1 00:00:00,370 --> 00:00:02,592 Good afternoon , everyone , quite a few 2 00:00:02,592 --> 00:00:04,814 items to pass along at the top . So I'd 3 00:00:04,814 --> 00:00:06,926 ask you to bear with me and then I'll 4 00:00:06,926 --> 00:00:09,092 be happy to get to your questions . Uh 5 00:00:09,092 --> 00:00:11,203 First , on behalf of Secretary Austin 6 00:00:11,203 --> 00:00:13,426 and the Department of Defense , I would 7 00:00:13,426 --> 00:00:15,648 like to offer our heartfelt condolences 8 00:00:15,648 --> 00:00:17,314 to the families , friends and 9 00:00:17,314 --> 00:00:19,537 colleagues of the nine us army soldiers 10 00:00:19,629 --> 00:00:22,030 assigned to the 101st airborne division 11 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:24,190 who sadly lost their lives last night 12 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,422 when two Black Hawk helicopters crashed 13 00:00:26,639 --> 00:00:28,639 outside of Fort Campbell Kentucky . 14 00:00:28,889 --> 00:00:30,778 According to army officials , the 15 00:00:30,778 --> 00:00:32,778 helicopters were performing planned 16 00:00:32,778 --> 00:00:35,000 night training flight operations at the 17 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:36,945 time of the incident . An aircraft 18 00:00:36,945 --> 00:00:39,000 safety team from Fort Rucker Alabama 19 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,167 will arrive later today and will begin 20 00:00:41,167 --> 00:00:43,111 an investigation . And again , our 21 00:00:43,111 --> 00:00:45,000 thoughts and prayers are with the 22 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,111 families units and all those affected 23 00:00:47,111 --> 00:00:49,167 by this tragedy . And for additional 24 00:00:49,167 --> 00:00:51,389 question , I'd refer you to army public 25 00:00:51,389 --> 00:00:53,445 affairs separately . Earlier today , 26 00:00:53,445 --> 00:00:55,611 Secretary Austin met with his Romanian 27 00:00:55,611 --> 00:00:57,667 counterpart , Minister TVA to affirm 28 00:00:57,667 --> 00:00:59,389 our enduring bilateral defense 29 00:00:59,389 --> 00:01:02,430 relationship . Secretary Austin thanked 30 00:01:02,439 --> 00:01:04,661 Romania for hosting thousands of us and 31 00:01:04,661 --> 00:01:07,389 allied forces to defend nato's eastern 32 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,000 flank . And for Romania's leadership 33 00:01:10,010 --> 00:01:12,250 role in the Black Sea region . The two 34 00:01:12,260 --> 00:01:14,279 leaders also saluted the 30 year 35 00:01:14,290 --> 00:01:16,012 anniversary of Romania's state 36 00:01:16,012 --> 00:01:18,068 partnership program with the Alabama 37 00:01:18,068 --> 00:01:20,370 National Guard . The secretary looks 38 00:01:20,379 --> 00:01:22,101 forward to future meetings and 39 00:01:22,101 --> 00:01:24,323 opportunities to work with our Romanian 40 00:01:24,323 --> 00:01:26,490 allies . A full readout will be posted 41 00:01:26,490 --> 00:01:29,769 to defense dot gov later today on the 42 00:01:29,779 --> 00:01:31,459 training front since Russia's 43 00:01:31,470 --> 00:01:34,730 unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022 44 00:01:34,940 --> 00:01:37,339 us , European command us army Europe 45 00:01:37,349 --> 00:01:39,580 and Africa and security assistance 46 00:01:39,589 --> 00:01:41,756 group . Ukraine have trained more than 47 00:01:41,756 --> 00:01:43,756 7000 members of the Ukrainian armed 48 00:01:43,756 --> 00:01:46,800 forces . Just this week , 65 Ukrainian 49 00:01:46,809 --> 00:01:48,587 air defenders completed patriot 50 00:01:48,587 --> 00:01:50,879 training at Fort Sill Oklahoma and and 51 00:01:50,930 --> 00:01:52,900 have now arrived back in Europe . 52 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:55,082 They're integrating with other 53 00:01:55,082 --> 00:01:57,027 Ukrainian air defenders along with 54 00:01:57,027 --> 00:01:59,138 donated patriot air defense equipment 55 00:01:59,138 --> 00:02:01,193 from the United States , Germany and 56 00:02:01,193 --> 00:02:03,416 the Netherlands . Once in Ukraine , the 57 00:02:03,416 --> 00:02:05,582 Patriot air defense system will add to 58 00:02:05,582 --> 00:02:07,471 Ukraine's layered air defenses to 59 00:02:07,471 --> 00:02:09,416 provide protection and shield from 60 00:02:09,416 --> 00:02:11,416 Russia's wanton , brutal attacks on 61 00:02:11,416 --> 00:02:13,193 innocent civilians and civilian 62 00:02:13,193 --> 00:02:15,759 infrastructure . Meanwhile in Germany 63 00:02:15,770 --> 00:02:17,937 at the close of this month , more than 64 00:02:17,937 --> 00:02:19,714 4000 Ukrainian soldiers and two 65 00:02:19,714 --> 00:02:21,720 brigades , one equipped with M two 66 00:02:21,729 --> 00:02:23,951 Bradleys and one equipped with strikers 67 00:02:23,951 --> 00:02:25,840 will have completed combined arms 68 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,062 training and have returned to Ukraine . 69 00:02:28,062 --> 00:02:30,118 Additional combined arms training is 70 00:02:30,118 --> 00:02:32,118 currently under way at Graphene and 71 00:02:32,118 --> 00:02:34,229 Hoen Feld's training areas in Germany 72 00:02:34,229 --> 00:02:36,396 with two motorized infantry battalions 73 00:02:36,396 --> 00:02:39,009 consisting of 1200 Ukrainian armed 74 00:02:39,020 --> 00:02:41,320 forces personnel operator and 75 00:02:41,330 --> 00:02:43,108 maintenance training on donated 76 00:02:43,108 --> 00:02:45,169 platforms is also ongoing with more 77 00:02:45,179 --> 00:02:47,179 than 3000 Ukrainian soldiers having 78 00:02:47,190 --> 00:02:49,479 completed platform training and 40 79 00:02:49,490 --> 00:02:51,546 different programs of instruction on 80 00:02:51,550 --> 00:02:53,919 more than 20 systems since April of 81 00:02:53,929 --> 00:02:57,149 2022 . Training for Ukrainian forces is 82 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,382 an international effort being conducted 83 00:02:59,382 --> 00:03:01,271 in partnership with our coalition 84 00:03:01,271 --> 00:03:03,271 partners who are currently training 85 00:03:03,271 --> 00:03:05,271 more than 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers 86 00:03:05,271 --> 00:03:07,699 across 26 different nations . The US 87 00:03:07,710 --> 00:03:09,821 will continue to provide training and 88 00:03:09,821 --> 00:03:11,654 work closely with our allies and 89 00:03:11,654 --> 00:03:13,877 partners to ensure the Ukrainian people 90 00:03:13,877 --> 00:03:15,877 have the security assistance . They 91 00:03:15,877 --> 00:03:17,821 need to defend the country , their 92 00:03:17,821 --> 00:03:19,988 country and repel Russian aggression . 93 00:03:19,988 --> 00:03:21,877 We remain committed to supporting 94 00:03:21,877 --> 00:03:23,766 Ukraine for as long as it takes . 95 00:03:23,766 --> 00:03:25,932 Finally , I would also like to provide 96 00:03:25,932 --> 00:03:28,154 a quick update on where things stand in 97 00:03:28,154 --> 00:03:30,043 regards to our recent air strikes 98 00:03:30,043 --> 00:03:32,210 against Iranian backed groups in Syria 99 00:03:32,210 --> 00:03:34,432 as well as the status of our forces who 100 00:03:34,432 --> 00:03:36,488 were wounded during attacks by those 101 00:03:36,488 --> 00:03:38,488 groups . First , we now assess that 102 00:03:38,488 --> 00:03:40,432 eight militants were killed in our 103 00:03:40,432 --> 00:03:42,321 strikes against two IRGC KS force 104 00:03:42,321 --> 00:03:44,850 facilities near Dar E by U Air Force 105 00:03:44,860 --> 00:03:47,179 F-15 E fighters assigned to us air 106 00:03:47,190 --> 00:03:48,979 forces central . Again , these 107 00:03:48,990 --> 00:03:51,212 precision strikes were taken to protect 108 00:03:51,212 --> 00:03:53,630 and defend us personnel . Second , the 109 00:03:53,639 --> 00:03:55,750 six US personnel wounded in the March 110 00:03:55,750 --> 00:03:58,330 23 attack against a coalition based 111 00:03:58,339 --> 00:04:00,580 near Hasaka in northeastern Syria are 112 00:04:00,589 --> 00:04:02,940 all in stable condition . Two of the 113 00:04:02,949 --> 00:04:04,838 wounded us , service members have 114 00:04:04,838 --> 00:04:07,005 already returned to duty . One service 115 00:04:07,005 --> 00:04:08,893 member was medically evacuated to 116 00:04:08,893 --> 00:04:11,060 launch to to receive treatment and two 117 00:04:11,060 --> 00:04:12,727 US service members and the US 118 00:04:12,727 --> 00:04:14,560 contractor are receiving medical 119 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:16,820 treatment in Iraq . Separately , the US 120 00:04:16,829 --> 00:04:18,885 service member injured in the attack 121 00:04:18,885 --> 00:04:21,051 against mission support site . Cono on 122 00:04:21,051 --> 00:04:23,107 March 24 is also in stable condition 123 00:04:23,107 --> 00:04:25,329 and continues to receive medical care . 124 00:04:25,359 --> 00:04:27,470 As Secretary Austin made clear during 125 00:04:27,470 --> 00:04:29,750 his congressional testimony this week , 126 00:04:30,130 --> 00:04:32,297 we will take all necessary measures to 127 00:04:32,297 --> 00:04:34,297 defend our troops and our interests 128 00:04:34,297 --> 00:04:37,299 overseas to underscore in response to a 129 00:04:37,309 --> 00:04:39,369 pattern of Iranian and Iran backed 130 00:04:39,380 --> 00:04:41,500 attacks against us personnel and 131 00:04:41,510 --> 00:04:43,920 facilities in Iraq and Syria and the 132 00:04:43,929 --> 00:04:45,762 continuing threat of future such 133 00:04:45,762 --> 00:04:48,200 attacks the United States has taken and 134 00:04:48,209 --> 00:04:50,510 as necessary will continue to take 135 00:04:50,519 --> 00:04:52,899 military action against the IRGC and 136 00:04:52,910 --> 00:04:55,279 its affiliates . This includes the use 137 00:04:55,290 --> 00:04:58,250 of force against I RGC and I RGC 138 00:04:58,260 --> 00:05:00,559 affiliate personnel and facilities and 139 00:05:00,570 --> 00:05:02,292 the US central command area of 140 00:05:02,292 --> 00:05:04,348 responsibility with the intention to 141 00:05:04,348 --> 00:05:06,403 convince the Iranians to de escalate 142 00:05:06,403 --> 00:05:08,626 threats against the United States , our 143 00:05:08,626 --> 00:05:10,737 interests and our people . Again , we 144 00:05:10,737 --> 00:05:12,903 do not see conflict with Iran , but we 145 00:05:12,903 --> 00:05:14,959 will always protect our people . And 146 00:05:14,959 --> 00:05:16,903 with that , I'm happy to take your 147 00:05:16,903 --> 00:05:18,959 questions . Go to associated press . 148 00:05:19,269 --> 00:05:23,000 Thanks pa one quick thing . And then I 149 00:05:23,010 --> 00:05:25,850 got a question um on Syria , you 150 00:05:25,859 --> 00:05:28,970 mentioned uh US forces that are injured 151 00:05:28,980 --> 00:05:31,091 and also insurgents that were injured 152 00:05:31,091 --> 00:05:33,799 are there and killed . Is that eight 153 00:05:33,809 --> 00:05:36,031 militants ? Is that the total number of 154 00:05:36,031 --> 00:05:38,190 militants that us s killed and or 155 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,255 injured by us strikes all together 156 00:05:41,265 --> 00:05:43,098 during that time period ? That's 157 00:05:43,098 --> 00:05:45,098 correct . And then um are there any 158 00:05:45,098 --> 00:05:47,024 additional us injuries or other , 159 00:05:47,054 --> 00:05:49,054 anything else that's happened , any 160 00:05:49,054 --> 00:05:51,221 other strikes that have happened ? And 161 00:05:51,221 --> 00:05:53,332 then I have a question . Sure . Uh so 162 00:05:53,332 --> 00:05:55,443 no , no additional strikes than the , 163 00:05:55,443 --> 00:05:57,610 the the ones that we've announced . Um 164 00:05:57,610 --> 00:05:59,776 And that , that is correct , we assess 165 00:05:59,776 --> 00:06:01,887 that eight militants were killed as a 166 00:06:01,887 --> 00:06:03,832 result of those airstrikes . Um In 167 00:06:03,832 --> 00:06:05,887 addition to the the seven uh injured 168 00:06:05,887 --> 00:06:08,110 service members that I highlighted , um 169 00:06:08,110 --> 00:06:10,332 there were an additional six US service 170 00:06:10,332 --> 00:06:12,332 members that have subsequently been 171 00:06:12,332 --> 00:06:14,443 diagnosed with traumatic brain injury 172 00:06:14,443 --> 00:06:16,332 as a result of the Iranian backed 173 00:06:16,332 --> 00:06:18,640 attacks , uh specifically for us 174 00:06:18,649 --> 00:06:21,269 service members at the coalition base 175 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:24,179 near Hasaka uh during the March 23rd 176 00:06:24,190 --> 00:06:27,029 attack and two admission support site 177 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,390 uh Green Village uh on the March 24 178 00:06:30,399 --> 00:06:32,910 attack on a standard procedure , all 179 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:34,864 all personnel in the vicinity of a 180 00:06:34,864 --> 00:06:36,869 blast are screened for uh traumatic 181 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:38,936 brain injuries . So these additional 182 00:06:38,936 --> 00:06:40,991 injuries were identified during post 183 00:06:40,991 --> 00:06:43,420 attack , medical screenings and are all 184 00:06:43,429 --> 00:06:46,209 the screenings complete ? Those will be 185 00:06:46,220 --> 00:06:48,260 ongoing is a matter of standard 186 00:06:48,269 --> 00:06:50,213 procedure . So there is always the 187 00:06:50,213 --> 00:06:51,991 possibility that there could be 188 00:06:51,991 --> 00:06:54,158 additional , but that's where we're at 189 00:06:54,158 --> 00:06:56,213 right now . Just one quick thing the 190 00:06:56,213 --> 00:06:58,213 White House announced earlier today 191 00:06:58,213 --> 00:07:00,269 that Russia has reached out again to 192 00:07:00,269 --> 00:07:02,269 North Korea for sir some additional 193 00:07:02,269 --> 00:07:04,602 weapons , et cetera support for the war . 194 00:07:04,602 --> 00:07:06,658 Has the Pentagon seen any indication 195 00:07:06,658 --> 00:07:08,713 that any other additional weapons or 196 00:07:08,713 --> 00:07:10,769 any other military support is either 197 00:07:10,769 --> 00:07:12,991 preparing or moving from North Korea to 198 00:07:12,991 --> 00:07:14,880 Russia . We have not at this time 199 00:07:15,464 --> 00:07:18,415 beyond the , which had been previously 200 00:07:18,424 --> 00:07:20,368 announced beyond the shipment that 201 00:07:20,368 --> 00:07:22,464 Wagner Group had previously arranged 202 00:07:22,475 --> 00:07:24,364 for . But it's again something we 203 00:07:24,364 --> 00:07:26,489 continue to keep a close eye on . All 204 00:07:26,500 --> 00:07:28,667 right , let's go ahead and go to Jamie 205 00:07:28,667 --> 00:07:32,640 and then we'll go to Idris . Thank you , 206 00:07:32,649 --> 00:07:36,619 General . I have two questions . The US 207 00:07:36,630 --> 00:07:39,959 Senate Foreign Relations Committee has , 208 00:07:40,570 --> 00:07:42,959 has mentioned the review of 209 00:07:42,970 --> 00:07:46,470 redeployment of tactical nuclear 210 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,559 weapons in South Korea . What is the 211 00:07:49,570 --> 00:07:52,790 Pentagon's position on that ? I , I'm 212 00:07:52,799 --> 00:07:54,855 sorry , Jane , I didn't understand . 213 00:07:54,855 --> 00:07:57,021 The Senate Foreign Relations Committee 214 00:07:57,021 --> 00:08:00,309 has mentioned the review of 215 00:08:00,390 --> 00:08:04,260 redeployment of tactical nuclear 216 00:08:04,269 --> 00:08:07,269 weapons . Um Well , of course , we'll 217 00:08:07,279 --> 00:08:09,335 always continue to work closely with 218 00:08:09,335 --> 00:08:11,489 the Congress . Our current policy is 219 00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:13,611 the denuclearization . Continue , you 220 00:08:13,611 --> 00:08:15,556 know , the denuclearization of the 221 00:08:15,556 --> 00:08:17,611 Korean Peninsula . So at this time , 222 00:08:17,611 --> 00:08:19,444 that will continue to remain our 223 00:08:19,444 --> 00:08:21,649 partner and you need a more stronger 224 00:08:21,660 --> 00:08:24,549 extended deterrence in South Korea . 225 00:08:24,739 --> 00:08:26,910 Well , you know , as you know , we are 226 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:29,559 in constant discussion with our South 227 00:08:29,570 --> 00:08:31,681 Korean allies and our partners in the 228 00:08:31,681 --> 00:08:34,960 region on extended deterrence to ensure 229 00:08:34,969 --> 00:08:37,530 that we can deter aggression from 230 00:08:37,539 --> 00:08:40,030 countries like North Korea or China and 231 00:08:40,039 --> 00:08:42,261 will continue to stay focused on that . 232 00:08:42,261 --> 00:08:44,530 Thank you . Let me go ahead , go ahead 233 00:08:45,179 --> 00:08:48,239 the station in South Korea recently 234 00:08:48,250 --> 00:08:51,940 started resuming training . How do 235 00:08:51,950 --> 00:08:55,799 you view it ? And do you have another 236 00:08:55,809 --> 00:08:59,799 plans to add additional deployment to 237 00:08:59,809 --> 00:09:02,031 Korea ? Yeah , I don't have anything to 238 00:09:02,031 --> 00:09:04,253 announce right now . Let me go to Idris 239 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,071 just on the TV I that you announced , 240 00:09:07,071 --> 00:09:09,293 uh are the troops still on the basis or 241 00:09:09,293 --> 00:09:11,516 have they been medevaced out and on the 242 00:09:11,516 --> 00:09:13,627 helicopter crash ? Um , in Kentucky ? 243 00:09:13,627 --> 00:09:15,682 Uh , do , do you have a sense of the 244 00:09:15,682 --> 00:09:17,793 ages , the range of ages of those who 245 00:09:17,793 --> 00:09:19,904 were killed ? And a are you confident 246 00:09:19,904 --> 00:09:21,738 in the aircraft or you , are you 247 00:09:21,738 --> 00:09:23,849 looking at a potential stand down the 248 00:09:23,849 --> 00:09:26,071 army ? That is sure . Um So in terms of 249 00:09:26,071 --> 00:09:28,869 the uh the the troops that were 250 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:30,929 diagnosed with TB I to my knowledge 251 00:09:30,940 --> 00:09:33,051 they are being treated at those bases 252 00:09:33,051 --> 00:09:34,940 right now , although there is the 253 00:09:34,940 --> 00:09:37,229 potential uh obviously for additional 254 00:09:37,239 --> 00:09:39,549 medical care . Uh So I'd refer you to 255 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,250 for the status of that uh in terms of 256 00:09:42,260 --> 00:09:44,859 the the Blackhawk crash . So right now 257 00:09:44,869 --> 00:09:46,980 the army is going through the process 258 00:09:46,980 --> 00:09:49,510 of next of kin notification . Uh So it 259 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:51,742 would be inappropriate at this point to 260 00:09:51,742 --> 00:09:53,964 release any additional information . Uh 261 00:09:53,964 --> 00:09:56,076 Certainly more will be provided as it 262 00:09:56,076 --> 00:09:58,242 becomes available . Uh in terms of any 263 00:09:58,242 --> 00:10:00,298 type of stand down for aircraft . Uh 264 00:10:00,298 --> 00:10:02,464 None that I'm tracking at this point . 265 00:10:02,464 --> 00:10:04,631 Of course , uh That's certainly uh you 266 00:10:04,631 --> 00:10:06,798 know , the prerogative of the army and 267 00:10:06,798 --> 00:10:09,076 as it manages its aircraft , but again , 268 00:10:09,076 --> 00:10:11,076 I'd refer you to them for the , the 269 00:10:11,076 --> 00:10:13,187 current status . Thank you . We go to 270 00:10:13,187 --> 00:10:16,820 body and then row . Thank you . I 271 00:10:16,830 --> 00:10:18,997 have one follow up on , on Syria and a 272 00:10:18,997 --> 00:10:20,979 separate question . So the eight 273 00:10:20,989 --> 00:10:23,210 militants that you have confirmation 274 00:10:23,219 --> 00:10:25,289 they died , those strikes . Are you 275 00:10:25,299 --> 00:10:27,466 able to confirm what group they belong 276 00:10:27,466 --> 00:10:29,799 to and whether they are Iranians or not ? 277 00:10:29,940 --> 00:10:32,630 Um , so what I would tell you is , uh , 278 00:10:32,969 --> 00:10:35,025 to my knowledge , not Iranians , but 279 00:10:35,025 --> 00:10:37,070 these were individuals that are 280 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,419 associated with the I RGC . Ok . And 281 00:10:39,429 --> 00:10:41,530 then on , um , in the Congress 282 00:10:41,539 --> 00:10:43,549 Congressman , Jamal Bowman is , is 283 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:45,392 leading an effort calling on the 284 00:10:45,392 --> 00:10:47,615 administration to determine , determine 285 00:10:47,615 --> 00:10:49,726 whether any us weapons have been used 286 00:10:49,726 --> 00:10:53,455 in the by the , by Israel to uh in 287 00:10:53,466 --> 00:10:56,236 violation of us laws or human rights 288 00:10:56,245 --> 00:10:59,145 violations . So first does the 289 00:10:59,156 --> 00:11:01,835 secretary have any concerns that us 290 00:11:01,846 --> 00:11:04,606 weapons have been , may have been used 291 00:11:04,616 --> 00:11:06,825 in the occupy occupied West Bank in 292 00:11:06,835 --> 00:11:09,346 violation of human rights in light of 293 00:11:09,356 --> 00:11:11,591 the recent escalation we saw and does 294 00:11:11,601 --> 00:11:15,481 he support measures uh to , to make 295 00:11:15,492 --> 00:11:18,942 sure that um no , us weapons are used 296 00:11:18,952 --> 00:11:21,271 uh to violate the rights of the uh or 297 00:11:21,281 --> 00:11:24,692 kill uh for that matter , um civilians 298 00:11:24,702 --> 00:11:26,702 within the Palestinian population ? 299 00:11:26,702 --> 00:11:28,702 Thank you . Yeah , thanks . So , uh 300 00:11:28,702 --> 00:11:30,869 couple of things there . So , first of 301 00:11:30,869 --> 00:11:32,813 all , you know , as it pertains to 302 00:11:32,813 --> 00:11:34,813 congressional correspondent , we of 303 00:11:34,813 --> 00:11:36,719 course , will respond to Congress 304 00:11:36,729 --> 00:11:38,896 appropriately . And so I don't want to 305 00:11:38,896 --> 00:11:41,062 get ahead of any kind of response when 306 00:11:41,062 --> 00:11:43,039 it comes to security assistance to 307 00:11:43,049 --> 00:11:46,159 Israel . Our commitment to Israel's 308 00:11:46,169 --> 00:11:49,159 security is iron clad . We will 309 00:11:49,169 --> 00:11:51,058 continue to be committed to their 310 00:11:51,058 --> 00:11:53,840 qualitative military edge in the region . 311 00:11:54,650 --> 00:11:56,590 But you've also heard us say most 312 00:11:56,599 --> 00:11:58,766 recently when Secretary Austad visited 313 00:11:58,766 --> 00:12:01,719 Israel speaking with Israeli leaders 314 00:12:01,729 --> 00:12:03,507 and highlighting that our focus 315 00:12:03,507 --> 00:12:06,929 continues to remain on communicating 316 00:12:06,940 --> 00:12:09,051 with Israel with the Palestinians and 317 00:12:09,051 --> 00:12:11,460 our partners in the region to try to de 318 00:12:11,469 --> 00:12:14,200 escalate tensions , restore calm . And 319 00:12:14,210 --> 00:12:16,210 we would call for no action that is 320 00:12:16,210 --> 00:12:18,799 going to increase the insecurity in the 321 00:12:18,809 --> 00:12:20,865 region . Thank you . Let me go ahead 322 00:12:20,865 --> 00:12:22,976 and go to Rio and then I'll come back 323 00:12:22,976 --> 00:12:26,859 over here . Yeah , thank you very 324 00:12:26,869 --> 00:12:29,419 much . Uh The Taiwanese President Tsai 325 00:12:29,429 --> 00:12:32,590 is now in New York and China said China 326 00:12:32,599 --> 00:12:35,320 might retaliate . So have you , have 327 00:12:35,330 --> 00:12:37,710 you seen any irregular movement of the 328 00:12:37,719 --> 00:12:40,659 Chinese military or any indications of , 329 00:12:40,669 --> 00:12:44,000 of Chinese preparing major exercises 330 00:12:44,010 --> 00:12:46,479 around Taiwan over the last few days ? 331 00:12:46,940 --> 00:12:49,190 Yeah , thanks rose . So without really 332 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:51,422 getting into intelligence , I would say 333 00:12:51,422 --> 00:12:53,478 we have not seen anything particular 334 00:12:53,478 --> 00:12:55,533 concerning or out of the ordinary at 335 00:12:55,533 --> 00:12:57,700 this stage we continue to monitor . Of 336 00:12:57,700 --> 00:13:01,590 course , go to Kelly . Thank 337 00:13:01,599 --> 00:13:03,766 you so much General . It's brandy from 338 00:13:03,766 --> 00:13:06,349 defense here . Um Considering the 339 00:13:06,359 --> 00:13:08,190 number of catastrophic military 340 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,422 training incidents in the last decade , 341 00:13:10,422 --> 00:13:12,533 does Secretary Austin see the need to 342 00:13:12,533 --> 00:13:14,700 launch a broader oversight review that 343 00:13:14,700 --> 00:13:16,644 should be conducted across all the 344 00:13:16,644 --> 00:13:18,950 services on aviation and other training 345 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,182 mishaps that have put lives in danger ? 346 00:13:21,469 --> 00:13:23,525 Yeah , thanks for the question and I 347 00:13:23,525 --> 00:13:25,691 apologize um about getting your , your 348 00:13:25,691 --> 00:13:27,760 name wrong there . Um So a couple of 349 00:13:27,770 --> 00:13:30,109 things . So first of all , in the 350 00:13:30,119 --> 00:13:33,010 United States military , we take safety 351 00:13:33,020 --> 00:13:34,909 very , very seriously each of the 352 00:13:34,909 --> 00:13:37,409 services , uh each of our organ , each 353 00:13:37,419 --> 00:13:39,475 down , you know , each aviation unit 354 00:13:39,475 --> 00:13:41,419 down to the unit level will have a 355 00:13:41,419 --> 00:13:44,190 safety branch whose primary role is to 356 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,109 do exactly that maintain constant 357 00:13:47,119 --> 00:13:49,175 situational awareness on safety . Uh 358 00:13:49,179 --> 00:13:51,401 And so that is , that is something that 359 00:13:51,401 --> 00:13:53,623 is baked into our culture and something 360 00:13:53,623 --> 00:13:55,735 that we will continue to do . I'm not 361 00:13:55,735 --> 00:13:57,512 aware of a dod wide review . Uh 362 00:13:57,512 --> 00:13:59,790 Certainly any time there's an accident , 363 00:13:59,790 --> 00:14:01,512 um you know , it is incredibly 364 00:14:01,512 --> 00:14:03,179 unfortunate something we take 365 00:14:03,179 --> 00:14:05,179 incredibly seriously . Uh And , and 366 00:14:05,179 --> 00:14:07,235 every single investigation is intend 367 00:14:07,235 --> 00:14:09,401 intended to help us learn from that to 368 00:14:09,401 --> 00:14:11,735 prevent future accidents from happening . 369 00:14:11,735 --> 00:14:13,901 Unfortunately , a lot of what we do is 370 00:14:13,901 --> 00:14:16,012 inherently dangerous . Uh And so , um 371 00:14:16,012 --> 00:14:18,235 you know , this is something that we're 372 00:14:18,235 --> 00:14:20,457 always gonna constantly be working at . 373 00:14:20,457 --> 00:14:22,401 Um and , and as in the case of the 374 00:14:22,401 --> 00:14:24,457 Black Hawk helicopter crash , as you 375 00:14:24,457 --> 00:14:26,568 heard me say , there's a team already 376 00:14:26,568 --> 00:14:28,457 en route to Alabama to begin that 377 00:14:28,457 --> 00:14:30,409 investigation . Um So again , it's 378 00:14:30,419 --> 00:14:32,586 something that we as a department will 379 00:14:32,586 --> 00:14:34,808 always take very , very seriously and , 380 00:14:34,808 --> 00:14:36,919 and we'll just never let up on that . 381 00:14:37,010 --> 00:14:39,232 My other question , the team on the way 382 00:14:39,232 --> 00:14:41,454 associated with O D or is that strictly 383 00:14:41,454 --> 00:14:43,510 an army team that miners say it ? An 384 00:14:43,510 --> 00:14:45,621 army investigators ? Yeah , and , and 385 00:14:45,621 --> 00:14:47,566 that's standard for these types of 386 00:14:47,566 --> 00:14:49,677 crashes . So if you know , in the Air 387 00:14:49,677 --> 00:14:51,843 Force , for example , if it was an Air 388 00:14:51,843 --> 00:14:53,954 Force accident , there'd be a team in 389 00:14:53,954 --> 00:14:55,788 the air force that's assigned to 390 00:14:55,788 --> 00:14:55,145 investigate that . Sure . I'm just 391 00:14:55,155 --> 00:14:57,211 thinking of the navy crash and how a 392 00:14:57,211 --> 00:14:59,099 lot of people seem to be dying in 393 00:14:59,099 --> 00:15:01,322 training more than combat lately . So , 394 00:15:01,322 --> 00:15:03,211 other question , um has Secretary 395 00:15:03,211 --> 00:15:05,344 Austin been briefed on the auto abort 396 00:15:05,354 --> 00:15:08,255 of the SpaceX S D A tranche zero launch 397 00:15:08,265 --> 00:15:10,719 this morning ? Um What are his comments ? 398 00:15:10,729 --> 00:15:13,020 And do you all remain confident in your 399 00:15:13,030 --> 00:15:15,086 plans moving forward ? Yeah . So the 400 00:15:15,086 --> 00:15:16,919 the secretaries I'm sure you can 401 00:15:16,919 --> 00:15:18,808 imagine is , is aware of a lot of 402 00:15:18,808 --> 00:15:20,974 things . Uh certainly uh has been been 403 00:15:20,974 --> 00:15:22,974 briefed on that . I just to provide 404 00:15:22,974 --> 00:15:25,141 some perspective , uh not uncommon for 405 00:15:25,141 --> 00:15:27,034 space launch uh to go through a 406 00:15:27,044 --> 00:15:29,100 checklist before launch to make sure 407 00:15:29,100 --> 00:15:31,266 that there's no anomalies uh given the 408 00:15:31,266 --> 00:15:33,433 expense of the payloads and safety and 409 00:15:33,433 --> 00:15:35,534 security . Uh So my understanding is 410 00:15:35,544 --> 00:15:37,655 that uh there will be another attempt 411 00:15:37,655 --> 00:15:39,711 tomorrow uh for this launch . And so 412 00:15:39,711 --> 00:15:41,822 we'll , we'll certainly be keeping an 413 00:15:41,822 --> 00:15:43,822 eye on that . Thank you . But it is 414 00:15:46,979 --> 00:15:49,146 um to follow up on Brandi's question . 415 00:15:49,270 --> 00:15:51,340 Uh So I understand there's no um dod 416 00:15:51,349 --> 00:15:53,140 investigation going on with the 417 00:15:53,150 --> 00:15:55,950 Blackhawk crash . Um The invest the 418 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,071 investigation that will start as soon 419 00:15:58,071 --> 00:16:00,127 as the team arrives . Does that have 420 00:16:00,127 --> 00:16:02,349 the potential depending on the findings 421 00:16:02,349 --> 00:16:04,182 to ground other Black Hawk helio 422 00:16:04,182 --> 00:16:06,530 helicopters ? Um Basically what , 423 00:16:06,710 --> 00:16:08,932 depending on what they find , how , how 424 00:16:08,932 --> 00:16:11,043 big of a problem could this be ? What 425 00:16:11,043 --> 00:16:13,377 does it have the potential to , to mean ? 426 00:16:13,377 --> 00:16:16,109 Um So , so great question Um , again , 427 00:16:16,119 --> 00:16:18,341 you know , any , any commander anywhere 428 00:16:18,341 --> 00:16:20,508 has the , depending on the situation , 429 00:16:20,508 --> 00:16:22,570 has the ability to , to stand down 430 00:16:22,580 --> 00:16:24,747 equipment or , or call for those kinds 431 00:16:24,747 --> 00:16:26,802 of things . I don't want to get into 432 00:16:26,802 --> 00:16:29,136 hypotheticals or get ahead of ourselves . 433 00:16:29,136 --> 00:16:27,940 We need to allow time for this 434 00:16:27,950 --> 00:16:30,429 investigation . Uh But for example , 435 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,551 any time there is the potential for a 436 00:16:32,551 --> 00:16:35,440 fleet of aircraft uh to have some type 437 00:16:35,450 --> 00:16:37,394 of systemic issue , then certainly 438 00:16:37,394 --> 00:16:39,672 again , those fleets can be stood down . 439 00:16:39,672 --> 00:16:41,894 You've seen us do that with other types 440 00:16:41,894 --> 00:16:43,950 of aircraft in the past . Um Again , 441 00:16:43,950 --> 00:16:45,950 I'm not aware of anything like that 442 00:16:45,950 --> 00:16:47,950 right now . For the Black Hawk , we 443 00:16:47,950 --> 00:16:47,609 need to allow time for the 444 00:16:47,619 --> 00:16:50,349 investigation to run its course again 445 00:16:50,359 --> 00:16:52,526 without getting into the hypotheticals 446 00:16:52,526 --> 00:16:54,748 during the course of that investigation 447 00:16:54,748 --> 00:16:56,692 were something to become , were to 448 00:16:56,692 --> 00:16:58,915 become aware of a need to do that or if 449 00:16:58,915 --> 00:17:01,137 there was something that was systemic , 450 00:17:01,137 --> 00:17:03,081 then certainly that is a step that 451 00:17:03,081 --> 00:17:05,303 could be taken . But again , we need to 452 00:17:05,303 --> 00:17:07,359 allow time for this investigation to 453 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:11,260 run its course . Thank you one . Just a 454 00:17:11,270 --> 00:17:13,381 very quick question on the Ukrainians 455 00:17:13,381 --> 00:17:15,437 being trained , the numbers you gave 456 00:17:15,437 --> 00:17:17,159 there , the Ukrainians who are 457 00:17:17,159 --> 00:17:19,159 currently in training , is there an 458 00:17:19,159 --> 00:17:21,270 effort to get that training completed 459 00:17:21,270 --> 00:17:23,492 before an anticipated Ukrainian counter 460 00:17:23,492 --> 00:17:25,437 offensive ? Um Is that sort of the 461 00:17:25,437 --> 00:17:25,180 schedule you're working on ? And , and 462 00:17:25,189 --> 00:17:27,189 are there subsequent plans to bring 463 00:17:27,189 --> 00:17:29,356 more troops in following this group on 464 00:17:29,356 --> 00:17:31,522 the combined arms training ? And other 465 00:17:31,522 --> 00:17:33,745 systems . Were you trying to ask me for 466 00:17:33,745 --> 00:17:35,522 the date of a Ukrainian counter 467 00:17:35,522 --> 00:17:37,467 offensive ? I'm kidding . I'm just 468 00:17:37,467 --> 00:17:39,356 kidding . Yeah . So , so a couple 469 00:17:39,356 --> 00:17:41,467 things there . Uh So , first of all , 470 00:17:41,467 --> 00:17:43,300 again , I'm not gonna talk about 471 00:17:43,300 --> 00:17:45,411 potential future operations . I'm not 472 00:17:45,411 --> 00:17:45,329 gonna talk about timelines . Um You 473 00:17:45,339 --> 00:17:47,283 know , this training , this , this 474 00:17:47,283 --> 00:17:49,450 program for the combined arms training 475 00:17:49,450 --> 00:17:51,561 began in January . Uh And at the time 476 00:17:51,561 --> 00:17:53,800 we announced that that the course for 477 00:17:53,810 --> 00:17:55,977 the battalion level courses would take 478 00:17:55,977 --> 00:17:57,921 about five weeks each as we cycled 479 00:17:57,921 --> 00:18:00,079 forces through . So , so that is on 480 00:18:00,089 --> 00:18:02,479 schedule as these tranches of forces 481 00:18:02,489 --> 00:18:04,890 come through to provide that mechanized 482 00:18:04,900 --> 00:18:07,489 brigade combined arms training , that 483 00:18:07,500 --> 00:18:10,959 is all on track and on pace in terms of 484 00:18:10,979 --> 00:18:13,390 additional Ukrainian forces , as has 485 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,622 been the case from the beginning , that 486 00:18:15,622 --> 00:18:17,770 is , that is a iterative discussion 487 00:18:17,780 --> 00:18:19,836 with the Ukrainians in terms of what 488 00:18:19,836 --> 00:18:23,089 their needs are and then how , you know , 489 00:18:23,260 --> 00:18:25,316 keeping in mind that they need to be 490 00:18:25,316 --> 00:18:27,204 able to ensure that they have the 491 00:18:27,204 --> 00:18:28,927 forces they need on the actual 492 00:18:28,927 --> 00:18:31,093 battlefield . So , um you know , we'll 493 00:18:31,093 --> 00:18:32,927 continue to , to train them , uh 494 00:18:32,927 --> 00:18:35,038 continue to have those discussions on 495 00:18:35,038 --> 00:18:34,829 what kind of future training might they 496 00:18:34,839 --> 00:18:37,209 need . Um But in terms as it relates to 497 00:18:37,219 --> 00:18:39,552 any type of potential future operations , 498 00:18:39,552 --> 00:18:41,497 I'm just not gonna be able to talk 499 00:18:41,497 --> 00:18:45,050 about that . Thank you , Carla . Um 500 00:18:45,390 --> 00:18:47,612 Last week , the secretary said that the 501 00:18:47,612 --> 00:18:50,270 no one , no group could strike the US 502 00:18:50,410 --> 00:18:53,060 and US forces with impunity . So can 503 00:18:53,069 --> 00:18:55,291 you help us understand why there hasn't 504 00:18:55,291 --> 00:18:57,390 been another retaliatory strike in 505 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,349 Syria as a result of the three attacks 506 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:02,415 that happened over the weekend , one 507 00:19:02,415 --> 00:19:04,692 that injured a US service member . And , 508 00:19:04,692 --> 00:19:06,692 and now we're hearing and caused at 509 00:19:06,692 --> 00:19:10,119 least two TB I S . So , so again , you 510 00:19:10,130 --> 00:19:12,770 know , we , we took action . Uh we , we 511 00:19:12,780 --> 00:19:15,949 struck two . Uh I RGC could force 512 00:19:15,959 --> 00:19:19,170 targets as I highlighted . Um And that 513 00:19:19,180 --> 00:19:21,609 was proportionate action . Uh And it 514 00:19:21,619 --> 00:19:24,069 was deliberate action in order to again 515 00:19:24,079 --> 00:19:26,530 send a message that to your point that 516 00:19:26,540 --> 00:19:28,609 us forces will not be attacked with 517 00:19:28,619 --> 00:19:30,730 impunity . And so as I highlighted in 518 00:19:30,730 --> 00:19:33,250 my top , uh we will continue to take 519 00:19:33,260 --> 00:19:35,427 appropriate action at a time and place 520 00:19:35,427 --> 00:19:37,371 of our choosing to ensure that our 521 00:19:37,371 --> 00:19:40,369 forces are protected as it pertains to 522 00:19:40,380 --> 00:19:42,547 uh you know , potential or speculative 523 00:19:42,547 --> 00:19:44,547 future operations . Again , I'm not 524 00:19:44,547 --> 00:19:46,491 ever going to talk about potential 525 00:19:46,491 --> 00:19:48,713 future operations or speculate on those 526 00:19:48,713 --> 00:19:50,936 things other than to say that mean , we 527 00:19:50,936 --> 00:19:50,869 mean it , when we say it , we will take 528 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:52,769 appropriate action to protect our 529 00:19:52,769 --> 00:19:54,991 forces . Uh And we will always do so at 530 00:19:54,991 --> 00:19:56,936 a time and place of our choosing . 531 00:19:56,936 --> 00:19:59,047 Thank you , you go to the back of the 532 00:19:59,047 --> 00:20:02,920 room there . Thank you . Just to 533 00:20:02,930 --> 00:20:04,763 follow up about the visit of the 534 00:20:04,763 --> 00:20:07,130 President of Taiwan and Chinese threats . 535 00:20:07,339 --> 00:20:09,130 Did the , did the United States 536 00:20:09,140 --> 00:20:11,362 military have to take any precautions , 537 00:20:11,362 --> 00:20:13,529 additional precautions because of this 538 00:20:13,529 --> 00:20:15,770 visit ? Uh So , so really , I mean , 539 00:20:15,780 --> 00:20:18,002 just again to put this in perspective , 540 00:20:18,002 --> 00:20:20,224 uh President size transit of the United 541 00:20:20,224 --> 00:20:22,069 States . Um you know , the , the 542 00:20:22,079 --> 00:20:24,079 Department of Defense , of course , 543 00:20:24,079 --> 00:20:25,968 we're monitoring that for obvious 544 00:20:25,968 --> 00:20:28,023 reasons but really not , not playing 545 00:20:28,023 --> 00:20:29,968 much of a role in that regard . So 546 00:20:29,968 --> 00:20:32,079 again , we'll continue to keep an eye 547 00:20:32,079 --> 00:20:34,079 on the Indo Pacific region . Uh and 548 00:20:34,079 --> 00:20:36,246 I'll just leave it at that . Thank you 549 00:20:36,246 --> 00:20:40,229 very much , Tony , a 550 00:20:40,239 --> 00:20:42,359 couple questions on classification 551 00:20:42,369 --> 00:20:44,949 issues . Uh This week , a , a new uh 552 00:20:44,959 --> 00:20:47,070 Washington DC organization called the 553 00:20:47,070 --> 00:20:48,848 New uh Non Proliferation Policy 554 00:20:48,848 --> 00:20:52,030 Education Center issued a very report 555 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,119 on over classification . Uh The Wall 556 00:20:54,130 --> 00:20:56,297 Street Journal and Stars tribes picked 557 00:20:56,297 --> 00:20:58,574 it up . So troops are reading about it . 558 00:20:58,574 --> 00:21:00,797 It was pretty critical and it says here 559 00:21:00,797 --> 00:21:02,408 that overclassification , an 560 00:21:02,408 --> 00:21:04,574 overclassification epidemic is killing 561 00:21:04,574 --> 00:21:06,686 off our nation's common defense , not 562 00:21:06,686 --> 00:21:09,280 protecting it . Can you broadly address 563 00:21:09,290 --> 00:21:12,819 that claim ? Yeah . So Tony , I don't , 564 00:21:12,829 --> 00:21:14,885 I don't necessarily wanna comment on 565 00:21:14,885 --> 00:21:17,689 somebody else's report when it comes to 566 00:21:17,699 --> 00:21:19,921 classification . And we've talked about 567 00:21:19,921 --> 00:21:21,755 this uh in the past , you know , 568 00:21:21,755 --> 00:21:23,810 certainly as dod members , we're all 569 00:21:23,810 --> 00:21:25,849 required to take training , regular 570 00:21:25,859 --> 00:21:27,415 training on the appropriate 571 00:21:27,415 --> 00:21:29,637 classification of information and , and 572 00:21:29,637 --> 00:21:31,415 that's something that , that we 573 00:21:31,415 --> 00:21:33,470 continue to work at and something we 574 00:21:33,470 --> 00:21:35,637 know we can continue to do better . Um 575 00:21:35,637 --> 00:21:37,803 as we've talked about in the past , uh 576 00:21:37,803 --> 00:21:39,526 there is an ongoing review and 577 00:21:39,526 --> 00:21:41,969 certainly when that review , but on 578 00:21:41,979 --> 00:21:44,150 that , um but , but again , it is 579 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:46,327 something that we are aware of that we 580 00:21:46,327 --> 00:21:48,660 need to address and , and work on . May . 581 00:21:48,660 --> 00:21:50,771 May I follow up ? Uh , the review was 582 00:21:50,771 --> 00:21:52,882 by Secretary Hicks was supposed to be 583 00:21:52,882 --> 00:21:54,993 done by like January 30th . According 584 00:21:54,993 --> 00:21:54,619 to the appropriations Committee 585 00:21:54,630 --> 00:21:56,709 legislation last year , she has the 586 00:21:56,719 --> 00:21:58,886 Pentagon hasn't sent it over yet . Why 587 00:21:58,886 --> 00:22:00,670 the delay and when might it be 588 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:02,680 completed ? Yeah . Uh , let me take 589 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:04,902 that question . I'll come back to you . 590 00:22:04,902 --> 00:22:07,236 Ok , thanks . Thank you . I feel better . 591 00:22:07,236 --> 00:22:10,119 Thanks . Is that obvious ? Yes , ma'am . 592 00:22:11,650 --> 00:22:14,250 My question . My question is related to 593 00:22:14,260 --> 00:22:17,250 Ukrainian aid . So last week Republican 594 00:22:17,260 --> 00:22:19,520 lawmakers sent a letter to President 595 00:22:19,530 --> 00:22:22,099 Biden urging the administration to 596 00:22:22,109 --> 00:22:24,250 provide Ukraine with the cluster 597 00:22:24,260 --> 00:22:27,280 munitions . So does do support using 598 00:22:27,290 --> 00:22:30,010 cluster munitions in Ukraine . Yes . So 599 00:22:30,020 --> 00:22:32,131 again , I'm not going to get ahead of 600 00:22:32,131 --> 00:22:34,589 any announcements that we're making , 601 00:22:35,170 --> 00:22:37,810 so I don't have anything further on 602 00:22:37,819 --> 00:22:40,489 that . Thank you . Go here and we'll go 603 00:22:40,500 --> 00:22:41,500 there . 604 00:22:44,989 --> 00:22:46,822 Christina Anderson . Thank you , 605 00:22:46,822 --> 00:22:49,800 General . Um As Russia assumes the 606 00:22:49,810 --> 00:22:53,689 chairmanship of the UN Security 607 00:22:53,699 --> 00:22:55,810 Council , are we , is there , are you 608 00:22:55,810 --> 00:22:58,640 tracking any potential for them to use 609 00:22:58,650 --> 00:23:00,317 this as an opportunity on the 610 00:23:00,317 --> 00:23:02,317 battlefield in Ukraine or elsewhere 611 00:23:02,317 --> 00:23:04,261 around the world in some contested 612 00:23:04,261 --> 00:23:06,420 areas ? Yeah , I I am not . Um That's 613 00:23:06,430 --> 00:23:09,020 probably a question better addressed by 614 00:23:09,030 --> 00:23:11,900 the , the US delegation to the UN . Uh 615 00:23:11,910 --> 00:23:14,369 Again , you know , we we've seen in the 616 00:23:14,380 --> 00:23:16,829 past Russia attempts attempt to use 617 00:23:16,839 --> 00:23:19,160 some of its uh international positions 618 00:23:19,170 --> 00:23:21,930 to obviously advocate for its position 619 00:23:21,939 --> 00:23:24,161 on things , but from a dod standpoint . 620 00:23:24,161 --> 00:23:26,106 I don't , I don't have anything to 621 00:23:26,106 --> 00:23:28,161 provide on that and a follow up if I 622 00:23:28,161 --> 00:23:30,272 may um regarding the helicopter crash 623 00:23:30,272 --> 00:23:33,550 in Kentucky , um it seems that training 624 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,939 in incidents are part of the risk of 625 00:23:36,949 --> 00:23:39,630 that service members must bear uh as 626 00:23:39,910 --> 00:23:43,579 part of the service uh to the nation as 627 00:23:43,589 --> 00:23:46,219 we go forward in a world that's fairly 628 00:23:47,020 --> 00:23:48,900 contested as it seems it's more 629 00:23:48,910 --> 00:23:51,077 contested , feels more contested every 630 00:23:51,077 --> 00:23:53,780 day . Can we anticipate perhaps 631 00:23:54,020 --> 00:23:55,853 additional risk that the service 632 00:23:55,853 --> 00:23:58,400 members must assume in training or is 633 00:23:58,410 --> 00:24:02,300 this something that we hope to mitigate ? 634 00:24:02,380 --> 00:24:05,819 Thank you . So , so when it comes to 635 00:24:05,829 --> 00:24:07,959 military training , um we're , we're 636 00:24:07,969 --> 00:24:11,329 always going to try to , to take into 637 00:24:11,339 --> 00:24:13,395 account mitigating some of the risks 638 00:24:13,395 --> 00:24:15,450 associated with that training . As I 639 00:24:15,450 --> 00:24:17,228 mentioned before , a lot of the 640 00:24:17,228 --> 00:24:19,450 training that our service members do is 641 00:24:19,450 --> 00:24:21,561 by nature dangerous , right ? Whether 642 00:24:21,561 --> 00:24:23,783 it's live fire exercises , whether it's 643 00:24:23,783 --> 00:24:26,219 aircraft training , whether it's uh you 644 00:24:26,229 --> 00:24:28,729 know , training on , on ships at sea , 645 00:24:28,849 --> 00:24:30,682 uh that there are many dangerous 646 00:24:30,682 --> 00:24:32,793 aspects of that . And so writing into 647 00:24:32,793 --> 00:24:35,660 training plans , uh efforts to ensure 648 00:24:35,670 --> 00:24:37,948 that that safety is taken into account . 649 00:24:37,948 --> 00:24:40,003 As I mentioned , our safety officers 650 00:24:40,003 --> 00:24:42,114 work very diligently every day trying 651 00:24:42,114 --> 00:24:44,281 to identify potential hazards in order 652 00:24:44,281 --> 00:24:46,281 to mitigate and reduce risks . That 653 00:24:46,281 --> 00:24:48,392 said that risk will always be there . 654 00:24:48,392 --> 00:24:50,337 And so again , this will be one of 655 00:24:50,337 --> 00:24:52,281 those things that we're just gonna 656 00:24:52,281 --> 00:24:54,226 always have to work at uh and just 657 00:24:54,226 --> 00:24:56,392 never be satisfied with . And so we're 658 00:24:56,392 --> 00:24:58,281 obviously committed to doing that 659 00:24:58,281 --> 00:24:57,829 because at the end of the day , it's 660 00:24:57,839 --> 00:25:00,170 about ensuring that we have us service 661 00:25:00,180 --> 00:25:02,402 members who are ready to go wherever we 662 00:25:02,402 --> 00:25:04,624 need them to go when we need them to go 663 00:25:04,624 --> 00:25:06,624 there to do the important work that 664 00:25:06,624 --> 00:25:08,680 we're asking them to do on behalf of 665 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:10,847 our nation . Thank you . Time for just 666 00:25:10,847 --> 00:25:12,902 a couple more . Uh , last question . 667 00:25:12,902 --> 00:25:15,849 Yes , ma'am . Thank you . Um Yesterday , 668 00:25:15,859 --> 00:25:17,803 Secretary Austin agreed that there 669 00:25:17,803 --> 00:25:19,970 hadn't been any accountability for the 670 00:25:19,970 --> 00:25:23,420 US withdrawal from Afghanistan . I'm 671 00:25:23,430 --> 00:25:25,597 just wondering if you can clarify that 672 00:25:25,597 --> 00:25:27,930 statement , did he mean it's because it , 673 00:25:27,930 --> 00:25:30,041 is it needed or is there more actions 674 00:25:30,041 --> 00:25:31,819 that need to be taken in dod or 675 00:25:31,819 --> 00:25:34,010 somewhere else in the uh the White 676 00:25:34,020 --> 00:25:36,780 House , the executive branch to , to 677 00:25:36,790 --> 00:25:40,060 review person's actions ? Or I'm just , 678 00:25:40,069 --> 00:25:42,069 can you expand a little bit more on 679 00:25:42,079 --> 00:25:44,246 what , what he meant with that scene ? 680 00:25:44,246 --> 00:25:46,190 When you say agreed , there was no 681 00:25:46,190 --> 00:25:48,246 accountability what he did ? I don't 682 00:25:48,246 --> 00:25:50,579 recall him saying that he was he . Yeah , 683 00:25:50,589 --> 00:25:52,311 he said , I agree . There's no 684 00:25:52,311 --> 00:25:56,099 accountability . He said , I agree . Ok . 685 00:25:56,109 --> 00:25:58,770 Um I , I think the , the context here , 686 00:25:58,780 --> 00:26:01,689 uh you know , in terms of Secretary 687 00:26:01,699 --> 00:26:04,030 Austin's view of the situation in 688 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,630 Afghanistan and , and how the 689 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:08,751 withdrawal went . So , first of all , 690 00:26:08,751 --> 00:26:12,670 um the secretary um was , um 691 00:26:13,689 --> 00:26:15,578 you know , his , his views on the 692 00:26:15,578 --> 00:26:17,800 performance of our service members , 693 00:26:17,810 --> 00:26:20,099 our men and women during a very chaotic 694 00:26:20,109 --> 00:26:23,229 time . Um and he felt they perform 695 00:26:23,239 --> 00:26:25,760 magnificently under incredibly trying 696 00:26:25,770 --> 00:26:29,359 conditions . Um You know , obviously , 697 00:26:29,369 --> 00:26:32,280 uh very regretful in terms of the fact 698 00:26:32,290 --> 00:26:35,040 that we lost 13 service members in a 699 00:26:35,050 --> 00:26:37,920 suicide attack uh during that , that 700 00:26:37,930 --> 00:26:41,260 event . Um But we had a mission to do 701 00:26:41,410 --> 00:26:43,354 it was to withdraw our forces from 702 00:26:43,354 --> 00:26:45,380 Afghanistan . And again , despite 703 00:26:45,390 --> 00:26:49,170 incredibly chaotic situations , we were 704 00:26:49,180 --> 00:26:51,124 able to evacuate more than 100 and 705 00:26:51,124 --> 00:26:53,489 24,000 people from that country . And 706 00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:55,444 we did it in a way that the United 707 00:26:55,444 --> 00:26:57,667 States military only could working very 708 00:26:57,667 --> 00:26:59,989 closely with our partners and allies uh 709 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,056 again , in a very , very challenging 710 00:27:02,056 --> 00:27:04,339 situation . So , uh again , I think 711 00:27:04,349 --> 00:27:06,127 that's the important context to 712 00:27:06,127 --> 00:27:08,238 understand here is that the secretary 713 00:27:08,238 --> 00:27:10,460 is incredibly proud of the way that our 714 00:27:10,460 --> 00:27:12,238 men and women performed uh in a 715 00:27:12,238 --> 00:27:15,209 situation that was obviously a very 716 00:27:15,219 --> 00:27:18,719 trying and chaotic situation . So thank 717 00:27:18,729 --> 00:27:20,951 you . Thank you very much , everybody . 718 00:27:20,951 --> 00:27:20,719 Appreciate it .