Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 1, 2020

The USS Roosevelt was forced to dock in Guam last week after 25 sailors on board tested positive for coronavirus. Since then, more than 100 members of the roughly 5,000-person crew have reportedly tested positive. The vessel is seen in port Friday

Daily Mail: PICTURED: USS Roosevelt docked in Guam after Defense Secretary Mark Esper publicly disagreed with the captain's call to immediately evacuate warship because of a coronavirus outbreak and admitted he didn't read his letter pleading for help

* The USS Theodore Roosevelt docked in Guam last week after 25 crew members tested positive for COVID-19
* Since then, more than 100 members of the roughly 5,000-person crew have reportedly tested positive
* Captain Brett Crozier called to quarantine 90 percent of the crew on land in a four-page letter to Navy leaders
* 'We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die,' the captain wrote
* Asked if it's time to evacuate the ship on Tuesday, DoD Sec Mark Esper said: 'I don't think we're at that point'
* He also said he has not 'had a chance to read [Crozier's] letter ... in detail'
* Pacific Fleet Commander Adm John Aquilino said the Navy is working on plans to rotate some of the sailors off the ship and into isolation
* He emphasized that a full evacuation will not happen because the ship needs to be prepared to go to battle
* There are 1,259 confirmed coronavirus cases in the US military as of Tuesday
* The Pentagon instructed bases and installations not to reveal specific case counts last week so as not to give potential enemies an advantage

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper says it is not time to evacuate the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt after the warship's captain penned an unprecedented letter pleading for the Navy's help in protecting its sailors from infection.

The aircraft carrier was ordered to cease sail and docked in Guam last Thursday after 25 sailors on board tested positive for COVID-19.

Since then, more than 100 members of the roughly 5,000-person crew have reportedly tested positive.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 1, 2020

The US Navy is moving 2,700 sailors off an aircraft carrier ASAP to combat a coronavirus outbreak on board -- Business Insider

Navy leaders say the aircraft carrier commander who urged them for coronavirus help will not be punished for his letter leaking -- business Insider

Pentagon orders 100,000 body bags as 200,000 people are expected to die from coronavirus -- Daily Mail

5 things to know about the military's coronavirus response from Defense Secretary Mark Esper -- CBS

The US Army's Virus Research Lab Gears Up to Fight Covid-19 -- Wired

Marine Corps boot camp base Parris Island stops accepting new recruits after 20 people test positive for coronavirus -- Daily Mail

With COVID-19 threat to increase, Air Force takes steps to protect its most important missions -- Defense News

How The COVID-19 Oubreak Is Impacting U.S Military Life -- NPR

Air Force Academy relaxes social distancing rules after two cadets die by suicide in less than a week on 'prison-like' Colorado base -- Daily Mail

Pandemics and the U.S. Military: Lessons from 1918 -- Michael Shurkin, War On The Rocks

A Naval War College pandemic war game in 2019 had eerie parallels to the coronavirus response today -- Business Insider/Military.com

Navy Rushes Shipbuilding Deals To Keep Yards Going In Pandemic -- Breaking Defense

4 candidates vie to be military’s next spy chief -- Politico

The Marine Corps may not have enough pilots for all of its F-35s, the Corps' top general says -- Business Insider

Top Marine ‘signaling’ to industry that F-35 cuts are on the table -- Defense News

The world’s largest aircraft will now test hypersonics for the military -- Ars Technica

Full Speed Ahead With Navy Prompt Strike -- RCD

These 23 Air Force Missions Are Transferring to the Space Force -- Military.com

US military may start moving towards launching fleets of tiny satellites -- Space.com

Satellite Attack Potential Increases: CSIS, SWF -- Breaking Defense

U.S. Approves Sale of F-16 Upgrades for ROK Air Force -- Ankit Panda, The Diplomat

Army Apache Attack Helicopters Deploy To The Navy's Giant Sea Base In The Arabian Gulf -- Warzone/The Drive

Sweden pushes back after allies ditch military exercise -- Defense News

Military could be drafted into help maintain order at prisons with one in ten staff already self-isolating after coronavirus crisis lead to riots and violence in Italy's jails, says union chief -- Daily Mail

Inside the German military's Airbus A310 'flying hospital', which is transporting coronavirus patients from Italy to Germany -- Business Insider

Military Activity and Political Signaling in the Taiwan Strait in Early 2020 -- Jamestown Foundation

Putin shows military might as Russian warship 'destroys enemy submarine' in Mediterranean -- Express

China’s unique special missions aircraft -- Defense Review Asia

Peru calls up 10,000 army reserves to enforce quarantine -- National Post

Beyond Covid, Australia’s big stake in India’s military reorganisation -- David Brewster, The Interpreter

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