COMMENTARY VIRUS OUTBREAK NATION A look at who’s US is expected to Fred weakens for real in college recommend vaccine as it drenches football’s Top 25 booster at 8 months Southeast Page 24 Page 10 Page 12 Texas National Guard unveils military’s 1st 3D-printed barracks ›› Page 3 stripes.com Volume 80 Edition 88 ©SS 2021 WEDNESDAY,AUGUST 18, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas Taliban claim to seek calm after blitz Air Force Insurgents say C-17 rescues they will respect more than women’s rights Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan — The 600 Afghans Taliban vowed Tuesday to respect women’s rights, forgive those who resisted them and ensure a secure BY CHAD GARLAND Afghanistan as part of a publicity Stars and Stripes blitz aimed at convincing world An Air Force cargo jet safely powers and a fearful population airlifted over 600 Afghans from that they have changed. Kabul as the United States scram- Following a lightning offensive bles to evacuate thousands follow- across Afghanistan that saw many ing the Taliban’s takeover. cities fall to the insurgents without A crowded C-17 Globemaster a fight, the Taliban have sought to III whisked away the evacuees portray them- from Hamid Karzai International selves as more Airport late Sunday, according to moderate than the caption on a photo released by when they im- Air Mobility Command on Tues- posed a brutal day. rule in the late “This speaks to the humanity of 1990s. But many our troops in this mission,” Maj. Afghans remain Gen. Hank Taylor, director of cur- skeptical — and Mujahid rent operations on the Joint Staff, thousands raced told reporters Tuesday at the Pen- to the airport on Monday, desper- tagon. ate to flee the country. The photo and the details of the Older generations remember flight were first reported Monday the Taliban’s ultraconservative Is- by Defense One, citing unidenti- lamic views, which included se- fied defense officials. vere restrictions on women as The U.S. began evacuating gov- well as public stonings and ampu- ernment personnel, American ci- tations before they were ousted by tizens and vulnerable Afghans the U.S.-led invasion following the over the weekend. The 600-plus Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. from Sunday might be among the As others have in recent days, most people ever flown on the 174- spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid foot-long aircraft, Defense One re- addressed these concerns head on ported. in his first news conference Tues- Flight tracking software day. Mujahid, who had been a shad- SEE RESCUE ON PAGE 8 owy figure for years, promised the Taliban would honor women’s RELATED rights, but within the norms of Is- lamic law, though he gave few de- Pentagon increases tails. He said the group wanted private media to “remain inde- estimates for pendent,” but stressed journalists U.S. Air Force “should not work against national Afghan evacuations A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III safely transported approximately 640 Afghan citizens from Hamid Page 9 Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Sunday. SEE TALIBAN ON PAGE 8 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Wednesday, August 18, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER Spirit Air says canceled flights cost $50M EXCHANGE RATES Military rates South Korea (Won) 1,177.86 Associated Press flights — it called the moves that recovering from the crisis Switzerland (Franc) 0.9119 Euro costs (Aug. 18) $1.15 Thailand (Baht) 33.28 Spirit Airlines said Monday “tactical schedule reductions” caused expenses to climb. Dollar buys (Aug. 18) 0.8283 Turkey (NewLira) 8.4363 British pound (Aug. 18) $1.34 the cancellation of more than — for the rest of the quarter, The airline said it paid to put Japanese yen (Aug. 18) 107.00 (Military exchange rates are those available 2,800 flights over an 11-day which ends Sept. 30. some stranded passengers on South Korean won (Aug. 18) 1,144.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger­ stretch this summer cost the With all the cancellations, and flights operated by other air- many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain (Dinar) 0.3770 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ budget airline about $50 million now fewer flights for the next six lines, and covered their hotel Britain (Pound) 1.3756 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2613 your local military banking facility. Commercial in lost revenue and caused weeks, Spirit estimated that its stays. It also incurred higher la- China (Yuan) 6.4852 rates are interbank rates provided for reference Denmark (Krone) 6.3353 spending to soar. third-quarter revenue will bor costs, such as overtime. Egypt (Pound) 15.6901 when buying currency. All figures are foreign The airline said the service range between $885 million and Spirit said it canceled 2,826 Euro 0.8519 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7974 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ meltdown that started in late Ju- $955 million, or 4% to 11% below flights from July 30 through Hungary (Forint) 299.40 pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­euro.) Israel (Shekel) 3.2301 ly and a rise in COVID-19 cases the same quarter in pre-pan- Aug. 9 as it dealt with “overlap- Japan (Yen) 109.43 INTEREST RATES are causing more last-minute demic 2019. ping challenges” including bad Kuwait (Dinar) 0.3008 Norway (Krone) 8.8596 Prime rate 3.25 cancellations and softer book- Spirit’s cancellation numbers weather, airport staffing short- Philippines (Peso) 50.46 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 Poland (Zloty) 3.89 Federal funds market rate 0.09 ings. have returned to more normal ages, and crews being stranded Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7505 3­month bill 0.06 Spirit said that it will reduce levels. However, the airline said far from their assigned flights. Singapore (Dollar) 1.3612 30­year bond 1.92 WEATHER OUTLOOK WEDNESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST WEDNESDAY IN EUROPE THURSDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 75/70 Kabul Seoul 82/66 Baghdad 104/74 Drawsko Osan Tokyo Kandahar Mildenhall/ 89/72 86/70 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 62/55 70/57 79/74 Iwakuni Kuwait City 81/76 Bahrain Zagan Sasebo Guam 105/85 95/90 Brussels Ramstein 65/53 64/59 67/55 82/75 84/81 Riyadh Lajes, Stuttgart 107/80 Doha Azores Pápa 73/70 66/56 103/86 Aviano/ 70/58 Vicenza 94/61 Naples 86/75 Okinawa Morón 82/79 94/70 Sigonella Rota 95/73 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 80/68 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 103/85 83/76 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 11 Classified .................... 13 Comics .........................16 Crossword ................... 16 Faces .......................... 18 Opinion ........................ 14 Sports .................... 19-24 Wednesday, August 18, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY Military’s first 3D-printed barracks unveiled BY ROSE L. THAYER topped the structure with a roof in Stars and Stripes May, and officials claimed it is the CAMP SWIFT, Texas — Texas largest 3D-printed structure in National Guard members will be North America. the first in the military to sleep in “Giving our soldiers a safe and barracks constructed through 3D secure place to lay their heads at printing at a training base near night is part of military readin- Bastrop. ess,” Cornyn said. “We’ve got The 3,800-square-foot building some old stuff, and we need to re- was constructed in less than a year place it with newer, more modern at one-third of the cost of tradition- and more efficient facilities. This al construction barracks, and it technology that ICON has demon- will soon house up 72 Guard mem- strated here will provide our mil- bers at a time, said Maj. Gen. Tra- itary with the ability to quickly cy Norris, adjutant general of the build resilient and energy effi- Texas Military Department. cient structures, while saving tax- “It’s rapid deployment, flexibil- payer money.” ity, affordability and sustainabili- The senator said he would like ty,” she said during a ribbon-cut- to see how the technology could ting ceremony Monday morning, evolve to build larger facilities and speaking alongside Sen. John Cor- potentially long-term housing on nyn, R-Texas, and Evan Loomis, military bases where the facilities the co-founder of ICON, the com- are outdated or overcrowded. pany that constructed the bar- The new barracks at Camp racks. Swift will be used for troops visit- Neither the National Guard nor ing the base for training. ICON would say what it cost to The construction materials and PHOTOS BY ROSE L. THAYER/Stars and Stripes build the barracks. However, the design of the building make it Sen. John Cornyn speaks Monday with leadership of the Texas Military Department about a new barracks Guard said Monday that a 7,200- much more capable of withstand- at Camp Swift, Texas, that was built using 3D printing construction. square-foot barracks built with ing significant weather and less traditional construction methods likely to succumb to some of the at Camp Swift, Camp Bowie, at Camp Bowie cost about $3 mil- conditions seen in traditional bar- Camp Maxey and potentially lion to design, collect bids and racks buildings, such as mold, Camp Mabry, where the Guard is build. Loomis said. headquartered in Austin, Norris A 3D printer uses a digital de- “One of the wonderful opportu- said. sign to deposit thin layers of mate- nities that you’re given when you Loomis didn’t offer an exact rial over and over until it forms a design something in the digital lifespan for the building, but he physical object.