DoD ON ‘HPCON BRAVO’: As of midnight last night, the Pentagon reservation — which includes the building plus the immediate environs — has been placed under “Health Protection Condition Bravo,” up from Alpha, which means …
SORRY, NO VISITORS: As of today, all unofficial visits to the Pentagon are banned, which applies to personal guests and friends of DoD personnel and contractors, as well as official visits by foreign dignitaries and visitors. In addition, all large gatherings in the building, such as retirement, promotion, and swearing-in ceremonies, are suspended. Pentagon tours were suspended Thursday.
MINIMUM STAFFING, MAXIMUM TELEWORK: The Pentagon is telling anyone who can telework to stay home and only people who need to perform “mission-essential duties” to actually work from the building. “Many offices will voluntarily go to minimal staffing,” said a Pentagon official who briefed reporters by phone Saturday. “This may involve additional telework, as well as rotating staffing red and blue teams to limit cross interaction.”
“Many of our employees utilize secret or top secret systems to perform their mission-essential duties,” said a second official. “Those personnel will still be coming to work to perform those mission-essential duties and accessing those classified networks.”
WHO CAN GET IN: Under the new rules, only people who have “swipe access,” that is a CAC (Common Access Card) or a PFAC (Pentagon Facilities Alternative Card), can enter the Pentagon.
But any person, whether civilian, military service member, or contractor, who has traveled internationally must wait 14 days before entering the Pentagon. Access may be restored on the 15th day, if the individual remains asymptomatic.
SHELTER IN PLACE: In addition, the Pentagon has ordered a halt to all official, government-funded domestic travel from now until May 11. The ban applies to all DoD service members and civilians, as well as their family members. Service members may only take leave in the local area.
Exceptions may be granted for compelling cases where the travel is:
- Determined to be mission essential
- Necessary for humanitarian reasons
- Warranted due to extreme hardship
THE PCS PINCH: The new rules will particularly affect U.S. forces in Europe and South Korea, who were preparing to begin or end a tour of duty. Troops and their families who were, in military jargon, PCSing (Permanent Change of Station) are going to be in limbo for two months. Imagine you packed for a move, shipped your car, and suddenly, you’re told: “Wait, don’t go anywhere.”
“We’re going to have a large backlog of people who need to depart Korea, Gen. Robert “Abe” Abrams told Pentagon reporters Friday. “We’ll have quite a few service members stacked in the queue.”
“We’re going to have a bulge competing with all the inbounds and normal outbounds for the months of May and June,” Abrams said, calling the stop-move order “a Black Swan event.”
“I provided my recommendations back to the building for some additional resources, to be able to retain some additional Korean nationals, to be able to mitigate the effects of that bulge that we did not properly plan for and predict.”
ACCOMMODATING THE MEDIA: The Pentagon is unique among Washington government buildings in that it grants 24/7 access to accredited news reporters, many of whom have offices in the building and the freedom to roam almost all of the 17 1/2 miles of corridors.
The new rules will not restrict access to journalists, although the Pentagon is asking that any reporter who feels “remotely symptomatic” stay home. The Pentagon has pledged to make briefings and backgrounders more readily available to reporters (like me) who will be teleworking.
“We’re looking at ways we can ensure that they still have access to the briefings as well,” said one of the officials speaking to reporters on a weekend conference call. “We may do some more on-online briefings to make sure everybody can participate.”
HAPPENING TODAY: Still confused after checking out the Pentagon’s FAQ page?
At 11 a.m. today, the Pentagon’s chief management officer will conduct an online “CMO Virtual Town Hall” webcast to address any DoD employee questions about the response to COVID-19. You can send questions via email to: [email protected]. Or, watch live on internal Pentagon Channel 2, Mark Center 300, or streaming live on: https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast.
Good Monday 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. 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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NOTE TO READERS: Daily on Defense was scheduled to be on Spring Break this week, but in view of developments over the weekend, we are publishing this abridged edition, which includes the calendar of events and webinars for the week. Further editions of this newsletter will be assessed on a day-by-day basis for the rest of the week.
NOT HAPPENING TODAY: Most events in Washington have been canceled or moved to online venues. (See Calendar below.) Most workplaces, including my employer, the Washington Examiner, have encouraged employees to work from home when practical.
ON CAPITOL HILL: The House is not in session today, having passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and now beginning its district work period. In a “Dear Colleague” letter, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted that tours of the U.S. Capitol have been suspended and urged members to be vigilant.
“In bipartisan consultation with the Attending Physician and the Sergeant at Arms, and out of an abundance of caution, I am writing to encourage you to take steps to promote social distancing within your Washington, D.C., office as we engage in the District Work Period,” Pelosi wrote. “This may entail more than half of your Washington staff teleworking from home.”
BIDEN: ‘I WOULD CALL OUT THE MILITARY’: In last night’s one-on-one Democratic debate between former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, both candidates said they would make use of military resources to battle the coronavirus.
“I would call out the military,” Biden said. “They have the capacity to provide this surge help that hospitals need, and that is needed across the nation.”
“I would make sure that they did exactly what they’re prepared to do,” he added. “They did it in the Ebola crisis. They’ve done it. They have the capacity to build 500-bed hospitals and tents that are completely safe and secure … So, it is a national emergency. I would call out the military.”
“I think we use all of the tools that make sense,” said Sanders. “And if using the National Guard, which folks I think in New York state are already using the National Guard, that is something that has to be done. This is clearly, as the vice president indicated, a national emergency.”
REAL FAKE NEWS: The National Security Council sent out a tweet late last night debunking rumors swirling on social media that the federal government was about to impose a nationwide quarantine, bluntly labeling the doctored text messages “FAKE,” writes Jerry Dunleavy in the Washington Examiner.
“Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE,” the NSC’s verified account said just before midnight. “There is no national lockdown. The CDC has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19. #coronavirus.”
Screenshots of the phoney messages were passed around on Twitter and other social media platforms on Sunday, purporting to show insider information about a military plan to institute a nationwide lockdown in the coming days, similar to what has been imposed in Italy, where the disease has overwhelmed that nation’s healthcare system.
TROOPS WOUNDED IN IRAQ: Over the weekend, three U.S. service members and two Iraqi troops were wounded in another Katyusha rocket attack on Camp Taji, Iraq, just days after a similar attack by the Iranian-linked Kataib Hezbollah killed two U.S. troops and a female British medic.
The United States struck five Kataib Hezbollah weapons storage facilities Thursday in response to the first attack, and anticipating questions about whether the U.S. might strike again, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said, “I will simply refer you to the Secretary of Defense’s comments last week: ‘You cannot attack and wound American Service Members and get away with it, we will hold them to account.’”
Hoffman said Iraqi security forces made an initial arrest and that the U.S. is investigating the attack along with the Iraqis. “These rocket attacks are a deadly and dangerous distraction from the coalition’s mission to help the Iraqis with their goal to permanently defeat ISIS,” he said Saturday.
IRAQ PROTESTS VIOLATION OF SOVEREIGNTY: The Thursday strikes against Kataib Hezbollah once again drew howls of protest from the Iraqi government, such as it is. Iraq is suffering from a power vacuum, with no prime minister at the moment. Nevertheless, a government statement decried the U.S. retaliatory strikes and renewed the call for U.S. troops to leave the country.
“We also refuse that the American forces or others take any action without the approval of the Iraqi government and the commander in chief of the armed forces, as they did on the morning of 3/13/2020,” the statement said. “In doing so, it does not limit these actions, but rather nurtures them, weakens the Iraqi state’s ability to provide its own security, and expects more losses for Iraqis. This necessitates the speedy implementation of the parliament’s decision on the issue of the coalition’s withdrawal.”
NO PLANS TO LEAVE: On Friday, the top U.S. commander for the MIddle East, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, downplayed the rift, insisting the Iraqis had been in the loop. “We consulted with them in the wake of the attack. They knew that a response was coming. And I’ll just leave it at that,” he said.
“I believe when it’s all said and done, the Iraqis are going to recognize the value that we bring by being there in the counter-ISIS fight,” he told reporters in a Friday morning briefing. “My belief is that we’re going to be able to negotiate this, and we’re going to be able to go forward and maintain a presence there.”
ANOTHER SNAG IN AFGHANISTAN: Just when it seemed Afghan President Asraf Ghani had caved to a U.S. demand that he release thousands of Taliban prisoners as a precondition for peace talks with the Taliban, the Afghan government balked.
Ghani’s government has postponed the initial release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners as a confidence-building measure, insisting more time was needed to review the list of prisoners, according to the Associated Press.
The Taliban have said they would not start negotiations with Kabul government or other political leaders until the prisoners were freed.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: ‘Combat’ approach to coronavirus limits exposure to US forces in Korea
Washington Examiner: ‘Very secretive’: Hidden coronavirus ‘disaster’ brewing in Syria
AP: Iran reports more than 100 new virus deaths as fears mount
Washington Examiner: Trump considering ‘full pardon’ for Michael Flynn after FBI ‘lost’ records
Reuters: Iraqi government imposes curfew in Baghdad over coronavirus concerns
AP: Syrian war, rumbling into 10th year, still has global impact
Washington Post: Standoff between Afghan President Ghani and rival Abdullah threatens Taliban peace deal
Washington Post: Pakistan fears Afghan peace failure could bring violence its way
Air Force Magazine: NORTHCOM Stresses Importance of F-15EX Buy for Homeland Defense
AP: How national security surveillance nabs more than spies
AP: Dream of a lifetime: Transgender man yearns to join military
Calendar
MONDAY | MARCH 16
8:30 a.m. — Atlantic Council’s Asia Security Initiative, and its Digital Forensic Research Lab and Resilience Center webinar: “Public trust, institutions and the coronavirus ‘infodemic,’” with Thomas Bossert, fellow at the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and former homeland security adviser at the White House; Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman; Sara Fischer, media reporter at Axios; Graham Brookie, director and managing editor at the Atlantic Council Digital Forensic Research Lab; and Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
9 a.m. 9820 Flagler Rd., Fort Belvoir, Va. — U.S. Army Military District of Washington holds court-martial proceedings in the case of United States vs. Capt. Scott Hockenberry on a charge of sexual assault and assault consummated by a battery that allegedly occurred in 2016.
11 a.m. — The Pentagon’s Chief Management Officer holds a “CMO Virtual Town Hall” webcast to address any DoD employee questions about the response to COVID-19. Send questions to: [email protected]. Pentagon and Mark Center broadcast Channels 2 and 300. Streaming on: https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/23479.
1 p.m. — The American Bar Association webinar: “Moving the Military’s HIV Policies Out of the 1990s,” with Margaret Drew, chair of the HIV/AIDS Impact Project; Peter Perkowski, legal and policy director at the Modern Military Association of America; and Scott Schoettes, counsel and director of Lambda Legal’s HIV Project. https://americanbar.zoom.us/webinar
TUESDAY | MARCH 17
8 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “Strategic National Security Space: FY2021 Budget and Policy Forum,” with Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Space Policy Stephen Kitay; Maj. Gen. Clint Crosier, director of space force planning in the Space Force Office of the Chief of Space Operations; and Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear. Livestream at: https://www.csis.org/events.
11 a.m. 1615 H St. N.W. — U.S. Chamber of Commerce forum on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission report on “developing a consensus on a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace against cyber attacks of significant consequences.” https://www.cvent.com
12 p.m. — American Bar Association conference call briefing: “Syria: Trajectory of the Conflict and Implications for the U.S.,” with Mona Yacoubian, senior research adviser on Syria for the Middle East and North Africa at the U.S. Institute of Peace; and Nathania Ustun, vice chair of programs at the ABA Middle East Committee. https://www.americanbar.org/events
THURSDAY | MARCH 19
9:15 a.m. — John Bergin, deputy assistant Army secretary for financial information management, delivers remarks on “AI Application in the U.S. Army” to Government Executive Media Group webinar on “AI (Artificial Intelligence) Experience 2020.” Also with Keith Nakasone, deputy assistant commissioner for acquisition at the General Services Administration Federal Acquisition Service. Livestream at https://www.govexec.com.
11:30 a.m. 7801 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Va. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association discussion with Kenneth Bible, deputy director of the Marine Corps Headquarters Command, Control, Communications, and Computers Department. https://nova.afceachapters.org/event
8 p.m. — Global Campaign on Military Spending conference call briefing: “Military Spending Costs Us the Earth,” with Lindsay Koshgarian, Institute for Policy Studies; and Bill Hartung, Center for International Policy. https://docs.google.com/forms
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I believe when it’s all said and done, the Iraqis are going to recognize the value that we bring by being there … My belief is that we’re going to be able to negotiate this, and we’re going to be able to go forward and maintain a presence there.”
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, U.S. Central Commander, on Iraqi demands that U.S. troops leave Iraq for violating the country’s sovereignty.
