Presented by Northrop Grumman
With Lara Seligman, Connor O’Brien and Jacqueline Feldscher
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Quick Fix
— The military can help in the coronavirus crisis, but it’s not a cure-all.
— The NDAA is still moving ahead despite coronavirus fears, according to the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
— Lockheed Martin names a new CEO with the announced departure of Marillyn Hewson.
HAPPY TUESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at [email protected], and follow on Twitter @bryandbender, @morningdefense and @politicopro.
On the Hill
KEEPING NDAA MOVING: Rep. Adam Smith and Sen. Jim Inhofe believe they can keep the annual National Defense Authorization Act on track in the armed services committees, even amid the coronavirus outbreak, our colleague Connor O'Brien reports.
The full House Armed Services Committee plans to mark up its bill on April 30. The Senate panel will likely consider its version of the NDAA during the week of May 18. And both Smith and Inhofe aim for an earlier start to conference negotiations than last year.
But that doesn’t mean other problems can’t crop up. That includes a volatile schedule and witnesses who can’t show due to public health issues.
PUNTING ON SURVEILLANCE: “The Senate on Monday unanimously adopted a short-term extension of key federal surveillance programs that expired on Sunday night — a move that allows the chamber to more rapidly consider legislation addressing the economic impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic,” write POLITICO’s Andrew Desiderio and Martin Matishak.
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell scrapped an initial procedural vote Monday night on a House-passed bill that would reauthorize now-expired provisions of the 2015 USA Freedom Act and alter the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.”
Sign up for POLITICO Nightly: Coronavirus Special Edition, your daily update on how the illness is affecting politics, markets, public health and more.
EXTENDED RECESS: "The House is unlikely to return from recess next week as scheduled, with Democratic leaders expected to keep the chamber dark until the next coronavirus stimulus package is ready for a vote, according to multiple Democrats," report POLITICO's Heather Caygle, Sarah Ferris and Kyle Cheney.
"Speaking on a conference call with the caucus Monday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Democrats not to plan to return March 23 as scheduled and to stay tuned for more updates on Thursday. The announcement comes as congressional leaders face dueling missions: how to stave off economic disaster, while simultaneously protecting the hundreds of lawmakers — many of whom are older — from catching and spreading the coronavirus."
Coronavirus
LIMITED OPTIONS: While calls grow to tap into the Pentagon’s unique surge capacity in an emergency, “the military isn't a cure-all, and there are significant legal and practical limits to what the armed forces can do during the coronavirus crisis,” our colleague Lara Seligman and your Morning D correspondent report.
The armed forces could take some steps to help ease the burden on the medical system. But a multiple current and former officials cautioned that the military’s field medicine operations and hospital ships were designed for war, not for infectious disease outbreaks. "When you stack people four deep in litters that doesn't really limit the spread of anything,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, the Joint Staff surgeon, told reporters Monday.
Pressure on citizen-soldiers: And ramping up too many National Guard troops could also draw the part-time soldiers away from day jobs that are critical to the response in their communities. As for deputizing the Guard to compel Americans to follow instructions and stay away from public spaces? Probably not the best solution, advises retired Army Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, former chief of the National Guard Bureau.
The Pentagon is managing expectations. “The Department of Defense is ready, willing and able to support civilian authorities to the greatest extent possible at the direction of the president,” Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman told reporters Monday. “We just want to make sure that the conversation that we have is informed by the facts of what is possible and what is not and what those tradeoffs are.”
Related: Guard call-ups reach into the thousands, via Stars and Stripes.
Leading by example: Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Deputy Defense Secretary David Norwquist are doing their part in practicing social distance. “Starting today, the secretary and the deputy secretary are remaining physically separated," Hoffman told reporters. "They and their staffs will only interact via teleconference.”
Health stats: As of Monday, the Defense Department reported 37 total cases of Covid-19 — 18 military, 13 dependents and three DoD contractors.
Related: Despite calls by senior DoD officials to halt boot camp for new recruits, the Pentagon decided to continue with training missions while taking “precautionary measures” to limit virus spread, Hoffman confirms to POLITICO. The Washington Post has more.
No more knocking the VA: The health care system run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is designated by law as the backup health system in a national emergency, is gearing up to help, The New York Times reports.
“The department is experienced in managing an older and vulnerable population, and in many ways, it could be better prepared than the rest of the health care system to take on the task,” the Times reports. “It has a surplus of beds in many of its 172 hospital centers and a robust number of special rooms for patients with breathing disorders. Leaders at the agency say they have a surplus of supplies that they have been ordering since the beginning of the year.”
Could contractors make ventilators? A major concern is the availability of ventilators if the pandemic reaches the point that the most ill patients overrun supplies of critical medical equipment. Britain on Monday turned to major manufacturers, including engine maker Rolls Royce and automakers Ford and Honda, for potential help, Reuters reports.
“It was, though, not immediately clear how a manufacturer of jet engines or cars could turn to producing specialist medical equipment, which international parts would be needed or what certification would be required,” the wire service reported. “One option could be to adopt defense industry rules which can be used to order certain factories to follow a design to produce a required product quickly.”
Companies expand telework: Following the lead of the Pentagon and the policies of other companies, Boeing on Monday directed all employees who can work from home to do so. “Production continues at this time, and the company has enhanced cleaning procedures in work spaces, common areas and on high-touch surfaces,” Boeing’s guidance said.
Lockheed Martin also said it is allowing more flexible work schedules. “We have provided guidance to employees and their managers to accommodate flexible work schedules and alternative arrangements where possible,” including additional cleaning and screening for visitors.
Pentagon
‘SEAMS AND GAPS’: Transferring all space personnel into the Space Force could slow down some ground and air operations that rely on space assets, according to a RAND Corp. report released Monday. “Although consolidating space activities under one new service could reduce duplications and seams, in certain areas it could also create new seams and gaps, potentially degrading integration of space with other terrestrial operations (air, sea, and land) unless these new seams are attended to,” the report says.
The gains are likely to outweigh the new problems, the report adds. “A key presumption behind the creation of the Space Force is that the integration of space capabilities across DoD would eliminate enough seams to offset the effects of the new seams created between the Space Force and the rest of DoD.”
Industry Intel
MEET THE NEW BOSS: Lockheed Martin President and CEO Marillyn Hewson will step down from her post in June and James Taiclet, president and CEO of American Tower Corporation, a real estate investment trust and wireless communications provider, will take over the largest U.S. defense contractor, the company announced Monday.
“Hewson has been Lockheed's top executive since 2013 and oversaw an expansion in the company's stock valuation and several major business moves, including the acquisition of helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. She first joined the defense contractor in 1983,” our colleague Connor O’Brien reports. “Hewson saw her public profile rise with the election of President Donald Trump, who regularly touts the company's F-35 fighter jet after initially complaining about the program's cost.”
Taiclet, who Hewson said she recommended as her replacement, is a former Air Force officer and graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is a former president of Honeywell Aerospace Services and vice president at Pratt & Whitney.
Hewson will become executive chairman of the company's board, subject to her reelection at an upcoming shareholders meeting.
Making Moves
William Lietzau has been named director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, replacing Charles Phalen, who has been the acting DCSA director since July 2019.
Speed Read
— F-35’s diagnostic system rife with flaws, GAO says: Bloomberg
— Can the Army convince Congress it’s learned from FCS?: Breaking Defense
— Before Trump’s inauguration, a warning: ‘The worst influenza pandemic since 1918,': POLITICO
— Cyber attacks on DoD networks soar: Defense One
— Contractors may get relief for contract delays: National Defense
— In Afghanistan, coronavirus complicates war and peace: The New York Times
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