillance tactics, even though leaking classified documents was still inappropriate, illegal, and harmed American interests. But in the podcast interview, Holder said Snowden’s actions started an important conversation.
MISSILES AWAY: Check out this video of sailors aboard the destroyer Hopper conducting a test-firing of a Raytheon Standard Missile-3 Block 1B threat upgrade missile on Wednesday. Multiple views. Very cool stuff.
WEIGHTY CONCERN: Here’s the key pull quote from an NBC News story “Too Fat to Fight: Is The Obesity Crisis a National Security Risk? “According to the 2011 Health Related Behaviors Survey, the latest year for which numbers are available, among active duty service members more than 50 percent of males of all races across all age groups were classified as overweight, according to their BMI (body mass index). More than 34 percent of active duty females were classified as overweight.”
CLEARED FOR THE NFL: In his Friday commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Carter not only granted amnesty to to all midshipmen on restriction for minor conduct offenses, he also gave the green light to Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds and fullback Chris Swain to delay their mandatory five-year active duty service commitments and instead take their shot at play pro ball. “Keenan and Chris, you’re clear and approved to defer your service so you can pursue your NFL dreams,” Carter said. Reynolds was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round. Yesterday, he released a Memorial Day video message on ESPN.go.com. Swain was signed as an undrafted rookie by the San Diego Chargers.
THE RUNDOWN
Wall Street Journal: A First Look at America’s Super Gun
Breaking Defense: HASC Hammers Navy Readiness In Push For $18B Defense Boost
USNI News: Interview: Ingalls President Brian Cuccias Discusses LPD Future, DDG Program Restart
Defense News: Boeing’s KC-46 Tanker Will Miss Major Deadline
Breaking Defense: V-22 Refueling Contract Highlights Close Ties To F-35
Defense News: US Blocks Cluster-Bomb Sales To Saudis: Report
UPI: Oman asks U.S. for F-16 support service
Defense News: Defense News TV: Army Secretary Eric Fanning
AP: Iraqi forces push into Fallujah as IS bombings kill 24
Fox News; Airstrikes pummel rebel-held Syrian city
War on the Rocks: Revisiting train-and-equip in Syria to clear the Manbij pocket
ABC News: Trump Rallies Veterans at Annual Rolling Thunder Gathering
Roll Call: New Generation of Vets in Congress
Marine Corps Times: Marines’ hidden battle scars
Daily Beast: No Talking, No Drugs—Spec-Ops Vets Pioneer Quiet PTSD Therapy
Army Times: Award rules set for Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal
Air Force Times: The Air Force’s quiet war on the Latin American drug cartels
Washington Post: A Memorial Day without Josh Wheeler, the elite Delta Force soldier killed fighting ISIS
Calendar
TUESDAY | MAY 31
9:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Brookings Institution hosts a panel to discuss whether the Iran nuclear deal is a prelude to proliferation in the Middle East. brookings.edu
12 p.m. 1667 K St. NW. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments will host a panel to discuss a new report on the extended nuclear deterrence in the second nuclear age. csba.org
1:30 p.m. 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Center for a New American Security hosts an event looking at a two-state solution that can meet both Israeli and Palestinian needs. cnas.org
5:30 p.m. Live stream. Council on Foreign Relations host a discussion with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on energy security to maintain the Navy’s global presence. cfr.org
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 1
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE.The Heritage Foundation hosts a discussion on how President Obama’s foreign policy has weakened America. heritage.org
3:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Wilson Center hosts a panel on the U.S. Pacific partnership in light of President Obama’s visit in late may. wilsoncenter.org
THURSDAY | JUNE 2
7 a.m. Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Dennis Crall speaks at an NDIA breakfast on command, control, communications and computers. ndia.org
7:45 a.m. Army Navy Club NW. Stephen Welby, assistant secretary of defense for research and development, speaks at a science and engineering breakfast. ndia.org
8:30 a.m. Murrow Room. The National Press Club hosts a meeting to establish common ground to destroy ISIS/Al Qaeda. press.org
MONDAY | JUNE 6
8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. CSIS and Department of Justice computer crimes division will host a symposium on safety, security and privacy related to cybercrimes. csis.org
9 a.m. Kempinski Hotel, Lithuania. The Atlantic Council hosts a conference on sustaining NATO’s strength and deterrence. atlanticcouncil.org
TUESDAY | JUNE 7
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will discuss TSA operations in light of the current threat to aviation. hsgac.senate.gov
