‘ALL KNOWN FIRES’ EXTINGUISHED: After four days of a harrowing battle against a raging fire that at times produced 1,200-degree heat, the Navy declared victory over the stubborn blaze that may have mortally wounded the USS Bonhomme Richard, which is now a charred wreck docked pierside in San Diego.
“All known fires have been extinguished,” said Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, at a news conference yesterday, calling the valiant efforts of the crew to save the ship “amazing.”
Over the course of the four-plus days, 63 personnel — 40 sailors and 23 civilians — were treated for minor injuries including heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. “The bottom line is every sailor is a firefighter, and we certainly proved that,” Sobeck said.
‘SURVIVABLE,’ AT WHAT COST? The Bonhomme Richard is a 23-year-old, Wasp-class large deck amphibious assault ship known as an LHD, for landing helicopter dock. It cost $760 million to build in 1999 and was in port to complete a two-year upgrade estimated to cost $250 million, according to the Associated Press, which says the cost of repairing the crippled ship could reach $4 billion.
“We do not know the extent of the damage. It is too early to make any predictions or promises of what the future of the ship will be,” Sobeck said. “We cannot make any conclusions until the investigation is complete.”
“The survivability of the ship is there — it’s survivable,” Sobeck said. “It’s in stable condition all the way through. The ship can be repaired. Whether or not it will be … is to be determined.”
USS TRIPOLI: Coincidentally, the potential loss of the Bonhomme Richard came the same week as the Navy christened its newest amphibious assault ship, the USS Tripoli, an LHA, short for landing helicopter assault.
The Tripoli is the second ship in the America-class built by Huntington Ingalls, at a reported cost of about $3.3 billion.
Whatever decision the Navy makes about the future of the Bonhomme Richard, the ship will be out of commission for years. “There’s no doubt there will be an impact,” Sobeck said.
Good Friday 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 and Tyler Van Dyke. 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 will be on hiatus beginning next week from July 20 – 27 as we take a short break for the summer. We’ll be back in your inbox Tuesday, July 28.
HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and Senior Enlisted Adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ramón “CZ” Colón-López take part in an online town hall from the Pentagon. The three will take questions from DOD civilians and family members about topics including diversity and inclusion, COVID-19, and developments in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said in a statement. Steamed live at https://www.defense.gov.
MCKENZIE: TALIBAN ON ‘DANGEROUS PATH’: Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie is back at his headquarters at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida, having just completed a 13-day, 10-nation whirlwind tour of countries in his area of responsibility, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan.
In an interview with NPR that aired this morning, McKenzie said the Taliban are putting the Afghanistan peace process at risk by refusing to dial back their deadly attacks.
“The level of violence is still too high. The Taliban is still attacking Afghan forces across the country. They have scrupulously avoided attacking U.S. and coalition forces, but the attacks continue against the Afghan government forces and at far too high a level,” McKenzie told NPR’s Steve Inskeep, who asked if the Taliban were trying to gain a negotiating advantage through violence.
“I think they are actually, and I don’t think that’s going to be helpful because that’s a very fine line, and the government of Afghanistan, they are not going to take their people being killed in this manner without ultimately being forced to respond,” McKenzie replied. “So, I think this is a dangerous path that the Taliban appears to be going down. It is not helpful.”
While McKenzie agreed there is a risk violence could derail the peace process, which has yet to result in direct talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, he said, “I also believe this is the closest we’ve been to a potential solution in all my time involved in this problem.”
“We have a narrow path to go forward. This path is the only way to get to a negotiated peaceful end to the situation there,” he said.
PC INDOCTRINATION? The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch says a trove of Pentagon instructional materials obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute has been using study guides that admonish “some dominant group members” to recognize their privilege when “it is pointed out to them,” including heterosexuals, who enjoy a “sexual orientation privilege.”
“These documents show that the Department of Defense has been indoctrinating our troops with anti-American and racially inflammatory ‘training,’” charges Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a statement posted on the group’s website. “We must protect our military service members from being brainwashed by the divisive, anti-American propaganda fueling the leftist insurrectionists who are right now trying to destroy our country.”
“The study guide also teaches that people who raise religious objections to homosexual marriage are engaged in a form of discrimination called ‘principium,’ which is ‘avoiding exploration based on a religious or personal principle,’” the statement said.
TIME TO END THE KOREAN WAR? With hopes for a nuclear agreement with North Korea fading before the November election, Korea expert Harry Kazianis, of the Center for the National Interest, posits a summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un could still produce a historic agreement — to end the 70-year Korean War.
“Both sides in Hanoi expressed strong interest in ending the Korean War in a non-binding political declaration — knowing the U.S. Senate would most likely not ratify a formal peace treaty — an idea that is still very much in play within White House circles,” Kazianis writes in the American Conservative. “In fact, many within the administration, as well as outside supporters, love that idea of an end of war declaration as a way for Trump to claim a page in history, ending a conflict that technically qualifies as the longest active conflict in U.S. history, commemorating its 70th anniversary just several weeks ago.”
“Ending the Korean War not only helps President Trump achieve a historic milestone but it’s something that if the timing is right, say in October, allows us a win Democrats would have a hard time blunting,” Kazianis quotes an unnamed Trump campaign official as saying. “How do you run against peace? You can’t without looking like a sore loser or jealous.”
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: USS Bonhomme Richard fire extinguished, extent of damage unknown
Defense News: The U.S. Navy’s Top Officer Wants Answers On The Bonhomme Richard Fire
Washington Examiner: VA Secretary says he can’t help K2 veterans without legislation, but veterans counter he can
Stars and Stripes: Military Nears 19,000 Coronavirus Cases As Several Bases Reinstate Travel Restrictions
Washington Examiner: Xi Jinping urges Western companies to ignore Pompeo warnings about ‘Chinese thievery’
AP: Russia is hacking virus vaccine trials, US, UK, Canada say
NPR: U.S. General Discusses Status Of U.S. Troops In Afghanistan
Politico: Military Leaders Pressure Esper To Ban Confederate Flag
Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Turns Up Pressure On China On Several Fronts
Reuters: Explainer: What’s Behind Rising Tensions In The South China Sea?
AP: Taiwan Holds Military Drills Against Potential China Threat
CNN.com: U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers Resume Rare Dual Exercises In The South China Sea
CNN.com: Pentagon Reveals Some Details Of Trump’s ‘Super Duper’ Hypersonic Missile
New York Times: $174 Million Afghan Drone Program Is Riddled With Problems, U.S. Report Says
Defense News: Lord Hopes To Loosen Weapon Export Restrictions In Next Six Months
Washington Times: Durbin Calls For Pentagon Review Of Military’s Treatment Of Women, People Of Color
Washington Post: Woman who joined Islamic State as teen can return to Britain to challenge citizenship revocation, court rules
Air Force Magazine: Hypoxia-Like Events Becoming Less Frequent in USAF Fleets
Air Force Magazine: 2,410 Airmen Selected to Transfer to the Space Force
New York Times: Southern Iraq’s Toxic Twilight
Marine Corps Times: Marine Sentenced To 5 Years For Fatal DC Barracks Shooting
Task & Purpose: Marine Corps Quietly Cuts Ties With Former Top Tucker Carlson Writer After Racist And Sexist Posts Surface
The American Conservative: Insiders: President Wants ‘Breakthrough’ NoKo Deal Before Election
Calendar
FRIDAY | JULY 17
11 a.m. — Washington Institute for Near East Policy webcast: “The UN’s Role in Responding to the Global Terrorist Threat,” with U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Michele Coninsx, executive director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis
1 p.m. — Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and Senior Enlisted Adviser to the Chairman Ramón “CZ” Colón-López hold a virtual global town hall meeting to answer questions from service members, their families, and DOD civilians. https://www.facebook.com/DeptofDefense/
1 p.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual conversation with Gen. John Raymond, the first chief of space operations, moderated by Susanna Blume, senior fellow and director, CNAS Defense Program. https://cnas.zoom.us/webinar/register
1 p.m. — WJLA-TV’s Government Matters webinar: “What has changed as a result of COVID-19, the Defense Space Strategy, Air Force acquisitions, supply chain, and the priorities for Air Mobility Command,” with Stephen Kitay, deputy assistant defense secretary for space policy; Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics; Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Stephen “Seve” Wilson; Air Force Lt. Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, deputy commander of the Air Force Air Mobility Command; Patty St. George, KPMG senior partner and Air Force account lead; and Francis Rose, host of WJLA-TV’s Government Matters. https://www.fedinsider.com/natsec-2020-coronavirus-beyond
2:30 p.m. — NDN, a liberal think tank and advocacy organization, holds a webinar with House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
5 p.m. — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks to the Family Leader Foundation Leadership Summit in Des Moines, Iowa. Livestream at http://www.state.gov.
MONDAY | JULY 20
All week — Daily on Defense goes on summer hiatus until Tuesday, July 28.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travels to the U.K and Denmark. In London, he’ll meet with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, and in Copenhagen, he meets with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. https://www.state.gov
10 a.m. — Association of the U.S. Army Thought Leaders webinar, with Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, and John Hamre, president and CEO, Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.bigmarker.com/ausaorg/Thought-Leaders
TUESDAY | JULY 21
3:30 p.m. — Johns Hopkins SAIS Merrill Center for Strategic Studies webinar: “The State of the U.S. Air Force,” with Gen. David Goldfein, chief of staff; and Prof. Mara Karlin, director, Strategic Studies Program and Merrill Center for Strategic Studies. Register at https://jh.zoom.us/webinar/register.
4 p.m. — The George Washington University Project for Media and National Security conference call conversation with Adm. Philip Davidson, commander, Indo-Pacific Command. https://nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu
4 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “A Conversation with Senator Mitt Romney on U.S.-China Relations and Great Power Competition,” with moderators Nina Easton, senior associate, CSIS; and John Hamre, president and CEO, CSIS. https://www.csis.org/events/online-event-schieffer-series
WEDNESDAY | JULY 22
10:30 a.m. — Center for the National Interest online discussion: “Conflict over Hong Kong: Implications of Beijing’s New National Security Law,” with Amb. Kurt Tong, the Asia Group; James Feinerman, professor of Asian legal studies at Georgetown University; Steven Tsang, University of London; Paul Heer, distinguished fellow, Center for the National Interest; and Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of the National Interest. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army Thought Leaders webinar, with Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army; and retired Gen. Carter Ham, president and CEO, AUSA. https://www.ausa.org/events/noon-report-flynn
1 p.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual wargame: “A Deadly Game: East China Sea Crisis 2030 Play” along, as the CNAS Defense team and leading experts conduct a virtual wargame in the year 2030, exploring command and information concepts in a “New American Way of War.” https://conference.cnas.org/session/a-deadly-game
WEDNESDAY | JULY 29
1 p.m. — George Mason University’s National Security Institute hosts the launch of “NSI 2020: Technology, Innovation, and American National Security – Preserving American Leadership in a New Decade,” with Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I.; and David Sanger, national security correspondent and senior writer, the New York Times. https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/technology-2020-kickoff/
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We do not know the origin of the fire. We do not know the extent of the damage. It is too early to make any predictions or promises of what the future of the ship will be. We cannot make any conclusions until the investigation is complete.”
Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, announcing the four-day battle against a raging fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard was over, but the ship’s fate is uncertain.
