Compilation | Coronavirus 12-13 May 2020 As of 1630
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COMPILATION | CORONAVIRUS 12-13 MAY 2020 AS OF 1630 Overview: Driving coverage was Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s warning that the U.S. could suffer a long, painful downturn if Congress does not provide more economic relief to prevent a wave of bankruptcies and prolonged joblessness. There was also substantial coverage of the warning from the FBI and DHS that Chinese and Iranian hackers are targeting U.S. organizations conducting COVID-19-related vaccine research. Leading defense-related coverage was U.S. Army Europe’s announcement that Exercise Allied Spirit with Poland will take place in June. The announcement of U.S.-Polish training exercise Allied Spirit was covered primarily in defense outlets, which reported on resuming allied exercises following the “pandemic pause” (AFP), and noted the Army’s statements that it plans to take precautionary measures against the virus. The exercise, which will involve 6,000 U.S. and Polish troops, was to be part of the division-scale DEFENDER Europe exercise before it was canceled earlier this year due to the coronavirus, according to several outlets. USAREUR said that many of the strategic readiness goals had been achieved by the time the drills were halted, but that future European exercises are being discussed with objectives similar to those initially planned, Army Times reported. Other DoD-related news: • Pres. Trump plans to name the head of U.S. Army Materiel Command Gen. Gustave Perna and former GlaxoSmithKline executive Moncef Slaoui to lead Operation Warp Speed, described by Bloomberg as a “Manhattan Project-style effort” to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. • AFCS Gen. Goldfein discussed in an interview with Politico his concerns about how to “reverse the damage” on the service’s recruitment efforts caused by the pandemic, which he said has caused a 50 percent decrease in the number of recruits coming into basic training. He also noted the “resets” he has instituted to combat what Politico referred to as an “erosion in readiness.” • Military Times reported on concerns among defense health officials that patients are delaying treatments at military treatment facilities due to the pandemic. They wrote that 50 percent of available appointments remain open and a 30 percent decrease in prescriptions being filled at MTFs and retail pharmacies. • House Democrats’ latest coronavirus relief bill includes financial protections for service members prevented from relocating by the stop movement order and eligibility for National Guard and Reserve members deployed for at least two weeks on domestic coronavirus response missions to receive free mental health care at veterans’ facilities. (Military Times) • Former NGB chief, Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum (ret.) argued in The Hill that Guard personnel responding to the pandemic should receive full medical coverage now and qualify for transitional medical coverage upon completion of their service. • Task & Purpose criticized the Army for using the Joint Analytic Real-time Virtual information Sharing System (JARVISS) tool to monitor online sources to help installation commanders better understand how COVID-19 is affecting their community. The outlet notes JARVISS is typically used for monitoring terrorist activity and active shooters, and claims the COVID duties could be done “for free” using Google tools. Other relevant/global news: • Chinese and Iranian cyberattacks against U.S. firms and institutions could be hampering efforts to find a COVID-19 vaccine, the WSJ reported. In a potential shift in how the U.S. government views cyberattacks, some U.S. officials said this aggression raises the prospect that it could be seen by the Trump administration as an attack on U.S. public health “tantamount to an act of war.” • Sec. Pompeo praised Israel’s willingness to share information during the pandemic, which he contrasted with countries that “try and obfuscate and hide” information, which many reports interpreted as a jab at -1- OSD Public Affairs China. (Reuters) Sec. Pompeo also claimed that Iran was continuing to “foment terror” during the pandemic. (AFP) • The WSJ reported on Chinese efforts to stall investigations into the origins of the virus, while Fox News covered a CIA report that China threatened to cut ties with WHO's coronavirus investigation team if the agency declared a global health emergency as the country tried to stockpile medical supplies at the start of the crisis. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Pompeo says Iran trying to ‘foment terror’ during pandemic – 5/13 ................................................ 3 Agence France-Presse | Not Attributed .................................................................................................. 3 2. US army resumes Europe exercises after pandemic pause – 5/13 .................................................. 4 Agence France-Presse | Not Attributed .................................................................................................. 4 3. Defender Europe-linked exercise gets green-light in Poland - 5/13 ................................................. 4 Army Times | Kyle Rempfer ................................................................................................................... 4 4. EU official warns of extremists exploiting virus outbreak – 5/13 ..................................................... 5 Associated Press | David Rising ............................................................................................................. 5 5. Prodded by US, Mexico aims to restart industrial plants – 5/13 ....................................................... 6 Associated Press | Mark Stevenson ....................................................................................................... 6 6. Trump Taps Ex-Glaxo Official and General to Lead Vaccine Race – 5/13 ........................................ 8 Bloomberg News | Jennifer Jacobs and Drew Armstrong ....................................................................... 8 7. A delicate balancing act: The US government must juggle a pandemic and the FY21 budget – 5/13 ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 Defense News | Robert DuPree ............................................................................................................. 9 8. No COVID impacts on Apache production, supply chain, says Boeing – 5/13 .............................. 10 Defense News | Aaron Mehta .............................................................................................................. 10 9. Pentagon’s European exercise campaign resumes with US-Polish drill – 5/13 ............................ 11 Defense News | Sebastian Sprenger ................................................................................................... 11 10. Despite coronavirus, Space Force prepping for back-to-back rocket launches – 5/13 ................. 12 Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL) | Emre Kelly ............................................................................ 12 11. Bowing to Russia, U.N. Halts Funding for Pandemic Relief in Northeastern Syria – 5/13 ............ 13 Foreign Policy | Colum Lynch ............................................................................................................... 13 12. China put pressure on WHO to scale back coronavirus warning to stockpile supplies, CIA believes: report – 5/13 ....................................................................................................................... 16 Fox News | Barnini Chakraborty ........................................................................................................... 16 13. Doug Collins backs Senate's call for China sanctions: 'They deceived the world' while people died – 5/13 ................................................................................................................................................... 17 Fox News | Joshua Nelson ................................................................................................................... 17 14. Rep. Will Hurd: Coronavirus recovery — Western nations can limit further damage from China. Here's how – 5/13 ............................................................................................................................... 18 Fox News | Rep. Will Hurd ................................................................................................................... 18 15. Is the threat from ISIS really more significant because of COVID-19? – 5/13 ................................ 19 The Hill | Jason M. Blazakis ................................................................................................................. 19 16. National Guard on COVID-19 frontlines must be protected - 5/13 .................................................. 21 The Hill | Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum (Ret.) .............................................................................................. 21 17. DOD funding syringe projects in hopes of fall vaccine arrival – 5/13 ............................................ 22 Inside Defense | Tony Bertuca ............................................................................................................. 22 18. Are military patients delaying the health care they need? – 5/13 ................................................... 22 Military Times | Karen Jowers .............................................................................................................