Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- October 5, 2020

Katie Bo Williams, Defense One: Pentagon Downplays National Security Concerns From Trump’s Diagnosis

....and some experts say they’re probably right.

Top Pentagon officials on Friday morning moved quickly to dispel fears that President Donald Trump’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis has put the United States at greater risk from attack by foreign adversaries or required any emergency shifts in the U.S. defense posture.

Alarmist and inaccurate reports that the United States had launched nuclear command-and-control planes in connection with Trump’s Thursday diagnosis quickly proliferated on Twitter, while on cable networks and news sites, national security analysts said the diagnosis put the United States into “uncharted territory” and “deep into the danger zone.”

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- October 5, 2020

Trump team on watch for adversaries seeking to exploit the president's illness -- Politico

No changes to DoD alert levels after Trump's COVID-19 announcement -- UPI

Military leaders: We’re not freaking out over Trump coronavirus news -- Military Times

Trump Implied Hope Hicks Might Have Caught Covid-19 From Military, Police -- Forbes

Democratic Armed Services chairman predicts defense budget fight if Biden wins -- The Hill

US Army discontinues Rapid Equipping Force -- Defense News

In Major Shift, US Army to Shut Down Asymmetric Warfare Group and Rapid Equipping Force -- Military.com

Space Force Nears Year Mark, Acquisition Remains A Quagmire -- Breaking Defense

US Army Inks $1.2 Billion Deal to Equip Strykers with Short-Range Air Defense Weapons -- Military.com

Navy Retools COVID Rules for Ships After 6 Months of Practice -- USNI News