Groups press for defense spending hikes, base closures

THE BRAC DEBATE: Another drive is coming from a bipartisan coalition of experts from more than 30 think tanks, who have sent an open letter to members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees urging them to authorize a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round this year. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has told Congress if it could just see its way to another round of politically-unpopular base closings, the Pentagon could save a quick $2 billion a year.

“Congress has blocked closures here at home for over a decade. In that time, the military has been forced to allocate resources away from the training and equipping of our soldiers, and toward maintaining unneeded and unwanted infrastructure,” says the letter posted on the CATO Institute website. “Local communities have been deprived of the support that BRAC would provide, and have been denied access to property that could be put to productive use. Meanwhile, many tens of billions of taxpayers’ dollars have been wasted,” write defense experts  Christopher Preble, Mackenzie Eaglen and Todd Harrison.

PENTAGON’S NO. 2: Pat Shanahan, who is President Trump’s nominee for deputy defense secretary, appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee at 9:30 this morning. Shanahan, a Boeing executive, worked toward getting Boeing’s troubled 787 Dreamliner back on track, and was promoted to senior vice president of the aircraft manufacturer’s Supply Chain and Operations last April. Shanahan had been general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems in Philadelphia, where he oversaw all Army aviation programs. If confirmed, Shanahan will bring a major piece of the leadership puzzle for the Pentagon, which has only half a dozen political appointees in place.

A ‘WARMBIER’ TRAVEL BAN? Anger over the death of 22-year-old Otto Warmbier, the American student released months after he slipped into a coma in the hands of his North Korean captors, could be what pushes Trump to issue restrictions barring Americans from travel to the communist country. “It’s a brutal regime,” Trump said yesterday as he offered his condolences to the Warmbier family over the loss of their son. “He spent a year and a half in North Korea. A lot of bad things happened. But at least we got him home to be with his parents,” Trump said.

While the president said simply, “We’ll be able to handle it,” in his brief public comments,  a formal statement issued by the White House hinted at possible stronger actions. “Otto’s fate deepens my Administration’s determination to prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency,” the statement said. Last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told lawmakers that Trump is considering whether to impose a ban on all American travel to North Korea. “We have been evaluating whether we should put some type of travel visa restriction to North Korea,” Tillerson said. “We have not come to a final conclusion, but we are considering it.”

Sen. John McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, accused North Korea of imprisoning Warmbier unjustly and subjecting him to torture, Josh Siegel writes. “Let us state the facts plainly: Otto Warmbier, an American citizen, was murdered by the Kim Jong Un regime.” McCain said in a statement. “In the final year of his life, he lived the nightmare in which the North Korean people have been trapped for 70 years: forced labor, mass starvation, systematic cruelty, torture, and murder… The United States of America cannot and should not tolerate the murder of its citizens by hostile powers.”

Meanwhile, the China-based travel agency that organized Warmbier’s trip to North Korea says it will no longer take U.S. citizens to the country, according to the AP.

IF THE PHONE DOESN’T RING, IT’S RUSSIA: Once again there’s some strategic ambiguity about whether the U.S. and Russia are using their deconfliction phone link to communicate as their proxy forces bump up against each other in Syria. In the aftermath of Sunday’s shootdown of a Syrian Su-22 fighter jet by a U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornet, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford had a bit of a mixed message. On the one hand, he insisted the hotline was still used, and then in the next breath he said the U.S. was working to “re-establish” the communications link. “I will just tell you that we’ll work diplomatically and militarily in the coming hours to re-establish deconfliction,” Dunford said at National Press Club luncheon appearance, but then added, “I’m confident that we are still communicating between our operations center and the Russian Federation operations center.”

Angered by the downing of the Syrian jet, Moscow announced yesterday it was suspending the use of the deconfliction line, as it did after the U.S. launched a cruise missile attack against a Syrian Air base in April. But back then, while Moscow made a public show of shutting down the hotline, privately U.S. and Russian air operations centers were still communicating. That led the Pentagon to adopt a policy of not talking about whether it was not talking with the Russians. The fact is the hotline works to both sides’ advantage.

Moscow also issued an ominous but vague threat to treat U.S. planes as “targets” if they fly over the western part of Syria, but stopped short of threatening to shoot them down. “In the combat mission zones of the Russian aviation in the air space of Syria, all kinds of airborne vehicles, including aircraft and UAVs of the international coalition detected to the west of the Euphrates River will be tracked by the Russian SAM systems as air targets,” said a statement posted on the Russian Defense Ministry’s Facebook page.

At the Pentagon, an official said if U.S. planes over Syria feel threatened by Russian targeting radars they have an inherent right to self-defense. Left unsaid is that American pilots could fire off radar-seeking missiles to take out hostile tracking sites. Officials also told the Washington Examiner that additional air assets have been deployed to ensure U.S pilots are safe. “I’m also confident that our forces have the capability to take care of themselves,” Dunford said at the Press Club.

NUNES QUESTIONS TRUMP: Trump hasn’t implemented a military plan to prevent Russia and Iran from dominating Syria and threatening the west, a top Republican lawmaker warned, Joel Gehrke writes. “They picked the best small footprint option that they could for the maximum amount of impact,” House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, told the Washington Examiner. “Meaning: small troop numbers; heavy involvement with our partners; but in the long run, I don’t know if that’s going to be successful.”

That’s a pointed warning from a top Republican lawmaker, one who by the way defended Trump’s disputed claim that former President Obama’s team “wiretapped” his campaign. It reflects growing concern that the United States is risking defeating the Islamic State in Syria only to see that territory dominated by another major source of terrorism: Iran, which has partnered with Russia in propping up Syrian President Bashar Assad. “I believe that we’ll continue to take out ISIS leadership and create havoc for ISIS and al Qaeda in the region; however, you take the longer term risk of empowering the [Iran-backed] Shias and the Russians and the Assad regime to create more havoc for the West,” Nunes said.

Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. 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.

LUKE F-35s FLYING AGAIN: The Air Force has lifted flight restrictions and F-35 jets at Luke Air Force in Arizona will resume flights tomorrow following a rash of oxygen deprivation reports from pilots. The high-tech jets were grounded for 11 days while service experts and engineers searched for the cause of the incidents, which are also plaguing the Navy’s T-45 trainer jets and F/A-18 Hornets.

“No specific root cause for the physiological events was identified,” according to Maj. Rebecca Heyse, a spokeswoman at Luke. For now, pilots will have altitude restrictions, more backup oxygen and more training on the symptoms of oxygen deprivation. “We are confident that this initial step with the criteria our team developed will allow us to return to flying F-35s safely,” said Brig. Gen. Brook Leonard, the 56th Fighter Wing commander.

Sen. McCain weighed in on that as well in a statement yesterday, expressing “deep concern,” about the oxygen system failures not just in the F-35s, but also similar upticks in oxygen-related incidents on F/A-18 and T-45 aircraft. “I look forward to reviewing the results of the investigations into these incidents, as well as recommendations for remedial measures,” McCain said. “The Senate Armed Services Committee will continue to exercise vigorous oversight of this issue and, if warranted, address it in the National Defense Authorization Act.”

UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT TO PENTAGON: Mattis welcomes Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko to the Pentagon this afternoon, with all the appropriate military honors on the steps of the River Entrance. Poroshenko first meets today with Trump at the White House, and also has appointments at the State Department. “It is very important that my meeting, as the Ukrainian president, in the White House will be earlier than [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s meeting,” Poroshenko’s office said, according to Reuters.

TRANSGENDER RECRUIT CONCERNS: The Pentagon under Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the Obama administration set a July 1 deadline last year for each branch of the military to come up with policies to begin recruiting transgender troops. But Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Joint Chiefs chairman, confirmed Monday military service chiefs are concerned with the change and how it will affect new recruits, and that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is reviewing those concerns. “There have been some issues identified with accessions that the service chiefs, some of the service chiefs, believe need to be resolved before we move forward, so that is where we are right now,” Dunford said.

Dunford insisted the Pentagon is not rolling back its year-old transgender policy and said current transgender troops will be allowed to continue serving openly. “Let’s be clear. Transgender personnel are serving right now and there is no review ongoing that would affect the ability of those currently serving to continue serving providing they can meet the physical and mental qualifications of service.”

PEACE MISSION: White House aides Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt will separately travel to Jerusalem and Ramallah this week to talk with Israeli and Palestinian leaders about possible next steps in achieving a peace deal, according a Monday report.

Greenblatt, a top national security aide, will arrive in the Middle East on Monday, while Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Kushner, will make the transatlantic trip on Wednesday. “Excited to be traveling back to Israel and the Pal. Territories to continue the discussion about the possibility of peace,” Greenblatt tweeted Sunday evening.

NO, THEY WEREN’T MUGGED: A senior State Department official on Monday rejected allegations that U.S. officials mugged a North Korean diplomatic team as it left New York City following a United Nations conference, but did say the U.S. confiscated “multiple media items and packages” from the officials, consistent with standard procedures. Department of Homeland Security officials confiscated items from a trio of North Koreans departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport, prompting a physical confrontation between the two sides. North Korea accused U.S. officials of carrying out “a malicious provocation” by screening protected diplomats, and vowed retaliation if they don’t receive an apology.

But Susan Thornton, an acting assistant secretary of state, told reporters Monday that North Korean officials are subject to regular inspection as they leave. “I think it’s important to note that the inspected individuals in this case are not exempt from inspection at our nation’s ports of entry or departure,” she said.

THE FLYNN AFFAIR: Top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have asked former national security adviser Mike Flynn for documents about work he did overseas and asked whether he accurately reported it. Democrats on the committee led by ranking member Elijah Cummings are asking for documents from one of Flynn’s companies for information related to a 2015 trip to Saudi Arabia and are basing some of their request on filings from Flynn but also on a recent report from Newsweek.

“Most troubling of all, we have no record of General Flynn identifying on his security clearance renewal application — or during his interview with security clearance investigators — even a single foreign government official he had contact with in the seven years prior to submitting his security clearance application,” they said in a Monday news release.

THE RUNDOWN

Bloomberg: Navy finds $500 million for a second littoral combat ship in ’18

Reuters: An hour passed before Japan authorities were notified of Fitzgerald collision

Washington Post: When Navy ships collide, there is virtually always human error involved

Wall Street Journal: NATO’s stronger Baltic force riles Russia

Defense Tech: Pentagon brass work to get more U.S. fighters in allies’ hands

Military Times: Syria’s Euphrates valley is becoming a minefield where the risks of a wider war grow daily

Reuters: Mosul Old City battle goes house to house as Islamic State fighters defend

Foreign Policy: NATO allies press Trump to stop steel crackdown

New York Times: Saudis say they seized 3 Iranians planning ‘terrorist act’ at sea

USNI News: Huntington Ingalls awarded $3B construction contract for amphib Bougainville

Air Force Times: Air Force: As many as 135 patients may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis at Al Udeid clinic

Stars and Stripes: Guided-missile destroyer Dewey to visit S. Korean island ahead of joint war games

UPI: Lockheed, Tata agree to move F-16 production line to India

Calendar

TUESDAY | JUNE 20

8 a.m. 300 1st St. SE. Space, nuclear and missile defense modernization with Gen. John Hyten, head of U.S. Strategic Command. mitchellaerospacepower.org

9 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. Global security survey results and analysis with Unisys. press.org

9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Nomination of Pat Shanahan to be deputy defense secretary. armed-services.senate.gov

9:30 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. China’s emerging role in the world and U.S.-China relations. heritage.org

10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Russian military-industrial complex. csis.org

10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Reviewing congressional authorizations for the use of military force. foreign.senate.gov

12:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The origins and evolution of ISIS in Libya. atlanticcouncil.org

12:30 p.m. 1777 F St. NW. A conversation with Michael McCaul about cybersecurity and homeland threats from Eastern Europe. cfr.org

1 p.m. Pentagon River Entrance. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hosts an enhanced honor cordon welcoming Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko to the Pentagon.

5:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Debate on North Korea’s nuclear program. Csis.org

6 p.m. 529 14th St. NW Defense Secretary Jim Mattis receives the John Glenn College of Public Affairs (Ohio State Univ.) 2017 Excellence in Public Service award.  The National Press Club.

WEDNESDAY | JUNE 21

8 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd. Insider threat workshop. ndia.org

8:30 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Day 1 of a forum on the United States and Russia in the Arctic. wilsoncenter.org

9 a.m. Russell 232-A. Navy shipbuilding programs. armed-services.senate.gov

10 a.m. Hart 216. Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. intelligence.senate.gov

10 a.m. House Visitor Center 210. Russia Investigative Task Force hearing with former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. intelligence.house.gov

10:30 a.m. Dirksen 192. Review of the 2018 budget request for the Air Force with Secretary Heather Wilson and Gen. David Goldfein, chief of staff. appropriations.senate.gov

10:30 a.m. Dirksen 342. Cybersecurity regulation harmonization. hsgac.senate.gov

2:30 p.m. Dirksen 124. Review of the 2018 budget request for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs with Secretary David Shulkin. appropriations.senate.gov

2:30 p.m. Rayburn 2212. Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities budget markup. armedservices.house.gov

4 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces budget markup. armedservices.house.gov

THURSDAY | JUNE 22

8:30 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Day 2 of a forum on the United States and Russia in the Arctic. wilsoncenter.org

9 a.m. Rayburn 2212. Subcommittee on Readiness budget markup. armedservices.house.gov

9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Nomination of Richard V. Spencer to be Navy secretary. armed-services.senate.gov

9:30 a.m. 1501 Lee Highway. State of electronic warfare in the DOD with William Conley, deputy director of electronic warfare, office of the under secretary of defense. mitchellaerospacepower.org

10:30 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Subcommittee on Strategic Forces budget markup. armedservices.house.gov

11 a.m. Senate Visitor Center 217. Closed hearing on recent developments in North Korea with Joseph Yun, special representative for North Korea policy and deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea And Japan. foreign.senate.gov

11:30 a.m. Rayburn 2212. Subcommittee on Military Personnel budget markup. armedservices.house.gov

12:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces budget markup. armedservices.house.gov

1 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A conversation with Vice President Mike Pence. wilsoncenter.org

FRIDAY | JUNE 23

11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Opportunities and challenges of a nuclear posture review. heritage.org

1:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Poland’s new defense concept with State Undersecretary H.E. Tomasz Szatkowski, of Poland’s Ministry of National Defense. atlanticcouncil.org

MONDAY | JUNE 26

12:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Rising Chinese FDI in Latin America and the implications for the United States. atlanticcouncil.org

2 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Korean War, the “forgotten war,” remembered. wilsoncenter.org

5:30 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Foreign Service: Five decades on the frontlines of American diplomacy. brookings.edu

TUESDAY | JUNE 27

8 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Integrating Strike and Defense with Lt. Gen. Henry “Trey” Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency, and former Rep. Randy Forbes. csis.org

8:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Big data and the Twenty-first Century arms race. atlanticcouncil.org

12:30 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. Luncheon with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. press.org

1 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The future of Mosul and Iraq after the ISIS flag falls with Rep. Adam Kinzinger. heritage.org

3:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Book launch for Water, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy. wilsoncenter.org