SLO-MO SHAKEUP: By all accounts, President Trump is frustrated with some members of his national security team as well as his chief of staff, and is ready to make changes. But staffing shifts are unfolding in slow motion — leaving those in the crosshairs to twist in the wind as the president mulls their fate.

HAPPENING TODAY, MATTIS TO BORDER: Defense Secretary Mattis will be checking in on U.S. troops deployed to Texas in support of the counter-caravan mission, on his way to a previously-scheduled event in Wyoming. Mattis will stop for about an hour to visit with active-duty Army soldiers in McAllen, Texas, amid media reports the troops are living in austere conditions in tents without air conditioning.

Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday he still has no estimate of how big a bill the deployment of more than 5,000 troops is racking up. “We are capturing the costs,” he said. “We’ll update you on costs as they become known.”

Mattis also said recent indications that the migrant caravan was heading to Tijuana, on the border with California, has produced no change in the mission or the orders to the troops, who are operating purely in a support role.

EURO-ARMY NO SUBSTITUTE FOR NATO: President Trump yesterday ridiculed the talk of European Army, advocated by the leaders of Germany and France, as a way to reduce reliance on the United States for future security. “[French President] Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China, and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!,” Trump tweeted.

Germany’s Angela Merkel stressed a European Army would increase the support for NATO, and at the Pentagon Mattis seemed to agree. “We, in the NATO alliance, we see NATO as the cornerstone for the protection of Europe in the security realm and we fully support nations doing more to carry the load,” he said.

The message at the State Department was that European nations should bolster their military capabilities within the NATO alliance. “Whatever should be done should not take away from NATO’s efforts,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters yesterday. “We would not want the weakening of NATO.”

NORTH KOREA MISSILE SITES ‘FAKE NEWS’: The president also disputed the implications of an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that North Korea has as many as 20 undeclared short-range ballistic missile operating bases.

“The story in the New York Times concerning North Korea developing missile bases is inaccurate. We fully know about the sites being discussed, nothing new – and nothing happening out of the normal. Just more Fake News. I will be the first to let you know if things go bad!,” he tweeted.  

The Times report said, “The existence of the ballistic missile bases, which North Korea has never acknowledged, contradicts Mr. Trump’s assertion that his landmark diplomacy is leading to the elimination of a nuclear and missile program that the North had warned could devastate the United States.”

JOINT CYBER HEARING: The House Armed Services and House Homeland Security committees will hold a joint hearing at 3 p.m. on how the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security work together to counter cyber threats. The two panels will take testimony from Assistant Defense Secretary Kenneth Rapuano and Lt. Gen. B.J. Shwedo of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as Undersecretary Christopher Krebs and Assistant Secretary Jeanette Manfra from DHS.

CYBER ACQUISITION HEARING: Meanwhile, on the other side of the Hill, a Senate Armed Services subcommittee will be holding its own hearing at 3 p.m. on the Pentagon’s spending on cybersecurity and lessons from the private sector. That includes a panel of leaders from four tech and security companies.

WAR COSTS REPORT: Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will speak at 10 a.m. for the release of a Brown University study that puts the new total cost of post-9/11 wars at over $5.9 trillion. Neta Crawford, a political scientist at the university and the report author, will be on hand to discuss the findings.

GOP BLOCKS YEMEN VOTE: It looks like House Democrats will not get a vote on ending support for the war in Yemen, at least not in the lame-duck session. The Republican majority on the House Rules Committee stripped the privileged status of the War Powers Resolution sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna and supported by other Democrats on Tuesday evening, meaning it can no longer leapfrog committee hearings and be fast-tracked to the chamber floor.

“It is disappointing to me that we are trying to hide from this debate and also from a larger debate on what should our policy be towards Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi government,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, the ranking member on the Rules Committee and a supporter of the legislation.

Khanna, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced the war powers bill in September after a similarly failed bid to withdraw the U.S. from the conflict last year. He won the support of dozens of fellow Democrats, including Rep. Adam Smith, the Armed Services ranking member, and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer. The resolution challenges the president’s authority to back Saudi Arabia in the three-year-old war without the consent of Congress and would have stopped the Pentagon from providing intelligence, logistics and until last week aerial refueling to the kingdom as it battles Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

SHRINKING BASKET OF UNDEPLOYABLES: Under a strict “deploy or depart” policy instituted by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis earlier this year, the Army has cut in half the number of soldiers who were not available for deployment for various reasons, including physical fitness, medical conditions, or family circumstances.

Before the policy went into effect this summer, the Army had 121,000 “stay at home” soldiers listed as not available to deploy, which constituted roughly 15 percent of the force. The most recent numbers show that only about 60,000 soldiers, or about 6 percent of the Army, are still not deployable.

Yesterday the Army announced new guidelines intended to foster what it calls “a culture of deployability.” They include requiring soldiers to maintain the ability to operate in an austere environment; carry and employ weapons; maneuver in body armor and chemical and biological protection gear; meet all physical demands, including passing the Army’s physical fitness tests and executing individual “warrior tasks” for any assigned mission; and being administratively, legally, and mentally cleared.

T-38 TRAINER CRASHES: The crash of a T-38C Talon last night Laughlin Air Force Base, has left one pilot is dead and another was injured, according to base’s Facebook page. The base said in a statement that the training jet crashed at approximately 7:40 p.m.

The surviving pilot was transferred to Val Verde Regional Medical Center. The pilot’s condition was not immediately known.

C-130 CRASH ANSWERS: Just days after a Puerto Rico National Guard C-130 slammed into a Georgia highway in May, the House began pushing for a new commission on military aviation safety, and the Pentagon was peppered with questions about a crisis among its aircraft. An Air Force review now shows the military cargo plane’s crew ignored warning signs that led to the crash, killing all nine troops aboard. The crew’s air wing also suffered from a culture of complacency up and down the chain of command.

The direct cause was a pilot of the C-130 executed the wrong maneuver after problems with one of the engines. But the aircrew also failed to prepare for emergencies, reject a flawed takeoff attempt, and follow safety checklists. Maintainers “showed a distinct lack of motivation to ensure engine one was operationally ready for flight” after seeing it was not functioning at full power. “There is no evidence to suggest any other unscheduled maintenance was a factor in the mishap,” according to the report.

BLAME THE SECRET SERVICE: Still smarting over widespread criticism for failing to show up at an American cemetery outside Paris Saturday because of rain and security concern, President Trump tweeted yesterday, that it wasn’t his decision. “By the way, when the helicopter couldn’t fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetery in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!,” he tweeted.

Video of the Sunday speech did not seem to show heavy rain, although at one point during his remarks, Trump teases one of the veterans of World War II who was an invited guest. “You look so comfortable up there under shelter, as we’re getting drenched. You’re very smart people.”

THE RUNDOWN

U.S. News: General: Deployment to Southern Border a Deterrent

Bloomberg: Melania Trump Says Bolton Deputy Should Be Ousted

Washington Post: Pence: It’s up to China to avoid a cold war

Daily Beast: National Guardsman Deployed to U.S.-Mexico Border Arrested for Rape

Task and Purpose: Marine Veteran Austin Tice Is Still Alive After Years Of Captivity, US Official Says

USA Today: The migrant caravan has arrived. Here’s what you need to know.

Breaking Defense: Will Budget Crunch Pentagon Laser & Space Investments?

Yahoo: Army push to end a peacekeeping institute sparks wider debate

Defense One: Supersonic Bizjets May Attract Pentagon Eyes