THE FIGHT CONTINUES: New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was feeling pretty good about the prospects for her bill that would remove serious, non-military crimes from the authority commanders and instead place them under the jurisdiction of professional military criminal prosecutors.
After years of pushback from the Pentagon as well as lawmakers who had served in the military, the failure of the military to curb sexual assaults has pushed a bipartisan supermajority into her camp, and the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act seemed on a glide slope to passage.
That is, until this past weekend when fellow Democrat Sen. Jack Reed announced his intention to handle the issue by incorporating the forthcoming recommendations of a Pentagon panel into the annual defense policy bill as an amendment and thereby keeping Gillibrand’s more sweeping measure bottled up in committee.
‘WE HAVE THE VOTES’: Gillibrand is frustrated, accusing Reed of blocking a floor vote on her measure in favor of a watered-down provision that would apply only to sexual assault and not other major crimes.
Monday night, she took to the Senate floor to make an impassioned plea for her more expansive bill. “If we brought this bill to the floor today, it would pass. We have the legislation, and we have the votes, now we just need the will to act,” Gillibrand said. “It is supported by 63 senators, including 42 Democrats, two independents, 19 Republicans, and the majority of the Senate Armed Services Committee.”
Gillibrand argued her bill would ensure that when serious crimes are committed, justice is delivered. “It does so by taking the same approach to these cases that the military takes in almost every other area of operations — it puts highly technical work in the hands of trained specialists.”
‘YOU MADE SOME PERSUASIVE ARGUMENTS’: Gillibrand pressed her case again at yesterday’s confirmation hearing for Frank Kendall to be Air Force secretary, asking the nominee to commit to her more comprehensive reforms.
“There are many reasons for doing so,” said Gillibrand, “but one of the important ones that recent studies have shown is that there are significant racial disparities in the military justice system, including that black service members are up to twice as likely to be charged with the crime as white service members.”
“You made some persuasive arguments,” Kendall responded, “but I would really like to hear from the Air Force leadership as well on that before having a final opinion on that.”
ANOTHER BIPARTISAN MEASURE: Meanwhile, Gillibrand has signed on as a co-sponsor to another bipartisan proposal aimed at improving the military’s response to sexual assault by “professionalizing” the role of sexual assault response coordinator throughout all branches of the military.
The bill is the result of an unlikely alliance between Gillibrand and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
“The Hawley-Gillibrand bill comes after the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee reported on growing concerns of SARCs lacking the training and resources needed to be effective at providing support to military sexual assault victims,” said a statement from Hawley. “America’s service members make untold sacrifices on our nation’s behalf, and it is our responsibility to ensure those who need support can get it.”
The bill is also sponsored by Republicans Joni Ernst of Iowa and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, along with Democrat Ben Cardin of Maryland.
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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 Victor I. Nava. 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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HAPPENING TODAY: Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley delivers remarks at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at 11:30 a.m. EDT. Livestream at https://www.defense.gov/watch/live-Events
AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL AT 25%: In its latest update on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. Central Command says the process is almost a quarter of the way complete.
“U.S. Central Command estimates that we have completed between 16-25% of the entire retrograde process,” the military said in a bare-bones statement. “Also, the U.S. has officially handed over five facilities to the Afghan Ministry of Defense.”
The U.S. military continues to be very reluctant to release details about precisely how many of the 3,500 or so troops are left in the country, not wanting to reveal any vulnerabilities that could be exploited by the Taliban.
For instance, the latest update says the U.S. has moved the equivalent of 160 C-17 planeloads of materiel out of Afghanistan and turned over more than 10,000 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition, but it doesn’t say how much stuff is left.
The New York Times reports the U.S. is on pace to be out by early to mid-July, which is consistent with public statements made by a spokesman for Germany’s defense ministry, who revealed last month that the U.S. has floated a July 4 exit date to NATO allies.
The Pentagon has said the Sept. 11 deadline is the latest the troops would be there but that the “retrograde,” as the military calls it, could be completed months earlier.
BIDEN-PUTIN MEETING SET: President Joe Biden will meet face to face with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time as commander in chief at a daylong summit in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 16, the White House announced yesterday.
“The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the U.S.-Russia relationship,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. “We expect they will spend a fair amount of time on strategic stability, where the arms control agenda goes, following the extension of New START.”
“The president will also raise Ukraine, underscoring America’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and he will also plan to raise Belarus and convey our grave concerns.”
BIDEN-PUTIN MEETING SET FOR JUNE 16 IN GENEVA
SASSE: ‘THIS IS WEAK’: The summit was immediately slammed by Republicans as a reward for bad behavior.
“We’re rewarding Putin with a summit? Putin imprisoned Alexei Navalny, and his puppet Lukashenko hijacked a plane to get Roman Protasevich,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Instead of treating Putin like a gangster who fears his own people, we’re giving him his treasured Nord Stream 2 pipeline and legitimizing his actions with a summit. This is weak.”
‘THIS IS HOW DIPLOMACY WORKS’: “We don’t regard the meeting with the Russian president as a reward, we regard it as a vital part of defending America’s interests, and President Biden is meeting with Vladimir Putin because of our countries’ differences, not in spite of them,” responded Psaki at yesterday’s White House briefing. “This is how diplomacy works. We don’t work together, we don’t meet with people only when we agree. It’s actually important to meet with leaders when we have a range of disagreements.”
ONE EXPERT ‘HOPEFUL’: Matthew Rojansky, a Russia expert and director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center, says he’s hopeful the Biden-Putin summit will lay the groundwork for the “restoration of diplomatic infrastructure.”
“The U.S. and Russian diplomatic missions have been woefully understaffed in the wake of many years of mutual expulsions and closing of consular facilities,” Rojansky says. “This limits both sides’ ability to achieve clarity and mutual understanding at the official level, but even more importantly, it constrains the relationship between the American and Russian people, which is a relationship that must endure long beyond the term of any one or another leader.”
“From what I know of the approach to this upcoming summit and to the relationship more broadly from the side of the US administration, I am optimistic that there will be progress toward the goal of a more stable, predictable relationship.”
HOPE STIRS AS BIDEN-PUTIN SUMMIT FALLS ON 900TH DAY OF PAUL WHELAN’S DETENTION
BUY MORE, SAVE MORE? Because of the sky-high operating costs of the F-35, various members of Congress have suggested it may be time to pare back the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons system ever. Notably, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith compared full funding of the program, expected to tally $1.7 trillion over its lifetime, to be akin to “throwing money down a rat hole.”
But at his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, Frank Kendall, who in his last stint at the Pentagon was acquisition chief, suggested a counterintuitive approach. “The key to keeping the cost down in an air fleet is getting the numbers up. There’s a very strong correlation between the size of the fleet and the cost to sustain that fleet. So, if there were one thing that I think will drive costs down overall, it’s continue to buy.”
“I know there’s an issue with the total number that’s been on the table for some years, but the requirement is my own view at this point in time that we’re well short of that number,” he said, while calling the F-35, “the best tactical aircraft of its type in the world.”
“It’s a complex, expensive weapon, unfortunately, but it is a dominant weapon when it goes up against earlier-generation aircraft.”
BIDEN’S AIR FORCE NOMINEE PROMISES TO BUY MORE F-35S, BRING DOWN SKYROCKETING COSTS
JUST HOW PRICEY IS THE F-35? The Air Force chief of staff recently compared the F-35 to an expensive Ferrari that you only drive on Sundays. The high-end jet does have one thing in common with a high-performance race car: It’s always in the shop.
Maine Sen. Angus King asked the Pentagon’s nominee to be director of cost assessment and program evaluation for an update on some eye-popping numbers, assuming she’s confirmed.
“I would appreciate it if one of your first tasks might be an updated assessment of the sustainment cost of the F-35,” King asked Susanna Blume. “The figures that I’ve seen, which may be outdated, are 40 hours of maintenance for every hour of operation, anticipated only 250 hours of operation a year, $36,000 an hour of cost of flying the airplane.”
THE SAD SAGA OF THE F-35: TOO BIG TO FAIL, TOO EXPENSIVE TO FLY
NOMINEES ADVANCE: All of yesterday’s nominees — Susanna Blume to be director of cost assessment and program evaluation, Frank Kendall to be secretary of the Air Force, and Heidi Shyu to be undersecretary of defense for research and engineering — appeared on the way to easy confirmation.
And yesterday, the Senate Armed Services Committee reported out by voice vote a list of 3,438 pending military nominations in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force, including Christine Wormuth, to be secretary of the Army, and Army Gen. Paul LaCamera, to be commander of United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Biden’s Air Force nominee promises to buy more F-35s, bring down skyrocketing costs
Washington Examiner: How media shifted on COVID lab leak theory after months of dismissing it
Washington Examiner: Fauci: It would have been ‘dereliction of our duty’ not to collaborate with China on studying coronaviruses
Washington Examiner: Bipartisan bill would close ‘national security loophole’ exploited by Huawei
Washington Examiner: Hope stirs as Biden-Putin summit falls on 900th day of Paul Whelan’s detention
Washington Examiner: ‘He’s got a heart’: US to reopen Jerusalem Consulate in outreach to Palestinians
Washington Examiner: Biden backs intelligence director’s investigation into UFOs
Washington Examiner: State Department unfurls Black Lives Matter flags
New York Times: Pentagon Accelerates Withdrawal From Afghanistan
Washington Post: Australia closes its embassy in Kabul, others scale back
Military Times: The Army wants to kick out an avowed white supremacist officer, but they won’t admit it
New York Times: Iraqi Activism Fights for Survival Amid Murders and Threats
Air Force Magazine: Kendall Says Countering China is Why He’s Coming Back to Pentagon
Air Force Magazine: Brown on Future Combat: ‘I Can’t Predict the Future, But I Can Shape It’
Wall Street Journal: F-35 Sale to U.A.E. Imperiled Over U.S. Concerns About Ties to China
19fortyfive.com: The U.S. Air Force Might Retire Older F-35 Stealth Fighters
Bloomberg: Pentagon’s Unspent Billions Loom Large as Biden Eyes Flat Budget
Washington Post: DHS to issue first cybersecurity regulations for pipelines after Colonial hack
AP: 100 Iraqi families from IS-linked camp in Syria repatriated
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | MAY 26
10 a.m. — American Security Project virtual discussion: “Maintaining a Strategic U.S. Presence in the Persian Gulf,” with Khalid Al-Khater, director of the Qatar Foreign Affairs Ministry Policy and Planning Department; retired Army Lt. Gen. Daniel Christman, former senior vice president for international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; retired Army Col. David Des Roches, associate professor in the National Defense University Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies; and retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney, ASP president. https://www.americansecurityproject.org/event
10 a.m. — Middle East Institute webinar: “Deal or No Deal: U.S.-Iran Talks and Implications for the Middle East, with former Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Rend Al-Rahim, co-founder and president of the Iraq Foundation; Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute; Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the Crisis Group; and Alex Vatanka, director of the MEI Iran program. https://www.mei.edu/events/deal-or-no-deal
10 a.m. — Center for American Progress webinar: “A New Era for Cooperation? The U.S.-Republic of Korea Alliance After the Moon-Biden Summit,” Mark Lippert, senior adviser and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Heung-kyu Kim, founder and director of the Ajou University China Policy Institute; Jenna Gibson, Korea columnist at the Diplomat; and Tobias Harris, senior fellow at CAP. https://www.americanprogress.org/events
10 a.m. — United States Institute of Peace webinar: “In Search of Peace for Afghanistan: Historical Perspectives, with former UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Syria Lakhdar Brahimi; former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson, senior adviser at USIP; former Afghanistan Ambassador to Pakistan and China Janan Mosazai, co-founder and vice president of the Heart of Asia Society; Omar Sharifi, country director at the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies; Omar Sadr, assistant professor of political science at the American University of Afghanistan; Robert Crews, professor of history at Stanford University; Kawun Kakar, executive director of the Kakar History Foundation; Belquis Ahmadi, senior program officer at USIP; and Dipali Mukhopadhyay, senior expert at USIP. https://www.usip.org/events/search-peace-afghanistan-historical-perspectives
10 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual Spring 2021 Intelligence Symposium, with Dustin Gard-Weiss, deputy director of national intelligence for policy and capabilities; Morgan Muir, deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration; John Beieler, director of science and technology in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; Dan Wang, director of CIA Labs; and Cindy Daniell, research director at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. https://www.afcea.org/event/siregister
11:30 a.m. EDT — Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley delivers commencement address at the Air Force Academy’s class of 2021 graduation ceremony at Colorado Springs, Co. https://www.usafa.edu
12 p.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “This Budget Doesn’t Add Up: How Biden’s Spending Plan Misses the Mark for Both Defense and Education,” with Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage Center for National Defense; and Lindsey Burke, director of the Heritage Center for Education Policy. https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/event
2 p.m. 138 Dirksen — Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on proposed budget estimates and justification for FY2022 for the Homeland Security Department, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. http://appropriations.senate.gov
2 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group webinar: “The Future of Navy Modernization,” with Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. https://www.defenseone.com/feature/the-future-of-navy-modernization
4:30 p.m. 232A Russell — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to receive testimony on space force, military space operations, policy and programs, with Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations; John Hill, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for space policy; and Darlene Costello, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
THURSDAY | MAY 27
9 a.m. — United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research virtual conference: “From the Iran Nuclear Deal to a Middle East Zone? Lessons from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone,” with Anne-Laure Souissi-Sans. https://www.unidir.org/events/nuclear-risk
9 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Quantico-Potomac chapter virtual 11th Annual U.S. Marine Corps Information Technology Day forum, with Brig. Gen. Arthur Pasagian, commander of the Marine Corps Systems Command. https://www.afcea-qp.org
9:30 a.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing for Christopher Maier to be assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict; Deborah Rosenblum to be assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs; Frank Rose to be principal deputy administrator the National Nuclear Security Administration; and Jill Hruby to be undersecretary of energy for nuclear security and administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion on “the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance and the North Korean threat, with retired Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, former commander of U.S. Forces Korea. https://www.csis.org/events/korea
10 a.m. — German Marshall Fund of the United States webinar: “The Fate of Civil Society in Afghanistan, Post-Withdrawal,” with Kathy Gannon, news director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Associated Press; Marina Kielpinski LeGree, founder and CEO of Ascend; Metra Mehran, co-founder of the Feminine Perspectives Movement; Almut Wieland-Karimi, executive director of the Center for International Peace Operations; Ellinor Zeino, Afghanistan country director at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation; Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, former bureau chief at National Public Radio Kabul; and Rachel Tausenfreund, editorial director at GMFUS. https://www.gmfus.org/events/fate-civil-society-afghanistan-post-withdrawal
11 a.m. — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces hearing: “Department of the Navy Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request for Seapower and Projection Forces,” with Jay Stefany, acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition; Vice Adm. James Kilby, deputy chief of naval operations, warfighting requirements and capabilities; and Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, commanding general, Marine Corps Combat Development Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
11:40 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual Spring 2021 Intelligence Symposium, with Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency and chief of the Central Security Service. https://www.afcea.org/event/siregister
1 p.m. — House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing: “Fiscal Year 2022 Department of Defense Budget,” with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. https://appropriations.house.gov/events/hearings
2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies Strategic Technologies Program conversation: “Responding to Hacks Against America,” with Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology. https://www.csis.org/events/responding-hacks-against-america
3 p.m. — House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces hearing: “Army Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Program Update and Review of Electrification,” Tim Goddette, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition policy and logistics; and Michael Cadiuex, director, Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
FRIDAY | MAY 28
10 a.m. — Vice President Kamala Harris delivers commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy’s class of 2021 graduation ceremony in Annapolis, Md. https://www.usna.edu
MONDAY | MAY 31
Memorial Day — No Daily on Defense
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The figures that I’ve seen, which may be outdated, are 40 hours of maintenance for every hour of operation, anticipated only 250 hours of operation a year, $36,000 an hour of cost of flying the airplane.”
Maine Sen. Angus King, asking the next Pentagon weapons tester for an update on the sky-high costs of flying the F-35 fighter jet.
