Teams Running out of Excuses for Miserable Performances ›› NFL, Page 24

MILITARY MILITARY FACES Former Marine Corps Forest Light drill Bob Dylan’s worker sentenced for brings together US, entire song selling pot on Okinawa Japanese troops library sold Page 3 Page 4 Page 18 Teams running out of excuses for miserable performances ›› NFL, Page 24 stripes.com Volume 79 Edition 167 ©SS 2020 TUESDAY,DECEMBER 8, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas VIRUS OUTBREAK Inoculations voluntary for troops until FDA approval Going the BY JOSEPH DITZLER Stars and Stripes U.S. service members may have to volunteer for coronavirus vaccines as they become available under emergency or early use gui- delines set by the Food and Drug extra mile Administration, according to the Defense Department. At least three vaccines are bet- ter than 90% ef- fective against COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, according to news accounts. The U.S. military is planning COVID-19 to distribute two vaccines that are pending FDA approval. Vaccines could become available soon. The FDA takes up a re- quest Thursday for emergency use of the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, according to the FDA docket online. The United Kingdom last week approved its use on a temporary, emergency basis, the first country to do so. Some Air Force bases postponing fitness tests until April amid pandemic surge Moderna has also applied for permission to field its vaccine on BY JENNIFER H. SVAN an emergency use basis. An FDA Stars and Stripes INSIDE committee meets on that applica- While the Air Force as a whole still plans to Marines suspend fitness tion Dec. 17. resume fitness assessments Jan. 1., some base Vaccines available on a trial ba- commanders have postponed them until tests for remainder of year sis will probably be administered spring amid a record-breaking wave of coro- Page 3 first to volunteers, according to a navirus infections in the United States. Defense Department statement “I know that our airmen are stressed. I know fering, this is something they need not worry given to Stars and Stripes on that they’re tired,” said Col. Tyler Schaff, com- about as they go through the holidays.” Thursday by Yokota Air Base in mander of the 316th Wing and Joint Base An- The Air Force has pushed back the resump- western Tokyo. drews, Md., one of three bases last week to an- tion of fitness testing three times since March. The Defense Department ex- nounce a fitness testing delay until April 1. In September, it announced that it would post- pects quantities will be “limited “This is not for people to quit working out or initially and distributed on a roll- delay working out,” Schaff said. “What I’m of- SEE EXTRA ON PAGE 3 ing delivery basis as more vaccines become available,” accord- At least three Air Force bases in the U.S. have postponed the resumption of fitness testing ing to the email from base spokes- until April 1, 2021, amid the worsening pandemic. PHOTOS BY ABNER GUZMAN, TOP, AND CHARLES WELTY, RIGHT/U.S Air Force SEE TROOPS ON PAGE 7 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Tuesday, December 8, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER China trade surplus hits $75B EXCHANGE RATES Military rates So. Korea (Won) 1,083.42 Associated Press to $192.6 billion, up from the pre- likely to last into 2021 once coro- Switzerlnd (Franc) 0.8881 Euro costs (Dec. 8) $1.18 Thailand (Baht) 30.19 BEIJING — China’s politically vious month’s 4.7%. navirus vaccines are rolled out. Dollar buys (Dec. 8) 0.8029 Turkey (NewLira) 7.8328 British pound (Dec. 8) $1.30 sensitive trade surplus soared to a Chinese exporters have benefit- “We expect export perform- Japanese yen (Dec. 8) 101.00 (Military exchange rates are those available record $75.4 billion in November ed from the economy’s relatively ance to be less impressive,” said South Korean won (Dec. 8) 1056.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger as exports surged 21.1% over a early reopening after the Commu- Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3771 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur year earlier, propelled by Ameri- nist Party declared the coronavi- in a report. Britain (Pound) 0.7511 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2800 your local military banking facility. Commercial can consumer demand. rus pandemic under control in China’s global trade surplus for China(Yuan) 6.5345 rates are interbank rates provided for reference Denmark (Krone) 6.1260 Exports to the United States March while foreign competitors the first 11 months of 2020 is $460 Egypt (Pound) 15.6945 when buying currency. All figures are foreign rose 46% despite lingering tariff still are hampered by anti-disease billion, up 21.4% from this time Euro 0.8230 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7508 pound, which is represented in dollarsto hikes in a trade war with Washing- controls. last year, already one of the high- Hungary (Forint) 395.95 pound, and the euro, which is dollarstoeuro.) Israel (Shekel) 3.2561 ton, customs data showed Mon- “Exports were much stronger est ever recorded. Japan (Yen) 111.39 INTEREST RATES day. than expected in November,” said Exports to the United States Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3045 Norway (Krone) 8.7193 Prime rate 3.25 Total exports rose to $268 bil- Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital rose to $51.9 billion while imports Philippines (Peso) 48.18 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.25 Poland (Zloty) 3.68 Federal funds market rate 0.09 lion, accelerating from October’s Economics in a report. of American goods gained 33% to Saudi Arab (Riyal) 3.7506 3month bill 0.10 11.4% growth. Imports gained 5% Forecasters say that surge is un- $14.6 billion. Singapore (Dollar) 1.3353 30year bond 1.65 WEATHER OUTLOOK TUESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST TUESDAY IN EUROPE WEDNESDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 41/32 Kabul Seoul 46/40 44/31 Baghdad 67/47 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar Mildenhall/ 45/30 52/41 60/40 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 37/29 37/33 53/36 Iwakuni Kuwait City 57/36 Bahrain Brussels Zagan Sasebo 69/52 73/64 Ramstein 46/36 55/43 Guam 38/31 36/30 86/79 Riyadh Lajes, 72/48 Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 63/58 35/31 76/64 Aviano/ 45/36 Vicenza 46/41 Naples 58/50 Okinawa Morón 68/64 58/40 Sigonella Rota 64/50 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 63/51 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 84/76 64/53 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 11 Comics .........................16 Crossword ................... 16 Faces .......................... 18 Opinion ........................ 14 Sports .................... 19-24 Tuesday, December 8, 2020 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY Marines halt fitness tests as virus surges BY STEVE BEYNON As of now, testing is suspended suspended for CY 2020, Marines kick off its new fitness test. Units 14,331,200 people in the United Stars and Stripes through the rest of 2020 and will are required to maintain physical are allowed to conduct the Army States have been infected with the WASHINGTON — The Marine resume in January, according to a fitness, body composition, and Combat Fitness Test, but it will not coronavirus and at least 277,600 Corps has suspended combat fit- memo from the Marine Corps. military appearance standards at count officially. It is unclear when have died, according to data from ness tests for the rest of the year There are exceptions in which all times," according to a memo the Army will resume tests for of- The New York Times. due to the spikes of coronavirus some Marines might have to con- from the Marine Corps. ficial records. Conditions have worsened with cases across the country. duct a test ahead of shipping to a The move from the Corps fol- The Air Force suspended fit- winter approaching. During the “All Marines who have not yet school, such as Sniper School or lows other branches that have ness tests, but the service plans to past week, there has been an aver- conducted the Combat Fitness Officer Candidate School. Testing paused testing much earlier in the resume them on Jan. 1. However, age of 180,327 cases per day, an in- Test will not do so this year due to has also not paused for boot camp. pandemic. some base commanders have crease of 8% from the average of the current nationwide #CO- Current fitness test failures still The Army suspended fitness postponed them until spring. The two weeks ago. VID19 environment,” the servic- must conduct another assessment tests counting on a soldier’s re- Navy is planning to resume fitness e’s official Twitter account posted for a passing score. cord in the spring, despite this be- assessments in March. [email protected] Friday. "Although the CFT has been ing the year that the service would As of Friday, more than Twitter: @StevenBeynon Ex-USMC employee sentenced for selling weed on Okinawa BY MATTHEW M. BURKE case was unavailable from Japa- AND AYA ICHIHASHI nese authorities. Stars and Stripes Yecla “spread marijuana’s evil CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A influence far and wide,” Chief former U.S. government employ- Justice Hironobu Ono said at the ee for the Marine Corps on Okina- sentencing, the Okinawa Times wa must serve more than four report said. “His behavior de- years in a Japanese prison for sell- serves the sentence.” ing marijuana on the island.

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