MILITARY NATION MUSIC National Guard, ‘Deep fire’ slowing Lorde, Eilish, BTS, Reserve soldiers rescue efforts at Mayer contend for struggle to provide Miami collapse ‘Song of Summer’ Page 5 Page 6 Page 12 Rare matchup between East teams in Stanley Cup Final ›› NHL playoffs, Page 24 stripes.com Volume 80 Edition 50B ©SS 2021 CONTINGENCY EDITION SUNDAY,JUNE 27, 2021 Free to Deployed Areas Biden: Afghans will ‘decide their future’ With Afghanistan at crossroads, US gives assurances of support BY ELI STOKOLS AND NABIH BULOS Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON — During a meeting Friday at the White House, President Joe Biden sought to reassure Afghanistan’s leaders of his enduring commit- ment to their country after U.S. forces are withdrawn later this year, the prospect of which has al- ready emboldened Taliban mili- tants. “The partnership between the United States and Afghanistan is not ending,” Biden said in com- ments before the start of his meet- ing with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation. Yet he put the onus on Afghans to deter- mine their fate. “Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want,” Biden said. “It’s going to be very difficult. But we’re going to SEE FUTURE ON PAGE 3 RELATED USS Reagan arrives to assist RAHMAT GUL/AP military drawdown Afghan militiamen join Afghan defense and security forces during a gathering in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday. Afghanistan’s defense ministry is working to mobilize local militias across the country, most particularly in the north, to try to stem the tide of the latest Taliban gains. Page 3 Most UFO sightings by the military remain unexplained BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS encounters with UFOs in the last case, we identified the object as a 2020 as part of the Intelligence the report states. “There are prob- Stars and Stripes 17 years that have been reviewed large, deflating balloon. The oth- Authorization Act. ODNI was giv- ably multiple types of UAP requir- WASHINGTON — A review of by the Office of the Director of Na- ers remain unexplained.” en 180 days to prepare unclassi- ing different explanations based more than 140 military encounters tional Intelligence remain unex- The unclassified Unidentified fied and classified reports reveal- on the range of appearances and with UFOs failed to establish plained, according to a report re- Aerial Phenomena report re- ing what the U.S. intelligence behaviors described in the availa- whether they were extraterrito- leased Friday. viewed military and intelligence community knew about UFOs. ble reporting.” rial in origin, atmospheric events “We were able to identify one community unexplained encoun- “UAP clearly pose a safety of The encounters might have in- or sent by Earthly adversaries. reported UAP with high confi- ters between 2004 and 2021. Con- flight issue and may pose a chal- All but one of the 144 military dence,” the report states. “In that gress ordered the report in late lenge to U.S. national security,” SEE UNEXPLAINED ON PAGE 4 PAGE 2 • STARS AND STRIPES • Sunday, June 27, 2021 BUSINESS/WEATHER S&P 500 has best week since February EXCHANGE RATES Military rates South Korea (Won) 1129.31 Switzerland (Franc) 0.9180 Euro costs (June 28) $1.17 Thailand (Baht) 31.79 Associated Press 14,360.39. With Friday’s gains, the pected, if recent high inflation per- Dollar buys (June 28) 0.8151 Turkey (NewLira) 8.7959 British pound (June 28) $1.36 Stocks ended mostly higher Fri- S&P 500 index ended the week up sists. The calming of investors’ Japanese yen (June 28) 108.00 (Military exchange rates are those available day, helping the S&P 500 index 2.7%, its best five-day period since nerves has largely helped the mar- South Korean won (June 28) 1100.00 to customers at military banking facilities in the Commercial rates country of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger­ close out its best week since Febru- Feb. 5 . ket undo the damage from the pre- many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3769 For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur­ ary. It’s a notable turnaround for The Dow’s gains were driven by a vious week. Britain (Pound) 1.3875 chasing British pounds in Germany), check with Canada (Dollar) 1.2307 your local military banking facility. Commercial the market, which only the previous surge in Nike, which reported blow- Investors got another data point China(Yuan) 6.4563 rates are interbank rates provided for reference Denmark (Krone) 6.2327 week had its worst week since Feb- out earnings late Thursday and on inflation on Friday. The Com- Egypt (Pound) 15.6697 when buying currency. All figures are foreign ruary on concerns about inflation. gave investors a strong outlook for merce Department said inflation Euro 0.8381 currencies to one dollar, except for the British Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7616 pound, which is represented in dollars­to­ The S&P 500 index closed up the year. Nike rose 15.5%. tied to a gauge of consumer spend- Hungary (Forint) 294.42 pound, and the euro, which is dollars­to­euro.) Israel (Shekel) 3.2521 14.21 points, or 0.3%, to 4,280.70. Markets have calmed since the ing that is closely watched by the Japan (Yen) 110.84 INTEREST RATES The Dow Jones Industrial Average Federal Reserve recently sur- Federal Reserve increased 0.4% in Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3013 Norway (Krone) 8.4979 Prime rate 3.25 rose 237.02 points, or 0.7%, to prised investors by saying it could May and is up 3.9% over the past 12 Philippines (Peso) 48.53 Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75 Poland (Zloty) 3.78 Federal funds market rate 0.09 34,433.84 and the Nasdaq Compos- start raising short-term interest months, well above the Fed’s 2% Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7504 3­month bill 0.06 ite lost 9.32 points, or 0.1%, to rates by late 2023, earlier than ex- target for annual price increases. Singapore (Dollar) 1.3425 30­year bond 2.17 WEATHER OUTLOOK SUNDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST SUNDAY IN EUROPE MONDAY IN THE PACIFIC Misawa 66/58 Kabul Seoul 80/69 81/68 Baghdad 114/78 Tokyo Drawsko Osan Kandahar Mildenhall/ 82/67 76/64 98/65 Pomorskie Busan Lakenheath 71/52 73/68 69/53 Iwakuni Kuwait City Bahrain 73/70 Brussels Zagan Sasebo 110/87 91/84 Ramstein 74/54 76/70 Guam 74/61 77/60 83/80 Riyadh Lajes, 110/77 Doha Azores Stuttgart 103/84 68/66 80/58 Pápa Aviano/ 84/61 Vicenza 83/63 Naples 87/68 Okinawa Morón 83/80 91/63 Sigonella Rota 100/73 The weather is provided by the Djibouti 75/66 Souda Bay American Forces Network Weather Center, 93/84 85/78 2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. TODAY IN STRIPES American Roundup ...... 11 Comics/Crossword .......15 Gadgets & Tech ......... 16 Food & Drink................ 14 Music ..................... 12-13 Opinion ........................ 17 Sports .................... 19-24 Sunday, June 27, 2021 • STARS AND STRIPES • PAGE 3 WAR ON TERRORISM Reagan arrives to assist with US drawdown BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS buildup on islands and reefs in the South Stars and Stripes China Sea. WASHINGTON — The aircraft carrier Friday marked the first time since 2012 USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group ar- that the ship has entered the 5th Fleet re- rived in the Middle East on Friday to help gion, which includes the Arabian Sea, Red protect troops withdrawing from Afghanis- Sea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and parts of tan, the Navy announced. the Indian Ocean, according to the Navy. The Reagan and its crew of 5,000 joins the “As an inherently flexible maneuver aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhow- force capable of supporting routine and er, which has been in the region since early contingency operations, the carrier’s pres- April. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin later ence demonstrates the U.S. Navy’s commit- that month ordered the ship to stay there ment to regional partners and maritime se- ahead of the drawdown’s May 1 start. curity,” the service said in its statement. “The Ronald Reagan [strike group] will But with the ship now in the 5th Fleet re- operate and train alongside regional and gion — the 7th Fleet region is no longer pro- coalition partners and provide airpower to tected by an aircraft carrier. protect U.S. and coalition forces as they The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was conduct drawdown operations from Af- in the Pacific Ocean as of Tuesday, accord- ghanistan,” the Navy said in its announce- ing to a Navy statement that day, but the ment. ship was in the 3rd Fleet’s area of respon- The ship’s strike group includes the guid- sibility, which spans from Hawaii to Cali- ed-missile cruiser USS Shiloh and guided- fornia. missile destroyer USS Halsey, according to The Navy did not say Friday whether the the announcement. Eisenhower would travel home now that the Based in Yokosuka, Japan, the Reagan Reagan has arrived. Before Austin ordered U.S. NAVY typically patrols the 7th Fleet area of oper- the carrier to stay in the region to assist with The Aircraft Carrier USS Ronald Reagan refuels from the fleet replenishment oiler ations in the Western Pacific, a region the drawdown, the Eisenhower already had USNS Pecos on May 27 in the Philippine Sea. The Reagan and its strike group arrived wrought with tension over China’s military been deployed since February. in the Middle East on Friday to help protect troops withdrawing from Afghanistan.