In Reversal, Austin Backs Independent Prosecutors
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NBA PLAYOFFS MILITARY FACES Ayton alley-oop Russia says warning Comic explains gives Suns 2-0 shots deter UK warship; ‘insane’ real events lead on Clippers London denies claim behind Netflix film Page 24 Page 5 Page 18 US bases in Europe vulnerable to Russian nukes, report says ›› Page 5 stripes.com Volume 80 Edition 49 ©SS 2021 THURSDAY,JUNE 24, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas SEXUAL ASSAULT Historic alliance In reversal, Austin backs independent prosecutors BY WYATT OLSON Stars and Stripes Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has for the first time thrown his support behind removing decision-making from military commanders over prosecution in cases of sexual assault. In a statement issued Tuesday, Austin said the Pentagon would work with Congress to amend the Uniform Code of Mil- itary Justice by removing the prosecution of sexual assaults and similar of- Austin fenses from the military chain of command. The statement comes a day after Austin received the final recommendations of the Independent Review Commission on Sex- ual Assault and Sexual Harassment, which he established Feb. 26. “The IRC recommended the inclusion of Ha Neul and Miles Gabrielson other special victims’ crimes inside this in- U.S. Army Capt. Miles Gabrielson and South Korean army Capt. Ha Neul pose on their wedding day Feb. 20 in Busan, South Korea. dependent prosecution system, to include In lieu of a honeymoon, the couple toured five South Korean cities with their families due to the coronavirus pandemic. domestic violence,” Austin said in the statement. “I support this as well, given the strong correlation between these sorts Marriage between US, South Korean army officers is first of its kind of crimes and the prevalence of sexual as- sault.” BY DAVID CHOI tween active-duty officers in the U.S. and Ko- Austin said that in coming days he would Stars and Stripes rean armies, according to the 2nd Infantry Divi- provide President Joe Biden specific rec- CAMP CASEY, South Korea — South Korean sion. ommendations based on the findings. army Capt. Ha Neul laughed as she recalled The bond between Ha, 31, and Gabrielson, 29, The about-face on removing such prose- meeting her husband, U.S. Army Capt. Miles both artillery officers, formed in May 2020 after SEE AUSTIN ON PAGE 6 Gabrielson, last year. the pair was tasked with one of the most mun- “We have a very different memory over that,” dane duties in the military: creating a Power- she said during a recent interview with the new- Point presentation. RELATED lyweds at this base 40 miles north of Seoul. “He The project required them to make a bilingual House introduces bill merging thought I was smiling at him.” report for 2nd ID’s Republic of Korea-U.S. Com- 2 high-profile measures to While relationships between Americans and bined Division, a unique coalition where U.S. Koreans are not uncommon, the couple’s Feb. 20 combat military sexual assault union became the first of its kind: a marriage be- MATTHEW KEELER/Stars and Stripes SEE ALLIANCE ON PAGE 12 Page 6 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Thursday, June 24, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER Some used cars now cost more than original price EXCHANGE RATES Military rates South Korea (Won) 1, 135.07 Associated Press to record levels. on the wholesale market.” Switzerland (Franc) .9155 Euro costs (June 24) $1.17 Thailand (Baht) 31.76 DETROIT — When it was new, In the past year, used vehicle Yurchenko has found 73 models Dollar buys (June 24) 0.8160 Turkey (New Lira) 8.6137 British pound (June 24) $1.36 the window sticker price on a typi- prices on average have climbed of 1- to 3-year-old vehicles being Japanese yen (June 24) 108.00 (Military exchange rates are those available cal 2019 Toyota Tacoma SR double 30%, according to Black Book, sold at auctions for prices above South Korean won (June 24) 1,108.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger cab pickup was just under $29,000. which tracks car and truck data. their original sticker. many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain (Dinar) .3770 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur Two years later, dealers are paying That’s created many crazy situa- Used vehicle price increases ac- Britain (Pound) 1.4000 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2259 your local military banking facility. Commercial almost $1,000 more than that to buy tions where high-demand vehicles counted for one-third of the large China (Yuan) 6.4729 rates are interbank rates provided for reference Denmark (Krone) 6.2132 the same vehicle, even though it’s are selling for more than they did rise in inflation last month, accord- Egypt (Pound) 15.6602 when buying currency. All figures are foreign used. when they were new, said Alex Yur- ing to the Labor Department. Prices Euro .8355 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7658 pound, which is represented in dollarsto Then they’re selling it to consum- chenko, the company’s senior vice shot up a record 10% in April and an- Hungary (Forint) 292.78 pound, and the euro, which is dollarstoeuro.) Israel (Shekel) 3.2536 ers for more than $33,000. president of data science. other 7.3% in May, as inflation Japan (Yen) 110.71 INTEREST RATES Welcome to the wacky world of “The market is very strange right spiked 5%, the biggest 12-month in- Kuwait (Dinar) .3010 Norway (Krone) 8.4817 Prime rate 3.25 U.S. car and truck sales, where the now,” said Yurchenko. “Dealers crease since 2008. The average used Philippines (Peso) 48.73 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 Poland (Zloty) 3.78 Federal funds market rate 0.09 pandemic and a global shortage of need the inventory, so they are pay- vehicle cost $26,457 this month, ac- Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7502 3month bill 0.04 computer chips have pushed prices ing lots of money for their vehicles cording to Edmunds.com. Singapore (Dollar) 1.3432 30year bond 2.10 WEATHER OUTLOOK THURSDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST THURSDAY IN EUROPE FRIDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 64/60 Kabul Seoul 86/53 75/65 Baghdad 106/77 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar 76/64 73/64 Mildenhall/ Pomorskie Busan 99/59 Lakenheath 68/54 68/46 71/66 Iwakuni 73/69 Kuwait City Bahrain Brussels Zagan Sasebo Guam 106/86 89/82 Ramstein 66/61 65/55 70/56 77/66 83/80 Lajes, Riyadh Stuttgart 108/79 Doha Azores Pápa 68/65 70/62 106/84 Aviano/ 96/69 Vicenza 87/66 Naples 87/74 Morón Okinawa 81/76 95/63 Sigonella Rota 105/69 Souda Bay The weather is provided by the Djibouti 82/60 American Forces Network Weather Center, 100/84 80/73 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 11 Classified .................... 13 Comics .........................16 Crossword ................... 16 Faces .......................... 18 Opinion ........................ 14 Sports .................... 19-24 Thursday, June 24, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY Senators grill Navy heads on China-related budget BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS To do so, the Navy budget pro- Stars and Stripes posed $830 million in shipyard in- WASHINGTON — As the Navy vestments for the coming fiscal sailed a guided-missile destroyer year and more than $1.37 billion in through the Taiwan Strait on Tues- research and development for its day, senators on Capitol Hill conventional prompt strike pro- hounded the service’s top leaders gram, which will develop hyper- on whether their proposed 2022 sonic glide rockets for missiles – a budget will be enough to deter an capability China has but the U.S. increasingly aggressive China. doesn’t. One issue was that the Navy Still, there remains a chance that 2022 budget proposed canceling Congress could fund the second the previously planned construc- destroyer in 2022, which the Navy tion of a second destroyer, mean- listed among its highest unfunded ing only one of the ships used to pa- priorities for the next fiscal year. trol contentious waterways, pro- Last year, Congress funded a sub- tect aircraft carriers and strike marine that was originally on the down enemy missiles is included Navy’s list of unfunded priorities. in the new budget. More so, increases to the Navy’s The service would need an addi- budget will be necessary in coming tional $1.66 billion on top of its pro- years as tensions rise with China, posed $211.7 billion budget to fund Gilday said. This year’s $211.7 bil- the second destroyer, which it is lion budget proposal is a 1.8% in- under contract to have built by In- crease from the 2021 budget, galls Shipbuilding and General which he said was not enough to Dynamics Bath Iron Works. kept up with the rate of inflation. Canceling construction of one “Our fleet can control the seas in ship would be an overall cost sav- U.S. Navy conflict and project power ashore ings, though the Navy would have The destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur transits the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday. today, but we will be increasingly to pay a $33 million breached-con- challenged to do so in the future tract penalty for doing so, Adm. destroyer, not because he doesn’t ward that goal so far. through it aim to reaffirm that unless hard choices are made,” Mike Gilday, the chief of naval op- need it or doesn’t want it,” Inhofe While senators and Navy lead- view, the service has said.