| | | | | |  | | By Bryan Bender | Presented by |  | | | With Connor O'Brien and Jacqueline Feldscher Editor's Note: Morning Defense is a free version of POLITICO Pro Defense's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. | | | — The Pentagon is ramping up its Covid-19 response with an initial call-up of 1,100 active-duty troops to help expand vaccination sites. — The Biden administration has reportedly halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia as it plans to reverse the terrorist designation for the Houthis in Yemen. — What the Space Force could have been and the new scholarly journal intended to shape what it will still become. IT'S MONDAY AND YOU'RE READING MORNING DEFENSE, where we bid farewell to former Secretary of State and Marine Corps Maj. George Shultz, who advised presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Barack Obama "as an able, steady and respectable conservative, a family man very rarely seen, as the expression goes, in the vicinity of a colorful anecdote," our colleague David Cohen writes. We knew him best as one of the "four horsemen" advocating for the abolishment of nuclear weapons, something he nearly pulled off with Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik, Iceland. "He was the one we all looked up to, we all followed," former Defense Secretary Bill Perry told us Sunday. He could also take a joke. We're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at bbender@politico.com, and follow on Twitter @bryandbender, @morningdefense and @politicopro. | | | | A message from Northrop Grumman: Nothing is more important than protecting our nation against long range missile attacks. Our unmatched NGI team has a deep understanding of this critical mission and possesses the proven experience and cutting-edge technology needed to field a system that can protect against existing threats and address new, emerging challenges. Learn More | | | | | | WITTMAN TALKS SHIPBUILDING: Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia, the House Armed Services Committee's second-ranking Republican, says he intends to keep pushing for a bigger Navy despite signs that the Biden administration will be starting over on a new shipbuilding plan. The Trump administration's 30-year blueprint projected 405 manned ships by 2051, including constructing three Virginia-class attack submarines per year. "You might have a debate about what classes of ships you want to prioritize or how you integrate unmanned platforms," Wittman, who also is the ranking Republican on the Seapower Subcommittee, told USNI News in an interview. But the goal, he said, is "not wholesale changes to what we need to build. To me, I think it's pretty simple and straightforward. You have to have attack submarines. I think you need to be able to build them at a higher rate that is three per year. I know you can't just flip the switch and do that. Make sure we're staying on track with [Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines], the same with [Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers]. Staying on track with multi-ship procurement on [amphibious ships] and the same with [guided-missile destroyers]." But where is all that dough going to come from? The hawks are making the case for more funding, even in the face of a newly empowered Democratic push to squeeze the defense budget. A new report co-authored by Elaine McCusker, the former acting Pentagon budget chief who is now at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, argues for a budget that sets a trajectory for increases of 3 to 5 percent a year. But she also acknowledges that trade-offs will have to be made. Cut structure, not people, she and budget analyst John Ferrari advise, arguing that the traditional way to free up more money for modernization won't work by reducing troop levels. "The inevitable result of cutting people but protecting structure is mathematically a hollow force, which is the one outcome we are desperately trying to avoid," she writes. | | | The Middle East Institute hosts Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, at 9 a.m. | | | | TUNE IN TO NEW EPISODE OF GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | | | | | The Cowen Aerospace/Defense & Industrials Conference takes place Tuesday through Thursday, featuring CEOs from Northrop Grumman, CACI, and Raytheon Technologies on Tuesday, along with top officials from SAIC and Leidos on Thursday. The Space Foundation holds a two-day virtual conference beginning Tuesday featuring the Space Force's top brass and women leaders in space. Check out the full agenda. And the weeklong SMALLSAT Symposium also features a keynote from Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency, on Thursday at 1 p.m. Also on tap this week: On Tuesday, the Center for Strategic and International Studies holds an online event with Northrop Grumman's chairman, CEO and president, Kathy Warden, at 11 a.m. On Wednesday, the Henry L. Stimson Center holds a webinar on "The Security Environment in Western Pacific Waters" at 8 a.m. For a full schedule check out the Pro calendar. | | | OPERATION COVID PICKS UP: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, signed orders on Friday for 1,100 active-duty personnel to assist in the nationwide vaccination against the coronavirus. "The move marks a significant change from the Trump Administration, which was reluctant to use the armed forces in vaccine delivery and administration, opting instead to rely on private industry," according to Time. "The slow pace of vaccinations, though, prompted Biden to arrange a more muscular federal response, ordering FEMA and the Pentagon to team up and establish 100 mass vaccination centers within a month." "Each of the Pentagon's five military teams includes 222 personnel, including 80 who will give the vaccines, as well as nurses and other support staff," The Associated Press reported. "The teams would be able to provide about 6,000 shots a day." The decision is the first of several deployments that could reach 10,000 troops. Meanwhile, the administration also decided to ramp up use of the Defense Production Act to make more protective equipment, such as gloves and masks, as well as 60 million at-home tests for the virus by the end of the summer, Roll Call reports. Read up: " New Presidential Directives on the Defense Production Act and the Covid19 Pandemic," via the Congressional Research Service. And: "Pentagon focuses on challenges at home in early weeks of Biden administration," via The Washington Post. Plus: " Navy chief dies of COVID complications," via Navy Times. | | | |   | | | | | | BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: The Space Force's recent announcement that it had settled on calling its members "guardians" was met with guffaws and sarcasm. But it could have been much worse. The proposed names that were rejected are about as out there as you might expect, according to the list of 400 crowd-sourced ideas released by the Air Force on Friday, our colleague Jacqueline Feldscher reports. Some are real doozies, like FloatyBois, Astrogators and Homo Spaciens. There were also a number of sci-fi-inspired ones, like Skywalkers, Wookies and Trekkies. At least someone was hoping they went with naval ranks, offering up Fleet Officer. We're partial to the character who suggested that members of the Space Force should be called "nothing because you wouldn't hear it in space anyways." Check out the full list of near-misses . READ ALL ABOUT IT: Another sign that the year-old Space Force is here to stay came on Friday with the arrival of the maiden issue of the Space Force Journal, the "independent voice of Guardians." The online publication is the brainchild of Mir Sadat, a former Navy officer and staffer on the National Security Council, and Michael Martindale, a former professor at the Air Force Academy and defense official. They are seeking "a broad spectrum of writings ranging from fully annotated research papers, to historical analyses, to cutting edge thought pieces, all written by members of the space community of any rank or seniority, scholars, enthusiasts, and international partners," they write in the editorial foreword. The first batch of articles, including some from a number of active-duty officers, tackle how the newest branch should evolve; the role early communications satellites played in diplomacy; the negative influence of science fiction on the Space Force; space deterrence; and some long-term ideas for the service. The graphics are way cool. And are those space tugs? Related: " Politics should not determine location for US Space Command," by former Sen. Ben Nelson, via C4ISRNet. | | | YEMEN ROLLBACK CONTINUES: Days after President Joe Biden said the U.S. would end support for offensive operations in Yemen, the State Department moved to reverse the last-minute decision to designate Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization and reportedly halt a pair of arms sales to Saudi Arabia over its role in the civil war. "Secretary [Antony] Blinken has been clear about undertaking an expeditious review of the designations of Ansarallah given the profound implications for the people of Yemen, home to the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe," a State Department official said in a statement, using another name for the Houthis, POLITICO's Nahal Toosi reports. "After a comprehensive review, we can confirm that the secretary intends to revoke the Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist designation." The move was seen by some as only emboldening terrorism. Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the message it sends is: "Make enough of a humanitarian nightmare in the territory Iran is helping you conquer, and the U.S. will prioritize the humanitarian nightmare over the terrorist activity that helped create it." Arms sales halt: The administration is also halting the sale to Riyadh of precision-guided weapons produced by Boeing and Raytheon, Defense News reported on Friday. "The two deals include a foreign military sales case for 3,000 Boeing-made GBU-39 small diameter bombs, which was cleared by the State Department in late December with an estimated price tag of $290 million, according to two sources familiar with the matter," the outlet said. "The second is a direct commercial sale for Raytheon Technologies munitions, likely the reported $478 million sale of 7,000 Paveway IV smart bombs." Related: " U.S. State Department approves first potential weapons sales under Biden, says Pentagon, via Reuters. | | | | THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO OFFICIAL WASHINGTON: February is short month, but there is a lot in store. From the impeachment trial to the Covid relief package to intraparty squabbles, our new Playbook team is on the case. Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Tara Palmeri are canvassing every corner of Washington, bringing you the big stories and scoops you need to know – and the insider nuggets that you want to know – about the new power centers and players. "This town" has changed. And no one covers this town like Playbook. Subscribe to the unofficial guide to official Washington today . | | | | | | | | AWE-INSPIRING: Best-selling author James Patterson has teamed up with Matt Eversmann, the first sergeant who led a team of Army Rangers in Somalia in 1993, on the new book "Walk in My Combat Boots: True Stories of America's Bravest Warriors," which is out today. Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal calls it "a tapestry of individual stories, as painfully raw, improbably funny, and completely human as the soldiers themselves." Former President Bill Clinton, who co-wrote a novel with Patterson, says, "This book will take your breath away, break your heart, and leave you in awe." Patterson and Eversmann will be interviewed by retired Adm. William McRaven at a virtual event tonight hosted by Washington's historic Sixth & I Synagogue. The event is free for military members and veterans. | | | Ellen Lord, most recently undersecretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment, has joined the Chertoff Group as a senior adviser. Mike Dana, a retired lieutenant general and former head of logistics for the Marine Corps, is taking on the expanded role of principal at strategic consulting firm Pallas Advisors. Leigh Maide, most recently legislative director for Rep. Filemón Vela (D-Texas), has joined defense technology company Anduril Industries as a government relations associate. | | | | A message from Northrop Grumman: If our nation doesn't have effective missile defense capabilities, our nation is at risk. With proven expertise in missile defense and advanced weapon systems integration, our unmatched NGI team is utilizing cutting-edge technologies, agile processes and model-based systems engineering to offer an affordable, low-risk NGI solution. This solution will be able to meet the customer's schedule and ensure mission success. 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