MILITARY WORLD FACES US envoy hopeful President-elect of Swift set to release for positive reaction Iran unwilling to reimagined version of from North Korea meet with Biden hit 2012 album ‘Red’ Page 3 Page 12 Page 14 Rahm wins US Open after spectacular two-birdie finish ›› Golf, Page 24 stripes.com Volume 80 Edition 47 ©SS 2021 TUESDAY,JUNE 22, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas Study: Assault risk highest for male soldiers Left for dead at Baumholder BY JOHN VANDIVER Stars and Stripes STUTTGART, Germany — Male soldiers based at Baumhold- er in Germany were more at risk of being sexually assaulted than at any other Army post, according to a service-commissioned study that found two other posts in Ger- many with similar risks. A Rand Corp. report released Friday examined sexual assault data at U.S. Army bases world- wide and found elevated risks of male sexual assault at Vilseck and Landstuhl in Germany. Among women, for whom the risks were found to be substantial- ly higher, soldiers at Fort Hood and Fort Bliss in Texas faced the highest risks of sexual assault. “These findings provide the Ar- my with increased visibility on where exactly risk is consistently high for sexual assault and sexual harassment,” said Jenna New- man, an adviser with the Army Resilience Directorate, in a state- ment. “It suggests there are loca- Officials: Afghan commandos fighting Taliban ‘betrayed’ by support forces tion-specific concerns that re- quire targeted interventions into BY J.P. LAWRENCE AND climate and culture and will re- ZUBAIR BABAKARKHAIL “The army did not come, police did not come, NDS did not quire additional research to un- Stars and Stripes come. The other forces betrayed the commandos.” derstand.” KABUL, Afghanistan —At least 21 members For years, the Army has grap- of Afghanistan’s special forces died fighting Afghan military official pled with how to deal with sexual the Taliban last week after Afghan reinforce- harassment and assault in the ments failed to show up when the commandos asked to remain anonymous because he was rab Azimi, a decorated, U.S.-trained Afghan ranks. Last year, the killing of Fort were surrounded by the enemy and pounded not authorized to speak to the media. NDS is special forces officer who directed airstrikes by mortar fire, military and government offi- the acronym for the country’s intelligence on operations around the country. Azimi was SEE RISK ON PAGE 3 cials said. agency, the National Directorate of Security. posthumously promoted to brigadier general, Most of the 170 troops who were supposed to “The other forces betrayed the comman- a statement by the Afghan Defense Ministry back up the elite fighters during a battle in the dos,” he said. said. 0.64% northern town of Dawlat Abad stayed put out of The failure to provide air and ground sup- Azimi and the other troops were fighting to fear that the operation had been leaked to the port to their own soldiers underscored fears retake Dawlat Abad, a district center in Faryab Overall sexual assault risk for male Taliban, an Afghan military official with that the Afghan military will struggle to hold province. soldiers compared to 5.8% for wom- knowledge of the operation said. off Taliban attacks when the U.S. completes its The battle plan, which was included in docu- en. Total risk for men was highest at “The army did not come, police did not withdrawal from the country. H.D. Smith Barracks in Baumholder, come, NDS did not come,” said the official, who One of the soldiers who died was Maj. Soh- SEE BETRAYAL ON PAGE 4 followed by Fort Polk, La., Vilseck, Fort Richardson, Ark., and Landstuhl Maj. Sohrab Azimi, standing, a decorated Afghan special forces officer, looks over a valley in the northeastern province of Kapisa, Afghanistan, Regional Medical Center. in March. Azimi was among the at least 21 members of Afghanistan’s special forces killed fighting the Taliban in Faryab province Wednesday. SOURCE: Rand Corp. study J.P. LAWRENCE/Stars and Stripes PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Tuesday, June 22, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER UN: Sri Lanka ship fire caused damage to planet EXCHANGE RATES Military rates South Korea (Won) 1135.07 Associated Press The U.N. said it was coordinat- sent to Sri Lanka. Switzerland (Franc) 0.9198 Euro costs (June 22) $1.16 Thailand (Baht) 31.64 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The ing international efforts and help- Sri Lanka has already submit- Dollar buys (June 22) 0.8192 Turkey (NewLira) 8.7636 British pound (June 22) $1.35 U.N. representative in Sri Lanka ing Sri Lanka in assessing the ted an interim claim of $40 million Japanese yen (June 22) 107.00 (Military exchange rates are those available said the sinking of a container ship damage, recovery efforts and pre- to X-Press Feeders to cover part of South Korean won (June 22) 1105.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger­ that caught fire while transporting venting such disasters. the cost of fighting the fire, which many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3769 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ chemicals off the capital Colombo “An environmental emergency broke out May 20. Britain (Pound) 1.3899 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2389 your local military banking facility. Commercial has caused “a significant damage of this nature causes significant The Sri Lankan navy believes China(Yuan) 6.4698 rates are interbank rates provided for reference Denmark (Krone) 6.2430 to the planet” by releasing hazard- damage to the planet by the re- the blaze was caused by its chem- Egypt (Pound) 15.6504 when buying currency. All figures are foreign ous substances into the ecosys- lease of hazardous substances into ical cargo, which included 25 tons Euro 0.8396 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7647 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ tem. the ecosystem,” U.N. Resident Co- of nitric acid and other chemicals, Hungary (Forint) 297.09 pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­euro.) Israel (Shekel) 3.2663 The Singapore-flagged X-Press ordinator in Sri Lanka Hanaa most of which were destroyed in Japan (Yen) 110.23 INTEREST RATES Pearl sank Thursday a month af- Singer-Hamdy said. the fire. But debris including Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3012 Norway (Krone) 8.6114 Prime rate 3.25 ter catching fire, raising concerns A U.N. team of oil spill and burned fiberglass and tons of plas- Philippines (Peso) 48.68 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 Poland (Zloty) 3.81 Federal funds market rate 0.10 about a possible environmental di- chemical experts— provided by tic pellets have already polluted Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7504 3­month bill 0.04 saster. the European Union— has been nearby beaches. Singapore (Dollar) 1.3446 30­year bond 2.03 WEATHER OUTLOOK TUESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST TUESDAY IN EUROPE WEDNESDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 63/60 Kabul Seoul 86/68 74/65 Baghdad 109/76 Drawsko Osan Tokyo Kandahar 74/64 70/64 Mildenhall/ Pomorskie Busan 98/63 Lakenheath 68/65 58/51 70/66 Iwakuni Kuwait City 72/67 Bahrain Brussels Zagan Sasebo Guam 109/87 88/84 Ramstein 71/65 78/65 61/54 62/59 84/81 Riyadh Lajes, Stuttgart 110/76 Doha Azores Pápa 66/63 69/61 107/80 Aviano/ 92/70 Vicenza 82/65 Naples 91/72 Okinawa Morón 80/77 82/57 Sigonella Rota 102/69 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 70/62 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 99/84 79/73 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 11 Classified .................... 13 Comics .........................16 Crossword ................... 16 Faces .......................... 14 Opinion ........................ 15 Sports .................... 18-24 Tuesday, June 22, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY US envoy hopes N. Korea receptive to talks Associated Press North over its nuclear program North Korean leader’s comments Sung Kim told reporters. cy and bilateral relations de- SEOUL, South Korea — Presi- and U.S.-led sanctions. and are hoping the North will North Korea’s economic set- pends on whether Washington dent Joe Biden’s special envoy The trilateral talks followed a give a “positive response to our backs followed the collapse of abandons what he calls hostile for North Korea said Monday he North Korean political confer- proposal for a meeting soon.” Kim Jong Un’s ambitious summi- policies. hopes to see a positive reaction ence last week where leader Kim Sung Kim spoke later with Noh try with then-President Donald U.S. officials have suggested from the North soon on U.S. of- Jong Un called for stronger ef- and Japanese nuclear envoy Trump in 2019, when the Amer- Biden would take the middle fers for talks after the North Ko- forts to improve his nation’s Takehiro Funakoshi over the icans rejected the North Ko- ground between Trump’s direct rean leader ordered officials to economy, further battered last stalled push to resolve the nucle- reans’ demands for major sanc- dealings with Kim and President prepare for both dialogue and year by pandemic border clo- ar standoff with North Korea. tions relief in exchange for a par- Barack Obama’s policy of “stra- confrontation. sures and now facing worsening “South Korea and the U.S. will tial surrender of their nuclear ca- tegic patience.” But some ex- Sung Kim, Biden’s special rep- food shortages. maintain close cooperation to pabilities. perts say the North likely must resentative for North Korea, is in After his meeting with senior keep the situation in the Korean Kim Jong Un in recent political take concrete steps toward denu- Seoul to speak with South Korean South Korean diplomat Noh Kyu- Peninsula stable and find a way speeches has threatened to bol- clearization before the Biden ad- and Japanese officials about the duk, the U.S.