COLLEGE FOOTBALL FACES MILITARY Senior quarterbacks Ryan Reynolds gives House OKs bill get 1 last shot at job to actress from creating Space Force, Army-Navy glory ridiculed Peloton ad paid family leave Back page Page 17 Page 5 Afghanistan food contractor keeps contract despite charges » Page 3 Volume 78, No. 172 ©SS 2019 CONTINGENCY EDITION FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2019 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas Judiciary panel VETERANS debates Trump impeachment; vote approaches BY MARY CLARE JALONICK AND LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee argued through a marathon session Thursday ahead of voting on ar- ticles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, the lat- est big step as the politically split panel prepares to send the charg- es to the full House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounded Michael McDonald-Low poses confident Democrats will have March 9, 2012, the day he led the votes to impeach the presi- a Joint POW/MIA Accounting dent next week but said it is up Command mission to the site to individual lawmakers to weigh where Spc. Clifford Van Artsdalen the evidence and decide for was killed May 11, 1968, in what themselves. Republicans seem was then South Vietnam. unwavering in their opposition to expelling Trump. Defense Department “The fact is we take an oath to protect and defend the Constitu- tion of the United States,” Pelosi told reporters. “No one is above the law; the president will be held accountable for his abuse of power and his obstruction of Congress.” Trump, apparently watching the live proceedings on televi- sion, tweeted his criticism of two Democratic women on the panel, Reps. Veronica Escobar and Shei- la Jackson Lee, both of Texas. He UNACCOUNTABLE called their comments about his actions inaccurate. SEE JUDICIARY ON PAGE 11 A Vietnam veteran’s 10-year quest to bring his soldier home BY WYATT OLSON dalen, had never been recovered. America’s lost warfighters. Stars and Stripes That fateful trek was etched like a grave- McDonald-Low was confident that this stone inscription in his mind as he retraced was the exact location where Van Artsdalen ushing through dense foliage his steps during this mission on March 9, was killed, he told Stars and Stripes during toward the site of the bygone 2012, to pinpoint the exact location of Van a series of interviews about his search. With ambush, Michael McDonald- Artsdalen’s death so that his remains could the location pinpointed — the government Low felt like he was floating for years had been working with an errone- through time. be found and returned home. He pressed on to find the split in the trail ous place and date of his death — the way He had longed for this day, was finally clear to find and repatriate the Pplanning thoroughly for the time he would where he had sent Van Artsdalen and two soldier’s remains. ANDREW HARNIK/AP other soldiers ahead to secure the route. return to this hillside in Vietnam’s Que Son Seven years later, nothing has changed. Soon after finding it, McDonald-Low Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Valley where many of his infantry company McDonald-Low’s quest to bring him home was joined by the other 11 members of the listens during a House Judiciary were wounded or killed by a hail of North is no further along than it was then. Committee markup of the Vietnamese gunfire on May 11, 1968. The mission team from the Joint POW/MIA Ac- And there is little time left. articles of impeachment against body of one of those soldiers in the platoon counting Agency, the U.S. Defense Depart- President Donald Trump on he commanded, Spc. Clifford Van Arts- ment body tasked at that time with finding SEE UNACCOUNTABLE ON PAGE 8 Thursday in Washington. PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Friday, December 13, 2019 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Military rates Switzerland (Franc)............................0.9848 Firm gives $10M in bonuses to 198 employees Euro costs (Dec. 13) ......................... $1.1431 Thailand (Baht) ..................................... 30.18 Dollar buys (Dec. 13) ........................€0.8748 Turkey (Lira) .........................................5.7710 British pound (Dec. 13) ........................$1.35 Associated Press (Military exchange rates are those tenure. The average bonus was of developing 20 million square Japanese yen (Dec. 13) ......................106.00 available to customers at military banking South Korean won (Dec. 13) ..........1,161.00 $50,000, but some employees will feet of office space, retail and Commercial rates facilities in the country of issuance BALTIMORE — A commer- for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3770 get upward of $250,000. warehouses. That real estate is Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For cial real estate developer is hand- British pound .....................................$1.3148 One man, a maintenance tech- nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., spread out over eight states. Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3181 ing out a total of $10 million in purchasing British pounds in Germany), nician who started at the com- China (Yuan) ........................................ 7.0213 Edward St. John said that he check with your local military banking bonuses to its 198 employees. Denmark (Krone) ................................6.7183 pany in 1981, received more than facility. Commercial rates are interbank is “thankful for every one of our Egypt (Pound) ....................................16.1298 News radio station WTOP rates provided for reference when buying $200,000. Euro ........................................ $1.1124/0.8990 employees for their hard work currency. All figures are foreign currencies reported Monday that Balti- “I was in shock,” Stanley Ches Hong Kong (Dollar) .............................7.8046 and dedication. I couldn’t think of Hungary (Forint) .................................296.34 to one dollar, except for the British pound, more-based St. John Properties told the “Today” show. “I’m still which is represented in dollars-to-pound, a better way to show it.” Israel (Shekel) .....................................3.4815 announced the bonuses at the in shock. Everybody was shaking Japan (Yen) ...........................................108.96 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) company’s holiday party. me down and giving me hugs.” The company was founded in Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3035 INTEREST RATES Edward St. John, the founder 1971. It has retail and warehouse Norway (Krone) ...................................9.0948 The company has employees Philippines (Peso).................................50.65 Prime rate ................................................4.75 and chairman of the company, throughout Maryland and north- space in Maryland, Virginia, Col- Poland (Zloty) ..........................................3.85 Discount rate ..........................................2.25 orado, Louisiana, Nevada, Penn- Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...........................3.7502 Federal funds market rate ...................1.55 said the amount of money that ern Virginia. The bonuses cele- Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.3563 3-month bill .............................................1.52 each employee gets is based on brate the company’s achievement sylvania, Utah and Wisconsin. South Korea (Won) ..........................1,182.64 30-year bond ...........................................2.22 WEATHER OUTLOOK FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FRIDAY IN EUROPE SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 46/35 Kabul 44/30 Seoul 36/28 Baghdad 64/55 Kandahar 50/39 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 37/30 51/36 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 44/40 36/31 45/37 Iwakuni 55/49 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 72/68 Brussels 37/27 Guam 71/63 44/40 Ramstein 57/47 83/80 Lajes, 40/32 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 77/61 73/66 65/61 41/31 39/32 Aviano/ Vicenza 34/30 Naples 57/45 Okinawa Morón 69/66 59/53 Sigonella Rota 59/39 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 84/74 64/59 61/57 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ............20 Comics ............................. 21 Crossword ........................ 21 Faces ............................... 17 Opinion ....................... 22-23 Sports .........................25-32 Friday, December 13, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 WAR US troops clean up after Bagram attack BY J.P. LAWRENCE The hospital, which was being Stars and Stripes rebuilt for use by locals, is on the boundary line of the base and has KABUL, Afghanistan — A a gate leading into it, said Moham- pair of Taliban bombs detonated mad Mahfooz Alizada, Parwan’s by suicide attackers at a nearby police chief. hospital shattered windows and Sporadic shooting continued damaged buildings at Bagram throughout the day as some Airfield, spurring cleanup efforts armed fighters hid within the after Wednesday’s failed attempt medical facility, leading one en- by the insurgents to breach the gineer to pause and chamber a base. round in his pistol upon hearing Pictures released by the Air nearby gunfire, the caption of an Force on Thursday showed air- Air Force photo said. men walking through dust and Five service members from the debris as they repaired parts of nation of Georgia received minor the passenger terminal, one of injuries during the assault, the the base’s busiest locations. Air- Georgian Defense Ministry said men cleared away broken metal in a statement. and ceiling tiles during cleanup