Pentagon to use aggressive COVID-19 testing to keep troops deployed, ships at sea, and recruits in training

Once troops test negative for the virus, they will be subject to 14 days of quarantine before sailing ships, flying planes, manning nuclear missile silos, or beginning basic training, Milley said. “So there’s a prioritization of the force for testing and quarantine to ensure that we have adequate capability and readiness to rapidly deploy if we need to for any given contingency.”

ROOSEVELT DOWN: Milley admitted the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has been “sidelined temporarily” by the virus outbreak that has infected 589 members of the ship’s 4,865-person crew, although he quickly added, “We could get it back out to sea quickly if we had to.”

Yesterday, the Navy revealed that a day after one member of the ship’s crew died of complications from COVID-19 infection, a second sailor was admitted to the intensive care unit at the U.S. Naval Hospital Guam for “increased observation due to shortness of breath,” and three other sailors are hospitalized but are not in the ICU.

Milley says the Roosevelt is the only Navy ship with “significant COVID-19 issues” of the 90 warships now at sea. “The other ships are, right now, that are at sea, are COVID-free, at least as of the latest reports that I’ve got.” That includes the U.S. Navy destroyer that made a port call in Da Nang, Vietnam, last month along with the Roosevelt. Navy officials suspect Vietnam is where the Roosevelt sailors picked up the coronavirus.

NIMITZ NEXT TO DEPLOY: The Navy is holding the carrier USS Harry S. Truman at sea off the east coast for a few weeks while the USS Nimitz prepares to deploy from Washington state. While there are two cases of COVID-19 among the Nimitz crew, neither is on the ship.

“One sailor on the Nimitz tested positive, but he was out of state, not yet on the Nimitz, and he remains to this day out of state,” said Milley. “A second sailor displayed symptoms, and that sailor was placed into isolation and is not on the ship.”

EXTENDING THE ‘STAY PUT’ ORDER: Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced yesterday he is extending the “stop movement” order restricting domestic and international travel, which has put a halt to routine troop rotations and military family relocations.

“While I understand the impact this has on our troops and their families, this is a necessary measure to keep our people safe and our military ready to act,” Esper said without saying how much longer the travel ban will stay in effect.

Esper said new guidance on the modification and extension of the restrictions would be announced in the coming days.

NO STOP LOSS: Esper said he does not foresee the need to impose a “stop-loss” order to prevent people from retiring or leaving the military. “It’s a last resort,” he said. “If we had to get to that point, it would be focused likely on medical professionals. But I don’t see that as likely, quite frankly.”

Esper said he was encouraged by a report he received from the Army about the number of medical professional retirees who are volunteering to come back on active duty to serve. “We’re seeing folks that are just standing up and volunteering to help the American people,” he said. “I think we will be able to handle this pandemic with what we have now, but I also can’t predict the future.”

Good Wednesday 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.

Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!

HAPPENING TODAY: NATO defense ministers are meeting online today, each from their own country, led by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels. “We have just one issue on the agenda: the COVID-19 crisis,” Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of the meeting during a virtual news conference.

“NATO’s core task remains to preserve the security of our almost 1 billion citizens,” said Stoltenberg. “We must continue to work hard to ensure that this health crisis does not become a security crisis and that we are better prepared when the next crisis comes.”

BATTLING DISINFORMATION: Questioned about whether China was engaged in a disinformation campaign about the coronavirus, Stoltenberg said that would be one of the issues discussed by the ministers today.

“We have seen examples of disinformation and propaganda, trying to use, utilize this health crisis for propaganda purposes,” he said. “The best weapon we have against disinformation is a free and open and independent press. So therefore, the work journalists are doing is so extremely important, always, but especially in difficult times, in crises, as we are faced with today.”

THE WUHAN VIRUS? U.S. Embassy officials warned about safety risks at a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan that researches infectious diseases, including coronaviruses from bats, and sent warning cables back to the United States two years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin reported yesterday.

Asked about that last night on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “We know they have this lab. We know about the wet markets. We know that the virus itself did originate in Wuhan. So all those things come together. There’s still a lot we don’t know.”

Pompeo said the lack of transparency by the Chinese government and the failure of the World Health Organization to report accurately what was happening in China is one reason President Trump was cutting off funding to the WHO.

“They had access. The Chinese Communist Party didn’t give Americans access when we needed it, at the most timely point, at the very beginning,” Pompeo told Hannity. “We need answers to these questions. We need transparency. And we need the World Health Organization to do its job, to perform its primary function, which is to make sure that the world has accurate, timely, effective, real information about what’s going on in the global health space.”

‘WE DON’T KNOW’: At yesterday’s Pentagon briefing, Milley said there is still no hard evidence that the novel coronavirus came from the Chinese laboratory in Wuhan.

“It should be no surprise to you that we’ve taken a keen interest in that, and we’ve had a lot of intelligence take a hard look at that,” Milley said. “And I would just say, at this point, it’s inconclusive — although the weight of evidence seems to indicate natural. But we don’t know for certain.”

CSBA COVID-19 IMPACT REPORT: The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments is out with a new report, COVID-19 Analysis and Policy Implications, which considers the implications of the current pandemic for the Defense Department.

The analysis by CSBA’s Harrison Schramm, Kevin Chlan, and Peter Kouretsos explores epidemics through statistical analyses, lists the near-term implications of this pandemic for the Pentagon, and assesses its long-term impact on the U.S. government and the Pentagon in particular with respect to budgetary challenges and funding priorities.

HIGH ON HYPERSONICS: The Pentagon is asking Congress for almost $2.9 billion for hypersonic weapons in 2021, a nearly 14% increase from a 2020 total of $2.5 billion, according to internal budget documents obtained by Breaking Defense.

“Army and Navy hypersonics spending would nearly double in 2021,” the publication reports. “Each increases by 95 percent. But that’s offset by a 40 percent reduction in spending by independent defense agencies like DARPA.”

ROOSEVELT INVESTIGATION COMPLETE: Secretary Esper says the investigation into the actions of Capt. Brett Crozier, the commanding officer of the virus-stricken aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, is done and on the desk of the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday.

Crozier’s abrupt firing by acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly ultimately cost Modly his job as well for mishandling the relief of command and for his subsequent tirade delivered to the crew of the ship.

Some have called for Crozier to be reinstated as commanding officer of the Roosevelt, but Esper gave no indication of whether he is leaning that way. “As I’m in the chain of command, I’m not going to comment on it because I don’t know where it will go or where it would take us. But I expect it will be comprehensive,” he said.

ESPER DEFENDS MODLY’S TRAVEL: The fact that Modly grabbed a government Gulfstream jet and flew halfway around the world to Guam to address the crew of the Roosevelt has raised a few eyebrows, especially when USA Today reported the cost of the 35-hour trip came to an eye-popping $243,000.

But while not addressing the Modly trip specifically, Esper said he encourages senior leaders to travel. “It’s vitally important that they get out, that they visit with their troops on the ground — soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines. They get ground truth as to what’s happening out there,” he said.

“I traveled a lot as secretary of the Army, and I travel a lot as secretary of Defense, just for that purpose.”

INDUSTRY WATCH: The State Department has approved the potential sale of 10 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II air-launched missiles made by Boeing to Morocco for an estimated cost of $62 million. The certification by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency comes a day after approval of a similar sale of 10 Harpoon missiles and related equipment to India for an estimated cost of $92 million.

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: Defense Department to reorient medical footprint in New York

Washington Examiner: 44 veterans die at coronavirus-stricken nursing home under investigation

Washington Examiner: IMF: Coronavirus pandemic has caused worst economic crisis since Great Depression

AP: Military Sees No Quick Exit From ‘New World’ Of Coronavirus

AP: Navy Removes 116 From Hospital Ship USNS Mercy After Virus Infects Seven

CNN.com: Four U.S. Sailors Assigned To French Aircraft Carrier Hit By Coronavirus Outbreak Now In Quarantine

Reuters: Chinese Ship Returns To Waters Off Vietnam Amid Virus ‘Distraction’ Charges

Air Force Magazine: USAF to Launch Search for Flying Cars This Month

National Interest: Test Pilot: U.S. Marine F-35 Stealth Fighters Are Useless

Talk Media News: From the Halls of High-and-Tight to the Shores of Shear

Washington Post: Coronavirus Challenges Military’s Way Of Doing Things, Including Haircuts

Just the News: Ukraine says security service general is secret agent for Russia

Wall Street Journal: Iranian Navy Temporarily Seizes Vessel, Sparking Persian Gulf Alert

Washington Post: Inside white-supremacist Russian Imperial Movement, designated foreign terrorist organization by U.S. State Department

Forbes: Five Reasons Pentagon Weapons Spending Won’t Be Cut To Help Washington Cope With Coronavirus

Washington Examiner: Opinion: How Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 might be mitigating coronavirus readiness risks

Calendar

NOTE: Many events in Washington have been canceled or moved online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Pentagon has been conducting almost daily pop-up briefings, which are often only announced at the last minute. Check https://www.defense.gov for updates to the Pentagon’s schedule.

WEDNESDAY | APRIL 15

All Day. Brussels, Belgium — Meeting of NATO defense ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, via secure teleconference. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s press conferences will be broadcast live on the NATO website as well as on social platforms Twitter and Facebook. No physical access to NATO headquarters will be allowed for news media, who will be able to ask questions remotely

11 a.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “Examining the Trump Administration’s Recent Actions on Venezuela,” with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Cuba and Venezuela Carrie Filipetti; Ana Quintana, senior policy analyst for Latin America and the Western Hemisphere at Heritage; and David Shedd, visiting fellow at Heritage. https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/event

1 p.m. — The Navy League of the United States Sea-Air-Space 2020 webinar, “U.S. Navy,” with Adm. James Foggo, commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, U.S. Naval Forces Africa; and James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, acquisitions and development. Broadcast locally on WJLA-TV, Washington and streamed live at FedInsider.com. Register at: https://www.fedinsider.com

2 p.m. — The Project On Government Oversight discusses findings of a new report about a key lessons learned during the course of the war in Afghanistan with Dan Grazier, the Jack Shanahan military fellow at the Project On Government Oversight. Register for the Zoom briefing here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register

THURSDAY | APRIL 16

11 a.m. — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs webcast: “Why Has Data Become a National Security Issue?” with Carrie Cordero, senior fellow and general counsel at the Center for a New American Security; Army Col. Sarah Albrycht, senior military fellow; and Susan Aaronson, senior fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation. https://elliott.gwu.edu/event-calendar

12:30 p.m. — The AFA’s Mitchell Institute “Aerospace Nation” speaker series, with Lt. Gen. David Nahom, Air Force deputy chief of staff for plans and programs. Livestream at https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/aerospace-nation

1 p.m. — The Navy League of the United States Sea-Air-Space 2020 webinar, “Modern Warfighter,” with a Space panel featuring Rear Adm. Marcus Hitchcock, director of strategy, plans and policy, U.S. Space Command; Dr. Derek Tournear, director, Space Development Agency; Christian Zur, executive director, procurement and space industry council, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an artificial intelligence panel featuring Jennifer Edgin, assistant deputy commandant for information, U.S. Marine Corps; and Rear Adm. David Hahn, chief of naval research. Broadcast locally on WJLA-TV, Washington and streamed live at FedInsider.com. Register at: https://www.fedinsider.com

2 p.m. — Bloomberg Government webcast: “Cyber Defense Acquisition and Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification,” with Katherine Arrington, chief information security officer with the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; and Laura Criste, IT analyst at Bloomberg. https://about.bgov.com/event/cyber-defense-acquisition

3 p.m. — The Middle East Institute webinar: “The Middle East in an Era of Great Power Competition,” with Barry Posen, political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Stephen Walt, international affairs professor at the Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; and Bilal Saab, senior fellow and director of the MEI Defense and Security Program. https://www.mei.edu/events

4 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “Implications of Growing U.S.-China Friction: Perspectives from East Asia,” with Ben Bland, director of the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia Program; Rory Medcalf, head of the Australian National University’s National Security College; Sheila Smith, senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations; and Bonnie Glaser, director of the CSIS China Power Project. https://www.csis.org/events

6 p.m. — Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies webcast: “Wargaming Gone Wrong: Contemporary Applications and Lessons Learned from Millennium Challenge 2002,” with Micah Zenko, author of Red Team: How to Succeed By Thinking Like the Enemy; and Jeremy Sepinsky, lead wargame designer at CNA; and Rebecca Wasser, senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. https://sais.jhu.edu/campus-events

FRIDAY | APRIL 17

9 a.m. — Center for a New American Security webinar: “U.S. Sanctions Policy and COVID-19,” with Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control; John Smith, partner and co-head Morrison and Foerster LLP National Security Practice; and Juan Zarate, chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center on Economic and Financial Power. https://www.cnas.org/events

1 p.m. — The Navy League of the United States Sea-Air-Space 2020 webinar, “Cyber,” with Rear Adm. Kathleen Creighton, Navy cyber security division director, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations; and Gregg Kendrick, executive director, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command. Broadcast locally on WJLA-TV, Washington and streamed live at FedInsider.com. Register at: https://www.fedinsider.com

WEDNESDAY | APRIL 29

8 a.m. — Northrop Grumman Corporation webcasts its first-quarter 2020 conference call, with Kathy Warden, chairman, chief executive officer and president, and Dave Keffer, chief financial officer. http://investor.northropgrumman.com.