1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,090 honey . Looks like a familiar place . 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,950 Thank you . All right . 3 00:00:09,540 --> 00:00:12,660 Um , thanks for joining us today for 4 00:00:12,660 --> 00:00:14,700 the first of what we hope will be 5 00:00:14,710 --> 00:00:17,140 regular press briefings on , but it 6 00:00:17,140 --> 00:00:19,140 really is good to be back here , up 7 00:00:19,140 --> 00:00:21,251 here with you . But today , I'm gonna 8 00:00:21,251 --> 00:00:23,418 do something a little bit different to 9 00:00:23,418 --> 00:00:25,362 start out . I wanna start with the 10 00:00:25,362 --> 00:00:27,084 efforts that the department is 11 00:00:27,084 --> 00:00:28,973 undertaking , uh , to deal and to 12 00:00:28,973 --> 00:00:31,251 contribute to the federal government's , 13 00:00:31,251 --> 00:00:34,580 uh , efforts to battle co vid . And so 14 00:00:34,580 --> 00:00:36,747 we're going to start the briefing with 15 00:00:36,747 --> 00:00:38,858 some guests . Briefers . First , um , 16 00:00:38,858 --> 00:00:40,636 I'm gonna bring up General Paul 17 00:00:40,636 --> 00:00:42,691 Fredericks , who I think many of you 18 00:00:42,691 --> 00:00:44,858 know , the joint staff surgeon as well 19 00:00:44,858 --> 00:00:47,024 as Max Rose , who has recently come on 20 00:00:47,024 --> 00:00:49,240 board as the department's co vid 21 00:00:49,250 --> 00:00:51,194 coordinator . Many of you probably 22 00:00:51,194 --> 00:00:53,560 remember , uh , Mr Rose as the 23 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:55,860 representative to New York State's 11th 24 00:00:55,860 --> 00:00:57,916 Congressional District . He were now 25 00:00:57,916 --> 00:01:00,082 very proud to have him on the the team 26 00:01:00,082 --> 00:01:02,082 as our co vid coordinator , working 27 00:01:02,082 --> 00:01:04,249 with the covert task force and helping 28 00:01:04,249 --> 00:01:06,249 coordinate those efforts inside the 29 00:01:06,249 --> 00:01:08,090 larger interagency effort by the 30 00:01:08,090 --> 00:01:09,923 federal government to battle the 31 00:01:09,923 --> 00:01:12,090 coronavirus . So with that , I'm gonna 32 00:01:12,090 --> 00:01:14,257 bring both gentlemen up . They'll each 33 00:01:14,257 --> 00:01:16,423 have a couple of opening comments on . 34 00:01:16,423 --> 00:01:15,520 Then they'll take your questions for a 35 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:17,687 little while . When that's done , I'll 36 00:01:17,687 --> 00:01:19,798 come back up and you can have at me . 37 00:01:19,798 --> 00:01:19,550 Okay , Thanks . 38 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,150 All right . Afternoon , everybody . 39 00:01:32,940 --> 00:01:35,380 So , I mean , let me just first say 40 00:01:35,390 --> 00:01:38,460 it's an absolute honor and a privilege 41 00:01:38,460 --> 00:01:41,770 Thio be supporting this effort here . 42 00:01:42,230 --> 00:01:46,220 I've had the utmost regard for men and 43 00:01:46,220 --> 00:01:49,940 women in uniform and all those working 44 00:01:49,940 --> 00:01:52,750 here in the Pentagon and defending this 45 00:01:52,750 --> 00:01:55,670 country at home and abroad , both as 46 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,250 someone in uniformed myself , um , and 47 00:01:59,250 --> 00:02:01,180 formally , ah , public servant in 48 00:02:01,190 --> 00:02:04,530 another capacity . And of course , it's 49 00:02:04,530 --> 00:02:06,350 my honor Thio work on behalf of 50 00:02:06,350 --> 00:02:09,790 Secretary Austin and , um , everyone 51 00:02:09,790 --> 00:02:13,150 else here . You know , Secretary Austin 52 00:02:13,150 --> 00:02:15,206 sent the most clear message he could 53 00:02:15,206 --> 00:02:18,230 have in just the first hour that he 54 00:02:18,230 --> 00:02:20,280 stepped into this role after was 55 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,447 confirmed and walked into the Pentagon 56 00:02:22,447 --> 00:02:24,558 first meeting that he called with the 57 00:02:24,558 --> 00:02:26,950 highest levels of leadership not just 58 00:02:26,950 --> 00:02:29,140 in this building but around the world 59 00:02:29,150 --> 00:02:31,150 on one topic . And that is covert , 60 00:02:31,740 --> 00:02:34,500 firmly establishing right in that 61 00:02:34,500 --> 00:02:37,220 meeting that this is his number one 62 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,320 priority , that the department is 63 00:02:41,330 --> 00:02:44,530 absolutely committed above all else to 64 00:02:44,530 --> 00:02:46,474 protecting the d o D workforce and 65 00:02:46,474 --> 00:02:48,450 their families , safeguarding the 66 00:02:48,460 --> 00:02:50,571 department's mission capabilities and 67 00:02:50,571 --> 00:02:53,020 readiness and supporting the 68 00:02:53,020 --> 00:02:56,650 president's priority and effort 69 00:02:57,540 --> 00:03:01,490 to do everything we can to defeat this 70 00:03:01,490 --> 00:03:05,250 pandemic . Now our primary 71 00:03:05,250 --> 00:03:07,028 support to the U . S government 72 00:03:07,028 --> 00:03:09,900 response has to date been providing 73 00:03:09,900 --> 00:03:13,700 medical personnel to existing 74 00:03:13,710 --> 00:03:16,550 existing health care institutions , 75 00:03:16,550 --> 00:03:20,020 partnering as such supporting logistics 76 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:22,807 towards other government agencies that 77 00:03:22,807 --> 00:03:25,240 needed . And we most certainly fully 78 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,490 intend on wherever possible supporting 79 00:03:28,490 --> 00:03:30,268 that with ever higher levels of 80 00:03:30,268 --> 00:03:32,860 commitment and effort . Whatever is 81 00:03:33,010 --> 00:03:36,720 needed Today , there are over 40,000 82 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,570 National Guardsmen deployed providing 83 00:03:39,570 --> 00:03:43,020 covert support , including at over 260 84 00:03:43,020 --> 00:03:45,050 vaccine sites in 36 states and 85 00:03:45,050 --> 00:03:48,740 territories . Duty is over 1000 86 00:03:48,740 --> 00:03:50,907 military medical personnel on prepared 87 00:03:50,907 --> 00:03:54,130 to deploy orders available to support 88 00:03:54,140 --> 00:03:56,362 state and local requests for assistance 89 00:03:56,362 --> 00:03:58,640 that have come through FEMA . Remember , 90 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:00,807 this is in support of the FEMA mission 91 00:04:00,807 --> 00:04:03,870 and HHS within as early as 48 hours 92 00:04:03,870 --> 00:04:06,560 upon request . Now , this current 93 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:10,090 support includes 224 medical 94 00:04:10,090 --> 00:04:12,530 personnel to support eight hospitals 95 00:04:12,530 --> 00:04:15,260 and in I C U facility in California , 96 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,151 80 medical personnel to support three 97 00:04:18,151 --> 00:04:21,100 hospitals in Texas and 87 medical 98 00:04:21,110 --> 00:04:24,200 personnel to support three hospitals in 99 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,422 Arizona and New Mexico . Additionally , 100 00:04:26,830 --> 00:04:29,440 the Army Corps of Engineers has 101 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:31,960 deployed over 40 personnel 102 00:04:32,610 --> 00:04:35,840 supporting area hospital infrastructure 103 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:38,770 improvements in California . And those 104 00:04:38,770 --> 00:04:40,770 resource is air certainly available 105 00:04:40,770 --> 00:04:43,780 thio any hospital or any other health 106 00:04:43,780 --> 00:04:46,740 care entity that is looking to expand 107 00:04:46,740 --> 00:04:49,980 their pre existing infrastructure . The 108 00:04:49,980 --> 00:04:51,980 secretary has made this absolutely 109 00:04:51,990 --> 00:04:54,810 clear . We have to move further . We 110 00:04:54,810 --> 00:04:56,980 have to move faster . We have Thio be 111 00:04:56,980 --> 00:04:59,410 as bold as possible , all the while 112 00:04:59,410 --> 00:05:02,280 remembering that it is our up most 113 00:05:02,290 --> 00:05:06,010 prerogative to protect and defend the 114 00:05:06,010 --> 00:05:08,850 United States at home as well as abroad . 115 00:05:10,940 --> 00:05:12,884 I'd also like to note that General 116 00:05:12,884 --> 00:05:14,940 Purna and his team , the secretary , 117 00:05:14,940 --> 00:05:17,051 has met directly with general partner 118 00:05:17,051 --> 00:05:20,550 and his working very closely with him . 119 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,010 Continue Thio , increase their capacity 120 00:05:24,010 --> 00:05:26,177 to distribute vaccines to the public . 121 00:05:27,540 --> 00:05:29,207 And we've certainly heard the 122 00:05:29,207 --> 00:05:31,860 president's call to increase the 123 00:05:31,870 --> 00:05:33,648 manufacture and distribution of 124 00:05:33,648 --> 00:05:35,814 vaccines and to make sure that there's 125 00:05:35,814 --> 00:05:37,703 an infrastructure in place on the 126 00:05:37,703 --> 00:05:40,590 administration side to increase the 127 00:05:40,590 --> 00:05:42,590 number of shots and arms that we're 128 00:05:42,590 --> 00:05:44,540 giving . And the department stands 129 00:05:44,540 --> 00:05:46,920 ready to increase its support for any 130 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:48,753 other federal department that is 131 00:05:48,753 --> 00:05:51,080 engaged in this effort . So with that 132 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:53,358 again . It's great to be here with you . 133 00:05:53,358 --> 00:05:55,580 Um , I certainly commit Thio continuing 134 00:05:55,580 --> 00:05:59,470 to give you , uh , updates on a regular 135 00:05:59,470 --> 00:06:01,526 basis . With that , I turn over Thio 136 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:04,007 Brigadier General Friedrichs , who has 137 00:06:04,007 --> 00:06:06,229 been an absolute privilege to work with 138 00:06:06,229 --> 00:06:08,730 sir . Thank you very much . And , uh uh , 139 00:06:08,740 --> 00:06:11,540 Mr Kirby , thank you . Thank you all 140 00:06:11,540 --> 00:06:13,762 for the opportunity to be here again to 141 00:06:13,762 --> 00:06:15,984 give you a little bit of an overview of 142 00:06:15,984 --> 00:06:18,790 our medical support , uh , both to our 143 00:06:18,790 --> 00:06:20,512 nation's effort and within the 144 00:06:20,512 --> 00:06:22,679 Department of Defense there . There is 145 00:06:22,679 --> 00:06:24,850 no question that we continue to take 146 00:06:24,850 --> 00:06:26,906 very seriously our responsibility to 147 00:06:26,906 --> 00:06:29,310 service members and their families to 148 00:06:29,310 --> 00:06:33,070 the communities in which they live . As 149 00:06:33,070 --> 00:06:34,792 of this morning , the military 150 00:06:34,792 --> 00:06:37,014 departments and combatant commands have 151 00:06:37,014 --> 00:06:40,680 reported a total of 138,763 cases of 152 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:42,847 cove it among our military personnel . 153 00:06:43,340 --> 00:06:45,451 Now those of you have looked on . The 154 00:06:45,451 --> 00:06:47,284 website will note that's up from 155 00:06:47,284 --> 00:06:49,396 137,000 yesterday . And that's been , 156 00:06:49,396 --> 00:06:51,562 ah , very similar increase that you've 157 00:06:51,562 --> 00:06:53,970 seen and that we have seen over the 158 00:06:53,970 --> 00:06:56,600 last several months as the rates of 159 00:06:56,610 --> 00:06:58,721 cases and hospitalizations have grown 160 00:06:58,721 --> 00:07:01,310 across the United States here . We're 161 00:07:01,310 --> 00:07:03,477 glad to see that over the last 10 days 162 00:07:03,477 --> 00:07:05,366 or so , the increase in cases has 163 00:07:05,366 --> 00:07:07,532 leveled off across the United States , 164 00:07:07,532 --> 00:07:09,699 and we're seeing the same trend in our 165 00:07:09,699 --> 00:07:11,850 population as well . With the help of 166 00:07:11,850 --> 00:07:14,110 the D . O D Testing task Force , led by 167 00:07:14,110 --> 00:07:16,054 Dr Pain , who some of you have met 168 00:07:16,054 --> 00:07:18,277 previously , as well as the service and 169 00:07:18,277 --> 00:07:20,499 combatant commands , the department has 170 00:07:20,499 --> 00:07:22,554 continued to aggressively expand its 171 00:07:22,554 --> 00:07:24,666 testing program over time . Last week 172 00:07:24,666 --> 00:07:26,832 we met 100% of our operational testing 173 00:07:26,832 --> 00:07:28,999 requirements and , as we have from the 174 00:07:28,999 --> 00:07:31,054 beginning of this pandemic , 100% of 175 00:07:31,054 --> 00:07:33,221 the clinical testing requirements that 176 00:07:33,221 --> 00:07:35,166 were made at the medical treatment 177 00:07:35,166 --> 00:07:37,490 facilities . The week after New Year's 178 00:07:37,490 --> 00:07:39,670 Eve , we completed over 100,000 tests 179 00:07:39,670 --> 00:07:41,781 for Cove it and are typically between 180 00:07:41,781 --> 00:07:45,160 65 80,000 test each week . The 181 00:07:45,170 --> 00:07:47,392 percentage of positive new covert tests 182 00:07:47,392 --> 00:07:50,450 and military personnel is 8.8% and 183 00:07:50,450 --> 00:07:52,339 that's in comparison to a U . S . 184 00:07:52,339 --> 00:07:54,510 National average of 9.2% . And again , 185 00:07:54,510 --> 00:07:56,566 that's been pretty consistent , that 186 00:07:56,566 --> 00:07:58,566 that rate has been lower within the 187 00:07:58,566 --> 00:08:00,788 military population than the U . S . As 188 00:08:00,788 --> 00:08:02,899 a whole , as you recall from previous 189 00:08:02,899 --> 00:08:05,121 briefings by Lieutenant General Place , 190 00:08:05,121 --> 00:08:07,288 the Defense Health Agency Director and 191 00:08:07,288 --> 00:08:09,399 the service Surgeons . We receive our 192 00:08:09,399 --> 00:08:13,370 weekly allocation of vaccines 193 00:08:13,380 --> 00:08:16,660 and on we are distributing those based 194 00:08:16,660 --> 00:08:19,070 on our cove it vaccine plan . Now , 195 00:08:19,070 --> 00:08:21,120 that plan is one . As you probably 196 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:23,810 recall , that we developed and shared 197 00:08:23,810 --> 00:08:25,866 with the Centers for Disease Control 198 00:08:25,866 --> 00:08:27,810 going forward . It aligns with the 199 00:08:27,810 --> 00:08:29,866 phased approach that the rest of the 200 00:08:29,866 --> 00:08:31,866 country is using and the priorities 201 00:08:31,866 --> 00:08:33,754 that our country has agreed on to 202 00:08:33,754 --> 00:08:36,200 ensure that there's fair and equitable 203 00:08:36,210 --> 00:08:38,920 access to the vaccine . We begin 204 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:40,890 vaccinations that select sites in 205 00:08:40,890 --> 00:08:42,940 December of last year and have now 206 00:08:42,940 --> 00:08:44,870 vaccinated almost everyone who 207 00:08:44,870 --> 00:08:47,330 requested vaccines and our very first 208 00:08:47,330 --> 00:08:49,960 group those air the frontline workers 209 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:53,530 Police , E . M s those caring for , uh , 210 00:08:53,540 --> 00:08:56,120 patients or military personnel with 211 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,420 cove it . We've also vaccinated all of 212 00:08:58,420 --> 00:09:00,476 the residents and staff that are two 213 00:09:00,476 --> 00:09:03,020 armed forces retirement homes . Uh , 214 00:09:03,030 --> 00:09:05,252 and again , that's a very special group 215 00:09:05,252 --> 00:09:07,252 because that represents some of the 216 00:09:07,252 --> 00:09:09,363 oldest members of the military family 217 00:09:09,363 --> 00:09:11,308 for which we are responsible . Our 218 00:09:11,308 --> 00:09:13,197 second group of personnel that we 219 00:09:13,197 --> 00:09:15,363 vaccinate are those over the age of 75 220 00:09:15,363 --> 00:09:17,474 personnel who are preparing to deploy 221 00:09:17,474 --> 00:09:19,910 outside the United States personnel and 222 00:09:19,910 --> 00:09:22,360 strategic or national security roles , 223 00:09:22,740 --> 00:09:25,970 as well as a key frontline workers like 224 00:09:25,970 --> 00:09:28,026 teachers , support staff , child and 225 00:09:28,026 --> 00:09:30,192 youth services . And this is very much 226 00:09:30,192 --> 00:09:31,914 in line with President Biden's 227 00:09:31,914 --> 00:09:33,914 executive order that he's put out . 228 00:09:33,914 --> 00:09:35,914 We've you know , we've been working 229 00:09:35,914 --> 00:09:38,081 very closely on that . That group will 230 00:09:38,081 --> 00:09:40,248 then be followed by those who are over 231 00:09:40,248 --> 00:09:42,081 the age of 65 as well as younger 232 00:09:42,081 --> 00:09:44,081 personnel who have significant risk 233 00:09:44,081 --> 00:09:45,970 factors and will continue to work 234 00:09:45,970 --> 00:09:48,081 through the D . O . D extended family 235 00:09:48,081 --> 00:09:50,137 until everyone who desires to have a 236 00:09:50,137 --> 00:09:52,359 vaccine has been able to receive it . I 237 00:09:52,359 --> 00:09:54,526 want to be clear that , as you've seen 238 00:09:54,526 --> 00:09:56,692 across the country and as many leaders 239 00:09:56,692 --> 00:09:58,970 have said , this is going to be months , 240 00:09:58,970 --> 00:09:58,630 this is not weak , so I don't want to 241 00:09:58,630 --> 00:10:01,340 create a perception anyone's mind that 242 00:10:01,350 --> 00:10:03,461 everyone is going to be vaccinated in 243 00:10:03,461 --> 00:10:05,628 the next few weeks here . This is very 244 00:10:05,628 --> 00:10:07,794 deliberate process based on the supply 245 00:10:07,794 --> 00:10:10,170 of vaccine as it comes through today , 246 00:10:10,170 --> 00:10:13,320 the department has received 769,000 247 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,640 doses of the Pfizer and the Moderna 248 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:17,807 vaccines , and these air the data that 249 00:10:17,807 --> 00:10:19,696 air posted as a five o'clock this 250 00:10:19,696 --> 00:10:22,750 morning on the CDC website . Of that 251 00:10:22,750 --> 00:10:26,440 769,000 , we've distributed them out to 252 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:28,990 306 sites around the world . And I want 253 00:10:28,990 --> 00:10:31,510 to emphasize that , unlike a state or 254 00:10:31,510 --> 00:10:34,220 ah , local authority that is 255 00:10:34,220 --> 00:10:36,220 responsible for an area here in the 256 00:10:36,220 --> 00:10:38,331 United States is , you know , we have 257 00:10:38,331 --> 00:10:40,331 operations all over the world . And 258 00:10:40,331 --> 00:10:42,498 thanks to the Defense Logistics Agency 259 00:10:42,498 --> 00:10:44,498 in the United States Transportation 260 00:10:44,498 --> 00:10:46,720 Command and many other partners , we've 261 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:48,720 been able now to get vaccine out to 262 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:50,498 many of our bases where we have 263 00:10:50,498 --> 00:10:52,331 personnel who are in those first 264 00:10:52,331 --> 00:10:54,664 crunches that we're trying to vaccinate . 265 00:10:54,664 --> 00:10:57,050 Uh , I suspect some of you will also 266 00:10:57,050 --> 00:10:59,170 wonder why we have not administered 267 00:10:59,180 --> 00:11:01,013 every dose of vaccine that we've 268 00:11:01,013 --> 00:11:03,291 received . And what I would ask you is , 269 00:11:03,291 --> 00:11:05,513 if you're looking at the CDC website is 270 00:11:05,513 --> 00:11:07,640 to notice how , over time that 271 00:11:07,650 --> 00:11:09,890 percentage of vaccines administered 272 00:11:09,890 --> 00:11:12,168 changes so typically early in the week , 273 00:11:12,168 --> 00:11:14,334 the percentage is lower because we get 274 00:11:14,334 --> 00:11:16,501 our distributions the beginning of the 275 00:11:16,501 --> 00:11:18,668 week . And then by the end of the week 276 00:11:18,668 --> 00:11:20,890 it gets up to the 55 to 60 to 66% range 277 00:11:20,890 --> 00:11:23,020 of vaccines received . It's a rolling 278 00:11:23,030 --> 00:11:25,400 average that goes in there based on 279 00:11:25,410 --> 00:11:27,577 what we received and then what ? We're 280 00:11:27,577 --> 00:11:29,632 able to ship out to our bases around 281 00:11:29,632 --> 00:11:32,120 the world and then administer If we 282 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:34,287 look at the last two weeks , D . O . D 283 00:11:34,287 --> 00:11:36,287 has administered all of the vaccine 284 00:11:36,287 --> 00:11:38,509 doses received . And that's , I think , 285 00:11:38,509 --> 00:11:41,070 an example of the great work done by 286 00:11:41,070 --> 00:11:43,400 many people across our bases and in our 287 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:45,567 communities to make sure that we're as 288 00:11:45,567 --> 00:11:48,220 efficient as possible with this . Many 289 00:11:48,220 --> 00:11:50,331 people have asked us about the safety 290 00:11:50,331 --> 00:11:52,442 of these vaccines , and the D . O . D 291 00:11:52,442 --> 00:11:54,664 experience has been very much like what 292 00:11:54,664 --> 00:11:56,998 the rest of the country is experiencing . 293 00:11:56,998 --> 00:11:58,776 We have had , uh , Onley to CDC 294 00:11:58,776 --> 00:12:00,831 confirmed adverse events and both of 295 00:12:00,831 --> 00:12:03,770 those fully recovered , Uh , and this 296 00:12:03,770 --> 00:12:05,992 is very much in line with the data that 297 00:12:05,992 --> 00:12:08,103 was originally released by Pfizer and 298 00:12:08,103 --> 00:12:10,214 moderate on their vaccines . And this 299 00:12:10,214 --> 00:12:12,270 is truly remarkable , you know , for 300 00:12:12,270 --> 00:12:14,103 vaccine to be this safe is quite 301 00:12:14,103 --> 00:12:17,860 heartening . 11 other key part of our 302 00:12:17,860 --> 00:12:19,804 team here , or contribution of the 303 00:12:19,804 --> 00:12:21,860 national effort , are the work being 304 00:12:21,860 --> 00:12:23,916 done by our research and development 305 00:12:23,916 --> 00:12:25,860 colleagues across the department , 306 00:12:25,860 --> 00:12:28,027 partnering with their federal academic 307 00:12:28,027 --> 00:12:30,082 and other counterparts to accelerate 308 00:12:30,082 --> 00:12:32,193 new medical countermeasures tests and 309 00:12:32,193 --> 00:12:34,027 other tools to help our national 310 00:12:34,027 --> 00:12:36,082 response to control the spread of co 311 00:12:36,082 --> 00:12:38,082 vid . And I'd be remiss if I didn't 312 00:12:38,082 --> 00:12:40,193 mention our logistics and acquisition 313 00:12:40,193 --> 00:12:42,471 teams who , as you've heard previously , 314 00:12:42,471 --> 00:12:44,638 continue Thio provide support to HHS , 315 00:12:44,638 --> 00:12:44,580 to FEMA and to many other parts of the 316 00:12:44,580 --> 00:12:46,810 federal response to ensure our nation 317 00:12:46,810 --> 00:12:48,921 has the supplies and equipment needed 318 00:12:48,921 --> 00:12:50,977 for this effort . In addition to all 319 00:12:50,977 --> 00:12:53,088 that , we've reviewed the president's 320 00:12:53,088 --> 00:12:55,088 national strategy and the 12 covert 321 00:12:55,088 --> 00:12:56,921 related executive orders that he 322 00:12:56,921 --> 00:12:59,143 released last week at our incorporating 323 00:12:59,143 --> 00:13:01,366 those into our guidance going forward , 324 00:13:01,366 --> 00:13:03,700 we continue to ensure that our approach 325 00:13:03,700 --> 00:13:06,530 is science based , derived from what 326 00:13:06,530 --> 00:13:08,930 the Centers for Disease Control publish . 327 00:13:08,940 --> 00:13:10,940 And , uh , that we do everything 328 00:13:10,940 --> 00:13:13,340 possible to take care of our service 329 00:13:13,340 --> 00:13:15,562 members so they can continue to protect 330 00:13:15,562 --> 00:13:17,650 our nation . With that , Mr Rose , I 331 00:13:17,660 --> 00:13:19,771 turn it back to you and very happy to 332 00:13:19,771 --> 00:13:22,450 take questions . Very good . 333 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,551 Quite questions . Okay , Well , first 334 00:13:25,551 --> 00:13:27,551 question , go Thio Lita Baldor , AP 335 00:13:27,551 --> 00:13:30,210 High Leader Belda with AP question 336 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:33,910 General , can you just clarify of the 337 00:13:33,910 --> 00:13:37,470 769,000 doses ? Can you give us a 338 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:40,560 broad idea of how many have actually 339 00:13:40,570 --> 00:13:42,737 how many shots have actually gone into 340 00:13:42,737 --> 00:13:44,681 arms there or how many people have 341 00:13:44,681 --> 00:13:48,340 received those shots and then Okay , 342 00:13:48,350 --> 00:13:52,230 I'm sorry . So , uh , of the as of 343 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,351 five o'clock this morning , which was 344 00:13:54,351 --> 00:13:56,573 the last time that I was at my computer 345 00:13:56,573 --> 00:13:58,407 to check it , the CDC website is 346 00:13:58,407 --> 00:14:00,550 showing 366,000 doses administered . 347 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:02,940 And I wanna emphasize Azi . You 348 00:14:02,940 --> 00:14:04,940 probably heard from other sources . 349 00:14:04,940 --> 00:14:07,107 There's a bit of a lag , so that's not 350 00:14:07,107 --> 00:14:09,218 exactly the same as what we're seeing 351 00:14:09,218 --> 00:14:09,210 in our data here , But my 352 00:14:09,210 --> 00:14:11,432 recommendations We continue to use that 353 00:14:11,432 --> 00:14:13,432 CDC website because otherwise we're 354 00:14:13,432 --> 00:14:15,543 gonna be dealing with dueling numbers 355 00:14:15,543 --> 00:14:17,766 going forward . So 366,000 is what's on 356 00:14:17,766 --> 00:14:19,932 there that gets updated regularly . It 357 00:14:19,932 --> 00:14:22,099 may be different right now than it was 358 00:14:22,099 --> 00:14:24,321 at five o'clock this morning . And , Mr 359 00:14:24,321 --> 00:14:26,543 Rose , can you give us an update on the 360 00:14:26,543 --> 00:14:28,710 latest request from FEMA for the teams 361 00:14:28,710 --> 00:14:31,990 to help provide shots and a Zeman ia's 362 00:14:32,230 --> 00:14:34,286 100 different locations ? Where does 363 00:14:34,286 --> 00:14:37,520 that stand on day ? Do you expect this 364 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,400 will include National Guard ? Will it 365 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,780 ensure active duty ? So let's take a 366 00:14:43,780 --> 00:14:45,947 step back and look at the whole effort 367 00:14:45,947 --> 00:14:49,060 to support vaccinations . Um , 368 00:14:50,140 --> 00:14:51,862 with the understanding against 369 00:14:51,862 --> 00:14:53,973 Secretary Austin has established that 370 00:14:53,973 --> 00:14:56,200 this is of the utmost priority if we 371 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,080 could help increase this process in 372 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,660 every way , shape and form that is , in 373 00:15:01,660 --> 00:15:03,716 the interests of this country in the 374 00:15:03,716 --> 00:15:05,827 face of an enemy that has killed over 375 00:15:05,827 --> 00:15:09,690 400,000 Americans more than died in 376 00:15:09,690 --> 00:15:13,250 World War Two . Um , and so there's 377 00:15:13,260 --> 00:15:15,593 separate lines of effort in that regard , 378 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:17,951 right , there is non clinical support 379 00:15:17,951 --> 00:15:20,790 to existing vaccination sites . 380 00:15:21,890 --> 00:15:24,160 That is something that those air 381 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,049 numbers that in the future we can 382 00:15:26,049 --> 00:15:28,327 update you on . As to support for that , 383 00:15:28,340 --> 00:15:30,790 there is clinical support for existing 384 00:15:30,790 --> 00:15:33,170 vaccination sites . That again is now 385 00:15:33,170 --> 00:15:35,480 our numbers that we can update you on 386 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:37,702 in the future in a similar manner . Toe 387 00:15:37,702 --> 00:15:39,680 how we've updated you on medical 388 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,650 personnel support for hospitals on . 389 00:15:42,650 --> 00:15:44,817 Then there is . What has been reported 390 00:15:44,817 --> 00:15:47,630 on is the potential for standing up 391 00:15:47,630 --> 00:15:50,650 existing sites . Now , we can't confirm 392 00:15:50,650 --> 00:15:53,830 that , uh , a mission has come in from 393 00:15:53,830 --> 00:15:56,350 FEMA . Certainly not prepared under any 394 00:15:56,350 --> 00:15:58,990 circumstances . Thio . And I guess I'm 395 00:15:58,990 --> 00:16:01,157 not getting off on the right foot with 396 00:16:01,157 --> 00:16:03,300 any Utah timeline budget or number of 397 00:16:03,300 --> 00:16:06,630 soldiers . Um , and that should 398 00:16:06,630 --> 00:16:10,050 actually be , uh , to you a sign of how 399 00:16:10,050 --> 00:16:12,840 seriously we're treating this . Because 400 00:16:13,030 --> 00:16:15,320 these types of requests , we are 401 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,264 certainly putting through the same 402 00:16:17,264 --> 00:16:19,850 levels of analysis Undersecretary 403 00:16:19,850 --> 00:16:22,750 Austin's direction that we would for 404 00:16:22,750 --> 00:16:25,480 any other type of allocation off 405 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:29,110 soldiers . Um , but certainly 406 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:31,830 it is something that we are taking 407 00:16:31,830 --> 00:16:35,660 extraordinarily seriously , Um , and in 408 00:16:35,660 --> 00:16:37,771 our effort to keep all options on the 409 00:16:37,771 --> 00:16:39,549 table , certainly not rejecting 410 00:16:39,549 --> 00:16:41,549 outright by any sense of the word . 411 00:16:41,549 --> 00:16:44,080 What did you expect ? Um , considering 412 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:46,024 the strain on some of the National 413 00:16:46,024 --> 00:16:48,302 Guard forces that they've talked about , 414 00:16:48,302 --> 00:16:50,524 you expect you'll have to dip into more 415 00:16:50,524 --> 00:16:52,136 active duty for this or will 416 00:16:52,136 --> 00:16:54,302 Statesville . They use their guard for 417 00:16:54,302 --> 00:16:54,180 this one . I actually when I wouldn't 418 00:16:54,180 --> 00:16:56,347 look at it like that . You know , your 419 00:16:56,347 --> 00:16:58,347 National Guardsmen , you have under 420 00:16:58,347 --> 00:17:00,458 title 32 status that are answering up 421 00:17:00,458 --> 00:17:02,850 to the governor's . Now remember , with 422 00:17:02,850 --> 00:17:05,540 so key here is that this is a state led 423 00:17:05,540 --> 00:17:07,490 effort . So certainly any d o . D 424 00:17:07,490 --> 00:17:09,546 support that you see coming in , and 425 00:17:09,546 --> 00:17:11,546 that includes the medical personnel 426 00:17:11,546 --> 00:17:13,768 that are being are serving in hospitals 427 00:17:13,768 --> 00:17:16,780 right now . That is only under the 428 00:17:16,780 --> 00:17:18,502 leadership of those respective 429 00:17:18,502 --> 00:17:20,810 governors . When it comes to serving at 430 00:17:20,810 --> 00:17:24,050 home , it's the Department of Defense , 431 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:27,290 no matter how robust it support , much 432 00:17:27,290 --> 00:17:29,290 more often than not is leading from 433 00:17:29,290 --> 00:17:31,512 behind in that regard . So when you see 434 00:17:31,512 --> 00:17:33,640 these vaccination sites as well , it 435 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:35,950 falls under that same model , whether 436 00:17:35,950 --> 00:17:38,170 we are seeking to support an existing 437 00:17:38,170 --> 00:17:40,950 vaccination site or should there be a 438 00:17:40,950 --> 00:17:43,080 new vaccination site ? And so that 439 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:44,969 means from the perspective of the 440 00:17:44,969 --> 00:17:47,191 governor , they're looking to vaccinate 441 00:17:47,191 --> 00:17:49,247 as many people as possible , whether 442 00:17:49,247 --> 00:17:51,469 that is being done in a hospital . Ah , 443 00:17:51,469 --> 00:17:53,691 clinic Ah , pharmacy , a National Guard 444 00:17:53,691 --> 00:17:55,960 site or a new site with potential 445 00:17:55,970 --> 00:17:58,026 active D o . D . Involvement . And I 446 00:17:58,026 --> 00:17:59,914 think that's the best way that we 447 00:17:59,914 --> 00:18:02,026 should look at this effort across the 448 00:18:02,026 --> 00:18:04,303 nation to vaccinate millions of people . 449 00:18:04,303 --> 00:18:06,470 Hey , let's go over to the side to Tom 450 00:18:06,470 --> 00:18:08,692 Bowman , NPR . I just want to follow up 451 00:18:08,692 --> 00:18:10,637 on this . Can you give us You said 452 00:18:10,637 --> 00:18:12,803 20,000 guards so far ? Can you give us 453 00:18:12,803 --> 00:18:14,859 an estimate on how many more will be 454 00:18:14,859 --> 00:18:17,137 needed through FEMA's request ballpark ? 455 00:18:17,137 --> 00:18:19,248 I know you can't give exact Well , it 456 00:18:19,248 --> 00:18:21,570 also you know , how many locations are 457 00:18:21,570 --> 00:18:23,737 they looking at ballpark on that . And 458 00:18:23,737 --> 00:18:26,070 then finally , what is the need here is ? 459 00:18:26,070 --> 00:18:28,310 It's It's a medical personnel to put 460 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,550 needles and arms . Is it setting up 461 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,260 sites for vaccinations , or is it 462 00:18:33,260 --> 00:18:35,940 moving the doses from point A to point 463 00:18:35,950 --> 00:18:38,283 B ? We just walk us through all of that . 464 00:18:38,283 --> 00:18:40,570 Sure . So when you're looking at Thio , 465 00:18:40,570 --> 00:18:43,740 your initial question , um , the 466 00:18:43,740 --> 00:18:45,980 National Guard requests , uh , for 467 00:18:45,980 --> 00:18:48,091 these National Guardsmen and National 468 00:18:48,091 --> 00:18:50,147 Guards women that are under title 32 469 00:18:50,147 --> 00:18:52,258 status , which is , by the way , that 470 00:18:52,258 --> 00:18:52,200 we're not talking about reserve here . 471 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,144 We're talking about National Guard 472 00:18:54,144 --> 00:18:56,367 that's falling under the governor . And 473 00:18:56,367 --> 00:18:58,311 so the each respective governor is 474 00:18:58,311 --> 00:19:00,422 looking at their needs and seeking to 475 00:19:00,422 --> 00:19:02,533 allocate National Guardsmen and women 476 00:19:02,533 --> 00:19:04,644 accordingly with the understanding as 477 00:19:04,644 --> 00:19:06,644 well that you never want to . Or it 478 00:19:06,644 --> 00:19:08,867 would be . It wouldn't make any sense . 479 00:19:08,867 --> 00:19:11,130 Thio take someone who is providing a 480 00:19:11,130 --> 00:19:13,750 medical role in the civilian side and 481 00:19:13,750 --> 00:19:16,090 put them in uniform to do the same . 482 00:19:16,100 --> 00:19:18,211 Now that was the same thing that they 483 00:19:18,211 --> 00:19:20,156 were considering when it came Thio 484 00:19:20,156 --> 00:19:22,211 addressing the surge of covert cases 485 00:19:22,211 --> 00:19:24,490 and our hospital levels dramatically 486 00:19:24,490 --> 00:19:27,880 increasing when it comes toe 487 00:19:27,890 --> 00:19:30,190 vaccinations , there is no difference , 488 00:19:30,190 --> 00:19:33,670 so where , uh I would really caution us 489 00:19:33,670 --> 00:19:36,460 not to go down the road of saying it is 490 00:19:36,460 --> 00:19:38,730 about the number of sites that we need 491 00:19:38,730 --> 00:19:40,790 and going on and forth . The goal is 492 00:19:40,790 --> 00:19:43,480 one that we all share Onda , that is 493 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,380 Thio . Get as many Americans vaccinated 494 00:19:47,390 --> 00:19:50,250 as quickly as possible , beginning with 495 00:19:50,250 --> 00:19:52,417 those that are most vulnerable to this 496 00:19:52,417 --> 00:19:54,583 disease as well as those who have been 497 00:19:54,583 --> 00:19:57,540 on the front lines , uh , for so long 498 00:19:57,550 --> 00:19:59,439 putting their lives on the line , 499 00:19:59,439 --> 00:20:01,772 fighting for us all . So my question is , 500 00:20:01,772 --> 00:20:03,606 you say we're ready to offer the 501 00:20:03,606 --> 00:20:05,930 increase in duty support to FEMA . Can 502 00:20:05,930 --> 00:20:07,874 you give us any sense of what that 503 00:20:07,874 --> 00:20:09,819 increase will look like ? You just 504 00:20:09,819 --> 00:20:12,050 don't know yet . Well , certainly there 505 00:20:12,050 --> 00:20:14,161 there is a sense of that does involve 506 00:20:14,161 --> 00:20:16,560 human beings , right ? I mean , if if 507 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,710 you look at non clinical support for 508 00:20:19,710 --> 00:20:22,940 existing vaccination sites , um , what 509 00:20:22,940 --> 00:20:25,560 you do see in the vaccination site is 510 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,360 there is a for higher level medical 511 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:30,582 professionals . But you also see a role 512 00:20:30,582 --> 00:20:32,749 for , um , toe help stand it up and to 513 00:20:32,749 --> 00:20:35,460 do things along those lines . So you do 514 00:20:35,460 --> 00:20:37,690 see particular lanes where there is the 515 00:20:37,690 --> 00:20:41,600 potential for for a role on DAT 516 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,400 is in in regards thio existing sites . 517 00:20:44,410 --> 00:20:47,520 But this is going to be an evolving 518 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,170 story it has been for the last year , 519 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,890 but what is most critical is that the 520 00:20:53,890 --> 00:20:55,800 secretary secretary Austin , has 521 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,150 established this as something that we 522 00:20:58,150 --> 00:21:00,372 have always that we have got to keep on 523 00:21:00,372 --> 00:21:02,594 the forefront as we consider all of the 524 00:21:02,594 --> 00:21:04,817 assets at our disposal . Whether that's 525 00:21:04,817 --> 00:21:08,780 human expertise , Andi the , uh , the 526 00:21:08,780 --> 00:21:11,320 highest level of supply expertise and 527 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,050 logisticians Or whether is that 528 00:21:14,060 --> 00:21:16,282 increasing the number of people who can 529 00:21:16,282 --> 00:21:18,504 help get shots and arms or help support 530 00:21:18,504 --> 00:21:20,616 vaccination sites , or to continue to 531 00:21:20,616 --> 00:21:23,530 help our hospitals and medical centers 532 00:21:23,530 --> 00:21:25,586 that air so desperately struggling , 533 00:21:25,586 --> 00:21:27,697 just look quickly last week . Can you 534 00:21:27,697 --> 00:21:29,697 give us any sense when you can come 535 00:21:29,697 --> 00:21:31,697 back with specifics ? Well , I am . 536 00:21:31,697 --> 00:21:33,752 Certainly , I think the department I 537 00:21:33,752 --> 00:21:35,697 know the department , whether that 538 00:21:35,697 --> 00:21:38,240 involves me or not , remembers my first 539 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:40,018 week on the job . It could be a 540 00:21:40,018 --> 00:21:42,960 probationary phase , but the we are 541 00:21:42,970 --> 00:21:44,970 absolutely making the commitment to 542 00:21:44,970 --> 00:21:46,859 brief you on a very , very , very 543 00:21:46,859 --> 00:21:48,970 regular basis . Let's go to the phone 544 00:21:48,970 --> 00:21:52,920 Thio , Louis , ABC Hi 545 00:21:52,930 --> 00:21:54,986 First question for General Friedrich 546 00:21:54,986 --> 00:21:56,819 General can you tell us what the 547 00:21:56,819 --> 00:21:59,060 hesitancy , uh , information is that 548 00:21:59,060 --> 00:22:01,880 you have about the use of the vaccine 549 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:03,500 on military bases that had a 550 00:22:03,500 --> 00:22:05,667 conversation yesterday . Somebody told 551 00:22:05,667 --> 00:22:07,889 me that on their base Very large base . 552 00:22:07,889 --> 00:22:10,200 Um , there was only 60% of those who 553 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,970 were eligible had agreed to take the 554 00:22:12,970 --> 00:22:15,610 vaccine , since it is voluntary , Um , 555 00:22:15,610 --> 00:22:18,000 and just looking to see if you have any 556 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:20,510 statistics that could back that up or 557 00:22:20,510 --> 00:22:22,960 provide more clarity . And Thio , Mr . 558 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:25,430 Rose , Um , you talked about title 32 559 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,470 but what about title 10 ? Um , in terms 560 00:22:28,470 --> 00:22:30,710 of activation of guard assets for this 561 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:33,240 new FEMA request , what kind of 562 00:22:33,250 --> 00:22:35,250 assistance could we see ? And this 563 00:22:35,260 --> 00:22:37,316 title 10 under consideration . Thank 564 00:22:37,316 --> 00:22:41,280 you . On eso . Thank you . And I'll 565 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,800 take the first part of that . So what 566 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,030 we're seeing right now is similar to 567 00:22:46,030 --> 00:22:47,919 what is being reported across the 568 00:22:47,919 --> 00:22:50,530 United States in that there's a higher 569 00:22:50,540 --> 00:22:52,800 acceptance rate or higher percentage of 570 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,020 people who are older who are opting toe 571 00:22:56,020 --> 00:22:58,590 have the vaccine and it trends down 572 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,480 with age . Again . I'm I don't think 573 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,702 we're In fact , I'm sure we're not at a 574 00:23:03,702 --> 00:23:05,758 point where we can give you Here are 575 00:23:05,758 --> 00:23:07,813 the absolute numbers because we have 576 00:23:07,813 --> 00:23:09,980 multiple bases at different points and 577 00:23:09,980 --> 00:23:11,924 rolling out the vaccination . As I 578 00:23:11,924 --> 00:23:14,036 mentioned , we have some that started 579 00:23:14,036 --> 00:23:15,869 back in December and they're now 580 00:23:15,869 --> 00:23:17,813 farther along in vaccinating their 581 00:23:17,813 --> 00:23:19,924 population , others that have started 582 00:23:19,924 --> 00:23:21,980 in the last couple of weeks . And so 583 00:23:21,980 --> 00:23:24,036 they're still working on their front 584 00:23:24,036 --> 00:23:25,924 line health care workers . But in 585 00:23:25,924 --> 00:23:25,600 general , the trends are very similar 586 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,600 to what we're seeing in the U . S . 587 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,656 Population is a whole that the older 588 00:23:29,656 --> 00:23:31,767 population has been mawr willing to , 589 00:23:31,767 --> 00:23:33,990 uh , take the vaccine . Younger 590 00:23:33,990 --> 00:23:36,880 population has been a bit more hesitant 591 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:38,824 about it . And , you know , that's 592 00:23:38,824 --> 00:23:41,250 understandable . I think is the we go 593 00:23:41,250 --> 00:23:44,700 forward and we educate our population 594 00:23:44,700 --> 00:23:46,990 about the safety of the vaccine . We 595 00:23:46,990 --> 00:23:49,110 hope and trust that that will allay 596 00:23:49,110 --> 00:23:51,480 some of the concerns . And I believe 597 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:53,980 you know , for all of you who are , uh , 598 00:23:53,990 --> 00:23:56,430 messaging to your respective audiences . 599 00:23:56,430 --> 00:23:59,410 Their key part in this is Mr Rose said 600 00:23:59,410 --> 00:24:01,632 is we have got to get this vaccine . We 601 00:24:01,632 --> 00:24:03,799 have got to get this vaccine out , and 602 00:24:03,799 --> 00:24:05,966 we have got to control this pandemic . 603 00:24:05,966 --> 00:24:08,188 The public health measures of the first 604 00:24:08,188 --> 00:24:10,299 step . And for those of you have been 605 00:24:10,299 --> 00:24:10,050 here in previous briefings that I've 606 00:24:10,050 --> 00:24:12,272 given , I'll reiterate what's been said 607 00:24:12,272 --> 00:24:14,328 over and over again . The first step 608 00:24:14,328 --> 00:24:16,328 are the basic measures , the things 609 00:24:16,328 --> 00:24:18,494 that we're doing right now with social 610 00:24:18,494 --> 00:24:20,661 distancing and wearing mass . Uh , all 611 00:24:20,661 --> 00:24:22,828 of the different things that you and I 612 00:24:22,828 --> 00:24:24,994 and our families have had to implement 613 00:24:24,994 --> 00:24:27,217 that's not going to go away in the near 614 00:24:27,217 --> 00:24:29,439 term here as we roll out the vaccines , 615 00:24:29,439 --> 00:24:32,000 testing is a key part of that and again 616 00:24:32,010 --> 00:24:34,177 can't stress how important that is and 617 00:24:34,177 --> 00:24:36,288 how proud I am of the work that folks 618 00:24:36,288 --> 00:24:38,288 have done to expand that across the 619 00:24:38,288 --> 00:24:40,399 department , the vaccines or then the 620 00:24:40,399 --> 00:24:42,566 third layer of that to help us protect 621 00:24:42,566 --> 00:24:44,621 folks from becoming significantly or 622 00:24:44,621 --> 00:24:46,788 seriously infected with this . So it's 623 00:24:46,788 --> 00:24:49,010 a layered approach that's combined with 624 00:24:49,010 --> 00:24:51,232 an educational campaign , and that is , 625 00:24:51,232 --> 00:24:53,454 Mr Rose said . That's part of why we're 626 00:24:53,454 --> 00:24:52,980 gonna be coming back out here , whether 627 00:24:52,980 --> 00:24:54,940 it's me or him or someone else to 628 00:24:54,940 --> 00:24:57,162 continue to share the data that we have 629 00:24:57,162 --> 00:24:59,329 and what we're learning as we roll out 630 00:24:59,329 --> 00:25:01,551 the vaccine and continue to protect the 631 00:25:01,551 --> 00:25:04,560 force . So 11 other point that I , um , 632 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:06,727 should have noted when you're thinking 633 00:25:06,727 --> 00:25:08,949 about the use of National Guard as well 634 00:25:08,949 --> 00:25:11,227 when you're thinking about this crisis . 635 00:25:11,227 --> 00:25:13,282 From the perspective of governors is 636 00:25:13,282 --> 00:25:15,060 one of one of , if not the most 637 00:25:15,060 --> 00:25:17,540 significant changes over the course of 638 00:25:17,540 --> 00:25:20,070 the last week has been the transition 639 00:25:20,070 --> 00:25:22,410 in the percentage that the federal 640 00:25:22,410 --> 00:25:24,521 government is accounting for in terms 641 00:25:24,521 --> 00:25:26,910 of payments . Um , that's for both the 642 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,460 any type of FEMA contracting as well as 643 00:25:29,460 --> 00:25:32,000 for the use of the National Guard . But 644 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,056 certainly there are constraints when 645 00:25:34,056 --> 00:25:36,056 you look at the use of the National 646 00:25:36,056 --> 00:25:38,660 Guard and the force within it , Um , 647 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:40,984 does it make sense to take medical 648 00:25:40,984 --> 00:25:43,096 personnel in transition ? And does it 649 00:25:43,096 --> 00:25:45,040 make sense to take law enforcement 650 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,207 personnel and so on and so forth ? Off 651 00:25:47,207 --> 00:25:48,873 course , there are those same 652 00:25:48,873 --> 00:25:50,762 considerations when it comes Thio 653 00:25:50,762 --> 00:25:52,929 members in the Reserve force that we , 654 00:25:52,929 --> 00:25:54,984 many of our medical professionals in 655 00:25:54,984 --> 00:25:56,984 the reserves who do operate under a 656 00:25:56,984 --> 00:25:59,660 title 10 umbrella , are doing the same 657 00:25:59,660 --> 00:26:02,150 job in the civilian side . So that is 658 00:26:02,150 --> 00:26:04,372 the reason why I put that forth is that 659 00:26:04,372 --> 00:26:07,840 is always a consideration , that we're 660 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:09,896 not just thinking here about what is 661 00:26:09,896 --> 00:26:11,896 the number that we can come out and 662 00:26:11,896 --> 00:26:13,784 present you all with . We're also 663 00:26:13,784 --> 00:26:15,784 thinking about Well , how does that 664 00:26:15,784 --> 00:26:18,007 change the strain of that of that state 665 00:26:18,007 --> 00:26:20,320 And in those hospital systems , keep in 666 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,800 mind as well is that it would be easier 667 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,022 to make that determination if this were 668 00:26:25,022 --> 00:26:27,750 a crisis that was in just one state or 669 00:26:27,750 --> 00:26:29,861 just one region . But because this is 670 00:26:29,861 --> 00:26:32,028 something that is engulfing the entire 671 00:26:32,028 --> 00:26:34,360 nation at this one moment , uh , it 672 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:37,730 does , It doesn't make sense . Thio , 673 00:26:37,740 --> 00:26:39,907 take a civilian doctors civilian nurse 674 00:26:39,907 --> 00:26:42,073 from Texas and put them in uniform and 675 00:26:42,073 --> 00:26:44,129 send them to Michigan at all times . 676 00:26:44,129 --> 00:26:45,962 But this is something that we're 677 00:26:45,962 --> 00:26:48,129 continuing to balance is absolutely my 678 00:26:48,129 --> 00:26:50,351 point as well as continuing Thio Do the 679 00:26:50,351 --> 00:26:53,160 risk analyses necessary to consider 680 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:54,993 whether or not it makes sense to 681 00:26:54,993 --> 00:26:57,104 transition a medical professional , a 682 00:26:57,104 --> 00:26:59,327 nurse or otherwise from the active duty 683 00:26:59,327 --> 00:27:03,060 force or thio mission out here at 684 00:27:03,060 --> 00:27:05,227 home . Let's stay on the phone . We're 685 00:27:05,227 --> 00:27:07,282 gonna go thio Jennifer with New York 686 00:27:07,282 --> 00:27:10,770 Times . Hi . Thanks . I just want to 687 00:27:10,770 --> 00:27:12,826 amplify my colleague's question . Is 688 00:27:12,826 --> 00:27:15,130 gonna just asked again directly . You 689 00:27:15,130 --> 00:27:17,241 point out that the National Guard has 690 00:27:17,241 --> 00:27:19,408 helped set up these sites and states , 691 00:27:19,408 --> 00:27:21,463 um , even administered vaccines . We 692 00:27:21,463 --> 00:27:23,574 know that what's not been the case is 693 00:27:23,574 --> 00:27:25,186 active duty Military has not 694 00:27:25,186 --> 00:27:27,530 participated in moving around vaccines 695 00:27:27,540 --> 00:27:29,651 or putting shots in arms . So I think 696 00:27:29,651 --> 00:27:31,762 we're just trying to ask you directly 697 00:27:31,762 --> 00:27:33,920 as a policy change . Uh , it's a 698 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,500 Pentagon preparing Thio active duty 699 00:27:36,500 --> 00:27:38,790 troops to these , uh , FEMA centers . 700 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,200 Will they participate in setting up 701 00:27:41,210 --> 00:27:43,790 running those centers giving shots ? I 702 00:27:43,790 --> 00:27:46,068 know you don't know how many specifics , 703 00:27:46,068 --> 00:27:48,401 but yes or no . Are they going to do it ? 704 00:27:48,401 --> 00:27:50,457 So , for first of all , keep in mind 705 00:27:50,457 --> 00:27:52,568 that this is , uh , the Pentagon will 706 00:27:52,568 --> 00:27:54,790 not do anything under any circumstances 707 00:27:55,030 --> 00:27:57,030 without the approval and consent in 708 00:27:57,030 --> 00:27:59,910 support of governors . Um , so that 709 00:27:59,910 --> 00:28:02,077 that is that that is the first thing . 710 00:28:02,077 --> 00:28:05,790 But we are actively considering support 711 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:09,140 for the vaccine effort and are prepared 712 00:28:09,150 --> 00:28:12,060 to certainly do so , Um , 713 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,590 so long as it does a few things , one , 714 00:28:16,630 --> 00:28:19,260 um fulfills helps to fulfill the 715 00:28:19,260 --> 00:28:22,270 president's objectives as he's as the 716 00:28:22,270 --> 00:28:25,660 president's laid out eso , long as it 717 00:28:25,660 --> 00:28:28,170 is with the consent off the governor , 718 00:28:28,540 --> 00:28:31,710 so long as it remains equitable 719 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,820 on DFO air along the way . But that is 720 00:28:34,820 --> 00:28:37,870 certainly a mission that we are , um , 721 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:41,820 all right , capable of doing and and 722 00:28:41,820 --> 00:28:45,530 are certainly analyzing doing as you do 723 00:28:45,530 --> 00:28:47,252 have to break it down into two 724 00:28:47,252 --> 00:28:49,030 different pillars . Support for 725 00:28:49,030 --> 00:28:51,252 existing sites . A swell of support for 726 00:28:51,252 --> 00:28:54,470 stand up sites as well . Okay , let's 727 00:28:54,470 --> 00:28:57,370 go in the room here . Lucas . Mr Rose . 728 00:28:57,420 --> 00:28:59,531 Looky Stalin's and Fox News . Good to 729 00:28:59,531 --> 00:29:01,864 see you . Good to see you too , Mr Rose . 730 00:29:01,864 --> 00:29:03,809 You have a U . S . Army general in 731 00:29:03,809 --> 00:29:05,809 charge of logistics . If that's the 732 00:29:05,809 --> 00:29:07,809 case , why there's so many problems 733 00:29:07,809 --> 00:29:10,150 distributing the vaccine . Well , I 734 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:12,382 don't think that that's the correct way 735 00:29:12,382 --> 00:29:14,493 of looking at this . I believe you're 736 00:29:14,493 --> 00:29:17,350 referring to general partner . So first 737 00:29:17,350 --> 00:29:19,870 of all , this is a monumental task . Um , 738 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,210 but it is not just a logistical task , 739 00:29:23,220 --> 00:29:25,890 Aziz . One would think about Amazon 740 00:29:25,890 --> 00:29:28,140 sending a book , right ? It has to get 741 00:29:28,140 --> 00:29:30,420 somewhere where there's a shot in the 742 00:29:30,420 --> 00:29:32,087 arm . There's also incredible 743 00:29:32,087 --> 00:29:34,210 complexity to production . You have 744 00:29:34,210 --> 00:29:37,210 97,000 potential sources where it could 745 00:29:37,210 --> 00:29:39,321 go . But you also have the capability 746 00:29:39,321 --> 00:29:42,980 of standing up new vaccination centers . 747 00:29:42,980 --> 00:29:46,460 Now , has this gone perfectly over the 748 00:29:46,460 --> 00:29:48,970 course of the last ? How many months ? 749 00:29:49,540 --> 00:29:52,600 No . Are we absolutely intent on 750 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,470 continuing to be ever bolder , more 751 00:29:55,470 --> 00:29:58,640 effective , more equitable so that we 752 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,270 can beat this pandemic . Absolutely , 753 00:30:01,270 --> 00:30:03,970 yes , absolutely . And I'm supremely 754 00:30:03,970 --> 00:30:06,137 confident , Um , that from the D . O . 755 00:30:06,137 --> 00:30:08,192 D perspective you'll consider you'll 756 00:30:08,192 --> 00:30:09,914 continue . You'll see our full 757 00:30:09,914 --> 00:30:12,081 engagement , and just to confirm , you 758 00:30:12,081 --> 00:30:14,248 are given a distribution plan when you 759 00:30:14,248 --> 00:30:16,303 assume this role , correct . So if I 760 00:30:16,303 --> 00:30:18,248 could , I'll take that when you're 761 00:30:18,248 --> 00:30:20,470 talking about the internal distribution 762 00:30:20,470 --> 00:30:22,692 plan for D o D Dude and also across the 763 00:30:22,692 --> 00:30:24,920 country . So e think that's an 764 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:26,920 important distinction there . So we 765 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:28,976 developed our D . O . D distribution 766 00:30:28,976 --> 00:30:31,087 plan for our vaccine and coordination 767 00:30:31,087 --> 00:30:32,976 with C . D . C , like every other 768 00:30:32,976 --> 00:30:36,070 jurisdiction did . And then separately , 769 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:39,230 O . W s formerly known as O . W s , led 770 00:30:39,230 --> 00:30:41,230 by General Pernas . You highlighted 771 00:30:41,230 --> 00:30:43,286 there has worked with the states and 772 00:30:43,286 --> 00:30:45,174 territories , but it's really the 773 00:30:45,174 --> 00:30:47,286 states and territories that developed 774 00:30:47,286 --> 00:30:49,230 their plans , came back and said , 775 00:30:49,230 --> 00:30:51,452 Here's our requirements through C . D . 776 00:30:51,452 --> 00:30:53,563 C and then worked with the logistical 777 00:30:53,563 --> 00:30:55,810 team to execute the distribution of 778 00:30:55,810 --> 00:30:58,270 that . So it's there's no one 779 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:00,558 organization that develops those plans . 780 00:31:00,558 --> 00:31:02,780 It's really a partnership to pull those 781 00:31:02,780 --> 00:31:04,836 together and Dr Fredericks , in your 782 00:31:04,836 --> 00:31:06,780 expert medical advice and military 783 00:31:06,780 --> 00:31:08,980 advice , would you characterize the 784 00:31:08,980 --> 00:31:11,313 National Guard deployment in Washington , 785 00:31:11,313 --> 00:31:13,424 D . C . As a potential super spreader 786 00:31:13,424 --> 00:31:17,020 event . No , no , I would not . I You 787 00:31:17,020 --> 00:31:19,890 know , I hope you guys will , uh , you 788 00:31:19,890 --> 00:31:22,112 know , accept on face value here . I've 789 00:31:22,112 --> 00:31:24,168 been very straight shooting with you 790 00:31:24,168 --> 00:31:23,940 guys . Every time I've come out here , 791 00:31:23,950 --> 00:31:26,710 I would not . I personally talk to the 792 00:31:26,710 --> 00:31:28,710 guards surgeon . I've talked to the 793 00:31:28,710 --> 00:31:30,877 folks who are working out in The short 794 00:31:30,877 --> 00:31:33,099 answer is no staying in the room here . 795 00:31:33,099 --> 00:31:35,154 Let's go , Thio . Laura Sullivan . I 796 00:31:35,154 --> 00:31:36,988 had a problem with Politico just 797 00:31:36,988 --> 00:31:39,099 actually to follow up on Lucas . This 798 00:31:39,099 --> 00:31:41,210 question Can you see it's not a super 799 00:31:41,210 --> 00:31:43,321 spreader event that can you give us a 800 00:31:43,321 --> 00:31:45,432 little more details about why you say 801 00:31:45,432 --> 00:31:47,543 that ? Um , can you specifically tell 802 00:31:47,543 --> 00:31:49,599 us the total number of Guard members 803 00:31:49,599 --> 00:31:51,766 who have been tested for profit out of 804 00:31:51,766 --> 00:31:53,970 the 25,000 and then how many tested 805 00:31:53,970 --> 00:31:56,260 positive and how many are quarantining ? 806 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,207 So I'm going to disappoint you in that 807 00:31:59,207 --> 00:32:01,262 and say no , I cannot give you those 808 00:32:01,262 --> 00:32:03,373 specific numbers . I can tell you who 809 00:32:03,373 --> 00:32:05,484 can . And that's the D C guard . Um , 810 00:32:05,484 --> 00:32:07,540 and the reason I'm so confident this 811 00:32:07,540 --> 00:32:09,540 those when I've spoken to our guard 812 00:32:09,540 --> 00:32:11,596 colleagues on this and listen to the 813 00:32:11,596 --> 00:32:11,270 plans that they implemented there the 814 00:32:11,270 --> 00:32:13,600 same plans that the Centers for Disease 815 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:15,770 Control has put out . They've used the 816 00:32:15,770 --> 00:32:18,450 same processes going forward that the 817 00:32:18,450 --> 00:32:20,617 rest of the country has been asked and 818 00:32:20,617 --> 00:32:22,672 recommended to use going forward . I 819 00:32:22,672 --> 00:32:24,617 believe they're executing them the 820 00:32:24,617 --> 00:32:26,728 right way . They're identifying folks 821 00:32:26,728 --> 00:32:29,061 who developed symptoms and testing them . 822 00:32:29,061 --> 00:32:30,894 Andi , I would refer you for the 823 00:32:30,894 --> 00:32:32,783 specific numbers to the D C Guard 824 00:32:32,783 --> 00:32:34,950 because they're the ones who have that 825 00:32:34,950 --> 00:32:36,839 information right now . But every 826 00:32:36,839 --> 00:32:39,061 indication that I've heard from them in 827 00:32:39,061 --> 00:32:41,228 multiple discussions with them is that 828 00:32:41,228 --> 00:32:43,283 they're following the same protocols 829 00:32:43,283 --> 00:32:45,506 and the same standards that the rest of 830 00:32:45,506 --> 00:32:45,370 us air following . I have been asking 831 00:32:45,370 --> 00:32:47,370 the guard for a long time for those 832 00:32:47,370 --> 00:32:49,537 details , and they have not given them 833 00:32:49,537 --> 00:32:51,592 to me . So can you say why you can't 834 00:32:51,592 --> 00:32:53,648 release those numbers ? I don't have 835 00:32:53,648 --> 00:32:55,870 the guard numbers , so I don't have the 836 00:32:55,870 --> 00:32:57,814 specifics that you were asking for 837 00:32:57,814 --> 00:32:59,981 their Hey , look , let's go Thio or in 838 00:32:59,981 --> 00:33:02,590 CNN , have you for Are you testing for 839 00:33:02,590 --> 00:33:04,910 the U . K . Or the South African 840 00:33:04,910 --> 00:33:08,030 variant of coated amongst duty 841 00:33:08,030 --> 00:33:09,974 personnel , either domestically or 842 00:33:09,974 --> 00:33:12,197 abroad and obviously one of the results 843 00:33:12,197 --> 00:33:14,400 of those tests . Uh , so , yes , we 844 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,750 have labs that participate in , uh , 845 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:18,760 and share data with the Centers for 846 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:21,038 Disease Control . And as you know , uh , 847 00:33:21,038 --> 00:33:23,149 the number of sites at which we found 848 00:33:23,149 --> 00:33:25,204 some of these new variants is fairly 849 00:33:25,204 --> 00:33:27,260 low across the United States . We're 850 00:33:27,260 --> 00:33:29,482 not yet seeing them , uh , in our d o . 851 00:33:29,482 --> 00:33:31,538 D population in the tests that we've 852 00:33:31,538 --> 00:33:33,650 done again . Uh , this is I would be 853 00:33:33,650 --> 00:33:35,872 very cautious , though , in reading too 854 00:33:35,872 --> 00:33:37,928 much into that . Because , as you've 855 00:33:37,928 --> 00:33:39,983 seen from other sources from the 500 856 00:33:39,983 --> 00:33:41,817 elsewhere , this is very much an 857 00:33:41,817 --> 00:33:43,983 evolving spread there . So I think you 858 00:33:43,983 --> 00:33:46,094 know , the key thing on this is we've 859 00:33:46,094 --> 00:33:48,094 got to keep testing for it and keep 860 00:33:48,094 --> 00:33:50,317 tracking for it . But so far within our 861 00:33:50,317 --> 00:33:52,150 population way , have not seen a 862 00:33:52,150 --> 00:33:54,372 significant new variant that is causing 863 00:33:54,372 --> 00:33:56,539 concern . And that's both domestically 864 00:33:56,539 --> 00:33:58,850 and internationally . Correct . Also in 865 00:33:58,850 --> 00:34:01,690 the room here , Megan . So the C B 866 00:34:01,700 --> 00:34:03,922 vaccination tracker pretty consistently 867 00:34:03,922 --> 00:34:06,540 put D o D s number of administer doses 868 00:34:06,540 --> 00:34:08,484 that about half of the distributed 869 00:34:08,484 --> 00:34:10,890 doses way no from local reports around 870 00:34:10,890 --> 00:34:13,001 the country that a lot of that has to 871 00:34:13,001 --> 00:34:15,223 do with the hesitancy for the people on 872 00:34:15,223 --> 00:34:17,279 the priority list to get it and then 873 00:34:17,279 --> 00:34:19,446 kind of the scramble to figure out who 874 00:34:19,446 --> 00:34:18,860 they're going to give it to instead , 875 00:34:19,140 --> 00:34:20,862 because all of those plans are 876 00:34:20,862 --> 00:34:23,084 different . Does do you ? Do you have a 877 00:34:23,084 --> 00:34:25,196 more specific plan about who you call 878 00:34:25,196 --> 00:34:27,418 when you can't give it to the person on 879 00:34:27,418 --> 00:34:29,620 the list ? And if they do , why is the 880 00:34:29,630 --> 00:34:32,230 50% still pretty par for the course is 881 00:34:32,240 --> 00:34:34,640 with everybody else ? Yeah , and so I'm 882 00:34:34,650 --> 00:34:37,770 you know , first it would go back to a 883 00:34:37,770 --> 00:34:39,992 couple of points that I made earlier on 884 00:34:39,992 --> 00:34:41,992 this because I think this is really 885 00:34:41,992 --> 00:34:44,103 important . Would recommend if you're 886 00:34:44,103 --> 00:34:43,810 gonna look at the CDC data that you 887 00:34:43,810 --> 00:34:45,866 look at it day by day and not just a 888 00:34:45,866 --> 00:34:48,032 single snapshot , because it does tend 889 00:34:48,032 --> 00:34:50,254 to vary as I mentioned earlier . If you 890 00:34:50,254 --> 00:34:52,532 look at the very beginning of the week , 891 00:34:52,532 --> 00:34:54,754 the percentages are almost every week . 892 00:34:54,754 --> 00:34:54,140 I went back and looked at the last 893 00:34:54,140 --> 00:34:56,362 three weeks , different then at the end 894 00:34:56,362 --> 00:34:58,084 of the week because we get the 895 00:34:58,084 --> 00:35:00,307 allocation at the beginning of the week 896 00:35:00,307 --> 00:34:59,470 there . It's in the beginning of the 897 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:01,647 press conference , and it's about 50 . 898 00:35:01,647 --> 00:35:03,536 Right now , as there is far eso , 899 00:35:03,536 --> 00:35:05,702 that's the lag . You know , that's the 900 00:35:05,702 --> 00:35:07,869 lag that I was talking about earlier . 901 00:35:07,869 --> 00:35:10,036 So to answer your specific questions , 902 00:35:10,036 --> 00:35:12,147 yes , part of what the Defense Health 903 00:35:12,147 --> 00:35:14,091 Agency has worked with each of the 904 00:35:14,091 --> 00:35:16,258 basis on is their base level plan that 905 00:35:16,258 --> 00:35:18,258 says , you know , using the D . O D 906 00:35:18,258 --> 00:35:20,424 prioritization , which is based on the 907 00:35:20,424 --> 00:35:22,536 CDC prioritization . Here's who we go 908 00:35:22,536 --> 00:35:24,702 through and they have the authority if 909 00:35:24,702 --> 00:35:26,702 there's no one in a particular tear 910 00:35:26,702 --> 00:35:28,869 that's available , or that ops for the 911 00:35:28,869 --> 00:35:30,924 vaccine to go to the next level down 912 00:35:30,924 --> 00:35:33,091 and it varies based by base . That was 913 00:35:33,091 --> 00:35:32,750 the comment that I made earlier there 914 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:34,940 for the 1st 10 bases that were our 915 00:35:34,940 --> 00:35:37,260 pilot sites there , much farther along 916 00:35:37,260 --> 00:35:39,371 in their list than the last few sites 917 00:35:39,371 --> 00:35:41,482 that have come online . They're still 918 00:35:41,482 --> 00:35:43,371 working on their initial group of 919 00:35:43,371 --> 00:35:45,690 health care workers , so least the you 920 00:35:45,690 --> 00:35:47,912 know everything that I'm hearing on the 921 00:35:47,912 --> 00:35:50,023 joint staff side and through the Cova 922 00:35:50,023 --> 00:35:51,857 task forces that that process is 923 00:35:51,857 --> 00:35:53,912 working well in stepping through the 924 00:35:53,912 --> 00:35:56,023 priorities and making sure that we're 925 00:35:56,023 --> 00:35:58,246 not losing any vaccines are lost . Rate 926 00:35:58,246 --> 00:36:00,500 has been negligible . It's e think I 927 00:36:00,500 --> 00:36:02,722 don't remember the exact number , and I 928 00:36:02,722 --> 00:36:04,833 apologize for that . But we certainly 929 00:36:04,833 --> 00:36:06,778 have not lost any vaccines because 930 00:36:06,778 --> 00:36:09,000 they're sitting on the shelf . I really 931 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,000 follow up . So the DVD website also 932 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,222 tracks Covic cases and breaks them down 933 00:36:13,222 --> 00:36:15,389 by service . Member dependent civilian 934 00:36:15,389 --> 00:36:17,444 contractor . Why can we not get that 935 00:36:17,444 --> 00:36:19,611 same level of fidelity of administered 936 00:36:19,611 --> 00:36:23,560 vaccines ? So uh , that's 937 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:25,560 a very long answer . That's a quick 938 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:27,449 question , but a very long answer 939 00:36:27,449 --> 00:36:29,504 because CDC says you have to do this 940 00:36:29,504 --> 00:36:31,727 and you're not doing more than what CBC 941 00:36:31,727 --> 00:36:33,671 tells you to dio is . Why not ? So 942 00:36:33,671 --> 00:36:35,949 that's part of it . What I would offer . 943 00:36:35,949 --> 00:36:38,720 And I'll defer DARPA colleagues if I 944 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:40,887 could get back to you because that's a 945 00:36:40,887 --> 00:36:43,053 much longer answer . There's there's a 946 00:36:43,053 --> 00:36:45,109 lot of nuances to that piece of it . 947 00:36:45,109 --> 00:36:47,109 There's a lot more data that we are 948 00:36:47,109 --> 00:36:49,270 collecting there . Putting it all out 949 00:36:49,270 --> 00:36:51,159 on the website becomes a bit more 950 00:36:51,159 --> 00:36:53,326 challenging for a variety of reasons , 951 00:36:53,326 --> 00:36:55,492 So let's go to the back to the phone . 952 00:36:55,492 --> 00:36:57,437 We're gonna go Thio Jeff Shuttle . 953 00:36:59,430 --> 00:37:01,900 Yeah . Uh , thank you . This is a 954 00:37:01,900 --> 00:37:04,011 question for General Friedrichs . I'm 955 00:37:04,011 --> 00:37:06,344 following up on my colleague's question . 956 00:37:06,344 --> 00:37:08,410 Are you saying that an organization 957 00:37:08,410 --> 00:37:11,570 that has an annual budget of $705 958 00:37:11,570 --> 00:37:13,710 billion is unable to say how many 959 00:37:13,720 --> 00:37:16,070 service members have been vaccinated 960 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:18,450 and how many have refused . Thank you . 961 00:37:20,130 --> 00:37:23,160 Uh , no , I'm not saying that . 962 00:37:23,630 --> 00:37:27,030 So a zai mentioned there were 366,000 963 00:37:27,030 --> 00:37:30,130 doses given out on . I don't have it in 964 00:37:30,130 --> 00:37:32,297 front of me . I could get to the exact 965 00:37:32,297 --> 00:37:34,297 number of which of those were first 966 00:37:34,297 --> 00:37:36,297 doses in which of those were second 967 00:37:36,297 --> 00:37:38,352 doses . If I remember correctly , it 968 00:37:38,352 --> 00:37:40,463 was around 320,000 or first doses and 969 00:37:40,463 --> 00:37:42,900 40,000 ish . Of those were second doses . 970 00:37:42,900 --> 00:37:46,340 So that means about 320,000 people . Uh , 971 00:37:46,350 --> 00:37:48,406 so the declination zehr a little bit 972 00:37:48,406 --> 00:37:50,680 more challenging , and this gets into 973 00:37:50,690 --> 00:37:52,801 the fact that this is voluntary , you 974 00:37:52,801 --> 00:37:55,023 know , way are not compelling people to 975 00:37:55,023 --> 00:37:57,023 take a vaccine , that this is truly 976 00:37:57,023 --> 00:37:59,134 something that they have to volunteer 977 00:37:59,134 --> 00:38:01,750 for . Andi and we've been very careful 978 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,400 to adhere to not just the letter , but 979 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:06,660 the intent of the guidance that's been 980 00:38:06,660 --> 00:38:08,882 put out on that under the emergency use 981 00:38:08,882 --> 00:38:11,300 authorization . Okay , back here in the 982 00:38:11,300 --> 00:38:13,800 room . You know what ? That Excuse me , 983 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:15,522 Al Jazeera English White House 984 00:38:15,522 --> 00:38:17,578 officials said when they took over , 985 00:38:17,578 --> 00:38:19,522 they realized there was no plan in 986 00:38:19,522 --> 00:38:22,030 place to get back vaccines into the AMP 987 00:38:22,110 --> 00:38:24,166 into the arms of Americans . Is that 988 00:38:24,166 --> 00:38:27,550 true ? So mm 989 00:38:28,110 --> 00:38:31,070 there . There is no doubt that there is 990 00:38:31,070 --> 00:38:33,237 significant room for improvement , and 991 00:38:33,237 --> 00:38:37,100 that is reflected in the 992 00:38:37,100 --> 00:38:39,550 strategic guidance . The executive 993 00:38:39,550 --> 00:38:43,160 orders the changes in FEMA payment 994 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:46,660 ratios , the leadership by FEMA , all 995 00:38:46,660 --> 00:38:48,716 of which this administration has put 996 00:38:48,716 --> 00:38:52,290 into fold in just the last few days . 997 00:38:52,300 --> 00:38:55,350 Um , that in and of itself speaks for , 998 00:38:55,820 --> 00:38:58,940 um what this administration came onto 999 00:38:59,420 --> 00:39:03,140 now with that being said , though , um , 1000 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:06,920 from the perspective of d . O . D . I 1001 00:39:07,180 --> 00:39:09,470 just think it is absolutely essential 1002 00:39:09,470 --> 00:39:12,940 that we are forward looking , um , 1003 00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:15,800 just trying to doom . Or was there a 1004 00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:18,260 plan or no ? Well , certainly in terms 1005 00:39:18,260 --> 00:39:20,620 of anything that the White House said I 1006 00:39:20,620 --> 00:39:22,676 would refer you to the White House , 1007 00:39:22,676 --> 00:39:25,009 anything that the White House came onto , 1008 00:39:25,009 --> 00:39:27,176 I would refer you to the White House . 1009 00:39:27,176 --> 00:39:29,398 But what I can tell you is is that from 1010 00:39:29,398 --> 00:39:31,398 the perspective of Secretary Austin 1011 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:33,240 within just his first day , 1012 00:39:33,240 --> 00:39:35,940 establishing this as his number one 1013 00:39:35,940 --> 00:39:39,400 priority and firmly stating that this 1014 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:41,567 department stands ready to do anything 1015 00:39:41,567 --> 00:39:43,456 it can to support the president's 1016 00:39:43,456 --> 00:39:47,250 effort . FEMA's effort , all the while 1017 00:39:47,250 --> 00:39:50,220 not sacrificing our posture and our 1018 00:39:50,220 --> 00:39:52,276 capabilities to defend this nation . 1019 00:39:52,720 --> 00:39:55,210 That is where we stand right now under 1020 00:39:55,220 --> 00:39:57,442 Undersecretary Austin . These people in 1021 00:39:57,442 --> 00:39:59,498 10 months to come up with a plan and 1022 00:39:59,498 --> 00:40:01,498 they didn't and you're saying those 1023 00:40:01,498 --> 00:40:03,720 same people are going to stay in charge 1024 00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:05,776 of the distribution ? Well , I don't 1025 00:40:05,776 --> 00:40:07,831 think that that's the correct way to 1026 00:40:07,831 --> 00:40:09,887 look at this . Okay , that that what 1027 00:40:09,887 --> 00:40:12,510 this administration is doing and the 1028 00:40:12,510 --> 00:40:15,900 Department of Defense is support for 1029 00:40:15,910 --> 00:40:19,750 President Biden strategy of defeating 1030 00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:22,530 this pandemic as quickly as possible . 1031 00:40:23,310 --> 00:40:26,130 That's where we are right now . And I 1032 00:40:26,130 --> 00:40:29,390 can tell you within my first week as I 1033 00:40:29,390 --> 00:40:31,750 look at the men and women in uniform 1034 00:40:32,810 --> 00:40:34,866 who are serving this nation and have 1035 00:40:34,866 --> 00:40:38,750 served this nation for years , I have 1036 00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:41,450 the utmost confidence in their ability 1037 00:40:41,450 --> 00:40:44,320 to execute this plan going forward . Uh , 1038 00:40:44,330 --> 00:40:47,580 let's go to the back Tom percentage of 1039 00:40:47,740 --> 00:40:49,796 individuals here in the Pentagon who 1040 00:40:49,796 --> 00:40:51,962 have gotten the vaccination and what's 1041 00:40:51,962 --> 00:40:55,270 the refusal rate ? Uh , again , 1042 00:40:55,280 --> 00:40:57,830 E think I may not have been clear on 1043 00:40:57,830 --> 00:41:01,000 that one So the refusal rate is a is a 1044 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,167 statistic that I think we're not gonna 1045 00:41:03,167 --> 00:41:05,056 be able to give you because its a 1046 00:41:05,056 --> 00:41:07,111 voluntary vaccine . Crazy question . 1047 00:41:07,111 --> 00:41:06,960 What's the first part ? Still say ? 1048 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:08,793 What's the percentage ? How many 1049 00:41:08,793 --> 00:41:10,849 independent on habit vaccine And are 1050 00:41:10,849 --> 00:41:13,127 you seeing people here in the Pentagon ? 1051 00:41:13,127 --> 00:41:15,349 Refusing . But are we seeing people who 1052 00:41:15,349 --> 00:41:18,050 are declining to get it ? Yes . Yes . 1053 00:41:18,060 --> 00:41:20,310 And you know , I mean , I've had people 1054 00:41:20,310 --> 00:41:22,310 say that for a variety of reasons . 1055 00:41:22,310 --> 00:41:24,366 They're pregnant , which is a very , 1056 00:41:24,366 --> 00:41:26,421 you know , reasonable concern . They 1057 00:41:26,421 --> 00:41:26,160 wanna talk to their doctor first . Very 1058 00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:28,327 reasonable concern , You know that . I 1059 00:41:28,327 --> 00:41:30,382 mean , yes . So there are people who 1060 00:41:30,382 --> 00:41:32,493 have said they don't want to get it . 1061 00:41:32,493 --> 00:41:32,010 I'll have to get back to you on the 1062 00:41:32,010 --> 00:41:34,066 latest numbers for the Pentagon . It 1063 00:41:34,066 --> 00:41:36,232 changes daily , and I don't have those 1064 00:41:36,232 --> 00:41:36,010 numbers with me right now . Is an 1065 00:41:36,010 --> 00:41:38,300 ongoing the backs ? Yeah . Every day 1066 00:41:38,300 --> 00:41:40,356 we're doing vaccinations here in the 1067 00:41:40,356 --> 00:41:42,578 building , and our clinic downstairs is 1068 00:41:42,578 --> 00:41:44,856 in charge . Thank you . You bet . Okay . 1069 00:41:44,856 --> 00:41:47,590 And last question Abraham to examine 1070 00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:49,767 this question is for general freedom . 1071 00:41:49,767 --> 00:41:52,730 Eso you mentioned 320,000 , uh , 1072 00:41:52,740 --> 00:41:54,851 military personnel . Dearly personnel 1073 00:41:54,851 --> 00:41:56,684 have been vaccinated but you had 1074 00:41:56,684 --> 00:41:59,500 769,000 doses , so there's a big gap 1075 00:41:59,510 --> 00:42:01,566 there . You also said that there's a 1076 00:42:01,566 --> 00:42:03,621 sort of a trend line that matches of 1077 00:42:03,621 --> 00:42:05,843 civilian society , that older folks are 1078 00:42:05,843 --> 00:42:07,788 the ones who are accepting it at a 1079 00:42:07,788 --> 00:42:09,843 higher rate . And you also said that 1080 00:42:09,843 --> 00:42:12,720 that that there's a tear of individuals 1081 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:14,942 for strategic and national security and 1082 00:42:14,942 --> 00:42:17,360 those deploying those people are 1083 00:42:17,370 --> 00:42:19,650 generally younger . So are the people 1084 00:42:19,650 --> 00:42:21,539 who are doing national security , 1085 00:42:21,539 --> 00:42:24,360 strategic and deploying , turning down 1086 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:26,850 vaccines and still deploying without 1087 00:42:26,850 --> 00:42:29,980 the vaccine . So , uh , in some cases , 1088 00:42:29,990 --> 00:42:32,323 yes , it's a voluntary vaccine . I mean , 1089 00:42:32,323 --> 00:42:34,780 you know , there are people in e think 1090 00:42:34,780 --> 00:42:36,891 every walk of life across our country 1091 00:42:36,891 --> 00:42:38,891 who are making this choice is there 1092 00:42:38,891 --> 00:42:40,613 offered the opportunity to get 1093 00:42:40,613 --> 00:42:42,780 vaccinated . It's certainly within the 1094 00:42:42,780 --> 00:42:44,891 Department of Defense . We have tried 1095 00:42:44,891 --> 00:42:46,947 very hard to make it clear this is a 1096 00:42:46,947 --> 00:42:48,780 voluntary vaccine , and while we 1097 00:42:48,780 --> 00:42:50,724 certainly encourage people , and I 1098 00:42:50,724 --> 00:42:52,558 asked for your help with that to 1099 00:42:52,558 --> 00:42:54,669 reinforce the safety and the efficacy 1100 00:42:54,669 --> 00:42:56,836 of this , it is ultimately a voluntary 1101 00:42:56,836 --> 00:43:00,050 vaccine , and so that the answer is yes 1102 00:43:00,060 --> 00:43:02,116 and when they deploy or they do some 1103 00:43:02,116 --> 00:43:04,171 important national security function 1104 00:43:04,171 --> 00:43:07,270 like , uh , nuclear . Uh , protection . 1105 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:10,330 Uh , they are allowed to continue to do 1106 00:43:10,330 --> 00:43:14,250 that job . Okay , gentlemen , 1107 00:43:14,250 --> 00:43:16,472 thank you very much for your time , and 1108 00:43:16,472 --> 00:43:18,639 we'll we'll transition here , Thio our 1109 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:20,820 phase two of the of the conference . 1110 00:43:21,900 --> 00:43:24,610 Thank you . Thanks . For what ? 1111 00:43:31,500 --> 00:43:35,280 Okay . You have a couple of things 1112 00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:37,447 toe read off the top of your Just bear 1113 00:43:37,447 --> 00:43:38,230 with me . 1114 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:49,140 Eso just some status updates . We have 1115 00:43:49,140 --> 00:43:51,196 made a lot of progress over the last 1116 00:43:51,196 --> 00:43:53,760 week alone and just getting , uh , new 1117 00:43:53,760 --> 00:43:56,090 members to the Defense Department team . 1118 00:43:56,100 --> 00:43:58,980 We've welcome now , 30 new 1119 00:43:58,990 --> 00:44:01,690 appointees , uh , in just the last week , 1120 00:44:01,690 --> 00:44:03,912 another dozen or slated for next week . 1121 00:44:03,990 --> 00:44:06,640 Of those , 25 came to the office of the 1122 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:09,270 Secretary Defense . The OSD staff two 1123 00:44:09,270 --> 00:44:11,214 went to Department of the Army and 1124 00:44:11,214 --> 00:44:13,381 three went to Department of the Navy . 1125 00:44:13,381 --> 00:44:15,570 Among these new arrivals are Kimberly 1126 00:44:15,570 --> 00:44:17,292 Jackson , the deputy assistant 1127 00:44:17,292 --> 00:44:19,237 Secretary of Defense for readiness 1128 00:44:19,237 --> 00:44:21,181 inside the Personnel and Readiness 1129 00:44:21,181 --> 00:44:23,403 Directorate . And Taylor Ferrell as the 1130 00:44:23,403 --> 00:44:25,570 deputy General counsel for environment 1131 00:44:25,570 --> 00:44:27,792 and installations on If you want a full 1132 00:44:27,792 --> 00:44:29,792 list of the people we've on boarded 1133 00:44:29,792 --> 00:44:31,959 happy to provide that after we're done 1134 00:44:31,959 --> 00:44:34,014 here , we also wanna obviously thank 1135 00:44:34,014 --> 00:44:36,126 Congress for their support in helping 1136 00:44:36,126 --> 00:44:38,348 us get some of these positions filled . 1137 00:44:38,348 --> 00:44:40,292 As you may know , next Tuesday the 1138 00:44:40,292 --> 00:44:39,650 Senate Armed Services Committee will 1139 00:44:39,650 --> 00:44:41,594 hold a confirmation hearing for Dr 1140 00:44:41,594 --> 00:44:43,817 Kathleen Hicks , who has been nominated 1141 00:44:43,817 --> 00:44:45,983 to be the deputy secretary . Defense . 1142 00:44:45,983 --> 00:44:45,930 We're grateful that that hearing got 1143 00:44:45,930 --> 00:44:47,986 scheduled in short order , and we're 1144 00:44:47,986 --> 00:44:50,097 certainly looking forward to a speedy 1145 00:44:50,097 --> 00:44:53,980 confirmation for Dr Hicks . We're 1146 00:44:53,980 --> 00:44:55,980 obviously very happy to see all our 1147 00:44:55,980 --> 00:44:58,036 rivals , and we thank them for their 1148 00:44:58,036 --> 00:45:00,258 willingness to serve . Now let me shift 1149 00:45:00,258 --> 00:45:02,147 gears to Secretary Austin . Think 1150 00:45:02,147 --> 00:45:04,091 you've been seeing that we've been 1151 00:45:04,091 --> 00:45:06,147 providing readouts of the calls that 1152 00:45:06,147 --> 00:45:08,313 he's made Thio several international , 1153 00:45:08,313 --> 00:45:10,536 uh , counterparts . Uh , he spoke again 1154 00:45:10,536 --> 00:45:13,310 today with the French foreign minister . 1155 00:45:13,390 --> 00:45:15,334 I'm sorry , French Minister of the 1156 00:45:15,334 --> 00:45:17,223 Armed Forces Florence Parlay , to 1157 00:45:17,223 --> 00:45:19,001 reinforce the importance of the 1158 00:45:19,001 --> 00:45:20,946 strategic alliance between our two 1159 00:45:20,946 --> 00:45:23,001 countries . Uh , they also discussed 1160 00:45:23,001 --> 00:45:25,168 security and stability in Africa , the 1161 00:45:25,168 --> 00:45:27,223 need for continued vigilance against 1162 00:45:27,223 --> 00:45:29,112 terrorism , the pandemic and , of 1163 00:45:29,112 --> 00:45:31,057 course , the situation in Iraq and 1164 00:45:31,057 --> 00:45:30,860 Afghanistan as well as the broader 1165 00:45:30,870 --> 00:45:34,070 Middle East . Hey thanked her for her 1166 00:45:34,070 --> 00:45:35,959 leadership on global security and 1167 00:45:35,959 --> 00:45:38,126 defense issues , said he looks forward 1168 00:45:38,126 --> 00:45:40,292 to continued dialogue in the future in 1169 00:45:40,292 --> 00:45:42,348 the future for the United States and 1170 00:45:42,348 --> 00:45:44,459 France toe work bilaterally and toe , 1171 00:45:44,459 --> 00:45:46,681 obviously , through the NATO alliance . 1172 00:45:46,681 --> 00:45:48,792 Second call he had today was with the 1173 00:45:48,792 --> 00:45:51,070 Israeli defense minister , Benny Gantz . 1174 00:45:51,070 --> 00:45:53,126 Mr . Ganz congratulated secretary on 1175 00:45:53,126 --> 00:45:55,530 his position and secretary reaffirmed , 1176 00:45:55,530 --> 00:45:58,480 of course , the strong partnership in 1177 00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:00,591 relationship that we have bilaterally 1178 00:46:00,591 --> 00:46:02,369 with Israel . The secretary did 1179 00:46:02,369 --> 00:46:04,630 reiterate US commitment to maintain 1180 00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:07,300 Israel's qualitative military edge , 1181 00:46:07,310 --> 00:46:09,366 and both leaders agreed to remain in 1182 00:46:09,366 --> 00:46:11,421 close coordination on shared defense 1183 00:46:11,421 --> 00:46:13,643 priorities , particularly in the region 1184 00:46:13,643 --> 00:46:15,643 but also around the world . I think 1185 00:46:15,643 --> 00:46:17,699 you'll see the secretary continue to 1186 00:46:17,699 --> 00:46:19,754 reach out , uh , counterparts , UH , 1187 00:46:19,754 --> 00:46:21,810 two more calls tomorrow , one to the 1188 00:46:21,810 --> 00:46:24,032 defense minister of Italy and the other 1189 00:46:24,032 --> 00:46:25,977 two . Defense Minister of Canada , 1190 00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:28,480 taken outside behind the beyond the 1191 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:30,536 building would like to announce that 1192 00:46:30,536 --> 00:46:32,702 Arlington National Cemetery's going to 1193 00:46:32,702 --> 00:46:34,869 commemorate the centennial of the Tomb 1194 00:46:34,869 --> 00:46:36,869 of the Unknown Soldier with a whole 1195 00:46:36,869 --> 00:46:38,813 year long tribute . For nearly 100 1196 00:46:38,813 --> 00:46:38,570 years , the tomb of the unknown many of 1197 00:46:38,570 --> 00:46:41,210 you have seen it have served as served 1198 00:46:41,210 --> 00:46:43,154 as the heart of Arlington National 1199 00:46:43,154 --> 00:46:45,043 Cemetery . It's truly of people's 1200 00:46:45,043 --> 00:46:47,099 memorial when inspires reflection on 1201 00:46:47,099 --> 00:46:49,840 service , valor , sacrifice and morning 1202 00:46:50,230 --> 00:46:52,640 as a sacred memorial site and the grave 1203 00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:54,529 of these unknown American service 1204 00:46:54,529 --> 00:46:56,584 members . The tomb connects visitors 1205 00:46:56,584 --> 00:46:58,640 with the legacy of the U . S . Armed 1206 00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:00,807 forces throughout our nation's history 1207 00:47:00,807 --> 00:47:00,520 and throughout the whole year . 1208 00:47:00,530 --> 00:47:02,752 Cemetery will hold events leading up to 1209 00:47:02,752 --> 00:47:04,752 the Centennial ceremony on November 1210 00:47:04,752 --> 00:47:07,790 11th of 2021 . They've got a website 1211 00:47:07,790 --> 00:47:09,846 set up . I encourage you to check it 1212 00:47:09,846 --> 00:47:12,012 out . All the events will be available 1213 00:47:12,012 --> 00:47:14,290 there with that start taking questions . 1214 00:47:14,290 --> 00:47:17,010 Lead him . So let's take another . Stop 1215 00:47:17,020 --> 00:47:17,500 this . 1216 00:47:17,720 --> 00:47:21,490 Let us 1217 00:47:21,500 --> 00:47:24,490 take another stab at this . Can you 1218 00:47:24,490 --> 00:47:28,260 give us some clarity on the FEMA 1219 00:47:28,260 --> 00:47:31,700 requests and what it may or may not 1220 00:47:31,710 --> 00:47:33,821 include ? What secretaries thought is 1221 00:47:33,821 --> 00:47:37,350 on that , um , active duty , not active 1222 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:39,850 duty medical units or whatever . And 1223 00:47:39,850 --> 00:47:42,610 then just secondarily secretary spoke 1224 00:47:42,610 --> 00:47:46,390 with Germany German mod yesterday . 1225 00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:49,530 What can you say about the secretary's 1226 00:47:49,530 --> 00:47:53,430 thoughts on the ongoing plan ? Toe pull 1227 00:47:53,430 --> 00:47:55,541 a significant number of troops out of 1228 00:47:55,541 --> 00:47:57,819 Germany . Okay , let me start with one . 1229 00:47:57,820 --> 00:47:59,764 If I forget to , which is likely . 1230 00:47:59,764 --> 00:48:01,987 Please remind me because those air both 1231 00:48:01,987 --> 00:48:04,090 weighty questions you just asked eso 1232 00:48:04,090 --> 00:48:07,670 Look on the on the FEMA request a z . I 1233 00:48:07,670 --> 00:48:10,080 think Mr Rose indicated we are in 1234 00:48:10,080 --> 00:48:13,600 receipt of requests by FEMA for , 1235 00:48:13,970 --> 00:48:16,300 uh , Defense Department capabilities to 1236 00:48:16,300 --> 00:48:19,190 assist in vaccine distribution . 1237 00:48:19,770 --> 00:48:22,800 I'm not able right now to go into great 1238 00:48:22,800 --> 00:48:26,030 detail into what that request is . It 1239 00:48:26,030 --> 00:48:29,000 is going through just like we would get 1240 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:32,090 from a combatant command . It's going 1241 00:48:32,090 --> 00:48:34,460 through the same process on it just 1242 00:48:34,460 --> 00:48:36,571 came in yesterday , actually , in the 1243 00:48:36,571 --> 00:48:40,290 evening on dso it is being analyzed for 1244 00:48:40,290 --> 00:48:43,880 re sourcing on risk by the 1245 00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:46,630 services . Uh , and that's again 1246 00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:48,640 typical process leader . You know , 1247 00:48:48,640 --> 00:48:50,862 that s Oh , I'm really load to get into 1248 00:48:50,862 --> 00:48:53,029 the each of the details of the request 1249 00:48:53,029 --> 00:48:55,196 now , So I think what you really it is 1250 00:48:55,196 --> 00:48:57,084 how how we gonna source it . So a 1251 00:48:57,084 --> 00:48:59,084 couple of thoughts , First of all , 1252 00:48:59,084 --> 00:49:00,918 we're obviously going to sources 1253 00:49:00,918 --> 00:49:02,973 request . I mean , the secretary has 1254 00:49:02,973 --> 00:49:05,084 made it very clear , uh , that we are 1255 00:49:05,084 --> 00:49:07,307 going to provide as much capability and 1256 00:49:07,307 --> 00:49:09,473 capacity as the Defense Department can 1257 00:49:09,473 --> 00:49:12,410 afford to do to help with this national 1258 00:49:12,410 --> 00:49:14,850 priority . We also have other jobs to 1259 00:49:14,850 --> 00:49:16,683 do clearly in the defense of the 1260 00:49:16,683 --> 00:49:18,850 country . And so there's risk whenever 1261 00:49:18,850 --> 00:49:18,690 you pull capabilities away , and we're 1262 00:49:18,690 --> 00:49:20,746 gonna have to balance that risk with 1263 00:49:20,746 --> 00:49:22,500 this request . But we're gonna 1264 00:49:22,500 --> 00:49:24,500 contribute on we're gonna and we're 1265 00:49:24,500 --> 00:49:26,389 going to do so in as aggressive a 1266 00:49:26,389 --> 00:49:29,350 manner as we can and just as we do with 1267 00:49:29,350 --> 00:49:32,070 every other request when we put it out 1268 00:49:32,070 --> 00:49:34,126 to the services for sourcing because 1269 00:49:34,126 --> 00:49:36,403 this would very much be a joint effort , 1270 00:49:36,403 --> 00:49:38,681 this would not fall on any one service . 1271 00:49:38,681 --> 00:49:41,700 Each service has medical , clinical and 1272 00:49:41,700 --> 00:49:43,644 non clinical as well as logistical 1273 00:49:43,644 --> 00:49:45,922 capability . So I would expect you see , 1274 00:49:45,922 --> 00:49:48,089 when we fill this request , it will be 1275 00:49:48,089 --> 00:49:50,311 done jointly across the services . Um , 1276 00:49:51,170 --> 00:49:53,114 I can't tell you defended the view 1277 00:49:53,114 --> 00:49:55,550 right now that it's gonna be , um uh , 1278 00:49:55,560 --> 00:49:57,830 this particular mix of active duty or 1279 00:49:57,830 --> 00:50:00,780 reserve or guard . Um , I would be 1280 00:50:00,780 --> 00:50:04,740 surprised if it isn't a mix of 1281 00:50:04,740 --> 00:50:06,907 all three , but again , it hasn't been 1282 00:50:06,907 --> 00:50:10,280 sourced yet . Um , and as for the 1283 00:50:10,290 --> 00:50:12,580 numbers , the numbers they asked for 1284 00:50:12,580 --> 00:50:14,580 versus the numbers , we're gonna be 1285 00:50:14,580 --> 00:50:16,747 able to source again . We're not there 1286 00:50:16,747 --> 00:50:18,802 yet because we also do have toe . We 1287 00:50:18,802 --> 00:50:20,980 have to balance the risk to , um , to 1288 00:50:20,980 --> 00:50:23,091 the medical capabilities that we need 1289 00:50:23,091 --> 00:50:25,147 in the fleet and in the field and to 1290 00:50:25,147 --> 00:50:27,480 care for our members and their families . 1291 00:50:27,560 --> 00:50:29,820 So it's a long answer to a good 1292 00:50:29,820 --> 00:50:31,931 question . I would just tell you that 1293 00:50:31,931 --> 00:50:33,820 it's going through the same exact 1294 00:50:33,820 --> 00:50:36,098 process that we would get and normally , 1295 00:50:36,098 --> 00:50:37,876 leader . And you know this . We 1296 00:50:37,876 --> 00:50:39,876 wouldn't sit up here and talk about 1297 00:50:39,876 --> 00:50:41,820 requests from combatant commands , 1298 00:50:41,820 --> 00:50:43,820 right ? Especially not before their 1299 00:50:43,820 --> 00:50:45,987 source . But in this case , we felt it 1300 00:50:45,987 --> 00:50:45,400 was important to acknowledge that we 1301 00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:47,820 got the request and that we are 1302 00:50:47,830 --> 00:50:50,270 actively sourcing it . When , um , I 1303 00:50:50,270 --> 00:50:52,910 gonna have answers for you . I don't 1304 00:50:52,910 --> 00:50:55,810 know the exact day , but I would say 1305 00:50:55,820 --> 00:50:58,470 we're talking days certainly not , 1306 00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:02,300 uh , weeks to get this source . We know 1307 00:51:02,300 --> 00:51:04,467 there's an urgency the secretary knows 1308 00:51:04,467 --> 00:51:06,633 is an urgency , and he's made it clear 1309 00:51:06,633 --> 00:51:08,856 that he wants the department to lean in 1310 00:51:08,856 --> 00:51:10,911 and lean forward with his much as we 1311 00:51:10,911 --> 00:51:12,967 can possibly dio . So I think you're 1312 00:51:12,967 --> 00:51:15,022 gonna see us figure out the sourcing 1313 00:51:15,022 --> 00:51:17,133 mechanism here within days . And when 1314 00:51:17,133 --> 00:51:18,967 we do and we have something more 1315 00:51:18,967 --> 00:51:21,140 definitive , we'll let you know . But 1316 00:51:21,140 --> 00:51:24,160 look for a look for a blend in a mix on 1317 00:51:24,160 --> 00:51:26,280 Germany . Uh , they had a great 1318 00:51:26,280 --> 00:51:29,760 conversation yesterday . Um , without 1319 00:51:29,760 --> 00:51:33,200 question , the issue of US force 1320 00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:36,230 presence in , uh , levels in Germany 1321 00:51:36,230 --> 00:51:38,800 came up clearly . Um , what I would 1322 00:51:38,800 --> 00:51:42,330 tell you is uh , that the secretary , 1323 00:51:43,260 --> 00:51:47,160 uh , made clear that he wants 1324 00:51:47,160 --> 00:51:49,560 to take a look globally at force 1325 00:51:49,560 --> 00:51:51,671 pressure , as you would expect him to 1326 00:51:51,671 --> 00:51:54,004 do when he first comes into office . Um , 1327 00:51:54,004 --> 00:51:56,060 eso Well , certainly we're certainly 1328 00:51:56,060 --> 00:51:58,282 gonna look at the European . Lay down . 1329 00:51:58,282 --> 00:52:00,116 Um , and we're gonna bounce that 1330 00:52:00,116 --> 00:52:02,338 against I'm sorry , Bounce . That's not 1331 00:52:02,338 --> 00:52:04,560 a good we're gonna measure it against , 1332 00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:06,227 uh , you know what ? What the 1333 00:52:06,227 --> 00:52:08,060 requirements are for the U . S . 1334 00:52:08,060 --> 00:52:10,116 Military and what our strategy is in 1335 00:52:10,116 --> 00:52:12,171 every region on deal . Think through 1336 00:52:12,171 --> 00:52:14,227 that thoughtfully with the advice of 1337 00:52:14,227 --> 00:52:16,449 both civilian and military leadership . 1338 00:52:16,449 --> 00:52:19,010 What he did assert to the defense 1339 00:52:19,010 --> 00:52:22,690 minister was that whatever decision 1340 00:52:23,150 --> 00:52:25,930 we make , we'll do it in consultation 1341 00:52:25,940 --> 00:52:27,940 with her and her government . There 1342 00:52:27,940 --> 00:52:30,170 won't be any surprises . It'll be a 1343 00:52:30,170 --> 00:52:32,392 collaborative effort as we look forward 1344 00:52:32,392 --> 00:52:34,559 and and lead . A last thing I'd say is 1345 00:52:34,559 --> 00:52:36,781 I don't want you to take away from this 1346 00:52:36,781 --> 00:52:40,320 answer that that there will be or won't 1347 00:52:40,320 --> 00:52:44,080 be any specific change . Uh , he made 1348 00:52:44,080 --> 00:52:46,980 it very clear , um , that he values the 1349 00:52:46,980 --> 00:52:49,680 support that we've received for so many 1350 00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:52,870 years from Germany as a veteran , uh , 1351 00:52:52,880 --> 00:52:54,991 fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan . He 1352 00:52:54,991 --> 00:52:57,047 well knows the key role , logistical 1353 00:52:57,047 --> 00:52:59,540 and medical role that that the German 1354 00:52:59,540 --> 00:53:01,429 government has played in terms of 1355 00:53:01,429 --> 00:53:03,930 providing us those the the 1356 00:53:03,930 --> 00:53:05,708 infrastructure to provide those 1357 00:53:05,708 --> 00:53:08,010 capabilities to the force . And I can 1358 00:53:08,010 --> 00:53:10,560 guarantee you that whatever we come to 1359 00:53:10,570 --> 00:53:12,610 it , it's going to be in the best 1360 00:53:12,610 --> 00:53:15,230 interest of our national security 1361 00:53:15,230 --> 00:53:17,990 interests and those of our key ally 1362 00:53:17,990 --> 00:53:21,490 Germany . That that gets you okay . 1363 00:53:21,850 --> 00:53:25,090 Uh , Afghanistan . Good . Thank you 1364 00:53:25,090 --> 00:53:26,979 very much . Welcome back . You're 1365 00:53:26,979 --> 00:53:29,257 welcome . Thank you . My name is Nazir . 1366 00:53:29,257 --> 00:53:31,479 Assume Karimi . I'm Afghan journalist E 1367 00:53:31,479 --> 00:53:35,110 No . You , uh what is the new The 1368 00:53:35,120 --> 00:53:37,760 plan ? Our strategy of Pentagon . Port 1369 00:53:37,760 --> 00:53:39,982 Afghanistan . All the Taliban announced 1370 00:53:39,982 --> 00:53:43,590 that if us bring some change to you , 1371 00:53:43,600 --> 00:53:46,590 US on Taliban agreement , they are 1372 00:53:46,600 --> 00:53:49,750 going to start again . War on , 1373 00:53:50,300 --> 00:53:53,380 start their attack toe use forces in 1374 00:53:53,380 --> 00:53:55,324 Afghanistan . Let's back up just a 1375 00:53:55,324 --> 00:53:58,890 little bit . Um , we are still involved 1376 00:53:58,900 --> 00:54:01,750 in trying to get a negotiated 1377 00:54:01,750 --> 00:54:04,330 settlement . The Taliban have not met 1378 00:54:04,330 --> 00:54:07,480 their commitments . Um , as you know , 1379 00:54:07,480 --> 00:54:09,930 there is a looming deadline of early 1380 00:54:09,930 --> 00:54:13,490 May that that before everybody in terms 1381 00:54:13,490 --> 00:54:16,480 of , you know , wanting toe have , um , 1382 00:54:16,840 --> 00:54:20,650 a solution here , but without them 1383 00:54:20,650 --> 00:54:23,120 meeting their commitments to renounce 1384 00:54:23,130 --> 00:54:26,870 terrorism and to the stop the violent 1385 00:54:26,870 --> 00:54:29,092 attacks on the Afghan National security 1386 00:54:29,092 --> 00:54:31,950 forces . And you know , by dent of that 1387 00:54:31,950 --> 00:54:34,172 the Afghan people . Um , it's very hard 1388 00:54:34,172 --> 00:54:37,860 to see um uh , a specific way 1389 00:54:37,860 --> 00:54:40,082 forward for the negotiated settlement , 1390 00:54:40,082 --> 00:54:42,082 but we're still committed to that . 1391 00:54:42,082 --> 00:54:41,750 There's no question about that . The 1392 00:54:41,750 --> 00:54:43,861 secretary has been clear in testimony 1393 00:54:43,861 --> 00:54:46,080 that the that that's that we need to 1394 00:54:46,080 --> 00:54:48,660 find a reasonable , rational end to 1395 00:54:48,660 --> 00:54:50,870 this war and that it's got to be done 1396 00:54:50,870 --> 00:54:52,926 through a negotiated settlement that 1397 00:54:52,926 --> 00:54:55,500 includes the Afghan government have to 1398 00:54:55,500 --> 00:54:57,640 be involved in this on Gus far . The 1399 00:54:57,640 --> 00:55:01,090 Taliban has been , to put it politely , 1400 00:55:01,090 --> 00:55:03,201 reticent to meet their requirements . 1401 00:55:03,201 --> 00:55:05,090 So and this gets to the the other 1402 00:55:05,090 --> 00:55:07,257 number , the other issue , which is US 1403 00:55:07,257 --> 00:55:09,423 force presence . So we're down to 2500 1404 00:55:09,423 --> 00:55:11,760 right now . Both General Miller , uh , 1405 00:55:11,770 --> 00:55:13,881 the commander in Afghanistan and , of 1406 00:55:13,881 --> 00:55:15,826 course , the chairman of the Joint 1407 00:55:15,826 --> 00:55:17,937 Chiefs gentlemanly have made it clear 1408 00:55:17,937 --> 00:55:19,770 that they believe that that is a 1409 00:55:19,770 --> 00:55:19,720 sufficient number to accomplish the 1410 00:55:19,720 --> 00:55:21,331 mission , which is largely a 1411 00:55:21,331 --> 00:55:23,498 counterterrorism mission . Right now , 1412 00:55:23,498 --> 00:55:25,442 uh , we have many NATO partners in 1413 00:55:25,442 --> 00:55:27,276 Afghanistan . In fact , that was 1414 00:55:27,276 --> 00:55:29,387 another thing that we talked that the 1415 00:55:29,387 --> 00:55:29,210 secretary talked about with the German 1416 00:55:29,210 --> 00:55:31,340 defense minister was their commitment 1417 00:55:31,350 --> 00:55:33,880 thio the NATO mission , who are also 1418 00:55:33,880 --> 00:55:35,824 involved in some advise and assist 1419 00:55:35,824 --> 00:55:38,050 missions as well . So right now we 1420 00:55:38,050 --> 00:55:40,272 think we have enough to do what we need 1421 00:55:40,272 --> 00:55:43,750 to do . Um uh , but there's 1422 00:55:44,410 --> 00:55:47,840 no there hasn't been any decisions made 1423 00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:50,380 now about what that force presence is 1424 00:55:50,380 --> 00:55:53,160 gonna look like going forward . And I 1425 00:55:53,160 --> 00:55:55,560 would say this to the leaders of the 1426 00:55:55,560 --> 00:55:59,270 Taliban that it is going to be the that 1427 00:55:59,280 --> 00:56:01,391 they make it that much more difficult 1428 00:56:01,391 --> 00:56:03,720 for final decision to be made about 1429 00:56:03,720 --> 00:56:06,020 force presence by their reticence , to 1430 00:56:06,030 --> 00:56:09,190 commit to reasonable , uh , 1431 00:56:09,200 --> 00:56:12,180 sustainable , incredible negotiations 1432 00:56:12,180 --> 00:56:14,430 at the table . Okay . E 1433 00:56:14,430 --> 00:56:19,070 o , 1434 00:56:19,080 --> 00:56:22,390 go ahead with your news . Nice to meet 1435 00:56:22,390 --> 00:56:24,612 you . Nice to meet you . Sort of a fall 1436 00:56:24,612 --> 00:56:26,723 upon leaders question . No follow ups 1437 00:56:26,723 --> 00:56:28,946 to leading questions . Okay , this will 1438 00:56:28,946 --> 00:56:31,112 be a new question . Once I'm done with 1439 00:56:31,112 --> 00:56:33,057 Lita , I'm done . This'll be a new 1440 00:56:33,057 --> 00:56:35,057 stream of questions . You mentioned 1441 00:56:35,057 --> 00:56:37,168 that he spoke today with Mr Parlay of 1442 00:56:37,168 --> 00:56:39,670 France . And you also said from here 1443 00:56:39,670 --> 00:56:41,837 that he's looking at the force posture 1444 00:56:41,837 --> 00:56:43,837 around the world last summer on the 1445 00:56:43,837 --> 00:56:45,948 trip by then Secretary experts , many 1446 00:56:45,948 --> 00:56:48,260 once minister . Parley sector s 1447 00:56:48,260 --> 00:56:50,316 pronounced the U . S . Was gonna cut 1448 00:56:50,316 --> 00:56:52,482 back significantly its support for the 1449 00:56:52,482 --> 00:56:54,427 French operations counterterrorism 1450 00:56:54,427 --> 00:56:56,593 operations in France . And of course , 1451 00:56:56,593 --> 00:56:58,927 we mean not in France . You mean Africa ? 1452 00:56:58,927 --> 00:57:01,260 French operations in Africa . Thank you , 1453 00:57:01,260 --> 00:57:03,340 Aziz . Well , I'm wondering the debt 1454 00:57:03,340 --> 00:57:05,340 come up as part of the conversation 1455 00:57:05,340 --> 00:57:08,530 today . And if so , is a review of the 1456 00:57:08,530 --> 00:57:12,300 U . S . Force posture in Africa helping 1457 00:57:12,300 --> 00:57:14,260 the French underway part of this . 1458 00:57:14,270 --> 00:57:16,190 Thank you . It did come up in the 1459 00:57:16,190 --> 00:57:18,412 conversation . I think I mentioned that 1460 00:57:18,412 --> 00:57:20,412 in the readout . They certainly did 1461 00:57:20,412 --> 00:57:22,412 talk about Africa and the set . And 1462 00:57:22,412 --> 00:57:24,579 that's a health Specifically , Um uh , 1463 00:57:24,579 --> 00:57:26,690 the secretary certainly didn't commit 1464 00:57:26,690 --> 00:57:28,579 to one course or another , but he 1465 00:57:28,579 --> 00:57:30,301 obviously , uh , expressed his 1466 00:57:30,301 --> 00:57:32,412 appreciation for the work that France 1467 00:57:32,412 --> 00:57:34,579 is doing counterterrorism wise , and , 1468 00:57:34,579 --> 00:57:36,357 uh , Onda pledged that we would 1469 00:57:36,357 --> 00:57:38,357 continue to look forward toe what ? 1470 00:57:38,357 --> 00:57:40,579 What ? Our contributions might or might 1471 00:57:40,579 --> 00:57:42,746 not look like going forward . So there 1472 00:57:42,746 --> 00:57:44,468 wasn't There wasn't a specific 1473 00:57:44,468 --> 00:57:46,579 commitment , but look , I mean , what 1474 00:57:46,579 --> 00:57:48,801 do the same same sort of with Germany ? 1475 00:57:48,801 --> 00:57:51,079 In other words , he's gonna look at it , 1476 00:57:51,079 --> 00:57:50,970 and that's where concert with that's 1477 00:57:50,970 --> 00:57:54,100 where I was going . Eso were weak one 1478 00:57:54,110 --> 00:57:56,770 into the job . Andi , I think it's fair 1479 00:57:56,780 --> 00:57:58,990 for everyone to expect that . The 1480 00:57:58,990 --> 00:58:01,212 secretary is gonna wanna take a look at 1481 00:58:01,212 --> 00:58:03,157 operations around the world . What 1482 00:58:03,157 --> 00:58:05,101 we're doing , whether it matches , 1483 00:58:05,101 --> 00:58:07,212 whether we're matching resource is to 1484 00:58:07,212 --> 00:58:08,990 the strategy , uh , whether the 1485 00:58:08,990 --> 00:58:11,480 strategy is itself appropriate . Um , 1486 00:58:11,490 --> 00:58:13,601 And then what kind of operations need 1487 00:58:13,601 --> 00:58:15,601 to be conducted going going forward 1488 00:58:15,601 --> 00:58:17,823 when we're talking about an operational 1489 00:58:17,823 --> 00:58:20,046 environment which were not in Germany , 1490 00:58:20,046 --> 00:58:22,157 it's largely that there's a There's a 1491 00:58:22,157 --> 00:58:24,323 large infrastructure there for forward 1492 00:58:24,323 --> 00:58:26,490 basing of some troops and facilities . 1493 00:58:26,490 --> 00:58:28,880 But I think it's fair to say that he 1494 00:58:28,880 --> 00:58:30,790 will be looking at all the force 1495 00:58:30,790 --> 00:58:32,970 presence around the world before he 1496 00:58:32,970 --> 00:58:35,690 makes any specific decisions . 1497 00:58:35,740 --> 00:58:39,440 E Thank you very much . Done . Nice to 1498 00:58:39,450 --> 00:58:41,840 meet you again . Yes . I'm Jenny . Back 1499 00:58:41,850 --> 00:58:45,140 E . Remember most all of you . Yeah , 1500 00:58:45,150 --> 00:58:47,310 we're coming back . Four years is too 1501 00:58:47,310 --> 00:58:51,280 short . Can you tell us about I have a 1502 00:58:51,290 --> 00:58:53,770 two occasions for you ? Can you tell us 1503 00:58:53,770 --> 00:58:56,910 about the vaccination state ? You know , 1504 00:58:56,910 --> 00:59:00,760 situations for the U . S . Troops 1505 00:59:01,120 --> 00:59:04,720 stationed overseas and second cation is 1506 00:59:04,730 --> 00:59:08,000 the joint military exercises between U . 1507 00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:11,270 S . And South Korea were suspended 1508 00:59:11,280 --> 00:59:14,540 during the trump administration . 1509 00:59:15,120 --> 00:59:17,200 So what is the bible of community 1510 00:59:17,430 --> 00:59:20,170 relations , you know , actually doing 1511 00:59:20,180 --> 00:59:22,520 these military exercises , right ? So 1512 00:59:22,520 --> 00:59:25,480 I'm not able to get into the specific 1513 00:59:25,480 --> 00:59:27,702 vaccination of troops overseas , but we 1514 00:59:27,702 --> 00:59:29,869 obviously can help pull that data . So 1515 00:59:29,869 --> 00:59:31,980 let me take that question , because I 1516 00:59:31,980 --> 00:59:34,147 don't wanna speak to something I don't 1517 00:59:34,147 --> 00:59:36,970 know about . Oh , thanks for the 1518 00:59:36,970 --> 00:59:39,650 reminder . Uh um , 1519 00:59:40,620 --> 00:59:42,570 again , I would refer you more 1520 00:59:42,570 --> 00:59:44,737 specifically to General Abrams and his 1521 00:59:44,737 --> 00:59:47,070 staff . I don't wanna speak before them , 1522 00:59:47,070 --> 00:59:50,160 I think just broadly right . We 1523 00:59:50,170 --> 00:59:52,340 recognize the value of training and 1524 00:59:52,340 --> 00:59:55,470 exercises to keep forces ready . And no 1525 00:59:55,470 --> 00:59:57,600 place is that more important than on 1526 00:59:57,600 --> 01:00:00,050 the Korean Peninsula . Um , and even 1527 01:00:00,050 --> 01:00:02,161 though some exercises were changed in 1528 01:00:02,161 --> 01:00:04,520 character or in fact , stopped over the 1529 01:00:04,520 --> 01:00:07,050 last couple of years while diplomatic 1530 01:00:07,050 --> 01:00:10,110 negotiations were going on with with 1531 01:00:10,110 --> 01:00:13,070 Pyongyang , um , I don't want to speak 1532 01:00:13,070 --> 01:00:14,626 for General Abrams about my 1533 01:00:14,626 --> 01:00:16,737 understanding is that they were still 1534 01:00:16,737 --> 01:00:18,870 able to exercise and to train at a 1535 01:00:18,870 --> 01:00:22,000 level that kept readiness capability 1536 01:00:22,010 --> 01:00:25,080 intact . And that is certainly what the 1537 01:00:25,080 --> 01:00:27,280 secretary is committed to doing . And 1538 01:00:27,280 --> 01:00:30,260 he'll work with , uh , with his 1539 01:00:30,260 --> 01:00:33,150 civilian staff as well as , uh , the 1540 01:00:33,160 --> 01:00:35,260 chairman and General Abrams going 1541 01:00:35,260 --> 01:00:37,316 forward to make sure that that's the 1542 01:00:37,316 --> 01:00:39,482 case . I mean , the , you know , ready 1543 01:00:39,482 --> 01:00:41,371 to fight tonight is is not just a 1544 01:00:41,371 --> 01:00:43,540 slogan . It actually means something 1545 01:00:43,540 --> 01:00:45,373 there on the peninsula . And the 1546 01:00:45,373 --> 01:00:47,484 secretary is committed to that . What 1547 01:00:47,484 --> 01:00:49,707 that exercise regime is gonna look like 1548 01:00:49,707 --> 01:00:51,818 specifically going forward . I'm just 1549 01:00:51,818 --> 01:00:53,929 not prepared , uh , to tell you , but 1550 01:00:53,929 --> 01:00:55,929 we he fully understands the need to 1551 01:00:55,929 --> 01:00:57,707 stay ready , and we're gonna be 1552 01:00:57,707 --> 01:00:59,929 committed to that about North Korea's , 1553 01:00:59,929 --> 01:01:03,340 you know , new development of a new 1554 01:01:03,350 --> 01:01:05,770 state of being . I'm sorry . The 1555 01:01:05,780 --> 01:01:07,891 development of environmental over the 1556 01:01:07,891 --> 01:01:10,610 new SLBM submarine launched ballistic 1557 01:01:10,610 --> 01:01:12,580 missile . Somebody launch missile 1558 01:01:13,070 --> 01:01:17,000 submarines . Yeah , I got work 1559 01:01:17,010 --> 01:01:20,290 for four years s . Oh , 1560 01:01:20,300 --> 01:01:23,810 yeah . Thank you for that reminder , 1561 01:01:23,810 --> 01:01:27,420 Mike . So I'm not gonna get into 1562 01:01:27,430 --> 01:01:30,450 assessments of specific 1563 01:01:30,460 --> 01:01:33,790 weapons systems now , but I'll just say 1564 01:01:33,790 --> 01:01:37,510 is , um was certainly mindful of of 1565 01:01:37,520 --> 01:01:39,640 Pyongyang's desire to advance their 1566 01:01:39,640 --> 01:01:41,862 military capabilities . We know exactly 1567 01:01:41,862 --> 01:01:43,696 what those military capabilities 1568 01:01:43,696 --> 01:01:45,751 resigned to do . Um , and , um , and 1569 01:01:45,751 --> 01:01:47,918 we're gonna continue to make sure that 1570 01:01:47,918 --> 01:01:50,029 we have the readiness posture we need 1571 01:01:50,029 --> 01:01:52,196 on the Korean Peninsula . I think I'll 1572 01:01:52,196 --> 01:01:52,000 leave it at that . Let me let me get a 1573 01:01:52,010 --> 01:01:54,290 question from the phone . I think bar 1574 01:01:54,290 --> 01:01:58,090 Barbara you on . I am . I have to 1575 01:01:58,090 --> 01:02:00,310 specific questions . I wanted to ask 1576 01:02:00,310 --> 01:02:03,390 you , uh , to bring us up to date as 1577 01:02:03,400 --> 01:02:05,570 much as possible in as much detail as 1578 01:02:05,570 --> 01:02:08,440 possible about the work so far on 1579 01:02:08,440 --> 01:02:10,920 trying to find a way ahead on 1580 01:02:10,930 --> 01:02:13,570 countering domestic extremism in the 1581 01:02:13,570 --> 01:02:15,848 military . What you've been looking at , 1582 01:02:15,848 --> 01:02:17,903 what meetings ? You're having , what 1583 01:02:17,903 --> 01:02:20,126 your thoughts are . But first I want to 1584 01:02:20,126 --> 01:02:21,848 go back to what you said about 1585 01:02:21,848 --> 01:02:24,100 Afghanistan . You said it's very hard 1586 01:02:24,100 --> 01:02:26,100 to see a specific way forward for a 1587 01:02:26,100 --> 01:02:29,150 negotiated settlement decisions 1588 01:02:29,750 --> 01:02:33,550 made on going forward . You seem 1589 01:02:33,560 --> 01:02:37,330 very much to be raising the prospect 1590 01:02:38,000 --> 01:02:41,570 off , keeping the door open to not 1591 01:02:41,850 --> 01:02:45,190 going to zero in May because you're 1592 01:02:45,190 --> 01:02:48,100 saying it's hard to see a specific way 1593 01:02:48,100 --> 01:02:50,560 forward for the negotiated settlement . 1594 01:02:50,570 --> 01:02:53,550 Is are you saying that the decision to 1595 01:02:53,550 --> 01:02:57,120 go to zero is still open to review 1596 01:02:57,500 --> 01:02:59,210 and discussion in the Biden 1597 01:02:59,210 --> 01:03:02,100 administration ? What I'm saying is 1598 01:03:02,100 --> 01:03:05,680 that any decision of of 1599 01:03:06,200 --> 01:03:10,130 force levels in Afghanistan eyes going 1600 01:03:10,130 --> 01:03:12,520 to be driven by , um , 1601 01:03:13,700 --> 01:03:16,310 our security requirements . There are 1602 01:03:16,310 --> 01:03:18,920 security commitments there and driven 1603 01:03:18,920 --> 01:03:21,310 by conditions . Andi , I think we've 1604 01:03:21,310 --> 01:03:23,700 been very clear about that bar . There 1605 01:03:23,710 --> 01:03:25,932 will be conditions based . We obviously 1606 01:03:25,932 --> 01:03:28,043 want to see a responsible end of this 1607 01:03:28,043 --> 01:03:29,766 war . We obviously want to see 1608 01:03:29,766 --> 01:03:31,821 successful negotiated settlements to 1609 01:03:31,821 --> 01:03:34,043 end it . We obviously want to see those 1610 01:03:34,043 --> 01:03:36,210 settlements include , uh , the Taliban 1611 01:03:36,210 --> 01:03:38,432 and the elected Afghan government . But 1612 01:03:38,432 --> 01:03:40,654 we have a commitment to toe Afghanistan 1613 01:03:40,654 --> 01:03:42,710 and toe and into the Afghan national 1614 01:03:42,710 --> 01:03:42,240 security forces that we take very 1615 01:03:42,240 --> 01:03:46,190 seriously . S o I don't wanna get into 1616 01:03:46,190 --> 01:03:49,630 hypotheticals or , uh , you know , our 1617 01:03:49,640 --> 01:03:52,640 or try to predict certain outcomes . Um , 1618 01:03:52,650 --> 01:03:54,817 I could tell you that that's still the 1619 01:03:54,817 --> 01:03:56,928 goal . We still we know that that May 1620 01:03:56,928 --> 01:03:58,983 that may deadline is out there . But 1621 01:03:58,983 --> 01:04:01,150 we're gonna be making our decisions in 1622 01:04:01,150 --> 01:04:04,510 a sober , rational , um , manner that 1623 01:04:04,510 --> 01:04:07,420 is driven by , um , what's in our best 1624 01:04:07,420 --> 01:04:09,642 interest in the interest of our partner 1625 01:04:09,642 --> 01:04:11,587 in Afghanistan as well as our NATO 1626 01:04:11,587 --> 01:04:13,809 partners and allies to So the notion of 1627 01:04:13,809 --> 01:04:15,809 which General Miller , I think , is 1628 01:04:15,809 --> 01:04:17,753 articulated You would keep a small 1629 01:04:17,753 --> 01:04:19,920 amount for counterterrorism . Al Qaeda 1630 01:04:19,920 --> 01:04:22,142 isis case Should it be there , but that 1631 01:04:22,142 --> 01:04:24,410 the agreement you reach was under the 1632 01:04:24,420 --> 01:04:27,760 Trump administration was to signed , I 1633 01:04:27,760 --> 01:04:29,760 believe was to go to zero . And now 1634 01:04:29,760 --> 01:04:32,840 you're saying that is a goal so it is 1635 01:04:32,850 --> 01:04:36,360 under discussion to not go to zero . It 1636 01:04:36,360 --> 01:04:39,400 is . It is under discussion , 1637 01:04:39,410 --> 01:04:43,070 Uh , with our partners and allies , uh , 1638 01:04:43,080 --> 01:04:45,024 to make the best decisions , going 1639 01:04:45,024 --> 01:04:48,690 forward on on on force presence . Uh , 1640 01:04:48,700 --> 01:04:51,340 in Afghanistan . Um , I think again , 1641 01:04:51,340 --> 01:04:53,396 as the secretary has been very clear 1642 01:04:53,396 --> 01:04:56,070 and President Biden has to it zits time 1643 01:04:56,070 --> 01:04:58,260 to end this war . But we want to do it 1644 01:04:58,260 --> 01:05:00,149 responsibly . We want to do it in 1645 01:05:00,149 --> 01:05:02,093 keeping with our national security 1646 01:05:02,093 --> 01:05:03,982 interests and those of our Afghan 1647 01:05:03,982 --> 01:05:06,038 partners . Um , so I don't wanna I'm 1648 01:05:06,038 --> 01:05:08,204 not trying to dodge the question . I'm 1649 01:05:08,204 --> 01:05:10,427 telling you that . Just like the answer 1650 01:05:10,427 --> 01:05:12,540 to lead on Germany . Uh , we're gonna 1651 01:05:12,540 --> 01:05:14,818 take a broad look here , going forward . 1652 01:05:14,818 --> 01:05:17,096 About what ? What makes the most sense . 1653 01:05:17,096 --> 01:05:19,190 As I said right now , General Miller 1654 01:05:19,200 --> 01:05:21,256 and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs 1655 01:05:21,256 --> 01:05:24,060 believe that 2500 is enough to do the 1656 01:05:24,060 --> 01:05:26,171 job they've been given . The question 1657 01:05:26,171 --> 01:05:30,110 is , uh you know , uh , how much longer 1658 01:05:30,120 --> 01:05:32,231 do they need to keep doing that job ? 1659 01:05:32,231 --> 01:05:34,360 And if we can get to a negotiated 1660 01:05:34,360 --> 01:05:36,416 settlement , then there won't be the 1661 01:05:36,416 --> 01:05:38,638 need for those troops right now . There 1662 01:05:38,638 --> 01:05:40,638 is , and it's difficult . In fact , 1663 01:05:40,638 --> 01:05:42,749 impossible . Uh , toe , look out here 1664 01:05:42,749 --> 01:05:45,800 on the 28th of January too early May to 1665 01:05:45,800 --> 01:05:47,967 see exactly where we're gonna be . But 1666 01:05:47,967 --> 01:05:49,911 we're gonna constantly , and we'll 1667 01:05:49,911 --> 01:05:52,022 constantly talk to you about it , but 1668 01:05:52,022 --> 01:05:54,189 we're gonna constantly review it as we 1669 01:05:54,189 --> 01:05:53,810 do elsewhere . And you had another 1670 01:05:53,810 --> 01:05:56,360 question . Bar domestic extremism . As 1671 01:05:56,370 --> 01:05:58,820 much as you can tell us about what you 1672 01:05:58,830 --> 01:06:00,830 what you've been doing in the first 1673 01:06:00,830 --> 01:06:02,886 week to try and look at that issue , 1674 01:06:02,886 --> 01:06:04,830 which the secretary I believe also 1675 01:06:04,830 --> 01:06:07,052 identified is a top priority . He did . 1676 01:06:07,052 --> 01:06:09,163 I could tell you that he and Chairman 1677 01:06:09,163 --> 01:06:10,830 Millie have spoken about this 1678 01:06:10,830 --> 01:06:14,020 particular issue on they both expressed 1679 01:06:14,020 --> 01:06:16,242 their commitment to trying to get after 1680 01:06:16,242 --> 01:06:19,640 it to find the best way forward . Um uh , 1681 01:06:19,650 --> 01:06:21,817 to understand the scope of the problem 1682 01:06:21,817 --> 01:06:25,600 inside the ranks on to better deal with 1683 01:06:25,610 --> 01:06:28,050 the behavior , the conduct , um , that 1684 01:06:28,050 --> 01:06:31,110 is driven by , uh , by extremist 1685 01:06:31,110 --> 01:06:33,332 beliefs . I want to say at the outset . 1686 01:06:33,332 --> 01:06:36,100 And I know , uh , you understand this , 1687 01:06:36,180 --> 01:06:38,930 But the vast , vast majority of men and 1688 01:06:38,930 --> 01:06:40,930 women in the United States military 1689 01:06:40,930 --> 01:06:42,986 served with honor and with character 1690 01:06:42,986 --> 01:06:45,041 and integrity and dignity , and they 1691 01:06:45,041 --> 01:06:47,041 don't espouse , uh , these sorts of 1692 01:06:47,041 --> 01:06:49,097 dangerous beliefs . But that doesn't 1693 01:06:49,097 --> 01:06:51,319 mean that even the small number , while 1694 01:06:51,319 --> 01:06:53,374 it may be small , is insignificant . 1695 01:06:53,374 --> 01:06:55,430 And that and it doesn't mean that we 1696 01:06:55,430 --> 01:06:55,060 don't think that there might be a 1697 01:06:55,060 --> 01:06:57,060 problem . The problem is , we don't 1698 01:06:57,060 --> 01:06:59,282 understand the full scope of it . So he 1699 01:06:59,282 --> 01:07:01,393 and chairman really have talked about 1700 01:07:01,393 --> 01:07:03,616 this . There is , I think you guys know 1701 01:07:03,616 --> 01:07:05,727 and have reported on had already been 1702 01:07:05,727 --> 01:07:08,320 an ongoing review by the personnel and 1703 01:07:08,320 --> 01:07:10,410 Readiness Director here at the 1704 01:07:10,410 --> 01:07:12,354 department to look specifically at 1705 01:07:12,354 --> 01:07:14,577 extremism toe Look at policies , laws , 1706 01:07:14,577 --> 01:07:17,640 regulations , uh , that govern the 1707 01:07:17,650 --> 01:07:20,110 conduct driven by extremist police on 1708 01:07:20,120 --> 01:07:21,953 to see whether there needs to be 1709 01:07:21,953 --> 01:07:23,898 changes . That work is ongoing and 1710 01:07:23,898 --> 01:07:26,064 continues . The secretary has not shut 1711 01:07:26,064 --> 01:07:28,680 that down . They have toe finish their 1712 01:07:28,680 --> 01:07:31,340 initial work by the end of March , so 1713 01:07:31,340 --> 01:07:34,170 very soon here , with a plan to come up 1714 01:07:34,170 --> 01:07:36,960 with milestones to be completed by mid 1715 01:07:36,970 --> 01:07:39,137 summer . I think so . The secretary is 1716 01:07:39,137 --> 01:07:41,303 not going to stop that work . He wants 1717 01:07:41,303 --> 01:07:43,359 them to keep doing that . But in the 1718 01:07:43,359 --> 01:07:45,303 meantime , he's also , as I said , 1719 01:07:45,303 --> 01:07:44,750 meeting with the chairman Millie , and 1720 01:07:44,750 --> 01:07:46,694 he's gonna be talking toe military 1721 01:07:46,694 --> 01:07:48,861 leaders going forward about about what 1722 01:07:48,861 --> 01:07:51,028 they think the scope of the problem is 1723 01:07:51,028 --> 01:07:54,800 Tom . Good , good , Tom . You expect 1724 01:07:54,810 --> 01:07:56,866 the secretary expect in the chairman 1725 01:07:56,866 --> 01:07:59,990 Expect fairly soon to get a nice idea 1726 01:07:59,990 --> 01:08:02,157 on the scope of the problem . How many 1727 01:08:02,157 --> 01:08:03,934 people have been kicked out for 1728 01:08:03,934 --> 01:08:06,101 extremist behavior , how many recruits 1729 01:08:06,101 --> 01:08:08,157 turned away for extremist behavior , 1730 01:08:08,157 --> 01:08:10,379 and then how many investigations by the 1731 01:08:10,379 --> 01:08:12,546 FBI ? We got figures from the FBI just 1732 01:08:12,546 --> 01:08:15,520 for 2020 and half of the investigations 1733 01:08:15,520 --> 01:08:18,860 by FBI last year half of them involved 1734 01:08:18,860 --> 01:08:21,440 domestic extremism . Do we expect to 1735 01:08:21,440 --> 01:08:23,470 get a sense of the numbers , which 1736 01:08:23,470 --> 01:08:25,637 would give you a sense of the scope of 1737 01:08:25,637 --> 01:08:27,890 the problem ? I think 1738 01:08:29,770 --> 01:08:32,230 in a perfect world , Tom , the answer 1739 01:08:32,230 --> 01:08:34,452 to that would be yes , we would like to 1740 01:08:34,452 --> 01:08:36,619 get that . The problem is , it's not a 1741 01:08:36,619 --> 01:08:38,674 perfect world , particularly when it 1742 01:08:38,674 --> 01:08:38,430 comes to this problem , because so many 1743 01:08:38,430 --> 01:08:41,280 of the cases of conduct , 1744 01:08:42,670 --> 01:08:46,470 um , by people with extremist beliefs 1745 01:08:46,480 --> 01:08:49,040 are adjudicated through the civilian 1746 01:08:49,040 --> 01:08:52,770 investigative law , enforcement on and 1747 01:08:52,780 --> 01:08:55,380 judicial processes . So , for instance , 1748 01:08:55,390 --> 01:08:59,130 um , we received 143 notifications of 1749 01:08:59,130 --> 01:09:01,870 investigation from the FBI last year 1750 01:09:01,870 --> 01:09:05,740 for all conduct . 68 of them pertain to 1751 01:09:05,740 --> 01:09:09,170 domestic extremism . Um , so sometimes 1752 01:09:09,170 --> 01:09:11,710 we are . We are sort of beholding to 1753 01:09:11,710 --> 01:09:15,140 the civilian law enforcement apparatus 1754 01:09:15,150 --> 01:09:18,180 for that kind of data . Um , uh , that 1755 01:09:18,180 --> 01:09:20,236 doesn't mean it's exclusively that , 1756 01:09:20,236 --> 01:09:22,490 but mostly it's driven by civilian law 1757 01:09:22,490 --> 01:09:25,010 enforcement data . Um , and you don't 1758 01:09:25,010 --> 01:09:26,954 know what you don't know , right ? 1759 01:09:26,954 --> 01:09:29,066 Until somebody acts on these kinds of 1760 01:09:29,066 --> 01:09:31,410 beliefs . Eso it's very difficult . 1761 01:09:31,420 --> 01:09:34,840 Thio get a hand on how many people at 1762 01:09:34,840 --> 01:09:37,007 any given time espoused these kinds of 1763 01:09:37,007 --> 01:09:39,480 beliefs and how many how many act on it 1764 01:09:39,490 --> 01:09:41,268 and so back to recruiting , for 1765 01:09:41,268 --> 01:09:43,379 instance . You know , this I mean way 1766 01:09:43,379 --> 01:09:46,050 do extensive vetting and , uh , of 1767 01:09:46,060 --> 01:09:49,300 screening of of recruits . Just because 1768 01:09:49,300 --> 01:09:52,340 somebody comes in okay doesn't mean 1769 01:09:52,340 --> 01:09:54,520 that they somehow developed radical 1770 01:09:54,530 --> 01:09:56,760 beliefs while they're in through 1771 01:09:56,760 --> 01:09:59,310 exposure online or from colleagues . 1772 01:09:59,320 --> 01:10:01,490 Eso It's very it's very difficult to 1773 01:10:01,490 --> 01:10:03,546 get at the root of that . Where does 1774 01:10:03,546 --> 01:10:05,601 the radicalization begin ? On How do 1775 01:10:05,601 --> 01:10:07,601 you get to the left of that ? And I 1776 01:10:07,601 --> 01:10:07,530 think that's one of the things that 1777 01:10:07,530 --> 01:10:09,697 they want to explore again . If you're 1778 01:10:09,697 --> 01:10:11,752 getting just one figure from the FBI 1779 01:10:11,752 --> 01:10:15,000 from 2020 I mean , why can't you guys 1780 01:10:15,010 --> 01:10:17,177 we can ask the FBI , but they're gonna 1781 01:10:17,177 --> 01:10:19,420 listen to you much more than us . Why 1782 01:10:19,420 --> 01:10:21,650 can't we get a numbers going back 10 1783 01:10:21,650 --> 01:10:23,872 years from the FBI ? Has this increased 1784 01:10:23,872 --> 01:10:26,150 over the past number of years ? I mean , 1785 01:10:26,150 --> 01:10:28,372 that's the kind of thing that everybody 1786 01:10:28,372 --> 01:10:30,594 would want to know , right ? Well , I I 1787 01:10:30,594 --> 01:10:32,650 want you to the FBI for that kind of 1788 01:10:32,650 --> 01:10:35,870 data . I mean , but and e get it . And 1789 01:10:35,880 --> 01:10:38,590 and , uh , remember , the disciplinary 1790 01:10:38,590 --> 01:10:40,701 issues in the military are handled by 1791 01:10:40,701 --> 01:10:43,510 the services . Um , eso again . One of 1792 01:10:43,510 --> 01:10:45,677 the things I think we're looking at is 1793 01:10:45,677 --> 01:10:47,677 how do we get how do we do the data 1794 01:10:47,677 --> 01:10:49,954 pool ? How do we get better visibility , 1795 01:10:49,960 --> 01:10:52,071 Onda . We just don't have the answers 1796 01:10:52,071 --> 01:10:54,238 right now that a lot of this is driven 1797 01:10:54,238 --> 01:10:56,071 by the services themselves . And 1798 01:10:56,071 --> 01:11:00,030 sometimes , um , you know , sometimes 1799 01:11:00,030 --> 01:11:02,320 the conduct itself while it may be 1800 01:11:02,320 --> 01:11:04,580 driven by an extremist belief is not 1801 01:11:04,960 --> 01:11:07,440 not not a behavior that you 1802 01:11:07,440 --> 01:11:09,607 automatically look at and say , Okay , 1803 01:11:09,607 --> 01:11:11,662 well , there's white supremacy , you 1804 01:11:11,662 --> 01:11:14,250 know , Maybe it's a violent crime , um , 1805 01:11:14,260 --> 01:11:16,700 on one service member to another , and 1806 01:11:16,700 --> 01:11:18,720 it's not exactly clear what the 1807 01:11:18,720 --> 01:11:20,720 motivation was . The motivation may 1808 01:11:20,720 --> 01:11:22,831 have been extremist police . That may 1809 01:11:22,831 --> 01:11:24,331 not manifest itself in the 1810 01:11:24,331 --> 01:11:26,442 investigative and adjudication in the 1811 01:11:26,442 --> 01:11:28,609 military justice system . It may not . 1812 01:11:28,609 --> 01:11:30,664 It just may not manifest itself , so 1813 01:11:30,664 --> 01:11:32,942 it's hard to get a perfect grasp on it . 1814 01:11:32,942 --> 01:11:35,053 But you're hitting it exactly why the 1815 01:11:35,053 --> 01:11:37,164 secretary and the chairman are taking 1816 01:11:37,164 --> 01:11:39,387 this so seriously and want to get a bit 1817 01:11:39,387 --> 01:11:41,498 of grip on it . I don't think anybody 1818 01:11:41,498 --> 01:11:43,664 can assure you that we're gonna know , 1819 01:11:43,664 --> 01:11:45,887 uh , down to the very specific detail , 1820 01:11:45,887 --> 01:11:47,720 every single case , Uh , in what 1821 01:11:47,720 --> 01:11:49,720 motivated it . But I could tell you 1822 01:11:49,720 --> 01:11:52,053 they're committed to trying to find out . 1823 01:11:52,053 --> 01:11:54,220 And so , um , as as they start to look 1824 01:11:54,220 --> 01:11:56,442 at this I mean , the what we don't know 1825 01:11:56,442 --> 01:11:58,609 and why we don't know it is gonna be a 1826 01:11:58,609 --> 01:12:00,940 part of that calculus . I'm in 1827 01:12:00,940 --> 01:12:03,162 Afghanistan and Iran . I'm gonna follow 1828 01:12:03,162 --> 01:12:05,520 up on Afghanistan , e Afghanistan and 1829 01:12:05,530 --> 01:12:08,030 good Stan and Iran . So first I'm gonna 1830 01:12:08,040 --> 01:12:10,096 do something . Yeah , it seems to me 1831 01:12:10,096 --> 01:12:13,070 you're making a new interpretation of 1832 01:12:13,070 --> 01:12:14,959 the agreement with Taliban signed 1833 01:12:14,959 --> 01:12:17,210 indoor because the issue of political 1834 01:12:17,210 --> 01:12:19,266 reconciliation has has nothing to do 1835 01:12:19,266 --> 01:12:21,810 with the level of U . S . Troops based 1836 01:12:21,810 --> 01:12:23,950 on what was declared back then in 1837 01:12:23,950 --> 01:12:26,820 February . So my question is , this is 1838 01:12:26,820 --> 01:12:29,042 the U . S . Still committed and pulling 1839 01:12:29,042 --> 01:12:32,220 out all troops by May If Iran cut If 1840 01:12:32,220 --> 01:12:35,410 Taliban cut all ties with terrorist 1841 01:12:35,420 --> 01:12:37,587 organization , that's the first one on 1842 01:12:37,587 --> 01:12:39,590 Iran . Can you share with us ? Um , 1843 01:12:40,250 --> 01:12:43,170 your assessment of the state of play 1844 01:12:43,170 --> 01:12:45,392 with Iran . Now you're still seeing the 1845 01:12:45,392 --> 01:12:48,250 same level of off Tension with or 1846 01:12:48,260 --> 01:12:50,430 threats coming from Iran has been 1847 01:12:50,430 --> 01:12:53,370 assessed previously by this building 1848 01:12:53,850 --> 01:12:57,700 and we saw yesterday like continuation 1849 01:12:57,700 --> 01:13:00,090 of sending B 52 to the region . We 1850 01:13:00,090 --> 01:13:02,201 heard from Israel top general talking 1851 01:13:02,201 --> 01:13:05,050 about readying plans for military plans 1852 01:13:05,050 --> 01:13:07,217 against Iran . Do you think these type 1853 01:13:07,217 --> 01:13:10,410 off moves on statements are conducive ? 1854 01:13:10,420 --> 01:13:13,600 Thio creating more room for diplomacy . 1855 01:13:14,950 --> 01:13:17,590 Okay , on on Afghanistan , Um , 1856 01:13:18,450 --> 01:13:21,460 I think I was pretty clear . I don't 1857 01:13:21,470 --> 01:13:23,581 think I was trying to reinterpret the 1858 01:13:23,581 --> 01:13:25,920 political settlement insulation . 1859 01:13:25,920 --> 01:13:28,580 Reconciliation is an Afghani track 1860 01:13:28,580 --> 01:13:31,260 separate from pulling out what we know . 1861 01:13:31,260 --> 01:13:33,427 I said that I said the Taliban are not 1862 01:13:33,427 --> 01:13:35,427 meeting their commitments to reduce 1863 01:13:35,427 --> 01:13:38,640 violence and to renounce their ties toe 1864 01:13:38,640 --> 01:13:40,696 Al Qaeda . They're not meeting their 1865 01:13:40,696 --> 01:13:42,760 commitments , and as long as they're 1866 01:13:42,760 --> 01:13:44,816 not meeting their commitments , it's 1867 01:13:44,816 --> 01:13:47,030 going to be difficult for anybody at 1868 01:13:47,040 --> 01:13:49,096 that negotiating table to meet their 1869 01:13:49,096 --> 01:13:51,262 commitments . In fact , it wouldn't be 1870 01:13:51,262 --> 01:13:52,984 the wise course . I mean way , 1871 01:13:52,984 --> 01:13:55,207 obviously are still committed to ending 1872 01:13:55,207 --> 01:13:57,262 this war , but we want to do it in a 1873 01:13:57,262 --> 01:13:59,429 responsible way . Andi . I don't think 1874 01:13:59,429 --> 01:14:01,318 it's helpful to be drawn now into 1875 01:14:01,318 --> 01:14:03,318 specific , hypothetical discussions 1876 01:14:03,318 --> 01:14:05,540 about the troop numbers on a you know , 1877 01:14:05,540 --> 01:14:07,651 specific calendar basis . We're still 1878 01:14:07,651 --> 01:14:09,762 committed to ending this war , and we 1879 01:14:09,762 --> 01:14:11,762 obviously the president has made it 1880 01:14:11,762 --> 01:14:13,984 clear he wants to bring American troops 1881 01:14:13,984 --> 01:14:16,207 home from Afghanistan . But we're going 1882 01:14:16,207 --> 01:14:17,873 to do it in lockstep with the 1883 01:14:17,873 --> 01:14:19,873 diplomatic process to try to find a 1884 01:14:19,873 --> 01:14:22,040 negotiated settlement . I'm not trying 1885 01:14:22,040 --> 01:14:24,096 to recast that question is not about 1886 01:14:24,096 --> 01:14:26,040 ending before . My question is not 1887 01:14:26,040 --> 01:14:28,207 hypothetical . It's about an agreement 1888 01:14:28,207 --> 01:14:30,207 that the U . S . Signed by which it 1889 01:14:30,207 --> 01:14:32,262 should pull out all troops by May if 1890 01:14:32,262 --> 01:14:34,484 Taliban at its own requirements is that 1891 01:14:34,484 --> 01:14:37,250 still the you're still . But of course 1892 01:14:37,250 --> 01:14:39,306 we are , but it's a big if present . 1893 01:14:39,306 --> 01:14:41,600 It's a Taliban . Yeah , so if Taliban 1894 01:14:41,600 --> 01:14:43,720 committed its own , uh , met its own 1895 01:14:43,720 --> 01:14:45,831 commitments , you are willing to pull 1896 01:14:45,831 --> 01:14:48,180 out fully by made there is no change . 1897 01:14:48,180 --> 01:14:50,291 Let me put it very clear . There's no 1898 01:14:50,291 --> 01:14:52,458 change to the commitments we've made , 1899 01:14:52,540 --> 01:14:55,710 and that was done previous to are 1900 01:14:55,710 --> 01:14:57,821 coming in . There's no been no change 1901 01:14:57,821 --> 01:14:59,932 that we all want to see an end of the 1902 01:14:59,932 --> 01:15:03,810 war . But you said if the Taliban meet 1903 01:15:03,810 --> 01:15:05,977 their commitments and they haven't and 1904 01:15:05,977 --> 01:15:08,199 they aren't eso , it's as I said at the 1905 01:15:08,199 --> 01:15:10,421 very beginning of this , it's difficult 1906 01:15:10,421 --> 01:15:12,366 to see how we get there from right 1907 01:15:12,366 --> 01:15:12,340 where we are now , that doesn't mean 1908 01:15:12,340 --> 01:15:14,451 we're not gonna keep trying . Doesn't 1909 01:15:14,451 --> 01:15:16,340 mean we're not gonna continue toe 1910 01:15:16,340 --> 01:15:18,790 support . Um , the efforts the of of 1911 01:15:18,790 --> 01:15:20,957 our negotiators , that's exactly where 1912 01:15:20,957 --> 01:15:24,070 we want this to go . Okay . On Iran , I 1913 01:15:24,070 --> 01:15:27,910 mean , I think , uh , Iran 1914 01:15:27,920 --> 01:15:30,087 Iran continues to be a malign actor in 1915 01:15:30,087 --> 01:15:33,070 the region . Um , continues to support 1916 01:15:33,070 --> 01:15:35,237 terrorism throughout the Middle East . 1917 01:15:35,340 --> 01:15:38,470 Um , and they still pose 1918 01:15:38,890 --> 01:15:41,770 threats to our partners and friends 1919 01:15:41,770 --> 01:15:44,040 there . They still have ah active 1920 01:15:44,050 --> 01:15:46,106 ballistic missile program , and they 1921 01:15:46,106 --> 01:15:48,160 have been recently re spinning 1922 01:15:48,160 --> 01:15:51,520 centrifuges . Um , I won't speak for 1923 01:15:51,520 --> 01:15:53,687 the State Department and the status of 1924 01:15:53,687 --> 01:15:56,880 how they're looking at the A return to 1925 01:15:56,880 --> 01:16:00,530 the , uh , jcpoa A . That's really not 1926 01:16:00,560 --> 01:16:04,450 our our issue here . I would 1927 01:16:04,450 --> 01:16:06,920 tell you that , um , from the 1928 01:16:06,920 --> 01:16:09,240 secretary's perspective , we still have 1929 01:16:10,230 --> 01:16:12,174 national security interests in the 1930 01:16:12,174 --> 01:16:14,119 Middle East and the Persian gulf . 1931 01:16:14,119 --> 01:16:16,230 Specifically , we still have partners 1932 01:16:16,230 --> 01:16:18,397 and friends who we are committed to as 1933 01:16:18,397 --> 01:16:20,330 well . Andi still have , ah , 1934 01:16:20,330 --> 01:16:23,780 significant interest in stemming , uh , 1935 01:16:23,790 --> 01:16:25,960 the acts of terrorism that Iran 1936 01:16:25,960 --> 01:16:28,071 continues to propagate throughout the 1937 01:16:28,071 --> 01:16:30,293 region . I mean , just recently , there 1938 01:16:30,293 --> 01:16:33,710 have been attacks on facilities in Iraq 1939 01:16:33,720 --> 01:16:37,090 which we have reason to believe were 1940 01:16:37,460 --> 01:16:39,910 the result of the Shia backed militias . 1941 01:16:40,100 --> 01:16:43,610 So there's still they're still involved 1942 01:16:43,610 --> 01:16:45,710 in significant and specific acts of 1943 01:16:45,710 --> 01:16:49,010 violence . And to the degree that we 1944 01:16:49,010 --> 01:16:51,230 have capabilities to try to deter that 1945 01:16:51,240 --> 01:16:53,240 activity , I think you could expect 1946 01:16:53,240 --> 01:16:55,360 we're going to use that . Okay , go 1947 01:16:56,210 --> 01:16:59,580 ahead . Thank you . Congratulations . 1948 01:16:59,590 --> 01:17:02,710 Thank you . My question is that so much 1949 01:17:02,720 --> 01:17:05,020 has been going on between us and India . 1950 01:17:05,020 --> 01:17:06,798 As for the military to military 1951 01:17:06,798 --> 01:17:08,853 relations , I understand . Secretary 1952 01:17:08,853 --> 01:17:10,687 have just spoken with the Indian 1953 01:17:10,687 --> 01:17:13,000 Defense Minister , Mr Ryan . Not single 1954 01:17:13,630 --> 01:17:16,760 on if they have spoken about ongoing 1955 01:17:16,770 --> 01:17:20,040 problems also between India and China 1956 01:17:20,040 --> 01:17:22,830 in the region . So can we talk about 1957 01:17:22,830 --> 01:17:25,410 that ? What ? What the phone call about 1958 01:17:25,410 --> 01:17:27,410 and what is the future off us India 1959 01:17:27,740 --> 01:17:30,050 relationship ? Good chat . Yesterday I 1960 01:17:30,050 --> 01:17:32,106 think you saw the read out of that . 1961 01:17:32,106 --> 01:17:34,217 Discussed a lot of issues , including 1962 01:17:34,217 --> 01:17:36,240 our two nations response to the 1963 01:17:36,240 --> 01:17:38,800 coronavirus on . As I said in the read 1964 01:17:38,800 --> 01:17:40,967 out , the secretary made it very clear 1965 01:17:40,967 --> 01:17:42,744 that that we're going to remain 1966 01:17:42,744 --> 01:17:44,990 committed to a strong U . S . India 1967 01:17:45,000 --> 01:17:47,830 bilateral relationship . Let me go to 1968 01:17:47,830 --> 01:17:49,941 fill Stuart . Are you Are you there , 1969 01:17:49,941 --> 01:17:52,950 Phil ? I am . Yeah . Thanks very much . 1970 01:17:52,960 --> 01:17:55,182 Uh , first of all , welcome back to the 1971 01:17:55,182 --> 01:17:58,100 briefing room . Thank you . Um , yeah . 1972 01:17:58,110 --> 01:17:59,999 So first , just going back to the 1973 01:17:59,999 --> 01:18:02,221 coronavirus issue , I think a lot of us 1974 01:18:02,221 --> 01:18:04,277 sort of alarm . I have been tracking 1975 01:18:04,277 --> 01:18:06,443 the numbers very closely , uh , to see 1976 01:18:06,443 --> 01:18:09,560 how many personnel armed forces have 1977 01:18:09,560 --> 01:18:12,070 contracted covert . And I wanna Is that 1978 01:18:12,070 --> 01:18:14,181 Biden administration comfortable with 1979 01:18:14,181 --> 01:18:16,348 the military's performance and keeping 1980 01:18:16,348 --> 01:18:18,570 troops free from infection ? Given that 1981 01:18:18,570 --> 01:18:20,903 the rate of infection among among the U . 1982 01:18:20,903 --> 01:18:20,710 S . Armed forces a similar to the 1983 01:18:20,710 --> 01:18:22,488 general population and I have a 1984 01:18:22,488 --> 01:18:24,710 question on Syria , the short answer is 1985 01:18:24,710 --> 01:18:27,230 yes . Villain . I think you heard , uh , 1986 01:18:27,240 --> 01:18:29,462 General Friedrichs talk about that . We 1987 01:18:29,462 --> 01:18:31,573 obviously committed to vaccinating as 1988 01:18:31,573 --> 01:18:33,796 many of our troops as we possibly can . 1989 01:18:33,796 --> 01:18:35,851 But as you noted , it is a voluntary 1990 01:18:35,851 --> 01:18:38,330 vaccination , and there is a tiered 1991 01:18:38,330 --> 01:18:40,830 structure in terms of the priorities 1992 01:18:40,830 --> 01:18:43,670 for doing that s so bottom line is yes , 1993 01:18:43,670 --> 01:18:45,837 we're committed to vaccinating as many 1994 01:18:45,837 --> 01:18:49,250 of our troops as possible . Yeah , I 1995 01:18:49,250 --> 01:18:51,472 guess what I'm asking is like , are the 1996 01:18:51,472 --> 01:18:53,583 rates of infection among among , uh , 1997 01:18:53,583 --> 01:18:55,250 personnel in the armed forces 1998 01:18:55,250 --> 01:18:57,194 acceptable , uh , at their current 1999 01:18:57,194 --> 01:18:59,083 levels ? Or do you think that the 2000 01:18:59,083 --> 01:19:00,694 military needs do better job 2001 01:19:00,694 --> 01:19:02,750 safeguarding people from infection , 2002 01:19:02,750 --> 01:19:04,583 not vaccinations right now , but 2003 01:19:04,583 --> 01:19:06,306 infection until they could get 2004 01:19:06,306 --> 01:19:08,417 vaccinated . I don't have the data on 2005 01:19:08,417 --> 01:19:10,472 the rates of infection . Eso if that 2006 01:19:10,472 --> 01:19:12,583 didn't come out previously , I mean , 2007 01:19:12,583 --> 01:19:14,750 we could get that to you . Obviously , 2008 01:19:14,750 --> 01:19:16,861 Uh , what we like to see in the ranks 2009 01:19:16,861 --> 01:19:19,310 is zero infections . Clearly that Z , 2010 01:19:19,320 --> 01:19:21,320 that's the goal . Um , I don't know 2011 01:19:21,320 --> 01:19:23,880 what the threshold is here for . 2012 01:19:23,880 --> 01:19:26,430 Driving a particular sense of urgency 2013 01:19:26,430 --> 01:19:28,652 or different policy discussion , Phil . 2014 01:19:28,652 --> 01:19:31,210 So , um , let me let me get back to you 2015 01:19:31,210 --> 01:19:33,377 on the take your question and I'll get 2016 01:19:33,377 --> 01:19:35,321 back to you on the on the rates of 2017 01:19:35,321 --> 01:19:37,266 infection , but clearly want to do 2018 01:19:37,266 --> 01:19:39,321 everything we can to keep our people 2019 01:19:39,321 --> 01:19:41,377 safe . Did you have another one from 2020 01:19:41,377 --> 01:19:43,377 then on ? Syria . Syria . What role 2021 01:19:43,377 --> 01:19:45,488 does securing the oil ? Syria playing 2022 01:19:45,488 --> 01:19:47,266 the by administrations military 2023 01:19:47,266 --> 01:19:51,220 strategy . There I think I'll just 2024 01:19:51,220 --> 01:19:54,900 say that that what 2025 01:19:54,900 --> 01:19:58,450 are our our view of the purpose of U . 2026 01:19:58,450 --> 01:20:02,000 S troops ? Uh , in Iraq and Syria could 2027 01:20:02,010 --> 01:20:04,510 to continue to go after the the isis 2028 01:20:04,510 --> 01:20:06,343 threat . I'll leave it at that . 2029 01:20:06,343 --> 01:20:09,550 Welcome back . Uh , go ahead , Joe . 2030 01:20:09,910 --> 01:20:12,270 Uh , yeah . I would like to know what's 2031 01:20:12,270 --> 01:20:14,440 the status off the decision to move 2032 01:20:15,110 --> 01:20:18,840 Israel toe the Centcom . You are Is 2033 01:20:18,840 --> 01:20:21,980 this the decision final or it's under 2034 01:20:21,980 --> 01:20:25,650 review by the administration ? Well , I 2035 01:20:25,650 --> 01:20:27,870 mean , when the previous commander in 2036 01:20:27,870 --> 01:20:29,926 chief made that decision , he did so 2037 01:20:29,926 --> 01:20:31,870 within his full authority . So the 2038 01:20:31,870 --> 01:20:34,940 decision has been made . Um uh , 2039 01:20:35,310 --> 01:20:37,220 the secretary believes 2040 01:20:37,980 --> 01:20:41,950 that it from 2041 01:20:41,950 --> 01:20:44,660 a geographic perspective , it seems to 2042 01:20:44,660 --> 01:20:48,370 make sense . Um , but he also has , 2043 01:20:48,380 --> 01:20:50,590 uh , indicated that , just like in 2044 01:20:50,590 --> 01:20:52,757 every other respect , he wants to take 2045 01:20:52,757 --> 01:20:54,900 a look . And he wants to talk , uh , 2046 01:20:54,910 --> 01:20:58,110 Thio our combatant commanders about 2047 01:20:58,120 --> 01:21:01,980 that , And just to make sure , um but 2048 01:21:01,990 --> 01:21:04,730 but at the outset , where we are right 2049 01:21:04,730 --> 01:21:07,100 now , Secretary would believe from a 2050 01:21:07,100 --> 01:21:09,211 geographic perspective , that makes a 2051 01:21:09,211 --> 01:21:11,211 certain sense . But he does want to 2052 01:21:11,211 --> 01:21:13,267 reserve the right as you will around 2053 01:21:13,267 --> 01:21:15,267 the world to take a look at our lay 2054 01:21:15,267 --> 01:21:17,322 down to take a look at the , um , at 2055 01:21:17,322 --> 01:21:19,433 the geographic boundaries for for the 2056 01:21:19,433 --> 01:21:21,322 combatant commanders as you would 2057 01:21:21,322 --> 01:21:25,240 expect him to do . Um , Matt . Sailor . 2058 01:21:27,410 --> 01:21:30,210 Hi , Siler . Siler . I apologize . I 2059 01:21:30,220 --> 01:21:32,610 should've put my glasses on . What ? 2060 01:21:32,610 --> 01:21:34,832 All right . Yeah , they're , like , not 2061 01:21:34,832 --> 01:21:38,040 anymore . You've answered most things . 2062 01:21:38,050 --> 01:21:40,161 Um , I just have one more question on 2063 01:21:40,161 --> 01:21:42,383 the FEMA request that you might be able 2064 01:21:42,383 --> 01:21:44,494 to answer . I believe I heard Mr Rose 2065 01:21:44,494 --> 01:21:46,606 say that it doesn't always make sense 2066 01:21:46,606 --> 01:21:48,772 the whole say National Guard doctor or 2067 01:21:48,772 --> 01:21:50,760 nurse , and task them with doing 2068 01:21:50,760 --> 01:21:52,871 injections on a site because it would 2069 01:21:52,871 --> 01:21:55,280 mean pulling them away from unnecessary 2070 01:21:55,280 --> 01:21:57,224 job they're already doing in their 2071 01:21:57,224 --> 01:21:59,224 civilian capacity . And yet it's my 2072 01:21:59,224 --> 01:22:01,391 understanding that some states require 2073 01:22:01,391 --> 01:22:03,391 some sort of medical certifications 2074 01:22:03,391 --> 01:22:05,391 actually put shots and arms . So if 2075 01:22:05,391 --> 01:22:07,558 you're tasking , you know thousands of 2076 01:22:07,558 --> 01:22:09,780 troops to do this . Is there any effort 2077 01:22:09,780 --> 01:22:12,002 underway that you're aware of to secure 2078 01:22:12,002 --> 01:22:14,058 waivers for them , or extra training 2079 01:22:14,058 --> 01:22:16,169 kind of lower the bars , Which troops 2080 01:22:16,169 --> 01:22:18,002 are allowed to actually work and 2081 01:22:18,002 --> 01:22:20,224 actually give injections ? Yeah , great 2082 01:22:20,224 --> 01:22:22,336 question . And I think that gets Thio 2083 01:22:22,336 --> 01:22:24,391 My answer . The leader that that now 2084 01:22:24,391 --> 01:22:26,336 that that's part of the analysis , 2085 01:22:26,336 --> 01:22:28,447 right ? We have the request . We know 2086 01:22:28,447 --> 01:22:31,200 what's being asked of us on . Now we 2087 01:22:31,200 --> 01:22:34,620 have to source it and sourcing it just 2088 01:22:34,620 --> 01:22:36,560 like sourcing . Any request for 2089 01:22:36,560 --> 01:22:38,750 military capabilities around the world 2090 01:22:38,750 --> 01:22:41,028 sometimes requires additional training . 2091 01:22:41,028 --> 01:22:43,250 And so , while it's difficult for me to 2092 01:22:43,250 --> 01:22:45,139 answer your question specifically 2093 01:22:45,139 --> 01:22:47,139 because we're still working our way 2094 01:22:47,139 --> 01:22:49,250 through this , um it is reasonable to 2095 01:22:49,250 --> 01:22:51,361 conclude , uh , that there might have 2096 01:22:51,361 --> 01:22:53,417 to be some additional training given 2097 01:22:53,417 --> 01:22:55,660 Thio members whether they're active or 2098 01:22:55,660 --> 01:22:57,827 reserve before they contribute to this 2099 01:22:57,827 --> 01:22:59,882 effort . And we're 100% committed to 2100 01:22:59,882 --> 01:23:02,049 doing that . Depending on what the You 2101 01:23:02,049 --> 01:23:04,216 know what the need is and what the gap 2102 01:23:04,216 --> 01:23:06,382 in the need and our capability happens 2103 01:23:06,382 --> 01:23:08,604 to be . Did that answer your question ? 2104 01:23:09,600 --> 01:23:12,140 Thank you . Okay . For one more . Can I 2105 01:23:12,140 --> 01:23:14,362 get a question ? I'm sorry . Go ahead . 2106 01:23:14,362 --> 01:23:16,529 Who's that ? Tony Capacity . I came in 2107 01:23:16,529 --> 01:23:18,529 a little late , so I wasn't on your 2108 01:23:18,529 --> 01:23:20,640 list . Yeah , You're not on my list , 2109 01:23:20,640 --> 01:23:22,918 Tony . So I'm sorry . You're That's it . 2110 01:23:22,918 --> 01:23:25,084 You're done . Alright . Well story you 2111 01:23:25,084 --> 01:23:27,418 then . If you can't answer Oh , come on , 2112 01:23:27,418 --> 01:23:29,251 Tony . Okay . Can I got a couple 2113 01:23:29,251 --> 01:23:32,790 quickies ? A couple You mentioned , uh , 2114 01:23:32,800 --> 01:23:34,911 a number of appointees have come in . 2115 01:23:34,911 --> 01:23:37,720 What is the status of a new acquisition 2116 01:23:37,720 --> 01:23:40,480 undersecretary and a new undersecretary 2117 01:23:40,480 --> 01:23:43,630 for research and engineering ? Yes . 2118 01:23:44,300 --> 01:23:46,640 No , there's no I don't have I don't 2119 01:23:46,640 --> 01:23:49,300 have an update on that , Tony . Okay , 2120 01:23:49,310 --> 01:23:51,477 Another question on the budget , which 2121 01:23:51,477 --> 01:23:53,754 is Obviously you're you guys reviewing ? 2122 01:23:53,754 --> 01:23:55,810 At what point do you think you'll be 2123 01:23:55,810 --> 01:23:57,921 able to give some clarity on when the 2124 01:23:57,921 --> 01:24:00,170 23 budget will be released ? And how 2125 01:24:00,170 --> 01:24:02,448 much of that is contingent on an O . M . 2126 01:24:02,448 --> 01:24:04,410 B director being nominated being 2127 01:24:04,410 --> 01:24:07,630 confirmed in an office ? Well , I can't 2128 01:24:07,630 --> 01:24:11,600 speak Thio to the timing for a new O 2129 01:24:11,600 --> 01:24:15,090 N B Director Tony , um , 2130 01:24:15,100 --> 01:24:18,190 order the capacity of O N B right now 2131 01:24:18,190 --> 01:24:21,720 to to staff a budget requests 2132 01:24:21,720 --> 01:24:25,070 by by the administration . What I can 2133 01:24:25,070 --> 01:24:28,050 say is , uh , that the secretary knows , 2134 01:24:28,060 --> 01:24:31,630 uh , that budget deadlines are coming 2135 01:24:31,640 --> 01:24:33,770 and they're coming soon . Andi , he's 2136 01:24:33,770 --> 01:24:36,770 already begun Thio to prepare for that 2137 01:24:36,780 --> 01:24:39,120 on Duh . I think we'll have more 2138 01:24:39,120 --> 01:24:42,610 clarity in coming weeks about , um , 2139 01:24:43,090 --> 01:24:45,830 what it's gonna look like . But , um , 2140 01:24:45,840 --> 01:24:48,062 I don't have a specific answer in terms 2141 01:24:48,062 --> 01:24:50,930 of the deadline . E mean you as you 2142 01:24:50,930 --> 01:24:53,097 know better than anybody , it's always 2143 01:24:53,097 --> 01:24:55,208 in the spring it's sometimes a moving 2144 01:24:55,208 --> 01:24:57,208 target . Uh , I think the secretary 2145 01:24:57,208 --> 01:24:59,810 wants to be prepared , uh , to present 2146 01:24:59,820 --> 01:25:02,140 and defend the budget , Um , in the 2147 01:25:02,140 --> 01:25:04,650 normal fashion and that means for him , 2148 01:25:04,660 --> 01:25:06,780 you know , a soon as possible . And I 2149 01:25:06,780 --> 01:25:09,080 think in his mind , Uh , regardless of 2150 01:25:09,080 --> 01:25:11,630 what the actual timing ends up being , 2151 01:25:12,290 --> 01:25:14,512 he's made it clear that he wants to get 2152 01:25:14,512 --> 01:25:16,290 himself up to speed and get the 2153 01:25:16,290 --> 01:25:18,401 department ready . Uh , you know , in 2154 01:25:18,401 --> 01:25:20,401 about the next three months or so . 2155 01:25:20,690 --> 01:25:23,100 Okay . Thank you . Yep . Okay , guys , 2156 01:25:23,110 --> 01:25:25,110 I'm gonna have to go . I've gotta I 2157 01:25:25,110 --> 01:25:29,030 gotta go see . Oh , 2158 01:25:29,040 --> 01:25:30,929 you really want a question on the 2159 01:25:30,929 --> 01:25:33,610 oh , 2160 01:25:33,620 --> 01:25:36,420 thanks . Morning . The Chinese Ministry 2161 01:25:36,420 --> 01:25:39,230 of Defense that Taiwan's independence 2162 01:25:39,230 --> 01:25:41,397 would mean war . So I just wonder what 2163 01:25:41,397 --> 01:25:43,563 the Pentagon's reaction that statement 2164 01:25:43,563 --> 01:25:45,452 is and how you view the strategic 2165 01:25:45,452 --> 01:25:47,619 importance of Taiwan . So let me start 2166 01:25:47,619 --> 01:25:49,841 with the second one first , and nothing 2167 01:25:49,841 --> 01:25:51,786 has changed about the department's 2168 01:25:51,786 --> 01:25:53,841 commitment to our our commitments to 2169 01:25:53,841 --> 01:25:56,063 the Taiwan relations acts and the three 2170 01:25:56,063 --> 01:25:59,190 communiques about about Taiwan , as the 2171 01:25:59,190 --> 01:26:01,720 Secretary said in testimony , 2172 01:26:01,730 --> 01:26:04,410 uh , this is something that has been 2173 01:26:04,410 --> 01:26:07,310 supported in a bipartisan way for 2174 01:26:07,680 --> 01:26:11,550 decades . Uh , and and the Department 2175 01:26:11,560 --> 01:26:13,616 of defense under his leadership will 2176 01:26:13,616 --> 01:26:16,360 continue that same support to , uh , we 2177 01:26:16,360 --> 01:26:18,830 have . We have obligations to assist 2178 01:26:18,840 --> 01:26:21,007 Taiwan with their self defense , and I 2179 01:26:21,007 --> 01:26:22,840 think you're going to see that . 2180 01:26:22,840 --> 01:26:25,118 Continue , um , to your other question . 2181 01:26:25,118 --> 01:26:28,680 Uh , the 2182 01:26:28,690 --> 01:26:32,380 department , uh , sees no 2183 01:26:32,390 --> 01:26:35,980 reason why tensions over 2184 01:26:35,980 --> 01:26:39,170 Taiwan need toe lead to anything like 2185 01:26:39,520 --> 01:26:43,410 confrontation on DSO . We find that 2186 01:26:43,410 --> 01:26:47,220 comment unfortunate on certainly , 2187 01:26:47,660 --> 01:26:51,000 um , not commensurate with 2188 01:26:51,480 --> 01:26:55,400 are intentions to 2189 01:26:55,780 --> 01:26:58,310 meet our obligations under the Taiwan 2190 01:26:58,310 --> 01:27:02,200 Relations Act and to continue to , um 2191 01:27:02,880 --> 01:27:04,940 Azaz Secretary blinking at the State 2192 01:27:04,940 --> 01:27:07,107 Department , said yesterday , Look for 2193 01:27:07,107 --> 01:27:09,273 ways where we can cooperate with China 2194 01:27:09,273 --> 01:27:11,496 Way , But we have we have obligations . 2195 01:27:11,496 --> 01:27:13,551 Uh , that we intend to meet . Okay , 2196 01:27:13,551 --> 01:27:15,773 Thanks very much . The U . S . Military 2197 01:27:15,773 --> 01:27:17,884 ready and capable to defend Taiwan to 2198 01:27:17,884 --> 01:27:19,940 get the potential Chinese invasion . 2199 01:27:19,940 --> 01:27:22,107 I'm not gonna get into hypotheticals . 2200 01:27:22,107 --> 01:27:24,273 The United States , potentially United 2201 01:27:24,273 --> 01:27:26,329 States military remains ready in all 2202 01:27:26,329 --> 01:27:26,200 respects to meet our security 2203 01:27:26,200 --> 01:27:28,311 commitments in the region . Thank you 2204 01:27:28,311 --> 01:27:31,620 very much . Tell me what you got . 2205 01:27:34,450 --> 01:27:37,050 I get many e u