BREAKING THIS MORNING — NDAA DETAILS UNVEILED: The House Armed Services Committee and its chairman, Rep. Mac Thornberry, released a summary of the Chairman’s Mark version of the National Defense Authorization Act this morning. The full text of the bill is set to be unveiled on Monday and the committee will hold a marathon session to amend it later next week. Here is some of what is in the NDAA so far:

CONFRONTING CHINA: In the wake of a report yesterday by CNBC that China has quietly installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its fortified outposts in the Spratly Islands, the White House is warning of near-term and long-term consequences. CNBC cited sources as saying the missiles were moved to Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Reef and Mischief Reef within the past 30 days.

“We’re well aware of China’s militarization of the South China Sea. We’ve raised concerns directly with the Chinese about this, and there will be near-term and long-term consequences,” said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. At the Pentagon, chief spokeswoman Dana White said, “We’ve been very vocal about our concerns about them militarizing and these artificial islands. China has to realize that they’ve benefited from the free navigation of the sea. And the U.S. Navy has been the guarantor of that. We will continue to do our operations and ensure that the Chinese understand that they cannot, and should not, be hostile.”

BLINDING LASERS: Meanwhile in Djibouti, where China has a newly-opened “logistics base,” the U.S. says China has been harassing U.S. pilots with high-powered military-grade lasers. The Pentagon says two service members suffered minor eye injuries after Chinese military personnel directed a laser at American military aircraft deployed to Djibouti.

“They are very serious incidents,” White told reporters at the Pentagon. “This activity poses a true threat to our airmen.” China opened a naval base next door to Camp Lemonnier last year. White said the Pentagon is confident Chinese personnel are behind the incidents and it has filed a formal complaint with Beijing. “We have formally demarched the Chinese government, and we’ve requested that the Chinese investigate these incidents.”

NIGER INVESTIGATION: The Pentagon has still not set a date for the release of the unclassified version of the U.S. military investigation into the deaths of four U.S. soldiers in Niger last year, but as the families of the fallen soldiers are briefed, it’s becoming clear that answers they are being given are far from satisfying.

ABC News has spoken to some of the families and says they described “a perfect storm of bad decisions and bad luck punctuated with extraordinary heroism and valor.

“They also expressed anguish and anger about media leaks blaming the team as well as the changing and often inaccurate narrative provided to the families and the public by Pentagon officials,” according to the ABC report, which characterized deaths as the result of “a largely inexperienced and lightly-armed team outmatched by ISIS fighters who exploited bad decisions by U.S. commanders”

“They were left on their own and it was The Alamo. They were abandoned,” the parent of one of the American commandos told ABC. “The sad thing is, they didn’t realize they’d been left behind, and by the time the other guys attempted to get to them, it was probably too late, and they’d been killed.”

All of the family members requested anonymity, expressing a fear the Pentagon might retaliate against them by cutting off the flow of information, ABC said.

HAPPENING TODAY: CYBER COMMAND: At a ceremony Fort Meade, Md., Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan will preside over a ceremony in which Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone takes command of U.S. Cyber Command from Adm. Mike Rogers. The ceremony also marks the formal transfer of directorship of the National Security Agency and the Central Security Service from Rogers to Nakasone.

“This change of command is noteworthy because it signifies the elevation of Cyber Command as our 10th combatant command,” White said. “Last year, Secretary Mattis announced the elevation of Cyber Command, acknowledging that a new warfighting domain has come of age. The cyber domain will define the next century of warfare. Just as our military must be prepared to defend our nation against hostile acts from land, air and sea, we must also be prepared to deter, and if necessary, respond to hostile acts in cyberspace.

The ceremony will be streamed live on www.defense.gov/live.

SPECIAL FORCES IN YEMEN? Sen. Bernie Sanders says he will be seeking “further clarification” on a report by the New York Times that elite Army Special Forces troops have secretly deployed to the Yemen border to help Saudi Arabia target Houthi rebels. “I have strong concerns that the Trump administration is getting the U.S. more involved in a war in Yemen without congressional authorization,” Sanders tweeted. “We must prevent the U.S. from getting dragged into another never-ending war.” The senator was a key backer in March of a failed Senate bill to cut U.S. military assistance such as munitions and refueling to the Saudis.

A team of about a dozen Green Berets arrived in Saudi Arabia last year to help locate and target Houthi ballistic missile sites, the Times reported. When asked about why the deployment had not been disclosed, White said it is the policy not to discuss the composition of U.S. forces abroad. “As you know the United States has had a long history of mil-to-mil relationship with Saudi. We have a number of forces who are there that are helping. We’ve talked about in the past about refueling, with logistics, with intel sharing. That support continues. That support is focused on the border and helping them secure their border,” White said.

MCCAIN’S UNPREDICTABLE PREDICAMENT: The NDAA work will go ahead without Sen. John McCain, the Senate Armed Services chairman, here in Washington to guide the process. It has been a guessing game among defense watchers if or when the senator might return from Arizona where he has been battling an aggressive form of brain cancer since December. McCain seemed to confirm that he too is uncertain about the future in a clip of audio narration from his new book “The Restless Wave” that was posted by NPR.

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here, maybe I’ll have another five years. Maybe with the advances in oncology they’ll find new treatments for my cancer that will extend my life. Maybe I’ll be gone before you hear this. My predicament is well, rather unpredictable. But I’m prepared for either contingency or at least I’m getting prepared,” McCain says in the clip.

CYBER RETALIATION: In his book, McCain also proposes that the U.S. consider a cyber attack against Russia and its President Vladimir Putin for meddling in the 2016 presidential elections, according to Defense News. “I’m of the opinion that unless Putin is made to regret his decision he will return to the scene of the crime again and again …to make Putin deeply regret his assault on the foundation of our democracy — free and fair elections — we should seriously consider retaliating with the kinds of weapons he used,” McCain writes in the book, which is slated for release May 22.

BORDER BILL: Sending the first half of the 4,000 National Guard troops pledged by Mattis for southern border security will cost about $182 million, White confirmed Thursday. The money will come from the Guard’s training funds, and so far, there are no concerns that spending the money could cause readiness problems with the force, White said. “Right now, that is not a concern. Again, these are funds that are for training, and so, we’ll use them, but at this time there are no concerns,” she said.

C-130 CRASH VICTIMS ID’d: The Puerto Rico Air National Guard on Thursday identified the nine troops killed when their C-130 cargo airplane crashed near Savannah, Ga., yesterday. Nearly all the Guardsmen who perished in the fiery crash were married with children, according to the service. The C-130 had been headed to Arizona to be decommissioned and the cause of the incident is under investigation. You can see the full list of names here.

‘NOT A CRISIS’: The C-130 incident comes after 16 troops were killed in six military aviation crashes last month. The deaths have prompted Rep. Mike Turner, the chairman of the House Armed Services tactical air and land subcommittee, to call for a hearing into whether the Pentagon can identify the causes fast enough.

But yesterday, the Pentagon pushed back at suggestions of systemic problems and said Mattis is not considering any department-wide investigation. “This is not a crisis but it is a crisis for each of these families, and we owe them a full investigation and to understand what is going on,” White said.

The investigation of the most recent C-130 crash and the earlier fatal incidents will be left up to the individual services. “The services have the lead and the secretary has the utmost confidence in service leadership to ensure whatever steps are taken and that they have thorough investigations.”

RED CENTS: Russia cut its military spending in 2017, a Kremlin spokesman acknowledged, just as the United States and its European allies have imposed steep sanctions on the former Cold War rival’s economy.

STAYING TUNED: The White House says it can’t confirm those optimistic reports that three U.S. citizens detained in North Korea have been moved from a labor camp, and are being prepped for release after Trump tweeted “Stay tuned.”

South Korea media outlets reported Wednesday that the three Americans, Kim Dong-cheol, Kim Sang-deok and Kim Hak-seong, were freed from detention centers ahead of Trump’s historic summit with Kim. Rudy Giuliani, speaking on Fox News yesterday morning, said the hostages would be released later in the day.

But the White House was more cautious. “We can’t confirm the validity of any of the reports currently out about their release,” Sanders told reporters at yesterday’s White House press briefing. “We certainly would see this as a sign of goodwill if North Korea were to release the three Americans ahead of discussions between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.”

SEALS FAIL DRUG TESTS: USNI News is reporting that 10 enlisted Navy SEALs and a sailor are being administratively discharged for testing positive for cocaine or methamphetamines in March and April. “During a number of command drug tests from March to April 2018, 11 service members from East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare units tested positive for controlled substances,” Cmdr. Tamara Lawrence said in a statement.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy for the use of illicit drugs and as such these individuals will be held accountable for their actions. We are confident in our drug testing procedures and will continue to impress on all members of the command that illicit drugs are incompatible with the SEAL ethos and Naval service,” she said.

ONE OFFICER’S CONSIDERED OPINION: We spoke to quite a few retired Navy officers about the Navy’s confusing new policy (which the Navy insists is not a new policy) to no longer widely distribute the news when a commanding officer is fired. Instead, news will be passed on to dedicated outlets, with wide distribution in higher profile cases. One retired senior officer, who spent a day consulting and considering the Navy’s position, emailed me yesterday. I planned to quote from it, but after reading it over, I thought it was worth passing along unedited. Because of the officer’s current job I can’t identify the writer by name, but it’s someone I respect.

“As I understand it, this is a policy that has been in place since early last year, even before Trump took office. Ostensibly, it’s supposed to avoid unnecessarily embarrassing senior officers who haven’t been found guilty of the most egregious types of leadership failures. The thought process seems to be that by not overtly issuing a press release every time a leader is fired for loss of confidence or poor command climate, the Navy is not trampling on the grave of an already dead career. But, in reality, this policy just allows Navy leaders to whistle past the graveyard.  

It introduces an air of subjectivity and arbitrary decision-making about what misbehavior constitutes public release. It ignores the fundamental obligation of the Navy to hold its leaders accountable, not just inside the military justice system, but also in the court of public opinion — the same public who funds the military and hands over its sons and daughters to them. It erodes public trust and confidence in Navy leadership, which has hitherto been a model of transparency. And it tells senior leaders, who by virtue of their rank and/or position have sacrificed — and ought to know damn well they have sacrificed — too liberal a sense of personal privacy, that embarrassment is as much to be avoided as justice.

Finally, it sends a horrible message to Sailors and families about the severity with which the Navy is willing to defend the mantle of command. I’m truly sorry to see the Navy skulk away from what had been a solid reputation of accountability and credibility.”

FASCINATING RHYTHM: Wednesday morning breakfasts at the Pentagon could be a regular thing. The Pentagon revealed that this week Mattis hosted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton at the Pentagon for an early morning breakfast. “This is the beginning of a rhythm for the three leaders to engage regularly,” White said. “They are committed to forging a close and continuous relationship, to collaborate and carry out the president’s national security agenda.”

THE RUNDOWN

Wall Street Journal: Beijing: Kim Spoke Of Plans To Disarm

Vice News: Massive military base buildup suggests the U.S. shadow war in Somalia is only getting bigger

Military.com: Some US Troops In Iraq May Come Home Early, General Says

USA Today: Ex-CIA chief says Russian bots stirred anti-Obama fear over army exercises in Texas

Navy Times: Navy Secretary, Other US Officials Increasingly Sounding Alarm Over Chinese Smartphone Maker Huawei

Military Times: Naturalizations drop 65 percent for service members seeking citizenship after Mattis memo

Task and Purpose: Marine Corps Opens Investigation Into Nazi-Loving Lance Corporal

Defense One: We Need a NATO for Infowar

Reuters: Iran Says Will Not Renegotiate Nuclear Deal, Warns Against Changes

Foreign Policy: Trump Is Ending One Gulf Conflict to Start Another

New York Times: Large Dose of Nerve Agent Used in Attack in Britain, Says Weapons Watchdog

Marine Corps Times: US, French troops seen conducting joint patrol in Manbij, Syria