Navy Struggling to Retain Swos

NHL PLAYOFFS NATION VIDEO GAMES Offense from Black Americans laud Ratchet and Clank: defense proving Juneteenth holiday, Rift Apart a visual to be big in semis say more work ahead showcase for PS5 Page 24 Page 6 Page 13 Senator: Military justice changes must go beyond sex cases ›› Page 3 stripes.com Volume 80 Edition 45A ©SS 2021 CONTINGENCY EDITION SATURDAY,JUNE 19, 2021 Free to Deployed Areas Army eyes systemic fix for its AWOL weapons BY WYATT OLSON Stars and Stripes Army leaders met Thursday in search of a systemic fix to the problem of lost and stolen weapons in the service as disclosed by an in- vestigation by The Associated Press. The probe, published Tuesday, found that at least 1,900 guns from the U.S. military were recorded as lost or stolen in the 2010s, most from the Army. Some were later used in violent crimes, the investi- gation found. “The Army takes weapons accountability very seriously,” Col. Cathy Wilkinson, an Army spokes- woman, said in a statement Thurs- day. “While we have stringent physical security measures, we have more work to do to ensure that our property accountability and crimi- nal reporting systems are seam- lessly linked together. The Army staff met today to develop a way forward to fix this problem and we DESMOND PARKS/U.S. Navy will provide more information as Ensign Jose Lopezbautista, electrical officer aboard USS New Orleans, takes a bearing on the bridge as conning officer during operations with this effort evolves.” USS America, USS Germantown and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship JDS Shimokita in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked about missing weapons during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Thursday. Navy struggling to retain SWOs SEE AWOL ON PAGE 4 New GAO report also finds only 12% of female surface warfare officers stay in the job “I was frankly BY SARAH CAMMARATA port released Thursday. Though Naval Surface Forces The GAO report is part of the re- shocked by the Stars and Stripes The Government Accountabili- Command tracks separation rates sponse to ship collisions at sea that WASHINGTON — Navy offi- ty Office’s report also found only for surface warfare officers by killed 17 sailors in 2017. That numbers that cers who focus on the safe oper- 12% of female surface warfare of- gender, it hasn’t developed a plan spring, the guided-missile de- ation of surface ships are switch- ficers stay in the job, compared to improve retention rates, ac- stroyer USS Fitzgerald collided were in there.” ing jobs or leaving the military at with 39% of male SWOs. Overall, cording to the report titled “Navy with a merchant ship off the coast higher rates than other service of- 33% of SWOs remain in the posi- Readiness: Actions Needed to of Japan, resulting in the death of Gen. Mark Milley ficers in similar positions, accord- tion compared with 45% of offi- Evaluate and Improve Surface Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ing to a government watchdog re- cers who are in similar Navy jobs. Warfare Officer Career Path.” SEE REPORT ON PAGE 4 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Saturday, June 19, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER US agrees to suspend tariffs on Scotch whisky EXCHANGE RATES Military rates South Korea (Won) 1135.72 Associated Press trade dispute. While the U.K. is no contributed to a 30% fall in total Switzerland (Franc) 0.9221 Euro costs (June 21) $1.16 Thailand (Baht) 31.49 LONDON — Scotch single malt longer an EU member, it belonged whisky exports to the U.S., equiv- Dollar buys (June 21) 0.8181 Turkey (NewLira) 8.7395 British pound (June 21) $1.35 whisky makers breathed a sigh of to the bloc when the tariffs were alent to around $850 million in the Japanese yen (June 21) 108.00 (Military exchange rates are those available relief Thursday after the United introduced. 18 months to March 2021. South Korean won (June 21) 1103.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger States agreed to suspend tariffs on Earlier this week, the U.S. and “This deal removes the threat of many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3770 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur one of Scotland’s main exports in the EU reached an agreement to tariffs being re-imposed on Scotch Britain (Pound) 1.3840 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2396 your local military banking facility. Commercial the wake of the resolution of a end the aerospace dispute, paving whisky next month and enables China(Yuan) 6.4524 rates are interbank rates provided for reference Denmark (Krone) 6.2664 longstanding transatlantic trade the way for a 5-year suspension of distillers to focus on recovering Egypt (Pound) 15.6644 when buying currency. All figures are foreign row over subsidies to aircraft tariffs. Parallel talks were held be- exports to our largest and most Euro 0.8426 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7641 pound, which is represented in dollarsto companies Boeing and Airbus. tween the U.S. and the U.K. over valuable export market,” Karen Hungary (Forint) 299.99 pound, and the euro, which is dollarstoeuro.) Israel (Shekel) 3.2734 President Donald Trump im- the tariffs. Betts, the association’s chief exec- Japan (Yen) 110.44 INTEREST RATES posed the 25% tariffs on select The tariffs on Scotch single utive, said. Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3013 Norway (Krone) 8.6504 Prime rate 3.25 products of the European Union, malts were the most high-profile A thaw in U.S.-EU relations had Philippines (Peso) 48.53 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 Poland (Zloty) 3.84 Federal funds market rate 0.09 including Scotch single malt whis- to affect Britain. The Scotch Whis- been expected following the elec- Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7505 3month bill 0.04 kies, in October 2019 as part of the ky Association estimated that they tion of President Joe Biden. Singapore (Dollar) 1.3449 30year bond 2.10 WEATHER OUTLOOK SATURDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST SATURDAY IN EUROPE SUNDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 63/60 Kabul Seoul 83/51 78/61 Baghdad 101/76 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar Mildenhall/ 79/61 76/66 98/60 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 85/64 72/66 60/55 Iwakuni Kuwait City Bahrain 71/64 Brussels Zagan Sasebo 102/84 88/85 Ramstein 87/63 76/65 Guam 72/62 88/64 83/80 Riyadh Lajes, Azores Stuttgart 105/75 Doha Pápa 102/86 69/66 85/68 Aviano/ 87/62 Vicenza 86/64 Naples 84/67 Okinawa Morón 80/77 79/57 Sigonella Rota 93/60 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 70/59 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 102/86 75/68 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 11 Comics/Crossword ...... 17 Food ......................... 14 Opinion ........................ 16 Sports .................... 19-24 Television .................. 15 Video Games ............. 13 Saturday, June 19, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY Guide released on suing DOD for malpractice BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS United States that active-duty Stars and Stripes troops cannot sue the government WASHINGTON — The Defense for personal injuries suffered Department released guidelines while in service, according to the Thursday on how troops can now register. sue the military for medical mal- The Supreme Court case was practice, which they had been named for Army Lt. Rudolph barred from doing for more than Feres, who died in a 1947 Pine 70 years. Camp, N.Y., barracks fire. Law- The Pentagon will begin paying yers argued the Army owed his CARLOS BONGIOANNI/Stars and Stripes service members or their estates widow compensation because it Sgt. 1st Class Rich Stayskal, an Army Green Beret suffering from terminal lung cancer, arrives on Capitol next month for substantiated was negligent in not fixing a defec- Hill in Washington with his wife Meg in 2018. Stayskal says doctors at Fort Bragg missed the tumor on his claims of less than $100,000 that tive heating plant and a fire guard lung evident in a scan six months earlier. were filed within two years of a in the area did not maintain ade- medical malpractice incident, ac- quate fire watch, according to the makers to change the law. The Medical Accountability Act of In some cases, an affidavit af- cording to the information pub- court opinion. Feres ruling barred Stayskal from 2019 was then included and passed firming the claimant consulted lished in the Federal Register. “We conclude that the govern- filing suit after military doctors in the 2020 NDAA, which former with a health care professional The Treasury Department will ment is not liable under the Feder- during a routine physical in Janu- President Donald Trump signed who stated a “DOD health care cover claims totaling more than al Tort Claims Act for injuries to ary 2017 failed to inform him of his into law Dec. 20, 2019. provider breached the standard of $100,000, according to the register. servicemen where the injuries lung cancer, which grew to be ter- The new regulation will come care that caused the alleged harm” As of April 1, there were 227 arise out of or are in the course of minal. into effect in 30 days. While it in- must also be included, according cases totaling $2.16 billion await- activity incident to service,” the “A few years ago, when Richard cludes the two-year statute of limi- to the register.

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