VIDEO GAMES MILITARY NFL For Nintendo fans, Video shows arrest Carr, Raiders many reasons to stay of Marines accused rally late to at Luigi’s Mansion 3 of human smuggling beat Chargers Page 15 Page 3 Back page Military construction, bonuses at risk without NDAA funding » Page 3 Volume 78, No. 147A ©SS 2019 CONTINGENCY EDITION SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2019 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas EASTERN SYRIA Presence of US troops about much more than oil BY SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT — As U.S. troops beef up in eastern Syria to protect oil fields, residents hope their mission will bring stability and prosperity to the remote and re- source-rich region — and keep the Syrian government out. Their hopes reflect the ex- pectations being piled onto the operation, even as President Donald Trump flip-flopped on the scope and duration of troops deployment. ANALYSIS He initially or- dered all troops out of Syria last month, then decided to keep a force in place to hold the oil infrastructure. That keeps the U.S. troops in the middle of eastern Syria’s complex political geography, rich in oil and gas and packed with Turkish, Kurdish, Russian, Syr- ian and Iranian-backed troops. The stretches of Syria east of the Euphrates, where the oil is located, have been lost to the Ghostriders in the sky government of Syrian President Bashar Assad for most of the country’s eight-year civil war. Its mostly Arab population is Air Force’s new gunship flying ‘every single night’ in Afghanistan opposed to Assad, angry with years of neglect that impover- BY J.P. LAWRENCE “Every night, the AC-130J is flying,” Tay- Chief Master Sgt. Edward Fry, enlisted ished the area despite its re- Stars and Stripes lor said in a phone call Wednesday. “The peo- leader alongside Taylor at the air component source wealth. Since U.S.-backed ple they are supporting, are requesting them command. Kurdish-led forces drove out Is- The U.S. Air Force’s newest aerial gun- every single night.” Air Force officials have called the $115 lamic State , it has been governed ships are in high demand in the skies of This amounts to 218 sorties and 1,380 million Ghostrider “the ultimate battle by a Kurdish-led administration. So when Turkey invaded Afghanistan, where they provide close air hours in the skies over Afghanistan, he said. plane” due to its arsenal of cannons, missiles support and armed overwatch to U.S. and Af- northeastern Syria last month, The new aircraft’s missions are part of an and laser-guided bombs. The Ghostrider’s ghan operations. hundreds of residents of towns increase in the pace of the air war following ability to unleash hell, including from its 105 AC-130J Ghostriders have already flown and villages east of the Euphra- the collapse of peace talks between the U .S . mm howitzer and 30 mm autocannon, have hundreds of sorties since beginning combat and the Taliban in early September, and a tes held angry protests — not helped Afghan forces both on the battlefield missions in June, said Col. Terence Taylor, vow by President Donald Trump “to hit our against Ankara but against the and psychologically, Fry said. commander of Combined Joint Special Op- enemy harder” than ever before. Syrian government and its Ira- erations Air Component–Afghanistan. “The Ghostriders have saved lives,” said SEE GUNSHIP ON PAGE 4 nian allies. They feared the inva- sion would empower Damascus Air Commandos of the 73rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit perform a post-flight inspection on an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship at to send troops to their areas and Hurlburt Field, Fla., in July. The AC-130J is in high demand over Afghanistan, where it provides support to U.S. and Afghan operations. restore control. JOSEPH P. L EVEILLE/U.S. Air Force SEE SYRIA ON PAGE 5 PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, November 9, 2019 MILITARY Marines’ opposition to umbrellas dries up BY IMMANUEL JOHNSON option during inclement weather with the Umbrellas must be carried in the left The Marine Corps message Thursday Stars and Stripes service and dress uniforms,” a message hand to allow for salutes, according to ex- also included uniform changes for women. signed by Marine Corps Commandant isting regulations. Female Marines with medium-length hair The few and the proud will remain am- Gen. David Berger on Thursday said. The sight of male Marines holding um- may now wear half ponytails with physi- phibious, but they will no longer be soak- Before the change, only female Marines brellas over the heads of President Barack cal training uniforms. They may also wear ing wet in their dress blues on rainy days. ponytails or braids during some organized All Marines wearing their dress or were allowed to use umbrellas. Marines Obama and Turkish President Recep service uniforms are now allowed to use will still be prohibited from using umbrel- Tayyip Erdogan during a 2013 press con- physical training. umbrellas, ending a long tradition and las while in their camouflage uniforms, as ference drew a storm of online comments Full details on the changes can be found bringing the Corps generally in line with is the case with other services. in military circles at the time. Marine in message 28/19 on the Marines.mil other services. The decision was made by Berger and spokesman Capt. Greg Wolf told CNN that website. “Marines can carry an all-black, plain, processed through the Marine Corps Uni- it was “extremely rare” and only because [email protected] standard or collapsible umbrella at their form Board in September. the president needed it in the downpour. Twitter: Manny_Stripes Navy offers updated plan to Space squadron reinforce Honolulu fuel depot to operate from Hawaii facility Associated Press but the Navy proposed an extended time- line to 2045. The “technology does not HONOLULU — The U.S. Navy is con- Associated Press currently exist” for a fiscally responsible sidering a plan to use double-wall tanks to approach to secondary containment, re- LIHUE, Hawaii — The U.S. Air Force upgrade a fuel storage facility in Honolulu, gional engineer Capt. Marc Delao previ- officials said. has approved a naval facility and airport ously said. as the preferred alternative site for a tech- The Navy updated its initial proposal to Delao told City Council members reinforce tanks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel nical squadron tasked with monitoring sat- Wednesday that the Navy’s new approach ellites in support of the national security Storage Facility, Hawaii Public Radio re- is a commitment to pursue a secondary- space mission. ported Thursday. containment solution “using research, The Space Control Squadron would op- If the upgrade cannot be completed, the using select investments, academia and erate out of the Barking Sands Pacific Mis- Navy will relocate the fuel in the facility’s industry.” 20 tanks that lie beneath the Southern Oahu “And if that becomes mission impossible, sile Range Facility in western Kauai, the Basal Aquifer, the main source of drinking or unattainable — not available, not practi- Garden Island reported Tuesday. water for more than 750,000 Oahu resi- cable — then, again, what has changed is “By selecting a site on Kauai, the Air dents, officials said. that commitment that we will de-fuel and Force will create a new, highly technical A 2014 leak of 27,000 gallons of fuel at get off the aquifer around 2045,” Delao squadron to monitor U.S. satellites in sup- the facility prompted calls for improve- said. port of the national security space mis- ments from councilors and residents. Board of Water Supply Chief Engineer sion, ensuring that the military and other The Navy’s Sept. 9 proposal had favored Ernie Lau expressed concerns about what national security agencies have access to single-wall tank upgrades with added satellite communication, intelligence, and the Navy defines as a secondary-contain- LAURIE DEXTER/U.S. Navy monitoring features. The plan was reject- ment system and its timetable. key information,” federal officials said. ed by a Honolulu City Council committee “Secondary containment is actually Capt. Ken Epps, the commanding officer This decision reaffirms the importance last month and was opposed by the Board practicable. It can be done,” Lau said. “It is of Naval Facilities Engineering Command, of Hawaii’s strategic role in national se- of Water Supply. a matter of will, and also how many dollars briefs a tour group to the Red Hill Bulk curity, Democratic U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz The deadline for tank upgrades is 2037, do you want to spend on doing that.” Fuel Facility in 2017. said. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ............ 14 Business .......................... 13 Comics/Crossword ............ 22 Movies ........................ 16-17 Opinion ............................ 20 Sports .........................24-32 Travel ............................... 19 Video Games .....................15 Weather ........................... 13 Saturday, November 9, 2019 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 MILITARY Construction and bonuses threatened in budget spat BY CAITLIN M. KENNEY Department, and the continuing of one Virginia-class submarine, Stars and Stripes resolution is set to expire Nov. 21. one fleet ocean tug, and two land- TECH. SGT. MATTHEW PLEW/U.S. Air Force In anticipation of continued ing craft utility vessels, Lt. Tim WASHINGTON — Construc- temporary funding or a possible Pietrack, a Navy spokesman, said F-15ex fighter jets were set to replace F-15Cs, above, but now will tion projects, bonuses in pay, and government shutdown, the mili- in a statement. possibly be delayed if Congress does not approve NDAA funding for delays in maintenance could be tary services released lists of how The shortfall in funding could the defense budget.