Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 3, 2020

Daily Mail: 'Loose lips sink ships': Navy chief Thomas Modly says sacked Theodore Roosevelt captain put his crew 'at risk' with leaked coronavirus letter because 'our adversaries in the region think that one of our warships might be crippled'

* Acting US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said on Friday Capt. Brett Crozier went outside chain of command
* Modly on Thursday fired Crozier, relieving him of command of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt
* Sailors from the Roosevelt posted video on social media showing massive salute to ousted commander
* Crozier was fired days after he penned letter to Navy leaders calling for immediate evacuation of Roosevelt
* Modly said decision was driven by fact he shared letter with at least 20 others before it was leaked to press
* The secretary insisted that he was not accusing Crozier of leaking the letter to the press himself
* However, US officials told Reuters that the Navy did believe he was responsible for the leak
* The USS Roosevelt was docked in Guam last week after 25 crew members tested positive for COVID-19
* 'About 140' sailors on the nuclear aircraft carrier have since tested positive, according to Modly
* Modly said 95 have 'mild to moderate flu-like symptoms' while 42 are asymptomatic. Zero are hospitalized
* Navy is in the process of evacuating 2,700 sailors from the ship in addition to the 1,000 already evacuated
* Locals in Guam have expressed anger over hosting infected sailors at their hotels

The acting secretary of the United States Navy has defended his decision to fire the commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt saying he put the crew 'at risk' by sending a letter demanding they be quarantined after an outbreak of coronavirus.

Thomas Modly said America's enemies might think the aircraft carrier was 'crippled' after a letter written by its captain Brett Crozier was leaked.

It came as videos emerged of Captain Crozier being given a rowdy farewell by his crew who were chanting his name as he left the warship.

Read more ....

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 3, 2020

Lawmakers call for investigation into aircraft carrier captain's firing -- The Hill

A Navy Captain’s Brave Fight Against Coronavirus -- James Stavridis, Bloomberg

The US Navy’s hospital ships in the COVID-19 fight badly need replacing -- Defense News

US military preparing to deploy additional forces to support coronavirus response -- CNN

Top general: Pentagon has brought 3.5M test swabs from Italy to US -- The Hill

COVID-19 NEWS: Air Force Weapon Programs on Track Despite Pandemic -- National Defense

COVID-19 NEWS: Navy to Accelerate Contract Awards -- National Defense

Navy accelerating large contracts to mitigate effects of COVID-19 -- UPI

The Military and the Pandemic: An Explainer of the National Guard’s Role in the COVID-19 Response -- Dennis Bittle, Modern War Institute

US Army Predicted Worst Case Scenario of 150,000 COVID-19-Related Deaths in Early February – Report -- Sputnik

Army Wants To Train Soldiers in Coronavirus 'Safety Bubbles' -- Katie Bo Williams, Defense One

China Concealed Extent of Virus Outbreak, U.S. Intelligence Says -- Bloomberg

The military must balance national security risks with the health of its troops -- Meghann Myers, Military Times

Marines Won’t Cut Planned F-35 Buy Totals for Now, But External Review Could Change That -- USNI News

The Pentagon Just Bought a Bunch of F-35s -- Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics

Will Commandant Berger’s New Marine Corps Be a High-Tech Forlorn Hope? -- Dan Gouré, RCD

Marine Corps to Undergo ‘Radical’ Overhaul -- Ben Wolfgang, The Washington Times

Top Marine says Light Armored Reconnaissance is outmoded on future battlefield -- Marine Times

Pentagon Will Make Firms Compete for Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Contracts -- Sputnik

Five Reasons Raytheon Technologies Is Destined To Dominate Aerospace & Defense -- Loren Thompson, Forbes

Boeing nabs $84.7M to build 3 more MQ-25s for Navy -- UPI

Military Leaders Worry About Health of Commercial Airlines -- Defense One

U.S. Deploys Patriot Missiles in Iraq As Tensions With Iran Rise -- Stars and Stripes

Lockheed Martin Awarded $512 Million Contract to Build Eight F-16 Aircraft for Bulgaria -- Sputnik

Game Over? Foreign Military Forces Pull Out of Major Drills in Sweden Amid COVID-19 Pandemic -- Sputnik

Canada pulls military trainers out of Iraq as pandemic spreads -- CBC News

Russian Navy to Get First Borei-A Class Nuclear-Powered Submarine in April - Shipbuilder -- Sputnik

Russia is behind in military space capabilities, but that only drives its appetite -- Defense News

Russian Military Holding Drills to Defend Crimea From Air Attack -- Sputnik

Russia develops one of world’s most powerful 9mm pistol rounds -- TASS

China's Domestically Developed High-End Missile Sees First Export Delivery Despite Pandemic -- Sputnik

Chinese air force’s drill ‘aimed at signalling deterrent around Taiwan’ -- SCMP

Is Taiwan Really Buying the 'Wrong' Weapons? -- Corey Lee Bell, The Diplomat

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