MILITARY FACES AUTO RACING Report: DOD has been Rucker’s version Johnson drops the motto, slow to protect kids of ‘Wagon Wheel’ but he’s still chasing 8th from sexual assault just keeps rolling Cup title in final season Page 9 Page 17 Back page Esper defends stripping Stars and Stripes of all its funding » Page 3 Volume 78, No. 215 ©SS 2020 CONTINGENCY EDITION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2020 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas AFGHANISTAN Esper: US, Taliban take step toward talks Defense secretary tells allies that agreement in principle to reduction of violence could lead to peace deal BY JOHN VANDIVER peace deal, Esper said. allies supported U.S. efforts to negotiate a peace Stars and Stripes “But in all things, our approach to this process deal with the Taliban. will be conditions-based,” Esper said. “Let me “We welcome any steps that can lead to the re- The U.S. and Taliban have agreed in principle to say it again: conditions-based. So it will be a con- duction of violence, (but) the Taliban have to show a “seven-day reduction in violence” in Afghanistan, tinual evaluative process as we go forward, if we a real will and a real ability to deliver a reduction of which could lead to a peace deal to end 18 years of go forward.” violence on the ground,” Stoltenberg said. war in the country, Defense Secretary Mark Esper Esper declined to comment on whether the U.S. American and Taliban negotiators have also laid said Thursday at the end of a meeting of NATO de- would cease counterterrorism operations during the foundations for a political agreement in Af- fense ministers in Brussels. any period of reduced violence, saying talks were ghanistan, Esper said. Seven days would be “sufficient” to test whether ongoing. the Taliban was serious about moving toward a Esper NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said SEE ESPER ON PAGE 3 BY JOSHUA KARSTEN group’s commodore, said in a statement. Stars and Stripes Bataan and its amphibious ready group comprises Thousands of Marines 2,500 Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary MANAMA, Bahrain — The amphibious assault ship Unit, the transport dock ship USS New York and the USS Bataan transited the Strait of Hormuz into the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, the statement said. enter Persian Gulf Persian Gulf on Wednesday, becoming the first U.S. Also traveling with the group is the destroyer USS Navy “big deck” to enter the strategic waters in 2020. Carney and cargo ship USNS McClean. “Our passage through this important strait and with USS Bataan The last big deck to transit the strait before the Bataan continued presence in the area plays a critical role in maintaining the freedom of navigation key to regional was the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which Amphibious Ready Group security and stability here,” Capt. Lance Lesher, the SEE BATAAN ON PAGE 6 The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, front, is flanked by the amphibious dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, left, and the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney, right, as they transit through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. The Bataan became the first Navy “big deck” to enter the Persian Gulf since the U.S. killed an Iranian general and Iran launched a rocket attack on a base in Iraq that left more than 100 U.S. service members with traumatic brain injuries. LEVI DECKER/U.S. Navy PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Friday, February 14, 2020 BUSINESS/WEATHER EXCHANGE RATES 401(k)s rise as workers save more, stocks jump Military rates Switzerland (Franc)............................0.9780 Euro costs (Feb. 14) ..........................$1.1162 Thailand (Baht) ..................................... 31.11 Dollar buys (Feb. 14) ........................€0.8959 Turkey (Lira) .........................................6.0503 British pound (Feb. 14) ........................$1.34 Associated Press (Military exchange rates are those erage individual retirement ac- their 401(k) in the fourth quar- Japanese yen (Feb. 14) ...................... 107.00 available to customers at military banking South Korean won (Feb. 14) ..........1,150.00 count, or IRA, balance rose the ter, a record. Combined with Commercial rates facilities in the country of issuance NEW YORK — How’s your for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the same percentage to $115,400. employer matches, the average Bahrain (Dinar) ....................................0.3769 401(k) doing? Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For British pound .....................................$1.3044 Surging markets around the total savings rate was 13.5% in nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., President Donald Trump likes Canada (Dollar) ...................................1.3246 purchasing British pounds in Germany), world were a big reason for the the quarter, tying its record last China (Yuan) ........................................6.9763 to ask that question around the check with your local military banking Denmark (Krone) ................................6.8821 growth: The S&P 500 index had reached in the spring of 2019. facility. Commercial rates are interbank country, sometimes throwing out Egypt (Pound) ....................................15.7500 rates provided for reference when buying big gains like 90% or 95%. The av- one of its best years in decades “Nobody can control the mar- Euro ........................................ $1.0858/0.9210 with a 31.5% return. Investments ket, so the behaviors of people Hong Kong (Dollar) .............................7.7661 currency. All figures are foreign currencies erage 401(k) did indeed hit a re- to one dollar, except for the British pound, of all types logged gains, from contributing to their 401(k)s are Hungary (Forint) ................................. 310.70 cord last year, although its growth Israel (Shekel) .....................................3.4244 which is represented in dollars-to-pound, was considerably less than that. junk bonds to stocks from devel- what get us the most excited,” Japan (Yen) ........................................... 109.75 and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.) oping economies. said Katie Taylor, vice president Kuwait (Dinar) .....................................0.3049 INTEREST RATES The average 401(k) balance Norway (Krone) ...................................9.2485 rose 17% last year to $112,300 But workers’ better savings of thought leadership at Fidelity. Philippines (Peso).................................50.50 Prime rate ................................................4.75 from the end of 2018, according to habits also played a big role. “We have people saving 13.5%, Poland (Zloty) ..........................................3.92 Discount rate ..........................................2.25 Saudi Arabia (Riyal) ...........................3.7506 Federal funds market rate ...................1.58 a review of 17.3 million accounts Fidelity said the average work- which is really close to the 15% Singapore (Dollar) ..............................1.3885 3-month bill .............................................1.54 by Fidelity Investments. The av- er set aside 8.9% of their pay in that we recommend. ” South Korea (Won) ..........................1,182.58 30-year bond ...........................................2.09 WEATHER OUTLOOK FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST FRIDAY IN EUROPE SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 39/36 Kabul 41/14 Seoul 55/37 Baghdad 63/42 Kandahar 54/33 Osan Tokyo Mildenhall/ Drawsko 58/41 56/41 Lakenheath Pomorskie Busan 49/37 38/33 56/44 Iwakuni 53/50 Kuwait Bahrain Zagan Sasebo City 63/59 Brussels 42/39 Guam 66/47 49/42 Ramstein 62/49 80/77 Lajes, 43/40 Riyadh Doha Azores Stuttgart Pápa 70/38 67/46 62/59 45/40 49/41 Aviano/ Vicenza 51/34 Naples 59/52 Okinawa Morón 71/68 65/48 Sigonella Rota 63/35 The weather is provided by the Djibouti Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 83/74 61/48 59/56 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. T O D A Y IN STRIPES American Roundup ..... 19 Comics ...................... 21 Crossword ................. 21 Faces ........................ 17 Opinion ................ 22-23 Sports .................. 25-32 Friday, February 14, 2020 •STARS AND STRIPES• PAGE 3 MILITARY Esper defends Stars and Stripes decision BY COREY DICKSTEIN said the newspaper not only provides ser- Stars and Stripes vice members “a little piece of home” or a “welcome diversion” from tough missions, WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary but it also provides independent, free-flow- Mark Esper on Thursday defended the ing information that they need to exercise Pentagon’s effort to strip Stars and Stripes their rights as Americans. of all of its federal funding as part of its The proposal has received pushback fiscal year 2021 budget request, telling from various directions, including lawmak- reporters in Brussels that the independent ers, a former commander of U.S. European news organization is not a priority. Command and a key journalism advocacy “So, we trimmed the support for Stars and education organization. and Stripes because we need to invest that Military veteran lawmakers Rep. Gil money, as we did with many, many other Cisneros, D-Calif., and Rep. Ruben Gal- programs, into higher priority issues,” lego, D-Ariz., tweeted their support for Esper said during a news conference at Stars and Stripes this week. NATO headquarters. He listed space, nu- “Stars & Stripes was a link to home when clear programs, hypersonic missiles and I was in Iraq and Okinawa,” wrote Gallego, “a variety of systems” as places the money a Marine veteran. “It’s an A+ indie take on — slightly more than $15.5 million — could everyday DoD news, f*** ups,