Making War from a Dusty Hilltop Used As a Makeshift Base
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Volume 78, No. 132B ©SS 2019 CONTINGENCY EDITION SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2019 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas Fragile gains in northeast Afghanistan BY SUSANNAH GEORGE The Washington Post KHWAJA GHAR, Afghanistan — Victory against the Taliban in this remote northeastern prov- ince of Afghanistan is measured in distance: 20 miles of mud-brick villages and dirt roads. That’s how far Afghan Gen. Yasin Zia’s motley crew — local fighters in T-shirts, Afghan Army commandos in American tactical gear, and intelligence officers in shalwar kameez — managed to push back the militants, who had come ‘ For us, within 6 miles this was of the provin- cial capital of a huge Taloqan. victory. ’ “For us, this Afghan Gen. was a huge vic- tory,” Zia said Yasin Zia Making War from a dusty hilltop used as a makeshift base. The advances against the Tal- Developers behind latest Call of Duty title called in the pros iban here, as elsewhere, came at a price. Pro-government forces lost more than a dozen foot soldiers in to create most realistic possible portrayal of modern conflict the battles, both from friendly fire and Taliban counterattacks. And Zia and local leaders warn BY MIKE HUME gaming industry. that the string of villages, long The Washington Post It’s a process that required a marriage of technological innovation and well- home to profitable smuggling BURBANK, Calif. sourced storytelling, with the goal to routes, easily could slip back he bones of the game were produce the most realistic portrayal pos- under insurgent control once laid with drones and cam- sible of modern armed conflict by a video troops leave. eras, phone calls and ques- game. It will culminate Oct. 25 with the Across the country, Taliban tions, requirements and release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, forces have expanded their reach innovations. Rather than a title developed by Infinity Ward studio in recent years, building strength a fanciful brainstorm fol- that figures to be one of the top-selling in rural communities and, from Tlowed by code and keystrokes, as many games — if not the top-selling game there, launching attacks on urban would assume of a video game’s creation — of 2019. And its content already has centers. The Afghan govern- process, the latest title in the Call of Duty been authenticated by two men who ment’s control slipped to just over pantheon formed around research and know well the game’s subject matter. half the country in October 2018, revelations, groundwork for a multimil- The green-tinted footage plays on the last assessment produced by lion-dollar development process represen- the U.S.-commanded mission in tative of the modern, multibillion-dollar SEE REALISTIC ON PAGE 4 Afghanistan. The fight in Takhar province is one of a series of offensives that Above: A scene from game developer Infinity Ward’s upcoming Call of Duty: U.S.-backed forces have launched Modern Warfare, the latest in the long-running first-person-shooter series, this year, as both the Taliban set for release on Oct. 25. Right: Retired U.S. Navy SEALs Mitch Hall, left, and the Afghan military have and Stephen Sanders, consulted on the title to ensure its authenticity. stepped up pressure to gain the upper hand in peace negotiations ABOVE: COURTESY OF INFINITY WARD; RIGHT: PHILIP CHEUNG/Washington Post SEE FRAGILE ON PAGE 6 MIDEAST MUSIC MOVIES Kurds, Turks trade 2016 meeting led to Actress Jolie relates to blame for violating Ari Lennox’s critically evil queen ‘Maleficent’ on cease-fire agreement acclaimed debut album motherhood’s challenges Page 3 Page 17 Page 18 Eyeing playoffs, No. 4 Ohio State routs Northwestern » College football, Page 27 PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Sunday, October 20, 2019 MILITARY DOD exploits loophole to advance weapon buys BY AARON GREGG tractors that don’t usually work Trump took office, totaling about The Washington Post with the government. But tradi- $26.8 billion last year. That activ- tional defense contractors can ity has been led by the Army, with Hoping to speed up the weap- also be eligible when they meet an 86% increase last year alone. ons development process as it certain criteria, meaning indus- Defense analysts said such tools competes with China and Russia try giants including Lockheed could be useful for accelerating for technological preeminence, Martin and Raytheon can benefit the Defense Department’s tech- the Pentagon has dramatically as well. nology. They are favored because expanded its use of an obscure The Army is in the process of loophole that allows the military they provide a catch-all solution using Other Transaction Authori- to what many regard as a broken to ignore federal acquisition rules ty agreements to buy its next fleet designed to protect the integrity acquisition system, analysts said. of attack helicopters, awarding an DANNY RAY NUNEZ JR./U.S. Navy of the bidding process. “Contractors and the govern- initial set of contracts to a hand- So-called Other Transaction ment alike don’t really like the ful of companies that include Bell Authority agreements, or “OTAs” [Federal Acquisition] regulation. and a Lockheed Martin-Boeing for short, allow defense agencies It costs money to comply with Getting a check-up team. to side-step the Federal Acqui- all of it,” said Franklin Turner, And it also recently finalized a sition Regulation, a 2,010-page a government contracts attorney U.S. Navy Capt. Michael Sullivan, a doctor assigned to the hospital $384 million deal with Raytheon document that government agen- with the Washington, D.C., law ship USNS Comfort, sees a Dominican girl for a general health for six missile defense radars cies typically have to comply with firm McCarter & English. “On check-up at a temporary medical treatment site in Santo Domingo, called “LTAMDS,” designed to when they make large purchases. the other hand regulations are Dominican Republic,on Thursday. replace the Patriot Missile De- The provision dates back to there for a reason; to ensure full fense Radar. The new LTAMDS the early years of the space race and open competition, to ensure radar is supposed to have a when NASA was looking to quick- everyone is playing by the rules.” ly acquire technologies from the stronger signal and enhanced accuracy, thanks to the use of a Some analysts are concerned Officer honored for saving man commercial technology world. that the Defense Department The Defense Department under new substance called Gallium Nitride. could overuse the provision. The Fayetteville Observer Mingus, commander of the 82nd President Donald Trump has Dave Drabkin, a defense con- Airborne Division, recounted made prolific use of such agree- Executives said the alternate FORT BRAGG, N.C. — On sultant who chaired the con- what led to Johnson receiving the ments, citing the need to move process allowed them to signifi- gressionally mandated Section Feb. 27, 2018, Capt. Travis John- medal on Oct. 9. faster in some cases. cantly speed up the acquisition. 809 Panel, a group that provides son was driving home on a pitch When Johnson stopped, he The agreements play into a “The streamlined OTA rapid black road after hours of training grabbed medical gear and com- broader national security strat- prototyping acquisition process recommendations on stream- lining the federal acquisition at Fort Bragg and noticed a burn- bat shears as the other vehicle ex- egy that is focused on shifting the gets capability to the warfighter ing vehicle flipped on its side. more quickly,” Doug Burgess, process, called the Other Trans- ploded with fire, Mingus said. U.S. military’s resources away Johnson stopped to rescue a program director for Raytheon’s action Authority provision an Johnson shattered windows, from fighting terrorism and to- man who called for help. LTAMDS radar, said in an email. “incredibly important tool” for putting himself at risk, and cut ward preparing for an all-out war Now a physician assistant with with a so-called “near peer” com- A recent report from the Cen- maintaining the U.S. military’s the occupant out. the 60th Troop Command’s Medi- petitor such as Russia or China. ter for Strategic and Internation- competitiveness. “This car’s on fire the entire cal Detachment of the North Car- The Other Transaction Author- al Studies found that the Defense He said he is worried, however, time,” Mingus said. “He’s burn- ity provision is meant to priori- Department’s use of Other Trans- that Congress could one day take olina National Guard, Johnson ing his hand.” tize small businesses or so-called action Authority agreements has away that tool if the Defense De- was awarded the Soldier’s Medal Johnson persevered and didn’t “non-traditional” defense con- increased by about 350% since partment uses it inappropriately. for his actions. Maj. Gen. James even tell his parents about the in- T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ............ 14 Business .......................... 23 Gadgets ............................ 20 Movies ............................. 18 Music .......................... 16-17 Opinion ............................ 21 Sports .........................24-32 Television ......................... 15 Weather ........................... 23 Sunday, October 20, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 MIDEAST Kurdish forces, Turkey swap blame of fighting BY MEHMET GUZEL the cease-fire came into place, fighters used mortars, rockets, AND SARAH EL DEEB trying to crush Kurdish resis- anti-aircraft and anti-tank heavy Associated Press tance inside. Throughout much machine guns. of the day Friday, fighting was re- The ministry also said it was AKCAKALE, Turkey — Syrian ported there and in neighboring in “instant coordination” with EMRAH GUREL/AP Kurdish-led forces and Turkey villages that came under attack the United States to ensure the exchanged blame on Saturday for by the Turkish-backed forces.