Navigating an Uncertain Future
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NFL MILITARY FACES Raiders get off to Feds: NYPD officer With tour grounded, winning start at new and reservist worked Dylan resurrects his Las Vegas home as a spy for China theme radio show Back page Page 6 Page 15 ‘Unfathomable’: US death toll from coronavirus hits 200,000 » Page 8 stripes.com Volume 79, No. 113 ©SS 2020 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas Pentagon used Navigating an uncertain future money meant for medical gear on In Calif., Esper military supplies scrutinizes a Navy BY AARON GREGG in flux and warship AND YEGANEH TORBATI The Washington Post gutted by blaze WASHINGTON — A $1 billion fund Congress gave the Pentagon BY DAN LAMOTHE in March to build up the country’s supplies of medical equipment The Washington Post has instead been mostly funneled SAN DIEGO — The amphibious to defense contractors and used warship USS Bonhomme Rich- for making things such as jet en- ard sits charred in a shipyard at a gine parts, body armor and dress pier in this city’s picturesque bay. uniforms. Two months after a fire turned The change illustrates how one the vessel into a towering inferno, taxpayer-backed effort to battle Navy officials still say they have the coronavirus, which has killed no clue when or whether it will more than 200,000 Americans, sail again. was instead diverted toward The ship, stretching 844 feet patching up long-standing per- long, has ceived gaps in military supplies. not budged The Cares Act, which Congress since the passed earlier this year, gave fire broke the Pentagon money to “prevent, out July 12, prepare for, and respond to coro- prompting a navirus.” But a few weeks later, four-day bat- the Defense Department began tle in which reshaping how it would award the hundreds money in a way that represented a of sailors major departure from Congress’s and civilian original intent. Esper firefight- The payments were made even ers doused though U.S. health officials be- flames that melted metal and lieve there are still major funding belched smoke for miles. Sailors gaps in responding to the pan- have begun repainting the hull demic. Robert Redfield, director to protect it from corrosion, and of the Centers for Disease Control hoses now stretch upward from and Prevention, said in Senate the pier into the hull to provide testimony last week that states ventilation. But those who have desperately need $6 billion to been inside describe a ship in distribute vaccines to Americans ruin, with gaping holes in the early next year. There remains a flight deck that allow sunlight to severe shortage of N95 masks at beam through several layers. numerous U.S. hospitals. These “I’m not going to lie — I was are the types of problems that the scared,” said Petty Officer 2nd money was originally intended to Class Hayley Craig, recounting address. her eight trips into the ship to “This is part and parcel of fight the fire. “I think everybody whether we have budget priori- was. You couldn’t really see noth- ties that actually serve our pub- ing. It was incredibly hot. I didn’t lic safety or whether we have a know your body could take that government that is captured by much heat.” special interests,” said Mandy The price to fully renovate Smithberger, a defense analyst at the ship is not yet clear, but its the Project on Government Over- replacement will probably cost sight, a watchdog group. several billion dollars, based on JEFFREY F. YALE/U.S.Navy The $1 billion fund is just a frac- comparisons with similar-size Contractors with Naval Sea Systems Command work to remove the aft mast aboard the amphibious tion of the $3 trillion in emergency ships. assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard in August. The structural integrity of the aft mast, located spending that Congress approved SEE NAVY ON PAGE 3 above the ship’s superstructure, was compromised during a fire in July. SEE PENTAGON ON PAGE 3 PAGE 2 F3HIJKLM •STARS AND STRIPES• Wednesday, September 23, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES Military rates Switzerland (Franc)............................ 0.9169 Bank shares slide on money laundering report Euro costs (Sept. 23) ............................$1.15 Thailand (Baht) ..................................... 31.38 Dollar buys (Sept. 23).......................€0.8292 Turkey (Lira) .........................................7.6562 British pound (Sept. 23) ......................$1.25 (Military exchange rates are those Associated Press Journalists, leaked government documents indicate JPMorgan Japanese yen (Sept. 23) ....................102.00 available to customers at military banking South Korean won (Sept. 23) ........1,134.00 documents show that the banks moved money for people and Commercial rates facilities in the country of issuance The financial sector was hit for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3771 continued moving illicit funds companies tied to the massive Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For hard Monday following a report British pound .....................................$1.2765 nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., even after being warned of po- looting of public funds in Malay- Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3304 alleging that a number of banks purchasing British pounds in Germany), tential criminal prosecutions. sia, Venezuela and the Ukraine. China (Yuan) ........................................6.7771 check with your local military banking — JPMorgan, HSBC, Standard Denmark (Krone) ................................6.3442 The documents were obtained by The bank also processed more facility. Commercial rates are interbank Egypt (Pound) ....................................15.7802 Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank rates provided for reference when buying BuzzFeed News and shared with than $50 million in payments Euro ........................................ $1.1729/0.8526 currency. All figures are foreign currencies and Bank of New York Mellon the ICIJ. over the course of a decade for Hong Kong (Dollar) .............................7.7502 among them — have continued Hungary (Forint) .................................308.59 to one dollar, except for the British pound, The report compounded a mas- Paul Manafort, the former cam- Israel (Shekel) .....................................3.4360 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, to profit from illicit dealings with sive sell-off across global mar- paign manager for President Japan (Yen) ...........................................104.80 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) disreputable people and criminal kets because of gloom and doom Donald Trump, according to the Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3060 INTEREST RATES Norway (Krone) ...................................9.3249 networks despite previous warn- over COVID-19 infections and documents, which are known as Philippines (Peso).................................48.48 Prime rate ................................................3.25 ings from regulators. the economic damage from the the FinCEN Files. Poland (Zloty) ..........................................3.83 Discount rate ..........................................0.25 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...........................3.7508 Federal funds market rate ...................0.09 According to the Internation- pandemic. Shares of JP Morgan closed 3% Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.3631 3-month bill ............................................. 0.10 al Consortium of Investigative The consortium reported that lower on Monday. South Korea (Won) ..........................1,162.47 30-year bond ...........................................1.43 WEATHER OUTLOOK WEDNESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST WEDNESDAY IN EUROPE THURSDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 65/62 Kabul 88/48 Seoul 77/59 Baghdad 103/78 Kandahar Osan 84/57 Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 78/59 68/65 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 63/50 70/55 77/64 Iwakuni 73/70 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 92/88 Brussels 70/55 Guam 103/85 67/57 Ramstein 73/70 85/82 Lajes, 69/59 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 103/77 99/78 68/65 67/59 74/61 Aviano/ Vicenza 66/60 Naples 75/69 Okinawa Morón 82/79 81/65 Sigonella Rota 85/66 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 104/85 73/69 78/70 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 14 Classified .................. 13 Comics ...................... 17 Crossword ................. 17 Faces ........................ 15 Opinion ..................... 16 Sports .................. 18-24 Wednesday, September 23, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• F3HIJKLM PAGE 3 MILITARY Pentagon: How money was to be used changed months after aid package passed FROM FRONT PAGE sustainment, said her office has earlier this year to deal with the worked closely with Congress pandemic. But it shows how the and federal agencies to meet the blizzard of bailout cash was — in needs of both the medical and de- some cases — redirected to firms fense industries. that weren’t originally targeted “We are thankful the Con- for assistance. It also shows how gress provided authorities and difficult it has been for officials to resources that enabled the [ex- track how money is spent and — in ecutive branch] to invest in do- the case of Congress — intervene mestic production of critical when changes are made. The medical resources and protect Trump administration has done key defense capabilities from the little to limit the defense firms consequences of COVID,” Lord from accessing multiple bailout said in a statement. “We need to