A Tense Transition “We Are Saddened by the Loss of Six U.S
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NFL: Pandemic made 1st half VIDEO GAMES unpredictable Back page PlayStation 5 a game-changer Page 20 MUSIC: Keith Richards on his solo reissue Page 32 MOVIES: Manville, Lane shine in ‘Let Him Go’ Page 18 stripes.com Volume 79, No. 150 ©SS 2020 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2020 $1.00 EGYPT 6 Americans among 8 dead as peacekeeping copter crashes BY CHAD GARLAND Stars and Stripes At least eight people were killed, including six Americans, when a helicopter carrying mem- bers of an international peace- keeping force in Egypt crashed near the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday. “Six of the dead were Ameri- can, one was French and one Czech,” Ahmed Manduh, who works at the Cairo office of the Multinational Force and Observ- ers, told Stars and Stripes by telephone. The U.S., France and Czech Republic are among 13 countries that provide military personnel to MFO, which since the early 1980s has monitored the Israeli-Egyptian peace accord signed in 1979. Nine people were on board the helicopter, MFO said in a state- ment. One American survived the crash and was medically evacuat- ed, but Manduh had no informa- tion about his condition. The Army and Defense De- partment confirmed separately that six Americans had died in the crash. A tense transition “We are saddened by the loss of six U.S. and two partner na- tion service members,” Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said in a statement re- Military wary that shakeup could upend its apolitical nature leased by the Pentagon. “Yesterday we recognized the BY LOLITA C. BALDOR Milley was speaking Wednesday at the ded- Joint Chiefs Chairman sacrifice of millions who have Associated Press ication of an Army museum during a week in Gen. Mark Milley attends defended our nation, and today which President Donald Trump fired Defense a Veterans Day wreath- we are reminded of the last full WASHINGTON — The words spoken Secretary Mark Esper and installed three laying ceremony led by measure our warriors may pay by America’s top military officer carried staunch loyalists to senior Pentagon policy po- President Donald Trump at for their service.” a familiar ring, but in the midst of a chaotic sitions. The abrupt changes raised fears about the Tomb of the Unknown The crash happened near the week at the Pentagon, they were particularly what Trump might try to do in his final two Soldier at Arlington National Red Sea resort town of Sharm el- poignant. months of office — and whether the military’s Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Sheikh during a routine mission, “We are unique among militaries,” said long held apolitical nature could be upended. Wednesday. Acting Defense MFO said in a statement. Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Milley’s comments, made as he stood along- Secretary Christopher Miller The organization’s Egypt head- Chiefs of Staff. “We do not take an oath to a side Esper’s successor, acting defense chief stands in the background. quarters and logistical hub, South king or a queen, a tyrant or a dictator. We do Christopher Miller, reflected a view he has Camp, is located on a bluff near not take an oath to an individual.” SEE TENSE ON PAGE 4 PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP the town, overlooking the sea. SEE EGYPT ON PAGE 5 PAGE 2 F3HIJKLM •STARS AND STRIPES• Friday, November 13, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EUROPE GAS PRICES EXCHANGE RATES Country Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel Military rates Switzerland (Franc)............................ 0.9147 Euro costs (Nov. 13) ............................. $1.15 Thailand (Baht) .....................................30.22 Germany $2.371 $2.792 $3.046 $2.658 Azores -- -- $2.946 -- € Change in price -1.6 cents -1.6 cents -1.5 cents +1.1 cents Change in price -- -- -1.5 cents -- Dollar buys (Nov. 13) ........................ 0.8262 Turkey (Lira) .........................................7.7036 British pound (Nov. 13) ........................$1.28 (Military exchange rates are those Netherlands -- $3.116 $3.340 $3.104 Belgium -- $2.377 $2.621 $2.423 Japanese yen (Nov. 13) ......................102.00 available to customers at military banking Change in price -- +3.1 cents -2.3 cents +0.4 cents Change in price -- No change No change No change South Korean won (Nov. 13) .........1,083.00 facilities in the country of issuance U.K. -- $2.691 $2.945 $2.551 Turkey -- -- $2.840 $3.354* Commercial rates for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3771 Change in price -- -1.6 cents -1.5 cents +1.1 cents Change in price -- -- -0.6 cents -4.5 cents Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For British pound .....................................$1.3154 nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3135 purchasing British pounds in Germany), China (Yuan) ........................................6.6193 check with your local military banking PACIFIC GAS PRICES Denmark (Krone) ................................6.3121 facility. Commercial rates are interbank Egypt (Pound) ....................................15.6408 Country Unleaded Super unleaded Super plus Diesel rates provided for reference when buying Euro ........................................ $1.1798/0.8476 Japan -- $2.839 -- $2.449 South Korea $2.179 -- $2.849 $2.459 currency. All figures are foreign currencies Hong Kong (Dollar) .............................7.7546 Change in price -- -1.0 cents -- +1.0 cents Change in price -1.0 cents -- -2.0 cents +1.0 cents to one dollar, except for the British pound, Hungary (Forint) .................................300.35 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, Okinawa $2.159 -- -- $2.449 Guam $2.169** $2.589 $2.849 -- Israel (Shekel) ..................................... 3.3743 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) Change in price -2.0 cents -- -- +1.0 cents Change in price -2.0 cents -2.0 cents -1.0 cents -- Japan (Yen) ...........................................105.29 Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3059 INTEREST RATES Norway (Krone) ...................................9.0969 Philippines (Peso).................................48.45 Prime rate ................................................3.25 * Diesel EFD ** Midgrade Poland (Zloty) ..........................................3.80 Discount rate ..........................................0.25 For the week of Nov. 13-19 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...........................3.7512 Federal funds market rate ...................0.09 Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.3486 3-month bill ............................................. 0.10 South Korea (Won) ..........................1,114.21 30-year bond ........................................... 1.76 WEATHER OUTLOOK FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FRIDAY IN EUROPE SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 54/41 Kabul 61/36 Seoul 66/40 Baghdad 78/56 Kandahar 65/53 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 66/39 68/46 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 53/48 46/41 64/48 Iwakuni 68/46 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 87/77 Brussels 50/42 Guam 81/69 55/43 Ramstein 77/70 86/80 Lajes, 56/42 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 93/63 94/77 68/62 58/42 50/38 Aviano/ Vicenza 57/51 Naples 67/53 Okinawa Morón 77/70 86/73 Sigonella Rota 71/50 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 87/77 72/61 65/54 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ............ 16 Classified .........................43 Comics ..................38, 44-45 Crossword .............38, 44-45 Faces ............................... 39 Opinion .......................40-41 Sports ......................... 47-56 Weekend ..................... 17-38 Friday, November 13, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• F3HIJKLM PAGE 3 MILITARY Drill sergeant blasts trainees on cellphones BY WYATT OLSON Stars and Stripes ‘ This is what the An Oklahoma-based drill ser- Army has turned geant found himself in hot water into now. with superiors this week in the ’ wake of a viral video in which he Staff Sgt. Treyon Wallace /Stars and Stripes MICHAEL ABRAMS described his trainees as “[ex- in his TikTok video A Patriot missile bursts out of its launcher at the NATO air missile firing installation outside Chania on pletive] soft” and “[expletive] the Greek island of Crete in 2015. U.S. soldiers will man German Patriot systems during live fire drills sickening.” that kicked off Thursday. The video, posted on TikTok by tive] sickening. You’re crying and the drill sergeant at Fort Sill, was you just got here and you ain’t shared on Twitter by user Lethal- done [expletive]. ity Jane, who maintains a consid- “But hey, this is the new Army; I US kicks off live-fire Patriot drills erable following and often posts guess we gotta [expletive] change on military topics. with ‘em.” Army Times, which first re- The Twitter post drew the at- ported on the video Tuesday, said in Greece with three NATO allies tention of Lt. Gen. Ted Martin, it had identified the drill sergeant deputy commander of the U.S. BY JOHN VANDIVER deputy commander, said in a for the drills, which are sched- as Staff Sgt. Treyon Wallace after Stars and Stripes statement Thursday as training uled to continue until Nov. 27. comparing his TikTok and Face- Army Training and Doctrine got underway. Bolstering air defense capa- book profile photos. The TikTok Command, who responded to one U.S. soldiers are operating The 678th Air Defense Artil- bilities has been a key part of the account, @dstomcat92, which Twitter commenter by writing: German Patriot missile systems lery Brigade, based out of South Army’s buildup on the