Shrinking Footprint Defense Department Seeks Lowest Funding for Afghan War in a Decade

COLLEGE BASKETBALL MILITARY FACES No. 6 Dayton flying high Ex-soldier sentenced Adam Pally relishes with its best season in case involving wife’s role in new Fran in a half-century death, love triangle Drescher sitcom Back page Page 5 Page 14 Air Force issues new standards for beards, turbans and hijabs » Page 3 stripes.com Volume 78, No. 213 ©SS 2020 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas Shrinking footprint Defense Department seeks lowest funding for Afghan War in a decade BY PHILLIP WALTER WELLMAN The Defense Department asked Con- [American] forces,” the request said. gress in a funding request Monday for Afghan and U.S. Army soldiers Stars and Stripes American officials, including Defense $14 billion to support its Afghan mis- prepare for extraction following Secretary Mark Esper, have suggested KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. sions during the next fiscal year. The a meeting with local Afghan the number of U.S. troops in Afghani- military is planning to spend less on the amount requested is $3 billion less than leaders last month. A draft stan could be reduced to 8,600 from the war in Afghanistan than at any other was allocated for the current fiscal year Defense Department budget current total of around 13,000, regard- time in over a decade, partly because and $100 billion less than the amount assumes a drawdown of less of the outcome of ongoing peace of an expected drawdown of American provided in 2011 when the war in Af- American forces in Afghanistan. talks with the Taliban. forces from the country, a draft Defense ghanistan was at its peak. NICHOLAS BROWN-BELL/U.S. Army Department budget shows. “The budget assumes a drawdown of SEE FOOTPRINT ON PAGE 8 DOD proposes stripping Stars and Stripes’ funding in 2021 budget request BY COREY DICKSTEIN nior defense official said. troller. That review sought to find Monday at the Pentagon during AND NIKKI WENTLING The proposed cuts to the edito- funding that could be moved from a briefing to discuss the Defense Stars and Stripes rially independent news organiza- non-military applications into Department’s fiscal year 2021 tion, which is partially funded by warfighting coffers. budget proposal. WASHINGTON — The Penta- the Pentagon, were a product of “We have essentially decided Stars and Stripes’ ombuds- gon has proposed a cut to funding Breaking down the the recent defense-wide review coming into the modern age that man, Ernie Gates, on Twitter de- for Stars and Stripes as part of its ordered by Defense Secretary newspaper is probably not the fended the mission of the media budget by branch $705.4 billion budget request sub- Mark Esper, said Elaine McCusk- best way we communicate any mitted Monday to Congress, a se- er, the Pentagon’s acting comp- longer,” McCusker told reporters SEE FUNDING ON PAGE 8 Pages 6-8 PAGE 2 F3HIJKLM •STARS AND STRIPES• Wednesday, February 12, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES US revokes subsidy preference for some nations Military rates Switzerland (Franc) ............................... 0.9775 Euro costs (Feb. 12) ..........................$1.1199 Thailand (Baht) ......................................... 31.23 Dollar buys (Feb. 12) ........................€0.8929 Turkey (New Lira) ................................... 6.0117 British pound (Feb. 12) ........................$1.33 (Military exchange rates are those Bloomberg industries with unfairly subsi- Ukraine; and Vietnam. Japanese yen (Feb. 12) ......................107.00 available to customers at military banking dized exports, according to a U.S. The development marks a note- South Korean won (Feb. 12) ..........1,153.00 facilities in the country of issuance The Trump administration Commercial rates for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Trade Representative notice. worthy departure from two de- Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................... 0.3770 Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For is changing a key exemption to In doing so, the U.S. elimi- cades of American trade policy British pound ........................................ $1.2966 nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., America’s trade-remedy laws to Canada (Dollar) ...................................... 1.3285 purchasing British pounds in Germany), nated its special preferences for regarding developing nations that China (Yuan) ........................................... 6.9632 check with your local military banking make it easier to penalize about Denmark (Krone) ................................... 6.8423 facility. Commercial rates are interbank a list of self-declared developing could result in more stringent rates provided for reference when buying two dozen so-called developing countries that includes: Albania; penalties for some of the world’s Egypt (Pound)....................................... 15.6937 currency. All figures are foreign currencies countries including China, India Euro ............................................... $1.0920/.9157 to one dollar, except for the British pound, Argentina; Armenia; Brazil; Bul- top exporters. Hong Kong (Dollar) ................................ 7.7658 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, and South Africa. Hungary (Forint) .................................... 309.69 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) garia; China; Colombia; Costa The move also reflects Presi- Israel (Shekel) ........................................ 3.4092 The U.S. on Monday narrowed Rica; Georgia; Hong Kong; India; dent Donald Trump’s frustration Japan (Yen)............................................... 109.81 its internal list of developing and Indonesia; Kazakhstan; the Kyr- that large economies like China Kuwait (Dinar) ........................................ 0.3048 INTEREST RATES Norway (Krone) ...................................... 9.2451 least-developed countries in order gyz Republic; Malaysia; Moldova; and India are permitted to re- Philippines (Peso) .................................... 50.52 Prime rate ................................................4.75 to reduce the threshold for trig- Montenegro; North Macedonia; ceive preferential trade benefits Poland (Zloty) .............................................. 3.89 Discount rate ..........................................2.25 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) .............................. 3.7508 Federal funds market rate ...................1.58 gering a U.S. investigation into Romania; Singapore; South Af- as developing nations at the World Singapore (Dollar)................................. 1.3862 3-month bill .............................................1.55 whether nations are harming U.S. rica; South Korea; Thailand; Trade Organization. South Korea (Won) ............................ 1,181.96 30-year bond ...........................................2.02 WEATHER OUTLOOK WEDNESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST WEDNESDAY IN EUROPE THURSDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 43/36 Kabul 39/34 Seoul 45/38 Baghdad 48/26 Kandahar 54/50 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 55/39 57/53 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 45/37 38/34 52/44 Iwakuni 56/52 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 56/52 Brussels 40/35 Guam 49/36 46/37 Ramstein 57/53 81/77 Lajes, 39/35 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 55/34 56/50 63/59 39/35 46/34 Aviano/ Vicenza 47/32 Naples 58/51 Okinawa Morón 73/69 62/53 Sigonella Rota 65/46 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 80/76 60/44 62/55 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES Classified .................. 13 Comics ...................... 15 Crossword ................. 15 Faces ........................ 14 Opinion ..................... 16 Sports ...................17-24 Wednesday, February 12, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• F3HIJKLM PAGE 3 MILITARY Air Force issues new grooming standards BY CHAD GARLAND similar accommodation was later Stars and Stripes extended to Norse pagan service members. Airmen will be allowed to wear A Muslim airman was first al- up to a 2-inch beard under a new lowed to wear a beard in 2018. Air Force guidance that outlines The following year, a Sikh and at grooming standards for religious least two Norse heathen airmen accommodations. were granted beard accommo- The updated grooming policy, dations, according to a review of published Friday, also allows media reports. members of the Sikh faith to wear The new guidance does not turbans and Muslim women to limit how long a religiously ac- wear hijabs. commodated beard can be but Airmen must have a religious states that it must be rolled or tied U.S. AIR FORCE or medical exemption to grow a so that it does not extend more The U.S. Air Force has published new guidance for religious accommodations that allow airmen to wear beard, the policy says. than two inches below the chin. beards, turbans and hijabs. The guidance for beards grown A connected mustache must not under a shaving waiver remains extend past the line of the upper may need to be made of fire-re- had to certify it was part of a doc- man is assigned to hazardous unchanged: such whiskers must lip, the guidance says. sistant material. Turbans may be trinal or traditional observance. duty or environments, such as not be trimmed to give a sculpted Turbans, under-turbans and hi- worn in place of traditional mili- Requests for beard, turban or where chemical weapons threats appearance and cannot exceed jabs must be made of a “subdued tary headgear. hijab waivers should be approved exist. a quarter-inch in length, the up- material in a color that closely Wing commanders or the unless they involve a “compelling Commands may also demand dated policy states. resembles

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