MOVIES: Vince Vaughn MUSIC kills in ‘Freaky’ Page 16 Gentle giant GAMES: Sackboy is Chris Stapleton a missing a story Page 19 complicated character FOOTBALL: Fiery coach Page 28 fuels Indiana turnaround Page 24 stripes.com Volume 79 Edition 155 ©SS 2020 FRIDAY,NOVEMBER 20, 2020 $1.00 Dems: Inhofe blocking efforts to rename Army bases that honor Confederates BY STEVE BEYNON Stars and Stripes WASHINGTON — Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe, the chair- man of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is attempting to block efforts to rename 10 Army bases that honor Confederate generals, causing a slowdown of negotia- tions on Capitol Hill to approve the 2020 Nation- al Defense Au- thorization Act, two staffers for Senate Demo- crats said Wednesday. INHOFE “Chairman ANALYSIS Inhofe’s 11th- hour demand at the behest of out- going President [Donald] Trump threatens troop pay raises and bil- lions in funding for new military equipment in order to continue glorifying Confederate soldiers at U.S. military bases,” said a Demo- Final battle cratic aide, who spoke on the con- dition of anonymity. The issue of renaming Army bases hit a boiling point during the summer amid nationwide protests MUSADEQ SADEQ/AP over racial inequality and police U.S. soldiers stand guard near the site where Afghans receive food donations provided by U.S. solders in Kabul in 2009. brutality. It picked up momentum when senior military leaders such as then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan Can Trump end ‘endless wars’ before leaving office? McCarthy backed the idea. The Senate and House then passed BY ADAM TAYLOR precise number has not been an- as a shock. From the time of his comed Trump’s last-minute deci- versions of the NDAA, which sets The Washington Post nounced. candidacy in the 2016 presidential sion to pull troops out. “There is funding and policy priorities for The drawdown is slated to finish election, Trump has railed against little reason to wait for some more the Pentagon each year, each with President Donald Trump has by Jan. 15, days before President- America’s military commitments perfect moment in the future,” a provision to rename the bases. begun his final battle against the elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. It abroad. His rhetoric earned him William Ruger, Trump’s nominee Now a committee of House open-ended U.S. conflicts he calls comes after an abrupt post-elec- unlikely allies among the leftists to be U.S. ambassador to Afghan- members and senators are nego- “endless wars.” The Pentagon an- tion purge of top military officials: and libertarians who long argued istan, and Rajan Menon of the City tiating a compromise version of nounced this week that it would Acting defense secretary Chris- that overreach and inertia had en- College of New York wrote in an the bill to send to the president to halve the number of U.S. troops in topher Miller made Tuesday’s an- trenched a global military pres- editorial for The Washington Post. sign into law. However, Trump Afghanistan to 2,500, while the nouncement just eight days after ence that offered little benefit to “Moving with all due haste has the has threatened to veto the bill over number in Iraq would fall from Trump ousted his predecessor, Americans and even less to the added advantage of making it 3,000 to 2,500. U.S. troops will also Mark Esper. countries where they fought. SEE BASES ON PAGE 7 depart from Somalia, although the Trump’s decision hardly came Supporters of this vision wel- SEE BATTLE ON PAGE 6 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Friday, November 20, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES EUROPE GAS PRICES Country Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel Military rates Singapore (Dollar) 1.3458 Germany $2.386 $2.807 $3.058 $2.716 Azores .. .. $2.958 .. ......................................................................................... South Korea (Won) 1116.07 Change in price +1.5 cents +1.5 cents +1.2 cents +5.8 cents Change in price .. .. +1.2 cents .. Euro costs (Nov. 20) $1.15 Switzerland (Franc) 0.9127 Dollar buys (Nov. 20) 0.8238 Thailand (Baht) 30.40 Netherlands .. $3.236 $3.456 $3.227 Belgium .. $2.377 $2.621 $2.423 British pound (Nov. 20) $1.29 Turkey (Lira) 7.5418 Change in price .. +1.2 cents +11.6 cents +1.2 cents Change in price .. No change No change No change Japanese yen (Nov. 20) 101.00 (Military exchange rates are those South Korean won (Nov. 20) 1082.00 available to customers at military banking U.K. .. $2.706 $2.957 $2.615 Turkey .. .. $2.843 $3.354* Commercial rates facilities in the country of issuance for Ja­ Change in price .. +1.5 cents +1.2 cents +5.8 cents Change in price .. .. +1.2 cents No change pan, South Korea, Germany, the Nether­ Bahrain (Dinar) 0.3771 lands and the United Kingdom. For nonlo­ British pound $1.3221 cal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ Canada (Dollar) 1.3094 chasing British pounds in Germany), PACIFIC GAS PRICES China (Yuan) 6.5846 check with your local military banking fa­ Denmark (Krone) 6.2985 cility. Commercial rates are interbank Egypt (Pound) 15.6210 Country Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel rates provided for reference when buying Euro $1.1832/0.8452 currency. All figures are foreign curren­ Japan 2.849 $ $2.509 South Korea .. .. $2.189 .. Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7537 cies to one dollar, except for the British Change in price 1.0 cents + +6.0 cents Change in price .. .. +1.0 cents .. Hungary (Forint) 304.55 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ Israel (Shekel) 3.3478 Okinawa .. $2.599 $2.849 $2.509 Guam .. $2.189 $2.609 $2.859 pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­ Japan (Yen) 103.99 euro.) Change in price .. +2.0 cents +1.0 cents +6.0 cents Change in price .. +2.0 cents +2.0 cents +1.0 cents Kuwait (Dinar) 0.3058 Interest Rates Norway (Krone) 9.0357 Philippines (Peso) 48.34 Prime rate 3.25 *DieselEFD **Midgrade Poland (Zloty) 3.78 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.25 For the week of Nov. 20-26 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7506 Federal funds market rate 0.09 WEATHER OUTLOOK SATURDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST SATURDAY IN EUROPE SUNDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 60/47 Kabul Seoul 43/36 52/34 Baghdad 73/57 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar Mildenhall/ 50/37 75/53 54/30 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 40/37 48/33 51/48 Iwakuni Kuwait City 64/60 Bahrain Brussels Zagan Sasebo Guam 77/65 80/76 Ramstein 58/50 60/57 44/37 42/34 85/81 Riyadh Lajes, 82/60 Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 64/60 41/36 81/68 Aviano/ 45/42 Vicenza 50/42 Naples 67/54 Okinawa Morón 80/75 70/46 Sigonella Rota 64/51 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 69/52 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 87/72 59/56 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 38 Classified .................... 36 Comics ................... 40-41 Crossword ................... 18 Faces .......................... 35 Opinion ....................... 39 Sports ................... 42-48 Friday, November 20, 2020 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 MILITARY McCarthy on assaults: ‘We must do better’ BY ROSE L. THAYER violent felony crimes such as hom- The secretary’s comments fol- Stars and Stripes icide. low the release of a CBS News in- AUSTIN, Texas — Army Secre- Nearly 30 soldiers have died vestigation this week that found tary Ryan McCarthy announced this year while assigned to Fort reported sexual assaults have Wednesday that the findings of an Hood. Five soldiers, including doubled in the military while the investigation into the disappear- Guillen, died by homicide, which number of courts-martial and con- ance and death of Spc. Vanessa is more than double the previous victions for the charge have gone Guillen at Fort Hood will be re- four years, according to the Army. down. leased Dec. 8, stating the Army The investigation was intended The first two parts of the four- “must do better” when it comes to to get to the root cause of the vio- part series featured the stories of sexual assault and harassment lence. two soldiers who died by suicide among soldiers. “My preliminary review of the after being sexually assaulted “Leaders, regardless of rank, report, recent cases and recent multiple times and then faced re- are accountable for what happens media coverage, have hardened taliation and isolation for report- in their units and must have the my belief that the Army’s [Sexual ing them. The families of the de- courage to speak up and intervene Department of Defense Harassment/Assault Response ceased women spoke to CBS News when they recognize actions that Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy released a video message and Prevention] program hasn’t and said they felt the Army had bring harm to our soldiers and to Wednesday to address recent media reports about the Army’s achieved its mandate to eliminate failed them. the integrity of our institution. If program to prevent and respond to sexual assault and harassment. sexual assaults and sexual harass- “I am deeply saddened and con- we do not have the trust of Amer- ment by creating a climate that re- cerned by the recent news reports ica — nothing else matters,” tigate the command climate and time the soldier’s family revealed spects the dignity of every mem- of how sexual assault and sexual McCarthy said in a video posted culture of Fort Hood, following she faced sexual harassment at ber of the Army family,” McCar- harassment have plagued our online late Wednesday afternoon.