WEBVTT

00:00.240 --> 00:04.090
honey . Looks like a familiar place .

00:05.040 --> 00:08.950
Thank you . All right .

00:09.540 --> 00:12.660
Um , thanks for joining us today for

00:12.660 --> 00:14.700
the first of what we hope will be

00:14.710 --> 00:17.140
regular press briefings on , but it

00:17.140 --> 00:19.140
really is good to be back here , up

00:19.140 --> 00:21.251
here with you . But today , I'm gonna

00:21.251 --> 00:23.418
do something a little bit different to

00:23.418 --> 00:25.362
start out . I wanna start with the

00:25.362 --> 00:27.084
efforts that the department is

00:27.084 --> 00:28.973
undertaking , uh , to deal and to

00:28.973 --> 00:31.251
contribute to the federal government's ,

00:31.251 --> 00:34.580
uh , efforts to battle co vid . And so

00:34.580 --> 00:36.747
we're going to start the briefing with

00:36.747 --> 00:38.858
some guests . Briefers . First , um ,

00:38.858 --> 00:40.636
I'm gonna bring up General Paul

00:40.636 --> 00:42.691
Fredericks , who I think many of you

00:42.691 --> 00:44.858
know , the joint staff surgeon as well

00:44.858 --> 00:47.024
as Max Rose , who has recently come on

00:47.024 --> 00:49.240
board as the department's co vid

00:49.250 --> 00:51.194
coordinator . Many of you probably

00:51.194 --> 00:53.560
remember , uh , Mr Rose as the

00:53.560 --> 00:55.860
representative to New York State's 11th

00:55.860 --> 00:57.916
Congressional District . He were now

00:57.916 --> 01:00.082
very proud to have him on the the team

01:00.082 --> 01:02.082
as our co vid coordinator , working

01:02.082 --> 01:04.249
with the covert task force and helping

01:04.249 --> 01:06.249
coordinate those efforts inside the

01:06.249 --> 01:08.090
larger interagency effort by the

01:08.090 --> 01:09.923
federal government to battle the

01:09.923 --> 01:12.090
coronavirus . So with that , I'm gonna

01:12.090 --> 01:14.257
bring both gentlemen up . They'll each

01:14.257 --> 01:16.423
have a couple of opening comments on .

01:16.423 --> 01:15.520
Then they'll take your questions for a

01:15.520 --> 01:17.687
little while . When that's done , I'll

01:17.687 --> 01:19.798
come back up and you can have at me .

01:19.798 --> 01:19.550
Okay , Thanks .

01:29.040 --> 01:31.150
All right . Afternoon , everybody .

01:32.940 --> 01:35.380
So , I mean , let me just first say

01:35.390 --> 01:38.460
it's an absolute honor and a privilege

01:38.460 --> 01:41.770
Thio be supporting this effort here .

01:42.230 --> 01:46.220
I've had the utmost regard for men and

01:46.220 --> 01:49.940
women in uniform and all those working

01:49.940 --> 01:52.750
here in the Pentagon and defending this

01:52.750 --> 01:55.670
country at home and abroad , both as

01:55.880 --> 01:59.250
someone in uniformed myself , um , and

01:59.250 --> 02:01.180
formally , ah , public servant in

02:01.190 --> 02:04.530
another capacity . And of course , it's

02:04.530 --> 02:06.350
my honor Thio work on behalf of

02:06.350 --> 02:09.790
Secretary Austin and , um , everyone

02:09.790 --> 02:13.150
else here . You know , Secretary Austin

02:13.150 --> 02:15.206
sent the most clear message he could

02:15.206 --> 02:18.230
have in just the first hour that he

02:18.230 --> 02:20.280
stepped into this role after was

02:20.280 --> 02:22.447
confirmed and walked into the Pentagon

02:22.447 --> 02:24.558
first meeting that he called with the

02:24.558 --> 02:26.950
highest levels of leadership not just

02:26.950 --> 02:29.140
in this building but around the world

02:29.150 --> 02:31.150
on one topic . And that is covert ,

02:31.740 --> 02:34.500
firmly establishing right in that

02:34.500 --> 02:37.220
meeting that this is his number one

02:37.480 --> 02:41.320
priority , that the department is

02:41.330 --> 02:44.530
absolutely committed above all else to

02:44.530 --> 02:46.474
protecting the d o D workforce and

02:46.474 --> 02:48.450
their families , safeguarding the

02:48.460 --> 02:50.571
department's mission capabilities and

02:50.571 --> 02:53.020
readiness and supporting the

02:53.020 --> 02:56.650
president's priority and effort

02:57.540 --> 03:01.490
to do everything we can to defeat this

03:01.490 --> 03:05.250
pandemic . Now our primary

03:05.250 --> 03:07.028
support to the U . S government

03:07.028 --> 03:09.900
response has to date been providing

03:09.900 --> 03:13.700
medical personnel to existing

03:13.710 --> 03:16.550
existing health care institutions ,

03:16.550 --> 03:20.020
partnering as such supporting logistics

03:20.640 --> 03:22.807
towards other government agencies that

03:22.807 --> 03:25.240
needed . And we most certainly fully

03:25.240 --> 03:28.490
intend on wherever possible supporting

03:28.490 --> 03:30.268
that with ever higher levels of

03:30.268 --> 03:32.860
commitment and effort . Whatever is

03:33.010 --> 03:36.720
needed Today , there are over 40,000

03:36.720 --> 03:39.570
National Guardsmen deployed providing

03:39.570 --> 03:43.020
covert support , including at over 260

03:43.020 --> 03:45.050
vaccine sites in 36 states and

03:45.050 --> 03:48.740
territories . Duty is over 1000

03:48.740 --> 03:50.907
military medical personnel on prepared

03:50.907 --> 03:54.130
to deploy orders available to support

03:54.140 --> 03:56.362
state and local requests for assistance

03:56.362 --> 03:58.640
that have come through FEMA . Remember ,

03:58.640 --> 04:00.807
this is in support of the FEMA mission

04:00.807 --> 04:03.870
and HHS within as early as 48 hours

04:03.870 --> 04:06.560
upon request . Now , this current

04:06.560 --> 04:10.090
support includes 224 medical

04:10.090 --> 04:12.530
personnel to support eight hospitals

04:12.530 --> 04:15.260
and in I C U facility in California ,

04:16.040 --> 04:18.151
80 medical personnel to support three

04:18.151 --> 04:21.100
hospitals in Texas and 87 medical

04:21.110 --> 04:24.200
personnel to support three hospitals in

04:24.200 --> 04:26.422
Arizona and New Mexico . Additionally ,

04:26.830 --> 04:29.440
the Army Corps of Engineers has

04:29.440 --> 04:31.960
deployed over 40 personnel

04:32.610 --> 04:35.840
supporting area hospital infrastructure

04:35.840 --> 04:38.770
improvements in California . And those

04:38.770 --> 04:40.770
resource is air certainly available

04:40.770 --> 04:43.780
thio any hospital or any other health

04:43.780 --> 04:46.740
care entity that is looking to expand

04:46.740 --> 04:49.980
their pre existing infrastructure . The

04:49.980 --> 04:51.980
secretary has made this absolutely

04:51.990 --> 04:54.810
clear . We have to move further . We

04:54.810 --> 04:56.980
have to move faster . We have Thio be

04:56.980 --> 04:59.410
as bold as possible , all the while

04:59.410 --> 05:02.280
remembering that it is our up most

05:02.290 --> 05:06.010
prerogative to protect and defend the

05:06.010 --> 05:08.850
United States at home as well as abroad .

05:10.940 --> 05:12.884
I'd also like to note that General

05:12.884 --> 05:14.940
Purna and his team , the secretary ,

05:14.940 --> 05:17.051
has met directly with general partner

05:17.051 --> 05:20.550
and his working very closely with him .

05:21.640 --> 05:24.010
Continue Thio , increase their capacity

05:24.010 --> 05:26.177
to distribute vaccines to the public .

05:27.540 --> 05:29.207
And we've certainly heard the

05:29.207 --> 05:31.860
president's call to increase the

05:31.870 --> 05:33.648
manufacture and distribution of

05:33.648 --> 05:35.814
vaccines and to make sure that there's

05:35.814 --> 05:37.703
an infrastructure in place on the

05:37.703 --> 05:40.590
administration side to increase the

05:40.590 --> 05:42.590
number of shots and arms that we're

05:42.590 --> 05:44.540
giving . And the department stands

05:44.540 --> 05:46.920
ready to increase its support for any

05:46.920 --> 05:48.753
other federal department that is

05:48.753 --> 05:51.080
engaged in this effort . So with that

05:51.080 --> 05:53.358
again . It's great to be here with you .

05:53.358 --> 05:55.580
Um , I certainly commit Thio continuing

05:55.580 --> 05:59.470
to give you , uh , updates on a regular

05:59.470 --> 06:01.526
basis . With that , I turn over Thio

06:01.840 --> 06:04.007
Brigadier General Friedrichs , who has

06:04.007 --> 06:06.229
been an absolute privilege to work with

06:06.229 --> 06:08.730
sir . Thank you very much . And , uh uh ,

06:08.740 --> 06:11.540
Mr Kirby , thank you . Thank you all

06:11.540 --> 06:13.762
for the opportunity to be here again to

06:13.762 --> 06:15.984
give you a little bit of an overview of

06:15.984 --> 06:18.790
our medical support , uh , both to our

06:18.790 --> 06:20.512
nation's effort and within the

06:20.512 --> 06:22.679
Department of Defense there . There is

06:22.679 --> 06:24.850
no question that we continue to take

06:24.850 --> 06:26.906
very seriously our responsibility to

06:26.906 --> 06:29.310
service members and their families to

06:29.310 --> 06:33.070
the communities in which they live . As

06:33.070 --> 06:34.792
of this morning , the military

06:34.792 --> 06:37.014
departments and combatant commands have

06:37.014 --> 06:40.680
reported a total of 138,763 cases of

06:40.680 --> 06:42.847
cove it among our military personnel .

06:43.340 --> 06:45.451
Now those of you have looked on . The

06:45.451 --> 06:47.284
website will note that's up from

06:47.284 --> 06:49.396
137,000 yesterday . And that's been ,

06:49.396 --> 06:51.562
ah , very similar increase that you've

06:51.562 --> 06:53.970
seen and that we have seen over the

06:53.970 --> 06:56.600
last several months as the rates of

06:56.610 --> 06:58.721
cases and hospitalizations have grown

06:58.721 --> 07:01.310
across the United States here . We're

07:01.310 --> 07:03.477
glad to see that over the last 10 days

07:03.477 --> 07:05.366
or so , the increase in cases has

07:05.366 --> 07:07.532
leveled off across the United States ,

07:07.532 --> 07:09.699
and we're seeing the same trend in our

07:09.699 --> 07:11.850
population as well . With the help of

07:11.850 --> 07:14.110
the D . O D Testing task Force , led by

07:14.110 --> 07:16.054
Dr Pain , who some of you have met

07:16.054 --> 07:18.277
previously , as well as the service and

07:18.277 --> 07:20.499
combatant commands , the department has

07:20.499 --> 07:22.554
continued to aggressively expand its

07:22.554 --> 07:24.666
testing program over time . Last week

07:24.666 --> 07:26.832
we met 100% of our operational testing

07:26.832 --> 07:28.999
requirements and , as we have from the

07:28.999 --> 07:31.054
beginning of this pandemic , 100% of

07:31.054 --> 07:33.221
the clinical testing requirements that

07:33.221 --> 07:35.166
were made at the medical treatment

07:35.166 --> 07:37.490
facilities . The week after New Year's

07:37.490 --> 07:39.670
Eve , we completed over 100,000 tests

07:39.670 --> 07:41.781
for Cove it and are typically between

07:41.781 --> 07:45.160
65 80,000 test each week . The

07:45.170 --> 07:47.392
percentage of positive new covert tests

07:47.392 --> 07:50.450
and military personnel is 8.8% and

07:50.450 --> 07:52.339
that's in comparison to a U . S .

07:52.339 --> 07:54.510
National average of 9.2% . And again ,

07:54.510 --> 07:56.566
that's been pretty consistent , that

07:56.566 --> 07:58.566
that rate has been lower within the

07:58.566 --> 08:00.788
military population than the U . S . As

08:00.788 --> 08:02.899
a whole , as you recall from previous

08:02.899 --> 08:05.121
briefings by Lieutenant General Place ,

08:05.121 --> 08:07.288
the Defense Health Agency Director and

08:07.288 --> 08:09.399
the service Surgeons . We receive our

08:09.399 --> 08:13.370
weekly allocation of vaccines

08:13.380 --> 08:16.660
and on we are distributing those based

08:16.660 --> 08:19.070
on our cove it vaccine plan . Now ,

08:19.070 --> 08:21.120
that plan is one . As you probably

08:21.120 --> 08:23.810
recall , that we developed and shared

08:23.810 --> 08:25.866
with the Centers for Disease Control

08:25.866 --> 08:27.810
going forward . It aligns with the

08:27.810 --> 08:29.866
phased approach that the rest of the

08:29.866 --> 08:31.866
country is using and the priorities

08:31.866 --> 08:33.754
that our country has agreed on to

08:33.754 --> 08:36.200
ensure that there's fair and equitable

08:36.210 --> 08:38.920
access to the vaccine . We begin

08:38.920 --> 08:40.890
vaccinations that select sites in

08:40.890 --> 08:42.940
December of last year and have now

08:42.940 --> 08:44.870
vaccinated almost everyone who

08:44.870 --> 08:47.330
requested vaccines and our very first

08:47.330 --> 08:49.960
group those air the frontline workers

08:49.960 --> 08:53.530
Police , E . M s those caring for , uh ,

08:53.540 --> 08:56.120
patients or military personnel with

08:56.120 --> 08:58.420
cove it . We've also vaccinated all of

08:58.420 --> 09:00.476
the residents and staff that are two

09:00.476 --> 09:03.020
armed forces retirement homes . Uh ,

09:03.030 --> 09:05.252
and again , that's a very special group

09:05.252 --> 09:07.252
because that represents some of the

09:07.252 --> 09:09.363
oldest members of the military family

09:09.363 --> 09:11.308
for which we are responsible . Our

09:11.308 --> 09:13.197
second group of personnel that we

09:13.197 --> 09:15.363
vaccinate are those over the age of 75

09:15.363 --> 09:17.474
personnel who are preparing to deploy

09:17.474 --> 09:19.910
outside the United States personnel and

09:19.910 --> 09:22.360
strategic or national security roles ,

09:22.740 --> 09:25.970
as well as a key frontline workers like

09:25.970 --> 09:28.026
teachers , support staff , child and

09:28.026 --> 09:30.192
youth services . And this is very much

09:30.192 --> 09:31.914
in line with President Biden's

09:31.914 --> 09:33.914
executive order that he's put out .

09:33.914 --> 09:35.914
We've you know , we've been working

09:35.914 --> 09:38.081
very closely on that . That group will

09:38.081 --> 09:40.248
then be followed by those who are over

09:40.248 --> 09:42.081
the age of 65 as well as younger

09:42.081 --> 09:44.081
personnel who have significant risk

09:44.081 --> 09:45.970
factors and will continue to work

09:45.970 --> 09:48.081
through the D . O . D extended family

09:48.081 --> 09:50.137
until everyone who desires to have a

09:50.137 --> 09:52.359
vaccine has been able to receive it . I

09:52.359 --> 09:54.526
want to be clear that , as you've seen

09:54.526 --> 09:56.692
across the country and as many leaders

09:56.692 --> 09:58.970
have said , this is going to be months ,

09:58.970 --> 09:58.630
this is not weak , so I don't want to

09:58.630 --> 10:01.340
create a perception anyone's mind that

10:01.350 --> 10:03.461
everyone is going to be vaccinated in

10:03.461 --> 10:05.628
the next few weeks here . This is very

10:05.628 --> 10:07.794
deliberate process based on the supply

10:07.794 --> 10:10.170
of vaccine as it comes through today ,

10:10.170 --> 10:13.320
the department has received 769,000

10:13.320 --> 10:15.640
doses of the Pfizer and the Moderna

10:15.640 --> 10:17.807
vaccines , and these air the data that

10:17.807 --> 10:19.696
air posted as a five o'clock this

10:19.696 --> 10:22.750
morning on the CDC website . Of that

10:22.750 --> 10:26.440
769,000 , we've distributed them out to

10:26.440 --> 10:28.990
306 sites around the world . And I want

10:28.990 --> 10:31.510
to emphasize that , unlike a state or

10:31.510 --> 10:34.220
ah , local authority that is

10:34.220 --> 10:36.220
responsible for an area here in the

10:36.220 --> 10:38.331
United States is , you know , we have

10:38.331 --> 10:40.331
operations all over the world . And

10:40.331 --> 10:42.498
thanks to the Defense Logistics Agency

10:42.498 --> 10:44.498
in the United States Transportation

10:44.498 --> 10:46.720
Command and many other partners , we've

10:46.720 --> 10:48.720
been able now to get vaccine out to

10:48.720 --> 10:50.498
many of our bases where we have

10:50.498 --> 10:52.331
personnel who are in those first

10:52.331 --> 10:54.664
crunches that we're trying to vaccinate .

10:54.664 --> 10:57.050
Uh , I suspect some of you will also

10:57.050 --> 10:59.170
wonder why we have not administered

10:59.180 --> 11:01.013
every dose of vaccine that we've

11:01.013 --> 11:03.291
received . And what I would ask you is ,

11:03.291 --> 11:05.513
if you're looking at the CDC website is

11:05.513 --> 11:07.640
to notice how , over time that

11:07.650 --> 11:09.890
percentage of vaccines administered

11:09.890 --> 11:12.168
changes so typically early in the week ,

11:12.168 --> 11:14.334
the percentage is lower because we get

11:14.334 --> 11:16.501
our distributions the beginning of the

11:16.501 --> 11:18.668
week . And then by the end of the week

11:18.668 --> 11:20.890
it gets up to the 55 to 60 to 66% range

11:20.890 --> 11:23.020
of vaccines received . It's a rolling

11:23.030 --> 11:25.400
average that goes in there based on

11:25.410 --> 11:27.577
what we received and then what ? We're

11:27.577 --> 11:29.632
able to ship out to our bases around

11:29.632 --> 11:32.120
the world and then administer If we

11:32.120 --> 11:34.287
look at the last two weeks , D . O . D

11:34.287 --> 11:36.287
has administered all of the vaccine

11:36.287 --> 11:38.509
doses received . And that's , I think ,

11:38.509 --> 11:41.070
an example of the great work done by

11:41.070 --> 11:43.400
many people across our bases and in our

11:43.400 --> 11:45.567
communities to make sure that we're as

11:45.567 --> 11:48.220
efficient as possible with this . Many

11:48.220 --> 11:50.331
people have asked us about the safety

11:50.331 --> 11:52.442
of these vaccines , and the D . O . D

11:52.442 --> 11:54.664
experience has been very much like what

11:54.664 --> 11:56.998
the rest of the country is experiencing .

11:56.998 --> 11:58.776
We have had , uh , Onley to CDC

11:58.776 --> 12:00.831
confirmed adverse events and both of

12:00.831 --> 12:03.770
those fully recovered , Uh , and this

12:03.770 --> 12:05.992
is very much in line with the data that

12:05.992 --> 12:08.103
was originally released by Pfizer and

12:08.103 --> 12:10.214
moderate on their vaccines . And this

12:10.214 --> 12:12.270
is truly remarkable , you know , for

12:12.270 --> 12:14.103
vaccine to be this safe is quite

12:14.103 --> 12:17.860
heartening . 11 other key part of our

12:17.860 --> 12:19.804
team here , or contribution of the

12:19.804 --> 12:21.860
national effort , are the work being

12:21.860 --> 12:23.916
done by our research and development

12:23.916 --> 12:25.860
colleagues across the department ,

12:25.860 --> 12:28.027
partnering with their federal academic

12:28.027 --> 12:30.082
and other counterparts to accelerate

12:30.082 --> 12:32.193
new medical countermeasures tests and

12:32.193 --> 12:34.027
other tools to help our national

12:34.027 --> 12:36.082
response to control the spread of co

12:36.082 --> 12:38.082
vid . And I'd be remiss if I didn't

12:38.082 --> 12:40.193
mention our logistics and acquisition

12:40.193 --> 12:42.471
teams who , as you've heard previously ,

12:42.471 --> 12:44.638
continue Thio provide support to HHS ,

12:44.638 --> 12:44.580
to FEMA and to many other parts of the

12:44.580 --> 12:46.810
federal response to ensure our nation

12:46.810 --> 12:48.921
has the supplies and equipment needed

12:48.921 --> 12:50.977
for this effort . In addition to all

12:50.977 --> 12:53.088
that , we've reviewed the president's

12:53.088 --> 12:55.088
national strategy and the 12 covert

12:55.088 --> 12:56.921
related executive orders that he

12:56.921 --> 12:59.143
released last week at our incorporating

12:59.143 --> 13:01.366
those into our guidance going forward ,

13:01.366 --> 13:03.700
we continue to ensure that our approach

13:03.700 --> 13:06.530
is science based , derived from what

13:06.530 --> 13:08.930
the Centers for Disease Control publish .

13:08.940 --> 13:10.940
And , uh , that we do everything

13:10.940 --> 13:13.340
possible to take care of our service

13:13.340 --> 13:15.562
members so they can continue to protect

13:15.562 --> 13:17.650
our nation . With that , Mr Rose , I

13:17.660 --> 13:19.771
turn it back to you and very happy to

13:19.771 --> 13:22.450
take questions . Very good .

13:23.440 --> 13:25.551
Quite questions . Okay , Well , first

13:25.551 --> 13:27.551
question , go Thio Lita Baldor , AP

13:27.551 --> 13:30.210
High Leader Belda with AP question

13:30.520 --> 13:33.910
General , can you just clarify of the

13:33.910 --> 13:37.470
769,000 doses ? Can you give us a

13:38.040 --> 13:40.560
broad idea of how many have actually

13:40.570 --> 13:42.737
how many shots have actually gone into

13:42.737 --> 13:44.681
arms there or how many people have

13:44.681 --> 13:48.340
received those shots and then Okay ,

13:48.350 --> 13:52.230
I'm sorry . So , uh , of the as of

13:52.240 --> 13:54.351
five o'clock this morning , which was

13:54.351 --> 13:56.573
the last time that I was at my computer

13:56.573 --> 13:58.407
to check it , the CDC website is

13:58.407 --> 14:00.550
showing 366,000 doses administered .

14:01.040 --> 14:02.940
And I wanna emphasize Azi . You

14:02.940 --> 14:04.940
probably heard from other sources .

14:04.940 --> 14:07.107
There's a bit of a lag , so that's not

14:07.107 --> 14:09.218
exactly the same as what we're seeing

14:09.218 --> 14:09.210
in our data here , But my

14:09.210 --> 14:11.432
recommendations We continue to use that

14:11.432 --> 14:13.432
CDC website because otherwise we're

14:13.432 --> 14:15.543
gonna be dealing with dueling numbers

14:15.543 --> 14:17.766
going forward . So 366,000 is what's on

14:17.766 --> 14:19.932
there that gets updated regularly . It

14:19.932 --> 14:22.099
may be different right now than it was

14:22.099 --> 14:24.321
at five o'clock this morning . And , Mr

14:24.321 --> 14:26.543
Rose , can you give us an update on the

14:26.543 --> 14:28.710
latest request from FEMA for the teams

14:28.710 --> 14:31.990
to help provide shots and a Zeman ia's

14:32.230 --> 14:34.286
100 different locations ? Where does

14:34.286 --> 14:37.520
that stand on day ? Do you expect this

14:37.520 --> 14:40.400
will include National Guard ? Will it

14:40.400 --> 14:43.780
ensure active duty ? So let's take a

14:43.780 --> 14:45.947
step back and look at the whole effort

14:45.947 --> 14:49.060
to support vaccinations . Um ,

14:50.140 --> 14:51.862
with the understanding against

14:51.862 --> 14:53.973
Secretary Austin has established that

14:53.973 --> 14:56.200
this is of the utmost priority if we

14:56.200 --> 14:59.080
could help increase this process in

14:59.080 --> 15:01.660
every way , shape and form that is , in

15:01.660 --> 15:03.716
the interests of this country in the

15:03.716 --> 15:05.827
face of an enemy that has killed over

15:05.827 --> 15:09.690
400,000 Americans more than died in

15:09.690 --> 15:13.250
World War Two . Um , and so there's

15:13.260 --> 15:15.593
separate lines of effort in that regard ,

15:15.840 --> 15:17.951
right , there is non clinical support

15:17.951 --> 15:20.790
to existing vaccination sites .

15:21.890 --> 15:24.160
That is something that those air

15:24.160 --> 15:26.049
numbers that in the future we can

15:26.049 --> 15:28.327
update you on . As to support for that ,

15:28.340 --> 15:30.790
there is clinical support for existing

15:30.790 --> 15:33.170
vaccination sites . That again is now

15:33.170 --> 15:35.480
our numbers that we can update you on

15:35.480 --> 15:37.702
in the future in a similar manner . Toe

15:37.702 --> 15:39.680
how we've updated you on medical

15:39.680 --> 15:42.650
personnel support for hospitals on .

15:42.650 --> 15:44.817
Then there is . What has been reported

15:44.817 --> 15:47.630
on is the potential for standing up

15:47.630 --> 15:50.650
existing sites . Now , we can't confirm

15:50.650 --> 15:53.830
that , uh , a mission has come in from

15:53.830 --> 15:56.350
FEMA . Certainly not prepared under any

15:56.350 --> 15:58.990
circumstances . Thio . And I guess I'm

15:58.990 --> 16:01.157
not getting off on the right foot with

16:01.157 --> 16:03.300
any Utah timeline budget or number of

16:03.300 --> 16:06.630
soldiers . Um , and that should

16:06.630 --> 16:10.050
actually be , uh , to you a sign of how

16:10.050 --> 16:12.840
seriously we're treating this . Because

16:13.030 --> 16:15.320
these types of requests , we are

16:15.320 --> 16:17.264
certainly putting through the same

16:17.264 --> 16:19.850
levels of analysis Undersecretary

16:19.850 --> 16:22.750
Austin's direction that we would for

16:22.750 --> 16:25.480
any other type of allocation off

16:25.480 --> 16:29.110
soldiers . Um , but certainly

16:29.120 --> 16:31.830
it is something that we are taking

16:31.830 --> 16:35.660
extraordinarily seriously , Um , and in

16:35.660 --> 16:37.771
our effort to keep all options on the

16:37.771 --> 16:39.549
table , certainly not rejecting

16:39.549 --> 16:41.549
outright by any sense of the word .

16:41.549 --> 16:44.080
What did you expect ? Um , considering

16:44.080 --> 16:46.024
the strain on some of the National

16:46.024 --> 16:48.302
Guard forces that they've talked about ,

16:48.302 --> 16:50.524
you expect you'll have to dip into more

16:50.524 --> 16:52.136
active duty for this or will

16:52.136 --> 16:54.302
Statesville . They use their guard for

16:54.302 --> 16:54.180
this one . I actually when I wouldn't

16:54.180 --> 16:56.347
look at it like that . You know , your

16:56.347 --> 16:58.347
National Guardsmen , you have under

16:58.347 --> 17:00.458
title 32 status that are answering up

17:00.458 --> 17:02.850
to the governor's . Now remember , with

17:02.850 --> 17:05.540
so key here is that this is a state led

17:05.540 --> 17:07.490
effort . So certainly any d o . D

17:07.490 --> 17:09.546
support that you see coming in , and

17:09.546 --> 17:11.546
that includes the medical personnel

17:11.546 --> 17:13.768
that are being are serving in hospitals

17:13.768 --> 17:16.780
right now . That is only under the

17:16.780 --> 17:18.502
leadership of those respective

17:18.502 --> 17:20.810
governors . When it comes to serving at

17:20.810 --> 17:24.050
home , it's the Department of Defense ,

17:24.840 --> 17:27.290
no matter how robust it support , much

17:27.290 --> 17:29.290
more often than not is leading from

17:29.290 --> 17:31.512
behind in that regard . So when you see

17:31.512 --> 17:33.640
these vaccination sites as well , it

17:33.640 --> 17:35.950
falls under that same model , whether

17:35.950 --> 17:38.170
we are seeking to support an existing

17:38.170 --> 17:40.950
vaccination site or should there be a

17:40.950 --> 17:43.080
new vaccination site ? And so that

17:43.080 --> 17:44.969
means from the perspective of the

17:44.969 --> 17:47.191
governor , they're looking to vaccinate

17:47.191 --> 17:49.247
as many people as possible , whether

17:49.247 --> 17:51.469
that is being done in a hospital . Ah ,

17:51.469 --> 17:53.691
clinic Ah , pharmacy , a National Guard

17:53.691 --> 17:55.960
site or a new site with potential

17:55.970 --> 17:58.026
active D o . D . Involvement . And I

17:58.026 --> 17:59.914
think that's the best way that we

17:59.914 --> 18:02.026
should look at this effort across the

18:02.026 --> 18:04.303
nation to vaccinate millions of people .

18:04.303 --> 18:06.470
Hey , let's go over to the side to Tom

18:06.470 --> 18:08.692
Bowman , NPR . I just want to follow up

18:08.692 --> 18:10.637
on this . Can you give us You said

18:10.637 --> 18:12.803
20,000 guards so far ? Can you give us

18:12.803 --> 18:14.859
an estimate on how many more will be

18:14.859 --> 18:17.137
needed through FEMA's request ballpark ?

18:17.137 --> 18:19.248
I know you can't give exact Well , it

18:19.248 --> 18:21.570
also you know , how many locations are

18:21.570 --> 18:23.737
they looking at ballpark on that . And

18:23.737 --> 18:26.070
then finally , what is the need here is ?

18:26.070 --> 18:28.310
It's It's a medical personnel to put

18:28.320 --> 18:30.550
needles and arms . Is it setting up

18:31.040 --> 18:33.260
sites for vaccinations , or is it

18:33.260 --> 18:35.940
moving the doses from point A to point

18:35.950 --> 18:38.283
B ? We just walk us through all of that .

18:38.283 --> 18:40.570
Sure . So when you're looking at Thio ,

18:40.570 --> 18:43.740
your initial question , um , the

18:43.740 --> 18:45.980
National Guard requests , uh , for

18:45.980 --> 18:48.091
these National Guardsmen and National

18:48.091 --> 18:50.147
Guards women that are under title 32

18:50.147 --> 18:52.258
status , which is , by the way , that

18:52.258 --> 18:52.200
we're not talking about reserve here .

18:52.200 --> 18:54.144
We're talking about National Guard

18:54.144 --> 18:56.367
that's falling under the governor . And

18:56.367 --> 18:58.311
so the each respective governor is

18:58.311 --> 19:00.422
looking at their needs and seeking to

19:00.422 --> 19:02.533
allocate National Guardsmen and women

19:02.533 --> 19:04.644
accordingly with the understanding as

19:04.644 --> 19:06.644
well that you never want to . Or it

19:06.644 --> 19:08.867
would be . It wouldn't make any sense .

19:08.867 --> 19:11.130
Thio take someone who is providing a

19:11.130 --> 19:13.750
medical role in the civilian side and

19:13.750 --> 19:16.090
put them in uniform to do the same .

19:16.100 --> 19:18.211
Now that was the same thing that they

19:18.211 --> 19:20.156
were considering when it came Thio

19:20.156 --> 19:22.211
addressing the surge of covert cases

19:22.211 --> 19:24.490
and our hospital levels dramatically

19:24.490 --> 19:27.880
increasing when it comes toe

19:27.890 --> 19:30.190
vaccinations , there is no difference ,

19:30.190 --> 19:33.670
so where , uh I would really caution us

19:33.670 --> 19:36.460
not to go down the road of saying it is

19:36.460 --> 19:38.730
about the number of sites that we need

19:38.730 --> 19:40.790
and going on and forth . The goal is

19:40.790 --> 19:43.480
one that we all share Onda , that is

19:43.480 --> 19:47.380
Thio . Get as many Americans vaccinated

19:47.390 --> 19:50.250
as quickly as possible , beginning with

19:50.250 --> 19:52.417
those that are most vulnerable to this

19:52.417 --> 19:54.583
disease as well as those who have been

19:54.583 --> 19:57.540
on the front lines , uh , for so long

19:57.550 --> 19:59.439
putting their lives on the line ,

19:59.439 --> 20:01.772
fighting for us all . So my question is ,

20:01.772 --> 20:03.606
you say we're ready to offer the

20:03.606 --> 20:05.930
increase in duty support to FEMA . Can

20:05.930 --> 20:07.874
you give us any sense of what that

20:07.874 --> 20:09.819
increase will look like ? You just

20:09.819 --> 20:12.050
don't know yet . Well , certainly there

20:12.050 --> 20:14.161
there is a sense of that does involve

20:14.161 --> 20:16.560
human beings , right ? I mean , if if

20:16.560 --> 20:19.710
you look at non clinical support for

20:19.710 --> 20:22.940
existing vaccination sites , um , what

20:22.940 --> 20:25.560
you do see in the vaccination site is

20:25.560 --> 20:28.360
there is a for higher level medical

20:28.360 --> 20:30.582
professionals . But you also see a role

20:30.582 --> 20:32.749
for , um , toe help stand it up and to

20:32.749 --> 20:35.460
do things along those lines . So you do

20:35.460 --> 20:37.690
see particular lanes where there is the

20:37.690 --> 20:41.600
potential for for a role on DAT

20:41.600 --> 20:44.400
is in in regards thio existing sites .

20:44.410 --> 20:47.520
But this is going to be an evolving

20:47.520 --> 20:50.170
story it has been for the last year ,

20:50.840 --> 20:53.890
but what is most critical is that the

20:53.890 --> 20:55.800
secretary secretary Austin , has

20:55.800 --> 20:58.150
established this as something that we

20:58.150 --> 21:00.372
have always that we have got to keep on

21:00.372 --> 21:02.594
the forefront as we consider all of the

21:02.594 --> 21:04.817
assets at our disposal . Whether that's

21:04.817 --> 21:08.780
human expertise , Andi the , uh , the

21:08.780 --> 21:11.320
highest level of supply expertise and

21:11.320 --> 21:14.050
logisticians Or whether is that

21:14.060 --> 21:16.282
increasing the number of people who can

21:16.282 --> 21:18.504
help get shots and arms or help support

21:18.504 --> 21:20.616
vaccination sites , or to continue to

21:20.616 --> 21:23.530
help our hospitals and medical centers

21:23.530 --> 21:25.586
that air so desperately struggling ,

21:25.586 --> 21:27.697
just look quickly last week . Can you

21:27.697 --> 21:29.697
give us any sense when you can come

21:29.697 --> 21:31.697
back with specifics ? Well , I am .

21:31.697 --> 21:33.752
Certainly , I think the department I

21:33.752 --> 21:35.697
know the department , whether that

21:35.697 --> 21:38.240
involves me or not , remembers my first

21:38.240 --> 21:40.018
week on the job . It could be a

21:40.018 --> 21:42.960
probationary phase , but the we are

21:42.970 --> 21:44.970
absolutely making the commitment to

21:44.970 --> 21:46.859
brief you on a very , very , very

21:46.859 --> 21:48.970
regular basis . Let's go to the phone

21:48.970 --> 21:52.920
Thio , Louis , ABC Hi

21:52.930 --> 21:54.986
First question for General Friedrich

21:54.986 --> 21:56.819
General can you tell us what the

21:56.819 --> 21:59.060
hesitancy , uh , information is that

21:59.060 --> 22:01.880
you have about the use of the vaccine

22:01.880 --> 22:03.500
on military bases that had a

22:03.500 --> 22:05.667
conversation yesterday . Somebody told

22:05.667 --> 22:07.889
me that on their base Very large base .

22:07.889 --> 22:10.200
Um , there was only 60% of those who

22:10.200 --> 22:12.970
were eligible had agreed to take the

22:12.970 --> 22:15.610
vaccine , since it is voluntary , Um ,

22:15.610 --> 22:18.000
and just looking to see if you have any

22:18.120 --> 22:20.510
statistics that could back that up or

22:20.510 --> 22:22.960
provide more clarity . And Thio , Mr .

22:22.960 --> 22:25.430
Rose , Um , you talked about title 32

22:25.440 --> 22:28.470
but what about title 10 ? Um , in terms

22:28.470 --> 22:30.710
of activation of guard assets for this

22:30.720 --> 22:33.240
new FEMA request , what kind of

22:33.250 --> 22:35.250
assistance could we see ? And this

22:35.260 --> 22:37.316
title 10 under consideration . Thank

22:37.316 --> 22:41.280
you . On eso . Thank you . And I'll

22:41.280 --> 22:43.800
take the first part of that . So what

22:43.800 --> 22:46.030
we're seeing right now is similar to

22:46.030 --> 22:47.919
what is being reported across the

22:47.919 --> 22:50.530
United States in that there's a higher

22:50.540 --> 22:52.800
acceptance rate or higher percentage of

22:52.800 --> 22:56.020
people who are older who are opting toe

22:56.020 --> 22:58.590
have the vaccine and it trends down

22:58.600 --> 23:01.480
with age . Again . I'm I don't think

23:01.480 --> 23:03.702
we're In fact , I'm sure we're not at a

23:03.702 --> 23:05.758
point where we can give you Here are

23:05.758 --> 23:07.813
the absolute numbers because we have

23:07.813 --> 23:09.980
multiple bases at different points and

23:09.980 --> 23:11.924
rolling out the vaccination . As I

23:11.924 --> 23:14.036
mentioned , we have some that started

23:14.036 --> 23:15.869
back in December and they're now

23:15.869 --> 23:17.813
farther along in vaccinating their

23:17.813 --> 23:19.924
population , others that have started

23:19.924 --> 23:21.980
in the last couple of weeks . And so

23:21.980 --> 23:24.036
they're still working on their front

23:24.036 --> 23:25.924
line health care workers . But in

23:25.924 --> 23:25.600
general , the trends are very similar

23:25.600 --> 23:27.600
to what we're seeing in the U . S .

23:27.600 --> 23:29.656
Population is a whole that the older

23:29.656 --> 23:31.767
population has been mawr willing to ,

23:31.767 --> 23:33.990
uh , take the vaccine . Younger

23:33.990 --> 23:36.880
population has been a bit more hesitant

23:36.880 --> 23:38.824
about it . And , you know , that's

23:38.824 --> 23:41.250
understandable . I think is the we go

23:41.250 --> 23:44.700
forward and we educate our population

23:44.700 --> 23:46.990
about the safety of the vaccine . We

23:46.990 --> 23:49.110
hope and trust that that will allay

23:49.110 --> 23:51.480
some of the concerns . And I believe

23:51.480 --> 23:53.980
you know , for all of you who are , uh ,

23:53.990 --> 23:56.430
messaging to your respective audiences .

23:56.430 --> 23:59.410
Their key part in this is Mr Rose said

23:59.410 --> 24:01.632
is we have got to get this vaccine . We

24:01.632 --> 24:03.799
have got to get this vaccine out , and

24:03.799 --> 24:05.966
we have got to control this pandemic .

24:05.966 --> 24:08.188
The public health measures of the first

24:08.188 --> 24:10.299
step . And for those of you have been

24:10.299 --> 24:10.050
here in previous briefings that I've

24:10.050 --> 24:12.272
given , I'll reiterate what's been said

24:12.272 --> 24:14.328
over and over again . The first step

24:14.328 --> 24:16.328
are the basic measures , the things

24:16.328 --> 24:18.494
that we're doing right now with social

24:18.494 --> 24:20.661
distancing and wearing mass . Uh , all

24:20.661 --> 24:22.828
of the different things that you and I

24:22.828 --> 24:24.994
and our families have had to implement

24:24.994 --> 24:27.217
that's not going to go away in the near

24:27.217 --> 24:29.439
term here as we roll out the vaccines ,

24:29.439 --> 24:32.000
testing is a key part of that and again

24:32.010 --> 24:34.177
can't stress how important that is and

24:34.177 --> 24:36.288
how proud I am of the work that folks

24:36.288 --> 24:38.288
have done to expand that across the

24:38.288 --> 24:40.399
department , the vaccines or then the

24:40.399 --> 24:42.566
third layer of that to help us protect

24:42.566 --> 24:44.621
folks from becoming significantly or

24:44.621 --> 24:46.788
seriously infected with this . So it's

24:46.788 --> 24:49.010
a layered approach that's combined with

24:49.010 --> 24:51.232
an educational campaign , and that is ,

24:51.232 --> 24:53.454
Mr Rose said . That's part of why we're

24:53.454 --> 24:52.980
gonna be coming back out here , whether

24:52.980 --> 24:54.940
it's me or him or someone else to

24:54.940 --> 24:57.162
continue to share the data that we have

24:57.162 --> 24:59.329
and what we're learning as we roll out

24:59.329 --> 25:01.551
the vaccine and continue to protect the

25:01.551 --> 25:04.560
force . So 11 other point that I , um ,

25:04.560 --> 25:06.727
should have noted when you're thinking

25:06.727 --> 25:08.949
about the use of National Guard as well

25:08.949 --> 25:11.227
when you're thinking about this crisis .

25:11.227 --> 25:13.282
From the perspective of governors is

25:13.282 --> 25:15.060
one of one of , if not the most

25:15.060 --> 25:17.540
significant changes over the course of

25:17.540 --> 25:20.070
the last week has been the transition

25:20.070 --> 25:22.410
in the percentage that the federal

25:22.410 --> 25:24.521
government is accounting for in terms

25:24.521 --> 25:26.910
of payments . Um , that's for both the

25:26.920 --> 25:29.460
any type of FEMA contracting as well as

25:29.460 --> 25:32.000
for the use of the National Guard . But

25:32.000 --> 25:34.056
certainly there are constraints when

25:34.056 --> 25:36.056
you look at the use of the National

25:36.056 --> 25:38.660
Guard and the force within it , Um ,

25:39.040 --> 25:40.984
does it make sense to take medical

25:40.984 --> 25:43.096
personnel in transition ? And does it

25:43.096 --> 25:45.040
make sense to take law enforcement

25:45.040 --> 25:47.207
personnel and so on and so forth ? Off

25:47.207 --> 25:48.873
course , there are those same

25:48.873 --> 25:50.762
considerations when it comes Thio

25:50.762 --> 25:52.929
members in the Reserve force that we ,

25:52.929 --> 25:54.984
many of our medical professionals in

25:54.984 --> 25:56.984
the reserves who do operate under a

25:56.984 --> 25:59.660
title 10 umbrella , are doing the same

25:59.660 --> 26:02.150
job in the civilian side . So that is

26:02.150 --> 26:04.372
the reason why I put that forth is that

26:04.372 --> 26:07.840
is always a consideration , that we're

26:07.840 --> 26:09.896
not just thinking here about what is

26:09.896 --> 26:11.896
the number that we can come out and

26:11.896 --> 26:13.784
present you all with . We're also

26:13.784 --> 26:15.784
thinking about Well , how does that

26:15.784 --> 26:18.007
change the strain of that of that state

26:18.007 --> 26:20.320
And in those hospital systems , keep in

26:20.320 --> 26:22.800
mind as well is that it would be easier

26:22.800 --> 26:25.022
to make that determination if this were

26:25.022 --> 26:27.750
a crisis that was in just one state or

26:27.750 --> 26:29.861
just one region . But because this is

26:29.861 --> 26:32.028
something that is engulfing the entire

26:32.028 --> 26:34.360
nation at this one moment , uh , it

26:34.360 --> 26:37.730
does , It doesn't make sense . Thio ,

26:37.740 --> 26:39.907
take a civilian doctors civilian nurse

26:39.907 --> 26:42.073
from Texas and put them in uniform and

26:42.073 --> 26:44.129
send them to Michigan at all times .

26:44.129 --> 26:45.962
But this is something that we're

26:45.962 --> 26:48.129
continuing to balance is absolutely my

26:48.129 --> 26:50.351
point as well as continuing Thio Do the

26:50.351 --> 26:53.160
risk analyses necessary to consider

26:53.160 --> 26:54.993
whether or not it makes sense to

26:54.993 --> 26:57.104
transition a medical professional , a

26:57.104 --> 26:59.327
nurse or otherwise from the active duty

26:59.327 --> 27:03.060
force or thio mission out here at

27:03.060 --> 27:05.227
home . Let's stay on the phone . We're

27:05.227 --> 27:07.282
gonna go thio Jennifer with New York

27:07.282 --> 27:10.770
Times . Hi . Thanks . I just want to

27:10.770 --> 27:12.826
amplify my colleague's question . Is

27:12.826 --> 27:15.130
gonna just asked again directly . You

27:15.130 --> 27:17.241
point out that the National Guard has

27:17.241 --> 27:19.408
helped set up these sites and states ,

27:19.408 --> 27:21.463
um , even administered vaccines . We

27:21.463 --> 27:23.574
know that what's not been the case is

27:23.574 --> 27:25.186
active duty Military has not

27:25.186 --> 27:27.530
participated in moving around vaccines

27:27.540 --> 27:29.651
or putting shots in arms . So I think

27:29.651 --> 27:31.762
we're just trying to ask you directly

27:31.762 --> 27:33.920
as a policy change . Uh , it's a

27:33.920 --> 27:36.500
Pentagon preparing Thio active duty

27:36.500 --> 27:38.790
troops to these , uh , FEMA centers .

27:38.800 --> 27:41.200
Will they participate in setting up

27:41.210 --> 27:43.790
running those centers giving shots ? I

27:43.790 --> 27:46.068
know you don't know how many specifics ,

27:46.068 --> 27:48.401
but yes or no . Are they going to do it ?

27:48.401 --> 27:50.457
So , for first of all , keep in mind

27:50.457 --> 27:52.568
that this is , uh , the Pentagon will

27:52.568 --> 27:54.790
not do anything under any circumstances

27:55.030 --> 27:57.030
without the approval and consent in

27:57.030 --> 27:59.910
support of governors . Um , so that

27:59.910 --> 28:02.077
that is that that is the first thing .

28:02.077 --> 28:05.790
But we are actively considering support

28:05.800 --> 28:09.140
for the vaccine effort and are prepared

28:09.150 --> 28:12.060
to certainly do so , Um ,

28:13.040 --> 28:16.590
so long as it does a few things , one ,

28:16.630 --> 28:19.260
um fulfills helps to fulfill the

28:19.260 --> 28:22.270
president's objectives as he's as the

28:22.270 --> 28:25.660
president's laid out eso , long as it

28:25.660 --> 28:28.170
is with the consent off the governor ,

28:28.540 --> 28:31.710
so long as it remains equitable

28:31.720 --> 28:34.820
on DFO air along the way . But that is

28:34.820 --> 28:37.870
certainly a mission that we are , um ,

28:38.640 --> 28:41.820
all right , capable of doing and and

28:41.820 --> 28:45.530
are certainly analyzing doing as you do

28:45.530 --> 28:47.252
have to break it down into two

28:47.252 --> 28:49.030
different pillars . Support for

28:49.030 --> 28:51.252
existing sites . A swell of support for

28:51.252 --> 28:54.470
stand up sites as well . Okay , let's

28:54.470 --> 28:57.370
go in the room here . Lucas . Mr Rose .

28:57.420 --> 28:59.531
Looky Stalin's and Fox News . Good to

28:59.531 --> 29:01.864
see you . Good to see you too , Mr Rose .

29:01.864 --> 29:03.809
You have a U . S . Army general in

29:03.809 --> 29:05.809
charge of logistics . If that's the

29:05.809 --> 29:07.809
case , why there's so many problems

29:07.809 --> 29:10.150
distributing the vaccine . Well , I

29:10.160 --> 29:12.382
don't think that that's the correct way

29:12.382 --> 29:14.493
of looking at this . I believe you're

29:14.493 --> 29:17.350
referring to general partner . So first

29:17.350 --> 29:19.870
of all , this is a monumental task . Um ,

29:19.880 --> 29:23.210
but it is not just a logistical task ,

29:23.220 --> 29:25.890
Aziz . One would think about Amazon

29:25.890 --> 29:28.140
sending a book , right ? It has to get

29:28.140 --> 29:30.420
somewhere where there's a shot in the

29:30.420 --> 29:32.087
arm . There's also incredible

29:32.087 --> 29:34.210
complexity to production . You have

29:34.210 --> 29:37.210
97,000 potential sources where it could

29:37.210 --> 29:39.321
go . But you also have the capability

29:39.321 --> 29:42.980
of standing up new vaccination centers .

29:42.980 --> 29:46.460
Now , has this gone perfectly over the

29:46.460 --> 29:48.970
course of the last ? How many months ?

29:49.540 --> 29:52.600
No . Are we absolutely intent on

29:52.600 --> 29:55.470
continuing to be ever bolder , more

29:55.470 --> 29:58.640
effective , more equitable so that we

29:58.640 --> 30:01.270
can beat this pandemic . Absolutely ,

30:01.270 --> 30:03.970
yes , absolutely . And I'm supremely

30:03.970 --> 30:06.137
confident , Um , that from the D . O .

30:06.137 --> 30:08.192
D perspective you'll consider you'll

30:08.192 --> 30:09.914
continue . You'll see our full

30:09.914 --> 30:12.081
engagement , and just to confirm , you

30:12.081 --> 30:14.248
are given a distribution plan when you

30:14.248 --> 30:16.303
assume this role , correct . So if I

30:16.303 --> 30:18.248
could , I'll take that when you're

30:18.248 --> 30:20.470
talking about the internal distribution

30:20.470 --> 30:22.692
plan for D o D Dude and also across the

30:22.692 --> 30:24.920
country . So e think that's an

30:24.920 --> 30:26.920
important distinction there . So we

30:26.920 --> 30:28.976
developed our D . O . D distribution

30:28.976 --> 30:31.087
plan for our vaccine and coordination

30:31.087 --> 30:32.976
with C . D . C , like every other

30:32.976 --> 30:36.070
jurisdiction did . And then separately ,

30:36.440 --> 30:39.230
O . W s formerly known as O . W s , led

30:39.230 --> 30:41.230
by General Pernas . You highlighted

30:41.230 --> 30:43.286
there has worked with the states and

30:43.286 --> 30:45.174
territories , but it's really the

30:45.174 --> 30:47.286
states and territories that developed

30:47.286 --> 30:49.230
their plans , came back and said ,

30:49.230 --> 30:51.452
Here's our requirements through C . D .

30:51.452 --> 30:53.563
C and then worked with the logistical

30:53.563 --> 30:55.810
team to execute the distribution of

30:55.810 --> 30:58.270
that . So it's there's no one

30:58.280 --> 31:00.558
organization that develops those plans .

31:00.558 --> 31:02.780
It's really a partnership to pull those

31:02.780 --> 31:04.836
together and Dr Fredericks , in your

31:04.836 --> 31:06.780
expert medical advice and military

31:06.780 --> 31:08.980
advice , would you characterize the

31:08.980 --> 31:11.313
National Guard deployment in Washington ,

31:11.313 --> 31:13.424
D . C . As a potential super spreader

31:13.424 --> 31:17.020
event . No , no , I would not . I You

31:17.020 --> 31:19.890
know , I hope you guys will , uh , you

31:19.890 --> 31:22.112
know , accept on face value here . I've

31:22.112 --> 31:24.168
been very straight shooting with you

31:24.168 --> 31:23.940
guys . Every time I've come out here ,

31:23.950 --> 31:26.710
I would not . I personally talk to the

31:26.710 --> 31:28.710
guards surgeon . I've talked to the

31:28.710 --> 31:30.877
folks who are working out in The short

31:30.877 --> 31:33.099
answer is no staying in the room here .

31:33.099 --> 31:35.154
Let's go , Thio . Laura Sullivan . I

31:35.154 --> 31:36.988
had a problem with Politico just

31:36.988 --> 31:39.099
actually to follow up on Lucas . This

31:39.099 --> 31:41.210
question Can you see it's not a super

31:41.210 --> 31:43.321
spreader event that can you give us a

31:43.321 --> 31:45.432
little more details about why you say

31:45.432 --> 31:47.543
that ? Um , can you specifically tell

31:47.543 --> 31:49.599
us the total number of Guard members

31:49.599 --> 31:51.766
who have been tested for profit out of

31:51.766 --> 31:53.970
the 25,000 and then how many tested

31:53.970 --> 31:56.260
positive and how many are quarantining ?

31:57.040 --> 31:59.207
So I'm going to disappoint you in that

31:59.207 --> 32:01.262
and say no , I cannot give you those

32:01.262 --> 32:03.373
specific numbers . I can tell you who

32:03.373 --> 32:05.484
can . And that's the D C guard . Um ,

32:05.484 --> 32:07.540
and the reason I'm so confident this

32:07.540 --> 32:09.540
those when I've spoken to our guard

32:09.540 --> 32:11.596
colleagues on this and listen to the

32:11.596 --> 32:11.270
plans that they implemented there the

32:11.270 --> 32:13.600
same plans that the Centers for Disease

32:13.600 --> 32:15.770
Control has put out . They've used the

32:15.770 --> 32:18.450
same processes going forward that the

32:18.450 --> 32:20.617
rest of the country has been asked and

32:20.617 --> 32:22.672
recommended to use going forward . I

32:22.672 --> 32:24.617
believe they're executing them the

32:24.617 --> 32:26.728
right way . They're identifying folks

32:26.728 --> 32:29.061
who developed symptoms and testing them .

32:29.061 --> 32:30.894
Andi , I would refer you for the

32:30.894 --> 32:32.783
specific numbers to the D C Guard

32:32.783 --> 32:34.950
because they're the ones who have that

32:34.950 --> 32:36.839
information right now . But every

32:36.839 --> 32:39.061
indication that I've heard from them in

32:39.061 --> 32:41.228
multiple discussions with them is that

32:41.228 --> 32:43.283
they're following the same protocols

32:43.283 --> 32:45.506
and the same standards that the rest of

32:45.506 --> 32:45.370
us air following . I have been asking

32:45.370 --> 32:47.370
the guard for a long time for those

32:47.370 --> 32:49.537
details , and they have not given them

32:49.537 --> 32:51.592
to me . So can you say why you can't

32:51.592 --> 32:53.648
release those numbers ? I don't have

32:53.648 --> 32:55.870
the guard numbers , so I don't have the

32:55.870 --> 32:57.814
specifics that you were asking for

32:57.814 --> 32:59.981
their Hey , look , let's go Thio or in

32:59.981 --> 33:02.590
CNN , have you for Are you testing for

33:02.590 --> 33:04.910
the U . K . Or the South African

33:04.910 --> 33:08.030
variant of coated amongst duty

33:08.030 --> 33:09.974
personnel , either domestically or

33:09.974 --> 33:12.197
abroad and obviously one of the results

33:12.197 --> 33:14.400
of those tests . Uh , so , yes , we

33:14.400 --> 33:16.750
have labs that participate in , uh ,

33:16.760 --> 33:18.760
and share data with the Centers for

33:18.760 --> 33:21.038
Disease Control . And as you know , uh ,

33:21.038 --> 33:23.149
the number of sites at which we found

33:23.149 --> 33:25.204
some of these new variants is fairly

33:25.204 --> 33:27.260
low across the United States . We're

33:27.260 --> 33:29.482
not yet seeing them , uh , in our d o .

33:29.482 --> 33:31.538
D population in the tests that we've

33:31.538 --> 33:33.650
done again . Uh , this is I would be

33:33.650 --> 33:35.872
very cautious , though , in reading too

33:35.872 --> 33:37.928
much into that . Because , as you've

33:37.928 --> 33:39.983
seen from other sources from the 500

33:39.983 --> 33:41.817
elsewhere , this is very much an

33:41.817 --> 33:43.983
evolving spread there . So I think you

33:43.983 --> 33:46.094
know , the key thing on this is we've

33:46.094 --> 33:48.094
got to keep testing for it and keep

33:48.094 --> 33:50.317
tracking for it . But so far within our

33:50.317 --> 33:52.150
population way , have not seen a

33:52.150 --> 33:54.372
significant new variant that is causing

33:54.372 --> 33:56.539
concern . And that's both domestically

33:56.539 --> 33:58.850
and internationally . Correct . Also in

33:58.850 --> 34:01.690
the room here , Megan . So the C B

34:01.700 --> 34:03.922
vaccination tracker pretty consistently

34:03.922 --> 34:06.540
put D o D s number of administer doses

34:06.540 --> 34:08.484
that about half of the distributed

34:08.484 --> 34:10.890
doses way no from local reports around

34:10.890 --> 34:13.001
the country that a lot of that has to

34:13.001 --> 34:15.223
do with the hesitancy for the people on

34:15.223 --> 34:17.279
the priority list to get it and then

34:17.279 --> 34:19.446
kind of the scramble to figure out who

34:19.446 --> 34:18.860
they're going to give it to instead ,

34:19.140 --> 34:20.862
because all of those plans are

34:20.862 --> 34:23.084
different . Does do you ? Do you have a

34:23.084 --> 34:25.196
more specific plan about who you call

34:25.196 --> 34:27.418
when you can't give it to the person on

34:27.418 --> 34:29.620
the list ? And if they do , why is the

34:29.630 --> 34:32.230
50% still pretty par for the course is

34:32.240 --> 34:34.640
with everybody else ? Yeah , and so I'm

34:34.650 --> 34:37.770
you know , first it would go back to a

34:37.770 --> 34:39.992
couple of points that I made earlier on

34:39.992 --> 34:41.992
this because I think this is really

34:41.992 --> 34:44.103
important . Would recommend if you're

34:44.103 --> 34:43.810
gonna look at the CDC data that you

34:43.810 --> 34:45.866
look at it day by day and not just a

34:45.866 --> 34:48.032
single snapshot , because it does tend

34:48.032 --> 34:50.254
to vary as I mentioned earlier . If you

34:50.254 --> 34:52.532
look at the very beginning of the week ,

34:52.532 --> 34:54.754
the percentages are almost every week .

34:54.754 --> 34:54.140
I went back and looked at the last

34:54.140 --> 34:56.362
three weeks , different then at the end

34:56.362 --> 34:58.084
of the week because we get the

34:58.084 --> 35:00.307
allocation at the beginning of the week

35:00.307 --> 34:59.470
there . It's in the beginning of the

34:59.480 --> 35:01.647
press conference , and it's about 50 .

35:01.647 --> 35:03.536
Right now , as there is far eso ,

35:03.536 --> 35:05.702
that's the lag . You know , that's the

35:05.702 --> 35:07.869
lag that I was talking about earlier .

35:07.869 --> 35:10.036
So to answer your specific questions ,

35:10.036 --> 35:12.147
yes , part of what the Defense Health

35:12.147 --> 35:14.091
Agency has worked with each of the

35:14.091 --> 35:16.258
basis on is their base level plan that

35:16.258 --> 35:18.258
says , you know , using the D . O D

35:18.258 --> 35:20.424
prioritization , which is based on the

35:20.424 --> 35:22.536
CDC prioritization . Here's who we go

35:22.536 --> 35:24.702
through and they have the authority if

35:24.702 --> 35:26.702
there's no one in a particular tear

35:26.702 --> 35:28.869
that's available , or that ops for the

35:28.869 --> 35:30.924
vaccine to go to the next level down

35:30.924 --> 35:33.091
and it varies based by base . That was

35:33.091 --> 35:32.750
the comment that I made earlier there

35:32.760 --> 35:34.940
for the 1st 10 bases that were our

35:34.940 --> 35:37.260
pilot sites there , much farther along

35:37.260 --> 35:39.371
in their list than the last few sites

35:39.371 --> 35:41.482
that have come online . They're still

35:41.482 --> 35:43.371
working on their initial group of

35:43.371 --> 35:45.690
health care workers , so least the you

35:45.690 --> 35:47.912
know everything that I'm hearing on the

35:47.912 --> 35:50.023
joint staff side and through the Cova

35:50.023 --> 35:51.857
task forces that that process is

35:51.857 --> 35:53.912
working well in stepping through the

35:53.912 --> 35:56.023
priorities and making sure that we're

35:56.023 --> 35:58.246
not losing any vaccines are lost . Rate

35:58.246 --> 36:00.500
has been negligible . It's e think I

36:00.500 --> 36:02.722
don't remember the exact number , and I

36:02.722 --> 36:04.833
apologize for that . But we certainly

36:04.833 --> 36:06.778
have not lost any vaccines because

36:06.778 --> 36:09.000
they're sitting on the shelf . I really

36:09.000 --> 36:11.000
follow up . So the DVD website also

36:11.000 --> 36:13.222
tracks Covic cases and breaks them down

36:13.222 --> 36:15.389
by service . Member dependent civilian

36:15.389 --> 36:17.444
contractor . Why can we not get that

36:17.444 --> 36:19.611
same level of fidelity of administered

36:19.611 --> 36:23.560
vaccines ? So uh , that's

36:23.560 --> 36:25.560
a very long answer . That's a quick

36:25.560 --> 36:27.449
question , but a very long answer

36:27.449 --> 36:29.504
because CDC says you have to do this

36:29.504 --> 36:31.727
and you're not doing more than what CBC

36:31.727 --> 36:33.671
tells you to dio is . Why not ? So

36:33.671 --> 36:35.949
that's part of it . What I would offer .

36:35.949 --> 36:38.720
And I'll defer DARPA colleagues if I

36:38.720 --> 36:40.887
could get back to you because that's a

36:40.887 --> 36:43.053
much longer answer . There's there's a

36:43.053 --> 36:45.109
lot of nuances to that piece of it .

36:45.109 --> 36:47.109
There's a lot more data that we are

36:47.109 --> 36:49.270
collecting there . Putting it all out

36:49.270 --> 36:51.159
on the website becomes a bit more

36:51.159 --> 36:53.326
challenging for a variety of reasons ,

36:53.326 --> 36:55.492
So let's go to the back to the phone .

36:55.492 --> 36:57.437
We're gonna go Thio Jeff Shuttle .

36:59.430 --> 37:01.900
Yeah . Uh , thank you . This is a

37:01.900 --> 37:04.011
question for General Friedrichs . I'm

37:04.011 --> 37:06.344
following up on my colleague's question .

37:06.344 --> 37:08.410
Are you saying that an organization

37:08.410 --> 37:11.570
that has an annual budget of $705

37:11.570 --> 37:13.710
billion is unable to say how many

37:13.720 --> 37:16.070
service members have been vaccinated

37:16.080 --> 37:18.450
and how many have refused . Thank you .

37:20.130 --> 37:23.160
Uh , no , I'm not saying that .

37:23.630 --> 37:27.030
So a zai mentioned there were 366,000

37:27.030 --> 37:30.130
doses given out on . I don't have it in

37:30.130 --> 37:32.297
front of me . I could get to the exact

37:32.297 --> 37:34.297
number of which of those were first

37:34.297 --> 37:36.297
doses in which of those were second

37:36.297 --> 37:38.352
doses . If I remember correctly , it

37:38.352 --> 37:40.463
was around 320,000 or first doses and

37:40.463 --> 37:42.900
40,000 ish . Of those were second doses .

37:42.900 --> 37:46.340
So that means about 320,000 people . Uh ,

37:46.350 --> 37:48.406
so the declination zehr a little bit

37:48.406 --> 37:50.680
more challenging , and this gets into

37:50.690 --> 37:52.801
the fact that this is voluntary , you

37:52.801 --> 37:55.023
know , way are not compelling people to

37:55.023 --> 37:57.023
take a vaccine , that this is truly

37:57.023 --> 37:59.134
something that they have to volunteer

37:59.134 --> 38:01.750
for . Andi and we've been very careful

38:01.760 --> 38:04.400
to adhere to not just the letter , but

38:04.400 --> 38:06.660
the intent of the guidance that's been

38:06.660 --> 38:08.882
put out on that under the emergency use

38:08.882 --> 38:11.300
authorization . Okay , back here in the

38:11.300 --> 38:13.800
room . You know what ? That Excuse me ,

38:13.800 --> 38:15.522
Al Jazeera English White House

38:15.522 --> 38:17.578
officials said when they took over ,

38:17.578 --> 38:19.522
they realized there was no plan in

38:19.522 --> 38:22.030
place to get back vaccines into the AMP

38:22.110 --> 38:24.166
into the arms of Americans . Is that

38:24.166 --> 38:27.550
true ? So mm

38:28.110 --> 38:31.070
there . There is no doubt that there is

38:31.070 --> 38:33.237
significant room for improvement , and

38:33.237 --> 38:37.100
that is reflected in the

38:37.100 --> 38:39.550
strategic guidance . The executive

38:39.550 --> 38:43.160
orders the changes in FEMA payment

38:43.160 --> 38:46.660
ratios , the leadership by FEMA , all

38:46.660 --> 38:48.716
of which this administration has put

38:48.716 --> 38:52.290
into fold in just the last few days .

38:52.300 --> 38:55.350
Um , that in and of itself speaks for ,

38:55.820 --> 38:58.940
um what this administration came onto

38:59.420 --> 39:03.140
now with that being said , though , um ,

39:03.720 --> 39:06.920
from the perspective of d . O . D . I

39:07.180 --> 39:09.470
just think it is absolutely essential

39:09.470 --> 39:12.940
that we are forward looking , um ,

39:13.720 --> 39:15.800
just trying to doom . Or was there a

39:15.800 --> 39:18.260
plan or no ? Well , certainly in terms

39:18.260 --> 39:20.620
of anything that the White House said I

39:20.620 --> 39:22.676
would refer you to the White House ,

39:22.676 --> 39:25.009
anything that the White House came onto ,

39:25.009 --> 39:27.176
I would refer you to the White House .

39:27.176 --> 39:29.398
But what I can tell you is is that from

39:29.398 --> 39:31.398
the perspective of Secretary Austin

39:31.400 --> 39:33.240
within just his first day ,

39:33.240 --> 39:35.940
establishing this as his number one

39:35.940 --> 39:39.400
priority and firmly stating that this

39:39.400 --> 39:41.567
department stands ready to do anything

39:41.567 --> 39:43.456
it can to support the president's

39:43.456 --> 39:47.250
effort . FEMA's effort , all the while

39:47.250 --> 39:50.220
not sacrificing our posture and our

39:50.220 --> 39:52.276
capabilities to defend this nation .

39:52.720 --> 39:55.210
That is where we stand right now under

39:55.220 --> 39:57.442
Undersecretary Austin . These people in

39:57.442 --> 39:59.498
10 months to come up with a plan and

39:59.498 --> 40:01.498
they didn't and you're saying those

40:01.498 --> 40:03.720
same people are going to stay in charge

40:03.720 --> 40:05.776
of the distribution ? Well , I don't

40:05.776 --> 40:07.831
think that that's the correct way to

40:07.831 --> 40:09.887
look at this . Okay , that that what

40:09.887 --> 40:12.510
this administration is doing and the

40:12.510 --> 40:15.900
Department of Defense is support for

40:15.910 --> 40:19.750
President Biden strategy of defeating

40:19.750 --> 40:22.530
this pandemic as quickly as possible .

40:23.310 --> 40:26.130
That's where we are right now . And I

40:26.130 --> 40:29.390
can tell you within my first week as I

40:29.390 --> 40:31.750
look at the men and women in uniform

40:32.810 --> 40:34.866
who are serving this nation and have

40:34.866 --> 40:38.750
served this nation for years , I have

40:38.760 --> 40:41.450
the utmost confidence in their ability

40:41.450 --> 40:44.320
to execute this plan going forward . Uh ,

40:44.330 --> 40:47.580
let's go to the back Tom percentage of

40:47.740 --> 40:49.796
individuals here in the Pentagon who

40:49.796 --> 40:51.962
have gotten the vaccination and what's

40:51.962 --> 40:55.270
the refusal rate ? Uh , again ,

40:55.280 --> 40:57.830
E think I may not have been clear on

40:57.830 --> 41:01.000
that one So the refusal rate is a is a

41:01.000 --> 41:03.167
statistic that I think we're not gonna

41:03.167 --> 41:05.056
be able to give you because its a

41:05.056 --> 41:07.111
voluntary vaccine . Crazy question .

41:07.111 --> 41:06.960
What's the first part ? Still say ?

41:06.960 --> 41:08.793
What's the percentage ? How many

41:08.793 --> 41:10.849
independent on habit vaccine And are

41:10.849 --> 41:13.127
you seeing people here in the Pentagon ?

41:13.127 --> 41:15.349
Refusing . But are we seeing people who

41:15.349 --> 41:18.050
are declining to get it ? Yes . Yes .

41:18.060 --> 41:20.310
And you know , I mean , I've had people

41:20.310 --> 41:22.310
say that for a variety of reasons .

41:22.310 --> 41:24.366
They're pregnant , which is a very ,

41:24.366 --> 41:26.421
you know , reasonable concern . They

41:26.421 --> 41:26.160
wanna talk to their doctor first . Very

41:26.160 --> 41:28.327
reasonable concern , You know that . I

41:28.327 --> 41:30.382
mean , yes . So there are people who

41:30.382 --> 41:32.493
have said they don't want to get it .

41:32.493 --> 41:32.010
I'll have to get back to you on the

41:32.010 --> 41:34.066
latest numbers for the Pentagon . It

41:34.066 --> 41:36.232
changes daily , and I don't have those

41:36.232 --> 41:36.010
numbers with me right now . Is an

41:36.010 --> 41:38.300
ongoing the backs ? Yeah . Every day

41:38.300 --> 41:40.356
we're doing vaccinations here in the

41:40.356 --> 41:42.578
building , and our clinic downstairs is

41:42.578 --> 41:44.856
in charge . Thank you . You bet . Okay .

41:44.856 --> 41:47.590
And last question Abraham to examine

41:47.600 --> 41:49.767
this question is for general freedom .

41:49.767 --> 41:52.730
Eso you mentioned 320,000 , uh ,

41:52.740 --> 41:54.851
military personnel . Dearly personnel

41:54.851 --> 41:56.684
have been vaccinated but you had

41:56.684 --> 41:59.500
769,000 doses , so there's a big gap

41:59.510 --> 42:01.566
there . You also said that there's a

42:01.566 --> 42:03.621
sort of a trend line that matches of

42:03.621 --> 42:05.843
civilian society , that older folks are

42:05.843 --> 42:07.788
the ones who are accepting it at a

42:07.788 --> 42:09.843
higher rate . And you also said that

42:09.843 --> 42:12.720
that that there's a tear of individuals

42:12.720 --> 42:14.942
for strategic and national security and

42:14.942 --> 42:17.360
those deploying those people are

42:17.370 --> 42:19.650
generally younger . So are the people

42:19.650 --> 42:21.539
who are doing national security ,

42:21.539 --> 42:24.360
strategic and deploying , turning down

42:24.360 --> 42:26.850
vaccines and still deploying without

42:26.850 --> 42:29.980
the vaccine . So , uh , in some cases ,

42:29.990 --> 42:32.323
yes , it's a voluntary vaccine . I mean ,

42:32.323 --> 42:34.780
you know , there are people in e think

42:34.780 --> 42:36.891
every walk of life across our country

42:36.891 --> 42:38.891
who are making this choice is there

42:38.891 --> 42:40.613
offered the opportunity to get

42:40.613 --> 42:42.780
vaccinated . It's certainly within the

42:42.780 --> 42:44.891
Department of Defense . We have tried

42:44.891 --> 42:46.947
very hard to make it clear this is a

42:46.947 --> 42:48.780
voluntary vaccine , and while we

42:48.780 --> 42:50.724
certainly encourage people , and I

42:50.724 --> 42:52.558
asked for your help with that to

42:52.558 --> 42:54.669
reinforce the safety and the efficacy

42:54.669 --> 42:56.836
of this , it is ultimately a voluntary

42:56.836 --> 43:00.050
vaccine , and so that the answer is yes

43:00.060 --> 43:02.116
and when they deploy or they do some

43:02.116 --> 43:04.171
important national security function

43:04.171 --> 43:07.270
like , uh , nuclear . Uh , protection .

43:07.280 --> 43:10.330
Uh , they are allowed to continue to do

43:10.330 --> 43:14.250
that job . Okay , gentlemen ,

43:14.250 --> 43:16.472
thank you very much for your time , and

43:16.472 --> 43:18.639
we'll we'll transition here , Thio our

43:18.640 --> 43:20.820
phase two of the of the conference .

43:21.900 --> 43:24.610
Thank you . Thanks . For what ?

43:31.500 --> 43:35.280
Okay . You have a couple of things

43:35.280 --> 43:37.447
toe read off the top of your Just bear

43:37.447 --> 43:38.230
with me .

43:45.800 --> 43:49.140
Eso just some status updates . We have

43:49.140 --> 43:51.196
made a lot of progress over the last

43:51.196 --> 43:53.760
week alone and just getting , uh , new

43:53.760 --> 43:56.090
members to the Defense Department team .

43:56.100 --> 43:58.980
We've welcome now , 30 new

43:58.990 --> 44:01.690
appointees , uh , in just the last week ,

44:01.690 --> 44:03.912
another dozen or slated for next week .

44:03.990 --> 44:06.640
Of those , 25 came to the office of the

44:06.640 --> 44:09.270
Secretary Defense . The OSD staff two

44:09.270 --> 44:11.214
went to Department of the Army and

44:11.214 --> 44:13.381
three went to Department of the Navy .

44:13.381 --> 44:15.570
Among these new arrivals are Kimberly

44:15.570 --> 44:17.292
Jackson , the deputy assistant

44:17.292 --> 44:19.237
Secretary of Defense for readiness

44:19.237 --> 44:21.181
inside the Personnel and Readiness

44:21.181 --> 44:23.403
Directorate . And Taylor Ferrell as the

44:23.403 --> 44:25.570
deputy General counsel for environment

44:25.570 --> 44:27.792
and installations on If you want a full

44:27.792 --> 44:29.792
list of the people we've on boarded

44:29.792 --> 44:31.959
happy to provide that after we're done

44:31.959 --> 44:34.014
here , we also wanna obviously thank

44:34.014 --> 44:36.126
Congress for their support in helping

44:36.126 --> 44:38.348
us get some of these positions filled .

44:38.348 --> 44:40.292
As you may know , next Tuesday the

44:40.292 --> 44:39.650
Senate Armed Services Committee will

44:39.650 --> 44:41.594
hold a confirmation hearing for Dr

44:41.594 --> 44:43.817
Kathleen Hicks , who has been nominated

44:43.817 --> 44:45.983
to be the deputy secretary . Defense .

44:45.983 --> 44:45.930
We're grateful that that hearing got

44:45.930 --> 44:47.986
scheduled in short order , and we're

44:47.986 --> 44:50.097
certainly looking forward to a speedy

44:50.097 --> 44:53.980
confirmation for Dr Hicks . We're

44:53.980 --> 44:55.980
obviously very happy to see all our

44:55.980 --> 44:58.036
rivals , and we thank them for their

44:58.036 --> 45:00.258
willingness to serve . Now let me shift

45:00.258 --> 45:02.147
gears to Secretary Austin . Think

45:02.147 --> 45:04.091
you've been seeing that we've been

45:04.091 --> 45:06.147
providing readouts of the calls that

45:06.147 --> 45:08.313
he's made Thio several international ,

45:08.313 --> 45:10.536
uh , counterparts . Uh , he spoke again

45:10.536 --> 45:13.310
today with the French foreign minister .

45:13.390 --> 45:15.334
I'm sorry , French Minister of the

45:15.334 --> 45:17.223
Armed Forces Florence Parlay , to

45:17.223 --> 45:19.001
reinforce the importance of the

45:19.001 --> 45:20.946
strategic alliance between our two

45:20.946 --> 45:23.001
countries . Uh , they also discussed

45:23.001 --> 45:25.168
security and stability in Africa , the

45:25.168 --> 45:27.223
need for continued vigilance against

45:27.223 --> 45:29.112
terrorism , the pandemic and , of

45:29.112 --> 45:31.057
course , the situation in Iraq and

45:31.057 --> 45:30.860
Afghanistan as well as the broader

45:30.870 --> 45:34.070
Middle East . Hey thanked her for her

45:34.070 --> 45:35.959
leadership on global security and

45:35.959 --> 45:38.126
defense issues , said he looks forward

45:38.126 --> 45:40.292
to continued dialogue in the future in

45:40.292 --> 45:42.348
the future for the United States and

45:42.348 --> 45:44.459
France toe work bilaterally and toe ,

45:44.459 --> 45:46.681
obviously , through the NATO alliance .

45:46.681 --> 45:48.792
Second call he had today was with the

45:48.792 --> 45:51.070
Israeli defense minister , Benny Gantz .

45:51.070 --> 45:53.126
Mr . Ganz congratulated secretary on

45:53.126 --> 45:55.530
his position and secretary reaffirmed ,

45:55.530 --> 45:58.480
of course , the strong partnership in

45:58.480 --> 46:00.591
relationship that we have bilaterally

46:00.591 --> 46:02.369
with Israel . The secretary did

46:02.369 --> 46:04.630
reiterate US commitment to maintain

46:04.640 --> 46:07.300
Israel's qualitative military edge ,

46:07.310 --> 46:09.366
and both leaders agreed to remain in

46:09.366 --> 46:11.421
close coordination on shared defense

46:11.421 --> 46:13.643
priorities , particularly in the region

46:13.643 --> 46:15.643
but also around the world . I think

46:15.643 --> 46:17.699
you'll see the secretary continue to

46:17.699 --> 46:19.754
reach out , uh , counterparts , UH ,

46:19.754 --> 46:21.810
two more calls tomorrow , one to the

46:21.810 --> 46:24.032
defense minister of Italy and the other

46:24.032 --> 46:25.977
two . Defense Minister of Canada ,

46:26.480 --> 46:28.480
taken outside behind the beyond the

46:28.480 --> 46:30.536
building would like to announce that

46:30.536 --> 46:32.702
Arlington National Cemetery's going to

46:32.702 --> 46:34.869
commemorate the centennial of the Tomb

46:34.869 --> 46:36.869
of the Unknown Soldier with a whole

46:36.869 --> 46:38.813
year long tribute . For nearly 100

46:38.813 --> 46:38.570
years , the tomb of the unknown many of

46:38.570 --> 46:41.210
you have seen it have served as served

46:41.210 --> 46:43.154
as the heart of Arlington National

46:43.154 --> 46:45.043
Cemetery . It's truly of people's

46:45.043 --> 46:47.099
memorial when inspires reflection on

46:47.099 --> 46:49.840
service , valor , sacrifice and morning

46:50.230 --> 46:52.640
as a sacred memorial site and the grave

46:52.640 --> 46:54.529
of these unknown American service

46:54.529 --> 46:56.584
members . The tomb connects visitors

46:56.584 --> 46:58.640
with the legacy of the U . S . Armed

46:58.640 --> 47:00.807
forces throughout our nation's history

47:00.807 --> 47:00.520
and throughout the whole year .

47:00.530 --> 47:02.752
Cemetery will hold events leading up to

47:02.752 --> 47:04.752
the Centennial ceremony on November

47:04.752 --> 47:07.790
11th of 2021 . They've got a website

47:07.790 --> 47:09.846
set up . I encourage you to check it

47:09.846 --> 47:12.012
out . All the events will be available

47:12.012 --> 47:14.290
there with that start taking questions .

47:14.290 --> 47:17.010
Lead him . So let's take another . Stop

47:17.020 --> 47:17.500
this .

47:17.720 --> 47:21.490
Let us

47:21.500 --> 47:24.490
take another stab at this . Can you

47:24.490 --> 47:28.260
give us some clarity on the FEMA

47:28.260 --> 47:31.700
requests and what it may or may not

47:31.710 --> 47:33.821
include ? What secretaries thought is

47:33.821 --> 47:37.350
on that , um , active duty , not active

47:37.360 --> 47:39.850
duty medical units or whatever . And

47:39.850 --> 47:42.610
then just secondarily secretary spoke

47:42.610 --> 47:46.390
with Germany German mod yesterday .

47:46.400 --> 47:49.530
What can you say about the secretary's

47:49.530 --> 47:53.430
thoughts on the ongoing plan ? Toe pull

47:53.430 --> 47:55.541
a significant number of troops out of

47:55.541 --> 47:57.819
Germany . Okay , let me start with one .

47:57.820 --> 47:59.764
If I forget to , which is likely .

47:59.764 --> 48:01.987
Please remind me because those air both

48:01.987 --> 48:04.090
weighty questions you just asked eso

48:04.090 --> 48:07.670
Look on the on the FEMA request a z . I

48:07.670 --> 48:10.080
think Mr Rose indicated we are in

48:10.080 --> 48:13.600
receipt of requests by FEMA for ,

48:13.970 --> 48:16.300
uh , Defense Department capabilities to

48:16.300 --> 48:19.190
assist in vaccine distribution .

48:19.770 --> 48:22.800
I'm not able right now to go into great

48:22.800 --> 48:26.030
detail into what that request is . It

48:26.030 --> 48:29.000
is going through just like we would get

48:29.000 --> 48:32.090
from a combatant command . It's going

48:32.090 --> 48:34.460
through the same process on it just

48:34.460 --> 48:36.571
came in yesterday , actually , in the

48:36.571 --> 48:40.290
evening on dso it is being analyzed for

48:40.290 --> 48:43.880
re sourcing on risk by the

48:43.880 --> 48:46.630
services . Uh , and that's again

48:46.640 --> 48:48.640
typical process leader . You know ,

48:48.640 --> 48:50.862
that s Oh , I'm really load to get into

48:50.862 --> 48:53.029
the each of the details of the request

48:53.029 --> 48:55.196
now , So I think what you really it is

48:55.196 --> 48:57.084
how how we gonna source it . So a

48:57.084 --> 48:59.084
couple of thoughts , First of all ,

48:59.084 --> 49:00.918
we're obviously going to sources

49:00.918 --> 49:02.973
request . I mean , the secretary has

49:02.973 --> 49:05.084
made it very clear , uh , that we are

49:05.084 --> 49:07.307
going to provide as much capability and

49:07.307 --> 49:09.473
capacity as the Defense Department can

49:09.473 --> 49:12.410
afford to do to help with this national

49:12.410 --> 49:14.850
priority . We also have other jobs to

49:14.850 --> 49:16.683
do clearly in the defense of the

49:16.683 --> 49:18.850
country . And so there's risk whenever

49:18.850 --> 49:18.690
you pull capabilities away , and we're

49:18.690 --> 49:20.746
gonna have to balance that risk with

49:20.746 --> 49:22.500
this request . But we're gonna

49:22.500 --> 49:24.500
contribute on we're gonna and we're

49:24.500 --> 49:26.389
going to do so in as aggressive a

49:26.389 --> 49:29.350
manner as we can and just as we do with

49:29.350 --> 49:32.070
every other request when we put it out

49:32.070 --> 49:34.126
to the services for sourcing because

49:34.126 --> 49:36.403
this would very much be a joint effort ,

49:36.403 --> 49:38.681
this would not fall on any one service .

49:38.681 --> 49:41.700
Each service has medical , clinical and

49:41.700 --> 49:43.644
non clinical as well as logistical

49:43.644 --> 49:45.922
capability . So I would expect you see ,

49:45.922 --> 49:48.089
when we fill this request , it will be

49:48.089 --> 49:50.311
done jointly across the services . Um ,

49:51.170 --> 49:53.114
I can't tell you defended the view

49:53.114 --> 49:55.550
right now that it's gonna be , um uh ,

49:55.560 --> 49:57.830
this particular mix of active duty or

49:57.830 --> 50:00.780
reserve or guard . Um , I would be

50:00.780 --> 50:04.740
surprised if it isn't a mix of

50:04.740 --> 50:06.907
all three , but again , it hasn't been

50:06.907 --> 50:10.280
sourced yet . Um , and as for the

50:10.290 --> 50:12.580
numbers , the numbers they asked for

50:12.580 --> 50:14.580
versus the numbers , we're gonna be

50:14.580 --> 50:16.747
able to source again . We're not there

50:16.747 --> 50:18.802
yet because we also do have toe . We

50:18.802 --> 50:20.980
have to balance the risk to , um , to

50:20.980 --> 50:23.091
the medical capabilities that we need

50:23.091 --> 50:25.147
in the fleet and in the field and to

50:25.147 --> 50:27.480
care for our members and their families .

50:27.560 --> 50:29.820
So it's a long answer to a good

50:29.820 --> 50:31.931
question . I would just tell you that

50:31.931 --> 50:33.820
it's going through the same exact

50:33.820 --> 50:36.098
process that we would get and normally ,

50:36.098 --> 50:37.876
leader . And you know this . We

50:37.876 --> 50:39.876
wouldn't sit up here and talk about

50:39.876 --> 50:41.820
requests from combatant commands ,

50:41.820 --> 50:43.820
right ? Especially not before their

50:43.820 --> 50:45.987
source . But in this case , we felt it

50:45.987 --> 50:45.400
was important to acknowledge that we

50:45.400 --> 50:47.820
got the request and that we are

50:47.830 --> 50:50.270
actively sourcing it . When , um , I

50:50.270 --> 50:52.910
gonna have answers for you . I don't

50:52.910 --> 50:55.810
know the exact day , but I would say

50:55.820 --> 50:58.470
we're talking days certainly not ,

50:58.480 --> 51:02.300
uh , weeks to get this source . We know

51:02.300 --> 51:04.467
there's an urgency the secretary knows

51:04.467 --> 51:06.633
is an urgency , and he's made it clear

51:06.633 --> 51:08.856
that he wants the department to lean in

51:08.856 --> 51:10.911
and lean forward with his much as we

51:10.911 --> 51:12.967
can possibly dio . So I think you're

51:12.967 --> 51:15.022
gonna see us figure out the sourcing

51:15.022 --> 51:17.133
mechanism here within days . And when

51:17.133 --> 51:18.967
we do and we have something more

51:18.967 --> 51:21.140
definitive , we'll let you know . But

51:21.140 --> 51:24.160
look for a look for a blend in a mix on

51:24.160 --> 51:26.280
Germany . Uh , they had a great

51:26.280 --> 51:29.760
conversation yesterday . Um , without

51:29.760 --> 51:33.200
question , the issue of US force

51:33.200 --> 51:36.230
presence in , uh , levels in Germany

51:36.230 --> 51:38.800
came up clearly . Um , what I would

51:38.800 --> 51:42.330
tell you is uh , that the secretary ,

51:43.260 --> 51:47.160
uh , made clear that he wants

51:47.160 --> 51:49.560
to take a look globally at force

51:49.560 --> 51:51.671
pressure , as you would expect him to

51:51.671 --> 51:54.004
do when he first comes into office . Um ,

51:54.004 --> 51:56.060
eso Well , certainly we're certainly

51:56.060 --> 51:58.282
gonna look at the European . Lay down .

51:58.282 --> 52:00.116
Um , and we're gonna bounce that

52:00.116 --> 52:02.338
against I'm sorry , Bounce . That's not

52:02.338 --> 52:04.560
a good we're gonna measure it against ,

52:04.560 --> 52:06.227
uh , you know what ? What the

52:06.227 --> 52:08.060
requirements are for the U . S .

52:08.060 --> 52:10.116
Military and what our strategy is in

52:10.116 --> 52:12.171
every region on deal . Think through

52:12.171 --> 52:14.227
that thoughtfully with the advice of

52:14.227 --> 52:16.449
both civilian and military leadership .

52:16.449 --> 52:19.010
What he did assert to the defense

52:19.010 --> 52:22.690
minister was that whatever decision

52:23.150 --> 52:25.930
we make , we'll do it in consultation

52:25.940 --> 52:27.940
with her and her government . There

52:27.940 --> 52:30.170
won't be any surprises . It'll be a

52:30.170 --> 52:32.392
collaborative effort as we look forward

52:32.392 --> 52:34.559
and and lead . A last thing I'd say is

52:34.559 --> 52:36.781
I don't want you to take away from this

52:36.781 --> 52:40.320
answer that that there will be or won't

52:40.320 --> 52:44.080
be any specific change . Uh , he made

52:44.080 --> 52:46.980
it very clear , um , that he values the

52:46.980 --> 52:49.680
support that we've received for so many

52:49.680 --> 52:52.870
years from Germany as a veteran , uh ,

52:52.880 --> 52:54.991
fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan . He

52:54.991 --> 52:57.047
well knows the key role , logistical

52:57.047 --> 52:59.540
and medical role that that the German

52:59.540 --> 53:01.429
government has played in terms of

53:01.429 --> 53:03.930
providing us those the the

53:03.930 --> 53:05.708
infrastructure to provide those

53:05.708 --> 53:08.010
capabilities to the force . And I can

53:08.010 --> 53:10.560
guarantee you that whatever we come to

53:10.570 --> 53:12.610
it , it's going to be in the best

53:12.610 --> 53:15.230
interest of our national security

53:15.230 --> 53:17.990
interests and those of our key ally

53:17.990 --> 53:21.490
Germany . That that gets you okay .

53:21.850 --> 53:25.090
Uh , Afghanistan . Good . Thank you

53:25.090 --> 53:26.979
very much . Welcome back . You're

53:26.979 --> 53:29.257
welcome . Thank you . My name is Nazir .

53:29.257 --> 53:31.479
Assume Karimi . I'm Afghan journalist E

53:31.479 --> 53:35.110
No . You , uh what is the new The

53:35.120 --> 53:37.760
plan ? Our strategy of Pentagon . Port

53:37.760 --> 53:39.982
Afghanistan . All the Taliban announced

53:39.982 --> 53:43.590
that if us bring some change to you ,

53:43.600 --> 53:46.590
US on Taliban agreement , they are

53:46.600 --> 53:49.750
going to start again . War on ,

53:50.300 --> 53:53.380
start their attack toe use forces in

53:53.380 --> 53:55.324
Afghanistan . Let's back up just a

53:55.324 --> 53:58.890
little bit . Um , we are still involved

53:58.900 --> 54:01.750
in trying to get a negotiated

54:01.750 --> 54:04.330
settlement . The Taliban have not met

54:04.330 --> 54:07.480
their commitments . Um , as you know ,

54:07.480 --> 54:09.930
there is a looming deadline of early

54:09.930 --> 54:13.490
May that that before everybody in terms

54:13.490 --> 54:16.480
of , you know , wanting toe have , um ,

54:16.840 --> 54:20.650
a solution here , but without them

54:20.650 --> 54:23.120
meeting their commitments to renounce

54:23.130 --> 54:26.870
terrorism and to the stop the violent

54:26.870 --> 54:29.092
attacks on the Afghan National security

54:29.092 --> 54:31.950
forces . And you know , by dent of that

54:31.950 --> 54:34.172
the Afghan people . Um , it's very hard

54:34.172 --> 54:37.860
to see um uh , a specific way

54:37.860 --> 54:40.082
forward for the negotiated settlement ,

54:40.082 --> 54:42.082
but we're still committed to that .

54:42.082 --> 54:41.750
There's no question about that . The

54:41.750 --> 54:43.861
secretary has been clear in testimony

54:43.861 --> 54:46.080
that the that that's that we need to

54:46.080 --> 54:48.660
find a reasonable , rational end to

54:48.660 --> 54:50.870
this war and that it's got to be done

54:50.870 --> 54:52.926
through a negotiated settlement that

54:52.926 --> 54:55.500
includes the Afghan government have to

54:55.500 --> 54:57.640
be involved in this on Gus far . The

54:57.640 --> 55:01.090
Taliban has been , to put it politely ,

55:01.090 --> 55:03.201
reticent to meet their requirements .

55:03.201 --> 55:05.090
So and this gets to the the other

55:05.090 --> 55:07.257
number , the other issue , which is US

55:07.257 --> 55:09.423
force presence . So we're down to 2500

55:09.423 --> 55:11.760
right now . Both General Miller , uh ,

55:11.770 --> 55:13.881
the commander in Afghanistan and , of

55:13.881 --> 55:15.826
course , the chairman of the Joint

55:15.826 --> 55:17.937
Chiefs gentlemanly have made it clear

55:17.937 --> 55:19.770
that they believe that that is a

55:19.770 --> 55:19.720
sufficient number to accomplish the

55:19.720 --> 55:21.331
mission , which is largely a

55:21.331 --> 55:23.498
counterterrorism mission . Right now ,

55:23.498 --> 55:25.442
uh , we have many NATO partners in

55:25.442 --> 55:27.276
Afghanistan . In fact , that was

55:27.276 --> 55:29.387
another thing that we talked that the

55:29.387 --> 55:29.210
secretary talked about with the German

55:29.210 --> 55:31.340
defense minister was their commitment

55:31.350 --> 55:33.880
thio the NATO mission , who are also

55:33.880 --> 55:35.824
involved in some advise and assist

55:35.824 --> 55:38.050
missions as well . So right now we

55:38.050 --> 55:40.272
think we have enough to do what we need

55:40.272 --> 55:43.750
to do . Um uh , but there's

55:44.410 --> 55:47.840
no there hasn't been any decisions made

55:47.840 --> 55:50.380
now about what that force presence is

55:50.380 --> 55:53.160
gonna look like going forward . And I

55:53.160 --> 55:55.560
would say this to the leaders of the

55:55.560 --> 55:59.270
Taliban that it is going to be the that

55:59.280 --> 56:01.391
they make it that much more difficult

56:01.391 --> 56:03.720
for final decision to be made about

56:03.720 --> 56:06.020
force presence by their reticence , to

56:06.030 --> 56:09.190
commit to reasonable , uh ,

56:09.200 --> 56:12.180
sustainable , incredible negotiations

56:12.180 --> 56:14.430
at the table . Okay . E

56:14.430 --> 56:19.070
o ,

56:19.080 --> 56:22.390
go ahead with your news . Nice to meet

56:22.390 --> 56:24.612
you . Nice to meet you . Sort of a fall

56:24.612 --> 56:26.723
upon leaders question . No follow ups

56:26.723 --> 56:28.946
to leading questions . Okay , this will

56:28.946 --> 56:31.112
be a new question . Once I'm done with

56:31.112 --> 56:33.057
Lita , I'm done . This'll be a new

56:33.057 --> 56:35.057
stream of questions . You mentioned

56:35.057 --> 56:37.168
that he spoke today with Mr Parlay of

56:37.168 --> 56:39.670
France . And you also said from here

56:39.670 --> 56:41.837
that he's looking at the force posture

56:41.837 --> 56:43.837
around the world last summer on the

56:43.837 --> 56:45.948
trip by then Secretary experts , many

56:45.948 --> 56:48.260
once minister . Parley sector s

56:48.260 --> 56:50.316
pronounced the U . S . Was gonna cut

56:50.316 --> 56:52.482
back significantly its support for the

56:52.482 --> 56:54.427
French operations counterterrorism

56:54.427 --> 56:56.593
operations in France . And of course ,

56:56.593 --> 56:58.927
we mean not in France . You mean Africa ?

56:58.927 --> 57:01.260
French operations in Africa . Thank you ,

57:01.260 --> 57:03.340
Aziz . Well , I'm wondering the debt

57:03.340 --> 57:05.340
come up as part of the conversation

57:05.340 --> 57:08.530
today . And if so , is a review of the

57:08.530 --> 57:12.300
U . S . Force posture in Africa helping

57:12.300 --> 57:14.260
the French underway part of this .

57:14.270 --> 57:16.190
Thank you . It did come up in the

57:16.190 --> 57:18.412
conversation . I think I mentioned that

57:18.412 --> 57:20.412
in the readout . They certainly did

57:20.412 --> 57:22.412
talk about Africa and the set . And

57:22.412 --> 57:24.579
that's a health Specifically , Um uh ,

57:24.579 --> 57:26.690
the secretary certainly didn't commit

57:26.690 --> 57:28.579
to one course or another , but he

57:28.579 --> 57:30.301
obviously , uh , expressed his

57:30.301 --> 57:32.412
appreciation for the work that France

57:32.412 --> 57:34.579
is doing counterterrorism wise , and ,

57:34.579 --> 57:36.357
uh , Onda pledged that we would

57:36.357 --> 57:38.357
continue to look forward toe what ?

57:38.357 --> 57:40.579
What ? Our contributions might or might

57:40.579 --> 57:42.746
not look like going forward . So there

57:42.746 --> 57:44.468
wasn't There wasn't a specific

57:44.468 --> 57:46.579
commitment , but look , I mean , what

57:46.579 --> 57:48.801
do the same same sort of with Germany ?

57:48.801 --> 57:51.079
In other words , he's gonna look at it ,

57:51.079 --> 57:50.970
and that's where concert with that's

57:50.970 --> 57:54.100
where I was going . Eso were weak one

57:54.110 --> 57:56.770
into the job . Andi , I think it's fair

57:56.780 --> 57:58.990
for everyone to expect that . The

57:58.990 --> 58:01.212
secretary is gonna wanna take a look at

58:01.212 --> 58:03.157
operations around the world . What

58:03.157 --> 58:05.101
we're doing , whether it matches ,

58:05.101 --> 58:07.212
whether we're matching resource is to

58:07.212 --> 58:08.990
the strategy , uh , whether the

58:08.990 --> 58:11.480
strategy is itself appropriate . Um ,

58:11.490 --> 58:13.601
And then what kind of operations need

58:13.601 --> 58:15.601
to be conducted going going forward

58:15.601 --> 58:17.823
when we're talking about an operational

58:17.823 --> 58:20.046
environment which were not in Germany ,

58:20.046 --> 58:22.157
it's largely that there's a There's a

58:22.157 --> 58:24.323
large infrastructure there for forward

58:24.323 --> 58:26.490
basing of some troops and facilities .

58:26.490 --> 58:28.880
But I think it's fair to say that he

58:28.880 --> 58:30.790
will be looking at all the force

58:30.790 --> 58:32.970
presence around the world before he

58:32.970 --> 58:35.690
makes any specific decisions .

58:35.740 --> 58:39.440
E Thank you very much . Done . Nice to

58:39.450 --> 58:41.840
meet you again . Yes . I'm Jenny . Back

58:41.850 --> 58:45.140
E . Remember most all of you . Yeah ,

58:45.150 --> 58:47.310
we're coming back . Four years is too

58:47.310 --> 58:51.280
short . Can you tell us about I have a

58:51.290 --> 58:53.770
two occasions for you ? Can you tell us

58:53.770 --> 58:56.910
about the vaccination state ? You know ,

58:56.910 --> 59:00.760
situations for the U . S . Troops

59:01.120 --> 59:04.720
stationed overseas and second cation is

59:04.730 --> 59:08.000
the joint military exercises between U .

59:08.000 --> 59:11.270
S . And South Korea were suspended

59:11.280 --> 59:14.540
during the trump administration .

59:15.120 --> 59:17.200
So what is the bible of community

59:17.430 --> 59:20.170
relations , you know , actually doing

59:20.180 --> 59:22.520
these military exercises , right ? So

59:22.520 --> 59:25.480
I'm not able to get into the specific

59:25.480 --> 59:27.702
vaccination of troops overseas , but we

59:27.702 --> 59:29.869
obviously can help pull that data . So

59:29.869 --> 59:31.980
let me take that question , because I

59:31.980 --> 59:34.147
don't wanna speak to something I don't

59:34.147 --> 59:36.970
know about . Oh , thanks for the

59:36.970 --> 59:39.650
reminder . Uh um ,

59:40.620 --> 59:42.570
again , I would refer you more

59:42.570 --> 59:44.737
specifically to General Abrams and his

59:44.737 --> 59:47.070
staff . I don't wanna speak before them ,

59:47.070 --> 59:50.160
I think just broadly right . We

59:50.170 --> 59:52.340
recognize the value of training and

59:52.340 --> 59:55.470
exercises to keep forces ready . And no

59:55.470 --> 59:57.600
place is that more important than on

59:57.600 --> 01:00:00.050
the Korean Peninsula . Um , and even

01:00:00.050 --> 01:00:02.161
though some exercises were changed in

01:00:02.161 --> 01:00:04.520
character or in fact , stopped over the

01:00:04.520 --> 01:00:07.050
last couple of years while diplomatic

01:00:07.050 --> 01:00:10.110
negotiations were going on with with

01:00:10.110 --> 01:00:13.070
Pyongyang , um , I don't want to speak

01:00:13.070 --> 01:00:14.626
for General Abrams about my

01:00:14.626 --> 01:00:16.737
understanding is that they were still

01:00:16.737 --> 01:00:18.870
able to exercise and to train at a

01:00:18.870 --> 01:00:22.000
level that kept readiness capability

01:00:22.010 --> 01:00:25.080
intact . And that is certainly what the

01:00:25.080 --> 01:00:27.280
secretary is committed to doing . And

01:00:27.280 --> 01:00:30.260
he'll work with , uh , with his

01:00:30.260 --> 01:00:33.150
civilian staff as well as , uh , the

01:00:33.160 --> 01:00:35.260
chairman and General Abrams going

01:00:35.260 --> 01:00:37.316
forward to make sure that that's the

01:00:37.316 --> 01:00:39.482
case . I mean , the , you know , ready

01:00:39.482 --> 01:00:41.371
to fight tonight is is not just a

01:00:41.371 --> 01:00:43.540
slogan . It actually means something

01:00:43.540 --> 01:00:45.373
there on the peninsula . And the

01:00:45.373 --> 01:00:47.484
secretary is committed to that . What

01:00:47.484 --> 01:00:49.707
that exercise regime is gonna look like

01:00:49.707 --> 01:00:51.818
specifically going forward . I'm just

01:00:51.818 --> 01:00:53.929
not prepared , uh , to tell you , but

01:00:53.929 --> 01:00:55.929
we he fully understands the need to

01:00:55.929 --> 01:00:57.707
stay ready , and we're gonna be

01:00:57.707 --> 01:00:59.929
committed to that about North Korea's ,

01:00:59.929 --> 01:01:03.340
you know , new development of a new

01:01:03.350 --> 01:01:05.770
state of being . I'm sorry . The

01:01:05.780 --> 01:01:07.891
development of environmental over the

01:01:07.891 --> 01:01:10.610
new SLBM submarine launched ballistic

01:01:10.610 --> 01:01:12.580
missile . Somebody launch missile

01:01:13.070 --> 01:01:17.000
submarines . Yeah , I got work

01:01:17.010 --> 01:01:20.290
for four years s . Oh ,

01:01:20.300 --> 01:01:23.810
yeah . Thank you for that reminder ,

01:01:23.810 --> 01:01:27.420
Mike . So I'm not gonna get into

01:01:27.430 --> 01:01:30.450
assessments of specific

01:01:30.460 --> 01:01:33.790
weapons systems now , but I'll just say

01:01:33.790 --> 01:01:37.510
is , um was certainly mindful of of

01:01:37.520 --> 01:01:39.640
Pyongyang's desire to advance their

01:01:39.640 --> 01:01:41.862
military capabilities . We know exactly

01:01:41.862 --> 01:01:43.696
what those military capabilities

01:01:43.696 --> 01:01:45.751
resigned to do . Um , and , um , and

01:01:45.751 --> 01:01:47.918
we're gonna continue to make sure that

01:01:47.918 --> 01:01:50.029
we have the readiness posture we need

01:01:50.029 --> 01:01:52.196
on the Korean Peninsula . I think I'll

01:01:52.196 --> 01:01:52.000
leave it at that . Let me let me get a

01:01:52.010 --> 01:01:54.290
question from the phone . I think bar

01:01:54.290 --> 01:01:58.090
Barbara you on . I am . I have to

01:01:58.090 --> 01:02:00.310
specific questions . I wanted to ask

01:02:00.310 --> 01:02:03.390
you , uh , to bring us up to date as

01:02:03.400 --> 01:02:05.570
much as possible in as much detail as

01:02:05.570 --> 01:02:08.440
possible about the work so far on

01:02:08.440 --> 01:02:10.920
trying to find a way ahead on

01:02:10.930 --> 01:02:13.570
countering domestic extremism in the

01:02:13.570 --> 01:02:15.848
military . What you've been looking at ,

01:02:15.848 --> 01:02:17.903
what meetings ? You're having , what

01:02:17.903 --> 01:02:20.126
your thoughts are . But first I want to

01:02:20.126 --> 01:02:21.848
go back to what you said about

01:02:21.848 --> 01:02:24.100
Afghanistan . You said it's very hard

01:02:24.100 --> 01:02:26.100
to see a specific way forward for a

01:02:26.100 --> 01:02:29.150
negotiated settlement decisions

01:02:29.750 --> 01:02:33.550
made on going forward . You seem

01:02:33.560 --> 01:02:37.330
very much to be raising the prospect

01:02:38.000 --> 01:02:41.570
off , keeping the door open to not

01:02:41.850 --> 01:02:45.190
going to zero in May because you're

01:02:45.190 --> 01:02:48.100
saying it's hard to see a specific way

01:02:48.100 --> 01:02:50.560
forward for the negotiated settlement .

01:02:50.570 --> 01:02:53.550
Is are you saying that the decision to

01:02:53.550 --> 01:02:57.120
go to zero is still open to review

01:02:57.500 --> 01:02:59.210
and discussion in the Biden

01:02:59.210 --> 01:03:02.100
administration ? What I'm saying is

01:03:02.100 --> 01:03:05.680
that any decision of of

01:03:06.200 --> 01:03:10.130
force levels in Afghanistan eyes going

01:03:10.130 --> 01:03:12.520
to be driven by , um ,

01:03:13.700 --> 01:03:16.310
our security requirements . There are

01:03:16.310 --> 01:03:18.920
security commitments there and driven

01:03:18.920 --> 01:03:21.310
by conditions . Andi , I think we've

01:03:21.310 --> 01:03:23.700
been very clear about that bar . There

01:03:23.710 --> 01:03:25.932
will be conditions based . We obviously

01:03:25.932 --> 01:03:28.043
want to see a responsible end of this

01:03:28.043 --> 01:03:29.766
war . We obviously want to see

01:03:29.766 --> 01:03:31.821
successful negotiated settlements to

01:03:31.821 --> 01:03:34.043
end it . We obviously want to see those

01:03:34.043 --> 01:03:36.210
settlements include , uh , the Taliban

01:03:36.210 --> 01:03:38.432
and the elected Afghan government . But

01:03:38.432 --> 01:03:40.654
we have a commitment to toe Afghanistan

01:03:40.654 --> 01:03:42.710
and toe and into the Afghan national

01:03:42.710 --> 01:03:42.240
security forces that we take very

01:03:42.240 --> 01:03:46.190
seriously . S o I don't wanna get into

01:03:46.190 --> 01:03:49.630
hypotheticals or , uh , you know , our

01:03:49.640 --> 01:03:52.640
or try to predict certain outcomes . Um ,

01:03:52.650 --> 01:03:54.817
I could tell you that that's still the

01:03:54.817 --> 01:03:56.928
goal . We still we know that that May

01:03:56.928 --> 01:03:58.983
that may deadline is out there . But

01:03:58.983 --> 01:04:01.150
we're gonna be making our decisions in

01:04:01.150 --> 01:04:04.510
a sober , rational , um , manner that

01:04:04.510 --> 01:04:07.420
is driven by , um , what's in our best

01:04:07.420 --> 01:04:09.642
interest in the interest of our partner

01:04:09.642 --> 01:04:11.587
in Afghanistan as well as our NATO

01:04:11.587 --> 01:04:13.809
partners and allies to So the notion of

01:04:13.809 --> 01:04:15.809
which General Miller , I think , is

01:04:15.809 --> 01:04:17.753
articulated You would keep a small

01:04:17.753 --> 01:04:19.920
amount for counterterrorism . Al Qaeda

01:04:19.920 --> 01:04:22.142
isis case Should it be there , but that

01:04:22.142 --> 01:04:24.410
the agreement you reach was under the

01:04:24.420 --> 01:04:27.760
Trump administration was to signed , I

01:04:27.760 --> 01:04:29.760
believe was to go to zero . And now

01:04:29.760 --> 01:04:32.840
you're saying that is a goal so it is

01:04:32.850 --> 01:04:36.360
under discussion to not go to zero . It

01:04:36.360 --> 01:04:39.400
is . It is under discussion ,

01:04:39.410 --> 01:04:43.070
Uh , with our partners and allies , uh ,

01:04:43.080 --> 01:04:45.024
to make the best decisions , going

01:04:45.024 --> 01:04:48.690
forward on on on force presence . Uh ,

01:04:48.700 --> 01:04:51.340
in Afghanistan . Um , I think again ,

01:04:51.340 --> 01:04:53.396
as the secretary has been very clear

01:04:53.396 --> 01:04:56.070
and President Biden has to it zits time

01:04:56.070 --> 01:04:58.260
to end this war . But we want to do it

01:04:58.260 --> 01:05:00.149
responsibly . We want to do it in

01:05:00.149 --> 01:05:02.093
keeping with our national security

01:05:02.093 --> 01:05:03.982
interests and those of our Afghan

01:05:03.982 --> 01:05:06.038
partners . Um , so I don't wanna I'm

01:05:06.038 --> 01:05:08.204
not trying to dodge the question . I'm

01:05:08.204 --> 01:05:10.427
telling you that . Just like the answer

01:05:10.427 --> 01:05:12.540
to lead on Germany . Uh , we're gonna

01:05:12.540 --> 01:05:14.818
take a broad look here , going forward .

01:05:14.818 --> 01:05:17.096
About what ? What makes the most sense .

01:05:17.096 --> 01:05:19.190
As I said right now , General Miller

01:05:19.200 --> 01:05:21.256
and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs

01:05:21.256 --> 01:05:24.060
believe that 2500 is enough to do the

01:05:24.060 --> 01:05:26.171
job they've been given . The question

01:05:26.171 --> 01:05:30.110
is , uh you know , uh , how much longer

01:05:30.120 --> 01:05:32.231
do they need to keep doing that job ?

01:05:32.231 --> 01:05:34.360
And if we can get to a negotiated

01:05:34.360 --> 01:05:36.416
settlement , then there won't be the

01:05:36.416 --> 01:05:38.638
need for those troops right now . There

01:05:38.638 --> 01:05:40.638
is , and it's difficult . In fact ,

01:05:40.638 --> 01:05:42.749
impossible . Uh , toe , look out here

01:05:42.749 --> 01:05:45.800
on the 28th of January too early May to

01:05:45.800 --> 01:05:47.967
see exactly where we're gonna be . But

01:05:47.967 --> 01:05:49.911
we're gonna constantly , and we'll

01:05:49.911 --> 01:05:52.022
constantly talk to you about it , but

01:05:52.022 --> 01:05:54.189
we're gonna constantly review it as we

01:05:54.189 --> 01:05:53.810
do elsewhere . And you had another

01:05:53.810 --> 01:05:56.360
question . Bar domestic extremism . As

01:05:56.370 --> 01:05:58.820
much as you can tell us about what you

01:05:58.830 --> 01:06:00.830
what you've been doing in the first

01:06:00.830 --> 01:06:02.886
week to try and look at that issue ,

01:06:02.886 --> 01:06:04.830
which the secretary I believe also

01:06:04.830 --> 01:06:07.052
identified is a top priority . He did .

01:06:07.052 --> 01:06:09.163
I could tell you that he and Chairman

01:06:09.163 --> 01:06:10.830
Millie have spoken about this

01:06:10.830 --> 01:06:14.020
particular issue on they both expressed

01:06:14.020 --> 01:06:16.242
their commitment to trying to get after

01:06:16.242 --> 01:06:19.640
it to find the best way forward . Um uh ,

01:06:19.650 --> 01:06:21.817
to understand the scope of the problem

01:06:21.817 --> 01:06:25.600
inside the ranks on to better deal with

01:06:25.610 --> 01:06:28.050
the behavior , the conduct , um , that

01:06:28.050 --> 01:06:31.110
is driven by , uh , by extremist

01:06:31.110 --> 01:06:33.332
beliefs . I want to say at the outset .

01:06:33.332 --> 01:06:36.100
And I know , uh , you understand this ,

01:06:36.180 --> 01:06:38.930
But the vast , vast majority of men and

01:06:38.930 --> 01:06:40.930
women in the United States military

01:06:40.930 --> 01:06:42.986
served with honor and with character

01:06:42.986 --> 01:06:45.041
and integrity and dignity , and they

01:06:45.041 --> 01:06:47.041
don't espouse , uh , these sorts of

01:06:47.041 --> 01:06:49.097
dangerous beliefs . But that doesn't

01:06:49.097 --> 01:06:51.319
mean that even the small number , while

01:06:51.319 --> 01:06:53.374
it may be small , is insignificant .

01:06:53.374 --> 01:06:55.430
And that and it doesn't mean that we

01:06:55.430 --> 01:06:55.060
don't think that there might be a

01:06:55.060 --> 01:06:57.060
problem . The problem is , we don't

01:06:57.060 --> 01:06:59.282
understand the full scope of it . So he

01:06:59.282 --> 01:07:01.393
and chairman really have talked about

01:07:01.393 --> 01:07:03.616
this . There is , I think you guys know

01:07:03.616 --> 01:07:05.727
and have reported on had already been

01:07:05.727 --> 01:07:08.320
an ongoing review by the personnel and

01:07:08.320 --> 01:07:10.410
Readiness Director here at the

01:07:10.410 --> 01:07:12.354
department to look specifically at

01:07:12.354 --> 01:07:14.577
extremism toe Look at policies , laws ,

01:07:14.577 --> 01:07:17.640
regulations , uh , that govern the

01:07:17.650 --> 01:07:20.110
conduct driven by extremist police on

01:07:20.120 --> 01:07:21.953
to see whether there needs to be

01:07:21.953 --> 01:07:23.898
changes . That work is ongoing and

01:07:23.898 --> 01:07:26.064
continues . The secretary has not shut

01:07:26.064 --> 01:07:28.680
that down . They have toe finish their

01:07:28.680 --> 01:07:31.340
initial work by the end of March , so

01:07:31.340 --> 01:07:34.170
very soon here , with a plan to come up

01:07:34.170 --> 01:07:36.960
with milestones to be completed by mid

01:07:36.970 --> 01:07:39.137
summer . I think so . The secretary is

01:07:39.137 --> 01:07:41.303
not going to stop that work . He wants

01:07:41.303 --> 01:07:43.359
them to keep doing that . But in the

01:07:43.359 --> 01:07:45.303
meantime , he's also , as I said ,

01:07:45.303 --> 01:07:44.750
meeting with the chairman Millie , and

01:07:44.750 --> 01:07:46.694
he's gonna be talking toe military

01:07:46.694 --> 01:07:48.861
leaders going forward about about what

01:07:48.861 --> 01:07:51.028
they think the scope of the problem is

01:07:51.028 --> 01:07:54.800
Tom . Good , good , Tom . You expect

01:07:54.810 --> 01:07:56.866
the secretary expect in the chairman

01:07:56.866 --> 01:07:59.990
Expect fairly soon to get a nice idea

01:07:59.990 --> 01:08:02.157
on the scope of the problem . How many

01:08:02.157 --> 01:08:03.934
people have been kicked out for

01:08:03.934 --> 01:08:06.101
extremist behavior , how many recruits

01:08:06.101 --> 01:08:08.157
turned away for extremist behavior ,

01:08:08.157 --> 01:08:10.379
and then how many investigations by the

01:08:10.379 --> 01:08:12.546
FBI ? We got figures from the FBI just

01:08:12.546 --> 01:08:15.520
for 2020 and half of the investigations

01:08:15.520 --> 01:08:18.860
by FBI last year half of them involved

01:08:18.860 --> 01:08:21.440
domestic extremism . Do we expect to

01:08:21.440 --> 01:08:23.470
get a sense of the numbers , which

01:08:23.470 --> 01:08:25.637
would give you a sense of the scope of

01:08:25.637 --> 01:08:27.890
the problem ? I think

01:08:29.770 --> 01:08:32.230
in a perfect world , Tom , the answer

01:08:32.230 --> 01:08:34.452
to that would be yes , we would like to

01:08:34.452 --> 01:08:36.619
get that . The problem is , it's not a

01:08:36.619 --> 01:08:38.674
perfect world , particularly when it

01:08:38.674 --> 01:08:38.430
comes to this problem , because so many

01:08:38.430 --> 01:08:41.280
of the cases of conduct ,

01:08:42.670 --> 01:08:46.470
um , by people with extremist beliefs

01:08:46.480 --> 01:08:49.040
are adjudicated through the civilian

01:08:49.040 --> 01:08:52.770
investigative law , enforcement on and

01:08:52.780 --> 01:08:55.380
judicial processes . So , for instance ,

01:08:55.390 --> 01:08:59.130
um , we received 143 notifications of

01:08:59.130 --> 01:09:01.870
investigation from the FBI last year

01:09:01.870 --> 01:09:05.740
for all conduct . 68 of them pertain to

01:09:05.740 --> 01:09:09.170
domestic extremism . Um , so sometimes

01:09:09.170 --> 01:09:11.710
we are . We are sort of beholding to

01:09:11.710 --> 01:09:15.140
the civilian law enforcement apparatus

01:09:15.150 --> 01:09:18.180
for that kind of data . Um , uh , that

01:09:18.180 --> 01:09:20.236
doesn't mean it's exclusively that ,

01:09:20.236 --> 01:09:22.490
but mostly it's driven by civilian law

01:09:22.490 --> 01:09:25.010
enforcement data . Um , and you don't

01:09:25.010 --> 01:09:26.954
know what you don't know , right ?

01:09:26.954 --> 01:09:29.066
Until somebody acts on these kinds of

01:09:29.066 --> 01:09:31.410
beliefs . Eso it's very difficult .

01:09:31.420 --> 01:09:34.840
Thio get a hand on how many people at

01:09:34.840 --> 01:09:37.007
any given time espoused these kinds of

01:09:37.007 --> 01:09:39.480
beliefs and how many how many act on it

01:09:39.490 --> 01:09:41.268
and so back to recruiting , for

01:09:41.268 --> 01:09:43.379
instance . You know , this I mean way

01:09:43.379 --> 01:09:46.050
do extensive vetting and , uh , of

01:09:46.060 --> 01:09:49.300
screening of of recruits . Just because

01:09:49.300 --> 01:09:52.340
somebody comes in okay doesn't mean

01:09:52.340 --> 01:09:54.520
that they somehow developed radical

01:09:54.530 --> 01:09:56.760
beliefs while they're in through

01:09:56.760 --> 01:09:59.310
exposure online or from colleagues .

01:09:59.320 --> 01:10:01.490
Eso It's very it's very difficult to

01:10:01.490 --> 01:10:03.546
get at the root of that . Where does

01:10:03.546 --> 01:10:05.601
the radicalization begin ? On How do

01:10:05.601 --> 01:10:07.601
you get to the left of that ? And I

01:10:07.601 --> 01:10:07.530
think that's one of the things that

01:10:07.530 --> 01:10:09.697
they want to explore again . If you're

01:10:09.697 --> 01:10:11.752
getting just one figure from the FBI

01:10:11.752 --> 01:10:15.000
from 2020 I mean , why can't you guys

01:10:15.010 --> 01:10:17.177
we can ask the FBI , but they're gonna

01:10:17.177 --> 01:10:19.420
listen to you much more than us . Why

01:10:19.420 --> 01:10:21.650
can't we get a numbers going back 10

01:10:21.650 --> 01:10:23.872
years from the FBI ? Has this increased

01:10:23.872 --> 01:10:26.150
over the past number of years ? I mean ,

01:10:26.150 --> 01:10:28.372
that's the kind of thing that everybody

01:10:28.372 --> 01:10:30.594
would want to know , right ? Well , I I

01:10:30.594 --> 01:10:32.650
want you to the FBI for that kind of

01:10:32.650 --> 01:10:35.870
data . I mean , but and e get it . And

01:10:35.880 --> 01:10:38.590
and , uh , remember , the disciplinary

01:10:38.590 --> 01:10:40.701
issues in the military are handled by

01:10:40.701 --> 01:10:43.510
the services . Um , eso again . One of

01:10:43.510 --> 01:10:45.677
the things I think we're looking at is

01:10:45.677 --> 01:10:47.677
how do we get how do we do the data

01:10:47.677 --> 01:10:49.954
pool ? How do we get better visibility ,

01:10:49.960 --> 01:10:52.071
Onda . We just don't have the answers

01:10:52.071 --> 01:10:54.238
right now that a lot of this is driven

01:10:54.238 --> 01:10:56.071
by the services themselves . And

01:10:56.071 --> 01:11:00.030
sometimes , um , you know , sometimes

01:11:00.030 --> 01:11:02.320
the conduct itself while it may be

01:11:02.320 --> 01:11:04.580
driven by an extremist belief is not

01:11:04.960 --> 01:11:07.440
not not a behavior that you

01:11:07.440 --> 01:11:09.607
automatically look at and say , Okay ,

01:11:09.607 --> 01:11:11.662
well , there's white supremacy , you

01:11:11.662 --> 01:11:14.250
know , Maybe it's a violent crime , um ,

01:11:14.260 --> 01:11:16.700
on one service member to another , and

01:11:16.700 --> 01:11:18.720
it's not exactly clear what the

01:11:18.720 --> 01:11:20.720
motivation was . The motivation may

01:11:20.720 --> 01:11:22.831
have been extremist police . That may

01:11:22.831 --> 01:11:24.331
not manifest itself in the

01:11:24.331 --> 01:11:26.442
investigative and adjudication in the

01:11:26.442 --> 01:11:28.609
military justice system . It may not .

01:11:28.609 --> 01:11:30.664
It just may not manifest itself , so

01:11:30.664 --> 01:11:32.942
it's hard to get a perfect grasp on it .

01:11:32.942 --> 01:11:35.053
But you're hitting it exactly why the

01:11:35.053 --> 01:11:37.164
secretary and the chairman are taking

01:11:37.164 --> 01:11:39.387
this so seriously and want to get a bit

01:11:39.387 --> 01:11:41.498
of grip on it . I don't think anybody

01:11:41.498 --> 01:11:43.664
can assure you that we're gonna know ,

01:11:43.664 --> 01:11:45.887
uh , down to the very specific detail ,

01:11:45.887 --> 01:11:47.720
every single case , Uh , in what

01:11:47.720 --> 01:11:49.720
motivated it . But I could tell you

01:11:49.720 --> 01:11:52.053
they're committed to trying to find out .

01:11:52.053 --> 01:11:54.220
And so , um , as as they start to look

01:11:54.220 --> 01:11:56.442
at this I mean , the what we don't know

01:11:56.442 --> 01:11:58.609
and why we don't know it is gonna be a

01:11:58.609 --> 01:12:00.940
part of that calculus . I'm in

01:12:00.940 --> 01:12:03.162
Afghanistan and Iran . I'm gonna follow

01:12:03.162 --> 01:12:05.520
up on Afghanistan , e Afghanistan and

01:12:05.530 --> 01:12:08.030
good Stan and Iran . So first I'm gonna

01:12:08.040 --> 01:12:10.096
do something . Yeah , it seems to me

01:12:10.096 --> 01:12:13.070
you're making a new interpretation of

01:12:13.070 --> 01:12:14.959
the agreement with Taliban signed

01:12:14.959 --> 01:12:17.210
indoor because the issue of political

01:12:17.210 --> 01:12:19.266
reconciliation has has nothing to do

01:12:19.266 --> 01:12:21.810
with the level of U . S . Troops based

01:12:21.810 --> 01:12:23.950
on what was declared back then in

01:12:23.950 --> 01:12:26.820
February . So my question is , this is

01:12:26.820 --> 01:12:29.042
the U . S . Still committed and pulling

01:12:29.042 --> 01:12:32.220
out all troops by May If Iran cut If

01:12:32.220 --> 01:12:35.410
Taliban cut all ties with terrorist

01:12:35.420 --> 01:12:37.587
organization , that's the first one on

01:12:37.587 --> 01:12:39.590
Iran . Can you share with us ? Um ,

01:12:40.250 --> 01:12:43.170
your assessment of the state of play

01:12:43.170 --> 01:12:45.392
with Iran . Now you're still seeing the

01:12:45.392 --> 01:12:48.250
same level of off Tension with or

01:12:48.260 --> 01:12:50.430
threats coming from Iran has been

01:12:50.430 --> 01:12:53.370
assessed previously by this building

01:12:53.850 --> 01:12:57.700
and we saw yesterday like continuation

01:12:57.700 --> 01:13:00.090
of sending B 52 to the region . We

01:13:00.090 --> 01:13:02.201
heard from Israel top general talking

01:13:02.201 --> 01:13:05.050
about readying plans for military plans

01:13:05.050 --> 01:13:07.217
against Iran . Do you think these type

01:13:07.217 --> 01:13:10.410
off moves on statements are conducive ?

01:13:10.420 --> 01:13:13.600
Thio creating more room for diplomacy .

01:13:14.950 --> 01:13:17.590
Okay , on on Afghanistan , Um ,

01:13:18.450 --> 01:13:21.460
I think I was pretty clear . I don't

01:13:21.470 --> 01:13:23.581
think I was trying to reinterpret the

01:13:23.581 --> 01:13:25.920
political settlement insulation .

01:13:25.920 --> 01:13:28.580
Reconciliation is an Afghani track

01:13:28.580 --> 01:13:31.260
separate from pulling out what we know .

01:13:31.260 --> 01:13:33.427
I said that I said the Taliban are not

01:13:33.427 --> 01:13:35.427
meeting their commitments to reduce

01:13:35.427 --> 01:13:38.640
violence and to renounce their ties toe

01:13:38.640 --> 01:13:40.696
Al Qaeda . They're not meeting their

01:13:40.696 --> 01:13:42.760
commitments , and as long as they're

01:13:42.760 --> 01:13:44.816
not meeting their commitments , it's

01:13:44.816 --> 01:13:47.030
going to be difficult for anybody at

01:13:47.040 --> 01:13:49.096
that negotiating table to meet their

01:13:49.096 --> 01:13:51.262
commitments . In fact , it wouldn't be

01:13:51.262 --> 01:13:52.984
the wise course . I mean way ,

01:13:52.984 --> 01:13:55.207
obviously are still committed to ending

01:13:55.207 --> 01:13:57.262
this war , but we want to do it in a

01:13:57.262 --> 01:13:59.429
responsible way . Andi . I don't think

01:13:59.429 --> 01:14:01.318
it's helpful to be drawn now into

01:14:01.318 --> 01:14:03.318
specific , hypothetical discussions

01:14:03.318 --> 01:14:05.540
about the troop numbers on a you know ,

01:14:05.540 --> 01:14:07.651
specific calendar basis . We're still

01:14:07.651 --> 01:14:09.762
committed to ending this war , and we

01:14:09.762 --> 01:14:11.762
obviously the president has made it

01:14:11.762 --> 01:14:13.984
clear he wants to bring American troops

01:14:13.984 --> 01:14:16.207
home from Afghanistan . But we're going

01:14:16.207 --> 01:14:17.873
to do it in lockstep with the

01:14:17.873 --> 01:14:19.873
diplomatic process to try to find a

01:14:19.873 --> 01:14:22.040
negotiated settlement . I'm not trying

01:14:22.040 --> 01:14:24.096
to recast that question is not about

01:14:24.096 --> 01:14:26.040
ending before . My question is not

01:14:26.040 --> 01:14:28.207
hypothetical . It's about an agreement

01:14:28.207 --> 01:14:30.207
that the U . S . Signed by which it

01:14:30.207 --> 01:14:32.262
should pull out all troops by May if

01:14:32.262 --> 01:14:34.484
Taliban at its own requirements is that

01:14:34.484 --> 01:14:37.250
still the you're still . But of course

01:14:37.250 --> 01:14:39.306
we are , but it's a big if present .

01:14:39.306 --> 01:14:41.600
It's a Taliban . Yeah , so if Taliban

01:14:41.600 --> 01:14:43.720
committed its own , uh , met its own

01:14:43.720 --> 01:14:45.831
commitments , you are willing to pull

01:14:45.831 --> 01:14:48.180
out fully by made there is no change .

01:14:48.180 --> 01:14:50.291
Let me put it very clear . There's no

01:14:50.291 --> 01:14:52.458
change to the commitments we've made ,

01:14:52.540 --> 01:14:55.710
and that was done previous to are

01:14:55.710 --> 01:14:57.821
coming in . There's no been no change

01:14:57.821 --> 01:14:59.932
that we all want to see an end of the

01:14:59.932 --> 01:15:03.810
war . But you said if the Taliban meet

01:15:03.810 --> 01:15:05.977
their commitments and they haven't and

01:15:05.977 --> 01:15:08.199
they aren't eso , it's as I said at the

01:15:08.199 --> 01:15:10.421
very beginning of this , it's difficult

01:15:10.421 --> 01:15:12.366
to see how we get there from right

01:15:12.366 --> 01:15:12.340
where we are now , that doesn't mean

01:15:12.340 --> 01:15:14.451
we're not gonna keep trying . Doesn't

01:15:14.451 --> 01:15:16.340
mean we're not gonna continue toe

01:15:16.340 --> 01:15:18.790
support . Um , the efforts the of of

01:15:18.790 --> 01:15:20.957
our negotiators , that's exactly where

01:15:20.957 --> 01:15:24.070
we want this to go . Okay . On Iran , I

01:15:24.070 --> 01:15:27.910
mean , I think , uh , Iran

01:15:27.920 --> 01:15:30.087
Iran continues to be a malign actor in

01:15:30.087 --> 01:15:33.070
the region . Um , continues to support

01:15:33.070 --> 01:15:35.237
terrorism throughout the Middle East .

01:15:35.340 --> 01:15:38.470
Um , and they still pose

01:15:38.890 --> 01:15:41.770
threats to our partners and friends

01:15:41.770 --> 01:15:44.040
there . They still have ah active

01:15:44.050 --> 01:15:46.106
ballistic missile program , and they

01:15:46.106 --> 01:15:48.160
have been recently re spinning

01:15:48.160 --> 01:15:51.520
centrifuges . Um , I won't speak for

01:15:51.520 --> 01:15:53.687
the State Department and the status of

01:15:53.687 --> 01:15:56.880
how they're looking at the A return to

01:15:56.880 --> 01:16:00.530
the , uh , jcpoa A . That's really not

01:16:00.560 --> 01:16:04.450
our our issue here . I would

01:16:04.450 --> 01:16:06.920
tell you that , um , from the

01:16:06.920 --> 01:16:09.240
secretary's perspective , we still have

01:16:10.230 --> 01:16:12.174
national security interests in the

01:16:12.174 --> 01:16:14.119
Middle East and the Persian gulf .

01:16:14.119 --> 01:16:16.230
Specifically , we still have partners

01:16:16.230 --> 01:16:18.397
and friends who we are committed to as

01:16:18.397 --> 01:16:20.330
well . Andi still have , ah ,

01:16:20.330 --> 01:16:23.780
significant interest in stemming , uh ,

01:16:23.790 --> 01:16:25.960
the acts of terrorism that Iran

01:16:25.960 --> 01:16:28.071
continues to propagate throughout the

01:16:28.071 --> 01:16:30.293
region . I mean , just recently , there

01:16:30.293 --> 01:16:33.710
have been attacks on facilities in Iraq

01:16:33.720 --> 01:16:37.090
which we have reason to believe were

01:16:37.460 --> 01:16:39.910
the result of the Shia backed militias .

01:16:40.100 --> 01:16:43.610
So there's still they're still involved

01:16:43.610 --> 01:16:45.710
in significant and specific acts of

01:16:45.710 --> 01:16:49.010
violence . And to the degree that we

01:16:49.010 --> 01:16:51.230
have capabilities to try to deter that

01:16:51.240 --> 01:16:53.240
activity , I think you could expect

01:16:53.240 --> 01:16:55.360
we're going to use that . Okay , go

01:16:56.210 --> 01:16:59.580
ahead . Thank you . Congratulations .

01:16:59.590 --> 01:17:02.710
Thank you . My question is that so much

01:17:02.720 --> 01:17:05.020
has been going on between us and India .

01:17:05.020 --> 01:17:06.798
As for the military to military

01:17:06.798 --> 01:17:08.853
relations , I understand . Secretary

01:17:08.853 --> 01:17:10.687
have just spoken with the Indian

01:17:10.687 --> 01:17:13.000
Defense Minister , Mr Ryan . Not single

01:17:13.630 --> 01:17:16.760
on if they have spoken about ongoing

01:17:16.770 --> 01:17:20.040
problems also between India and China

01:17:20.040 --> 01:17:22.830
in the region . So can we talk about

01:17:22.830 --> 01:17:25.410
that ? What ? What the phone call about

01:17:25.410 --> 01:17:27.410
and what is the future off us India

01:17:27.740 --> 01:17:30.050
relationship ? Good chat . Yesterday I

01:17:30.050 --> 01:17:32.106
think you saw the read out of that .

01:17:32.106 --> 01:17:34.217
Discussed a lot of issues , including

01:17:34.217 --> 01:17:36.240
our two nations response to the

01:17:36.240 --> 01:17:38.800
coronavirus on . As I said in the read

01:17:38.800 --> 01:17:40.967
out , the secretary made it very clear

01:17:40.967 --> 01:17:42.744
that that we're going to remain

01:17:42.744 --> 01:17:44.990
committed to a strong U . S . India

01:17:45.000 --> 01:17:47.830
bilateral relationship . Let me go to

01:17:47.830 --> 01:17:49.941
fill Stuart . Are you Are you there ,

01:17:49.941 --> 01:17:52.950
Phil ? I am . Yeah . Thanks very much .

01:17:52.960 --> 01:17:55.182
Uh , first of all , welcome back to the

01:17:55.182 --> 01:17:58.100
briefing room . Thank you . Um , yeah .

01:17:58.110 --> 01:17:59.999
So first , just going back to the

01:17:59.999 --> 01:18:02.221
coronavirus issue , I think a lot of us

01:18:02.221 --> 01:18:04.277
sort of alarm . I have been tracking

01:18:04.277 --> 01:18:06.443
the numbers very closely , uh , to see

01:18:06.443 --> 01:18:09.560
how many personnel armed forces have

01:18:09.560 --> 01:18:12.070
contracted covert . And I wanna Is that

01:18:12.070 --> 01:18:14.181
Biden administration comfortable with

01:18:14.181 --> 01:18:16.348
the military's performance and keeping

01:18:16.348 --> 01:18:18.570
troops free from infection ? Given that

01:18:18.570 --> 01:18:20.903
the rate of infection among among the U .

01:18:20.903 --> 01:18:20.710
S . Armed forces a similar to the

01:18:20.710 --> 01:18:22.488
general population and I have a

01:18:22.488 --> 01:18:24.710
question on Syria , the short answer is

01:18:24.710 --> 01:18:27.230
yes . Villain . I think you heard , uh ,

01:18:27.240 --> 01:18:29.462
General Friedrichs talk about that . We

01:18:29.462 --> 01:18:31.573
obviously committed to vaccinating as

01:18:31.573 --> 01:18:33.796
many of our troops as we possibly can .

01:18:33.796 --> 01:18:35.851
But as you noted , it is a voluntary

01:18:35.851 --> 01:18:38.330
vaccination , and there is a tiered

01:18:38.330 --> 01:18:40.830
structure in terms of the priorities

01:18:40.830 --> 01:18:43.670
for doing that s so bottom line is yes ,

01:18:43.670 --> 01:18:45.837
we're committed to vaccinating as many

01:18:45.837 --> 01:18:49.250
of our troops as possible . Yeah , I

01:18:49.250 --> 01:18:51.472
guess what I'm asking is like , are the

01:18:51.472 --> 01:18:53.583
rates of infection among among , uh ,

01:18:53.583 --> 01:18:55.250
personnel in the armed forces

01:18:55.250 --> 01:18:57.194
acceptable , uh , at their current

01:18:57.194 --> 01:18:59.083
levels ? Or do you think that the

01:18:59.083 --> 01:19:00.694
military needs do better job

01:19:00.694 --> 01:19:02.750
safeguarding people from infection ,

01:19:02.750 --> 01:19:04.583
not vaccinations right now , but

01:19:04.583 --> 01:19:06.306
infection until they could get

01:19:06.306 --> 01:19:08.417
vaccinated . I don't have the data on

01:19:08.417 --> 01:19:10.472
the rates of infection . Eso if that

01:19:10.472 --> 01:19:12.583
didn't come out previously , I mean ,

01:19:12.583 --> 01:19:14.750
we could get that to you . Obviously ,

01:19:14.750 --> 01:19:16.861
Uh , what we like to see in the ranks

01:19:16.861 --> 01:19:19.310
is zero infections . Clearly that Z ,

01:19:19.320 --> 01:19:21.320
that's the goal . Um , I don't know

01:19:21.320 --> 01:19:23.880
what the threshold is here for .

01:19:23.880 --> 01:19:26.430
Driving a particular sense of urgency

01:19:26.430 --> 01:19:28.652
or different policy discussion , Phil .

01:19:28.652 --> 01:19:31.210
So , um , let me let me get back to you

01:19:31.210 --> 01:19:33.377
on the take your question and I'll get

01:19:33.377 --> 01:19:35.321
back to you on the on the rates of

01:19:35.321 --> 01:19:37.266
infection , but clearly want to do

01:19:37.266 --> 01:19:39.321
everything we can to keep our people

01:19:39.321 --> 01:19:41.377
safe . Did you have another one from

01:19:41.377 --> 01:19:43.377
then on ? Syria . Syria . What role

01:19:43.377 --> 01:19:45.488
does securing the oil ? Syria playing

01:19:45.488 --> 01:19:47.266
the by administrations military

01:19:47.266 --> 01:19:51.220
strategy . There I think I'll just

01:19:51.220 --> 01:19:54.900
say that that what

01:19:54.900 --> 01:19:58.450
are our our view of the purpose of U .

01:19:58.450 --> 01:20:02.000
S troops ? Uh , in Iraq and Syria could

01:20:02.010 --> 01:20:04.510
to continue to go after the the isis

01:20:04.510 --> 01:20:06.343
threat . I'll leave it at that .

01:20:06.343 --> 01:20:09.550
Welcome back . Uh , go ahead , Joe .

01:20:09.910 --> 01:20:12.270
Uh , yeah . I would like to know what's

01:20:12.270 --> 01:20:14.440
the status off the decision to move

01:20:15.110 --> 01:20:18.840
Israel toe the Centcom . You are Is

01:20:18.840 --> 01:20:21.980
this the decision final or it's under

01:20:21.980 --> 01:20:25.650
review by the administration ? Well , I

01:20:25.650 --> 01:20:27.870
mean , when the previous commander in

01:20:27.870 --> 01:20:29.926
chief made that decision , he did so

01:20:29.926 --> 01:20:31.870
within his full authority . So the

01:20:31.870 --> 01:20:34.940
decision has been made . Um uh ,

01:20:35.310 --> 01:20:37.220
the secretary believes

01:20:37.980 --> 01:20:41.950
that it from

01:20:41.950 --> 01:20:44.660
a geographic perspective , it seems to

01:20:44.660 --> 01:20:48.370
make sense . Um , but he also has ,

01:20:48.380 --> 01:20:50.590
uh , indicated that , just like in

01:20:50.590 --> 01:20:52.757
every other respect , he wants to take

01:20:52.757 --> 01:20:54.900
a look . And he wants to talk , uh ,

01:20:54.910 --> 01:20:58.110
Thio our combatant commanders about

01:20:58.120 --> 01:21:01.980
that , And just to make sure , um but

01:21:01.990 --> 01:21:04.730
but at the outset , where we are right

01:21:04.730 --> 01:21:07.100
now , Secretary would believe from a

01:21:07.100 --> 01:21:09.211
geographic perspective , that makes a

01:21:09.211 --> 01:21:11.211
certain sense . But he does want to

01:21:11.211 --> 01:21:13.267
reserve the right as you will around

01:21:13.267 --> 01:21:15.267
the world to take a look at our lay

01:21:15.267 --> 01:21:17.322
down to take a look at the , um , at

01:21:17.322 --> 01:21:19.433
the geographic boundaries for for the

01:21:19.433 --> 01:21:21.322
combatant commanders as you would

01:21:21.322 --> 01:21:25.240
expect him to do . Um , Matt . Sailor .

01:21:27.410 --> 01:21:30.210
Hi , Siler . Siler . I apologize . I

01:21:30.220 --> 01:21:32.610
should've put my glasses on . What ?

01:21:32.610 --> 01:21:34.832
All right . Yeah , they're , like , not

01:21:34.832 --> 01:21:38.040
anymore . You've answered most things .

01:21:38.050 --> 01:21:40.161
Um , I just have one more question on

01:21:40.161 --> 01:21:42.383
the FEMA request that you might be able

01:21:42.383 --> 01:21:44.494
to answer . I believe I heard Mr Rose

01:21:44.494 --> 01:21:46.606
say that it doesn't always make sense

01:21:46.606 --> 01:21:48.772
the whole say National Guard doctor or

01:21:48.772 --> 01:21:50.760
nurse , and task them with doing

01:21:50.760 --> 01:21:52.871
injections on a site because it would

01:21:52.871 --> 01:21:55.280
mean pulling them away from unnecessary

01:21:55.280 --> 01:21:57.224
job they're already doing in their

01:21:57.224 --> 01:21:59.224
civilian capacity . And yet it's my

01:21:59.224 --> 01:22:01.391
understanding that some states require

01:22:01.391 --> 01:22:03.391
some sort of medical certifications

01:22:03.391 --> 01:22:05.391
actually put shots and arms . So if

01:22:05.391 --> 01:22:07.558
you're tasking , you know thousands of

01:22:07.558 --> 01:22:09.780
troops to do this . Is there any effort

01:22:09.780 --> 01:22:12.002
underway that you're aware of to secure

01:22:12.002 --> 01:22:14.058
waivers for them , or extra training

01:22:14.058 --> 01:22:16.169
kind of lower the bars , Which troops

01:22:16.169 --> 01:22:18.002
are allowed to actually work and

01:22:18.002 --> 01:22:20.224
actually give injections ? Yeah , great

01:22:20.224 --> 01:22:22.336
question . And I think that gets Thio

01:22:22.336 --> 01:22:24.391
My answer . The leader that that now

01:22:24.391 --> 01:22:26.336
that that's part of the analysis ,

01:22:26.336 --> 01:22:28.447
right ? We have the request . We know

01:22:28.447 --> 01:22:31.200
what's being asked of us on . Now we

01:22:31.200 --> 01:22:34.620
have to source it and sourcing it just

01:22:34.620 --> 01:22:36.560
like sourcing . Any request for

01:22:36.560 --> 01:22:38.750
military capabilities around the world

01:22:38.750 --> 01:22:41.028
sometimes requires additional training .

01:22:41.028 --> 01:22:43.250
And so , while it's difficult for me to

01:22:43.250 --> 01:22:45.139
answer your question specifically

01:22:45.139 --> 01:22:47.139
because we're still working our way

01:22:47.139 --> 01:22:49.250
through this , um it is reasonable to

01:22:49.250 --> 01:22:51.361
conclude , uh , that there might have

01:22:51.361 --> 01:22:53.417
to be some additional training given

01:22:53.417 --> 01:22:55.660
Thio members whether they're active or

01:22:55.660 --> 01:22:57.827
reserve before they contribute to this

01:22:57.827 --> 01:22:59.882
effort . And we're 100% committed to

01:22:59.882 --> 01:23:02.049
doing that . Depending on what the You

01:23:02.049 --> 01:23:04.216
know what the need is and what the gap

01:23:04.216 --> 01:23:06.382
in the need and our capability happens

01:23:06.382 --> 01:23:08.604
to be . Did that answer your question ?

01:23:09.600 --> 01:23:12.140
Thank you . Okay . For one more . Can I

01:23:12.140 --> 01:23:14.362
get a question ? I'm sorry . Go ahead .

01:23:14.362 --> 01:23:16.529
Who's that ? Tony Capacity . I came in

01:23:16.529 --> 01:23:18.529
a little late , so I wasn't on your

01:23:18.529 --> 01:23:20.640
list . Yeah , You're not on my list ,

01:23:20.640 --> 01:23:22.918
Tony . So I'm sorry . You're That's it .

01:23:22.918 --> 01:23:25.084
You're done . Alright . Well story you

01:23:25.084 --> 01:23:27.418
then . If you can't answer Oh , come on ,

01:23:27.418 --> 01:23:29.251
Tony . Okay . Can I got a couple

01:23:29.251 --> 01:23:32.790
quickies ? A couple You mentioned , uh ,

01:23:32.800 --> 01:23:34.911
a number of appointees have come in .

01:23:34.911 --> 01:23:37.720
What is the status of a new acquisition

01:23:37.720 --> 01:23:40.480
undersecretary and a new undersecretary

01:23:40.480 --> 01:23:43.630
for research and engineering ? Yes .

01:23:44.300 --> 01:23:46.640
No , there's no I don't have I don't

01:23:46.640 --> 01:23:49.300
have an update on that , Tony . Okay ,

01:23:49.310 --> 01:23:51.477
Another question on the budget , which

01:23:51.477 --> 01:23:53.754
is Obviously you're you guys reviewing ?

01:23:53.754 --> 01:23:55.810
At what point do you think you'll be

01:23:55.810 --> 01:23:57.921
able to give some clarity on when the

01:23:57.921 --> 01:24:00.170
23 budget will be released ? And how

01:24:00.170 --> 01:24:02.448
much of that is contingent on an O . M .

01:24:02.448 --> 01:24:04.410
B director being nominated being

01:24:04.410 --> 01:24:07.630
confirmed in an office ? Well , I can't

01:24:07.630 --> 01:24:11.600
speak Thio to the timing for a new O

01:24:11.600 --> 01:24:15.090
N B Director Tony , um ,

01:24:15.100 --> 01:24:18.190
order the capacity of O N B right now

01:24:18.190 --> 01:24:21.720
to to staff a budget requests

01:24:21.720 --> 01:24:25.070
by by the administration . What I can

01:24:25.070 --> 01:24:28.050
say is , uh , that the secretary knows ,

01:24:28.060 --> 01:24:31.630
uh , that budget deadlines are coming

01:24:31.640 --> 01:24:33.770
and they're coming soon . Andi , he's

01:24:33.770 --> 01:24:36.770
already begun Thio to prepare for that

01:24:36.780 --> 01:24:39.120
on Duh . I think we'll have more

01:24:39.120 --> 01:24:42.610
clarity in coming weeks about , um ,

01:24:43.090 --> 01:24:45.830
what it's gonna look like . But , um ,

01:24:45.840 --> 01:24:48.062
I don't have a specific answer in terms

01:24:48.062 --> 01:24:50.930
of the deadline . E mean you as you

01:24:50.930 --> 01:24:53.097
know better than anybody , it's always

01:24:53.097 --> 01:24:55.208
in the spring it's sometimes a moving

01:24:55.208 --> 01:24:57.208
target . Uh , I think the secretary

01:24:57.208 --> 01:24:59.810
wants to be prepared , uh , to present

01:24:59.820 --> 01:25:02.140
and defend the budget , Um , in the

01:25:02.140 --> 01:25:04.650
normal fashion and that means for him ,

01:25:04.660 --> 01:25:06.780
you know , a soon as possible . And I

01:25:06.780 --> 01:25:09.080
think in his mind , Uh , regardless of

01:25:09.080 --> 01:25:11.630
what the actual timing ends up being ,

01:25:12.290 --> 01:25:14.512
he's made it clear that he wants to get

01:25:14.512 --> 01:25:16.290
himself up to speed and get the

01:25:16.290 --> 01:25:18.401
department ready . Uh , you know , in

01:25:18.401 --> 01:25:20.401
about the next three months or so .

01:25:20.690 --> 01:25:23.100
Okay . Thank you . Yep . Okay , guys ,

01:25:23.110 --> 01:25:25.110
I'm gonna have to go . I've gotta I

01:25:25.110 --> 01:25:29.030
gotta go see . Oh ,

01:25:29.040 --> 01:25:30.929
you really want a question on the

01:25:30.929 --> 01:25:33.610
oh ,

01:25:33.620 --> 01:25:36.420
thanks . Morning . The Chinese Ministry

01:25:36.420 --> 01:25:39.230
of Defense that Taiwan's independence

01:25:39.230 --> 01:25:41.397
would mean war . So I just wonder what

01:25:41.397 --> 01:25:43.563
the Pentagon's reaction that statement

01:25:43.563 --> 01:25:45.452
is and how you view the strategic

01:25:45.452 --> 01:25:47.619
importance of Taiwan . So let me start

01:25:47.619 --> 01:25:49.841
with the second one first , and nothing

01:25:49.841 --> 01:25:51.786
has changed about the department's

01:25:51.786 --> 01:25:53.841
commitment to our our commitments to

01:25:53.841 --> 01:25:56.063
the Taiwan relations acts and the three

01:25:56.063 --> 01:25:59.190
communiques about about Taiwan , as the

01:25:59.190 --> 01:26:01.720
Secretary said in testimony ,

01:26:01.730 --> 01:26:04.410
uh , this is something that has been

01:26:04.410 --> 01:26:07.310
supported in a bipartisan way for

01:26:07.680 --> 01:26:11.550
decades . Uh , and and the Department

01:26:11.560 --> 01:26:13.616
of defense under his leadership will

01:26:13.616 --> 01:26:16.360
continue that same support to , uh , we

01:26:16.360 --> 01:26:18.830
have . We have obligations to assist

01:26:18.840 --> 01:26:21.007
Taiwan with their self defense , and I

01:26:21.007 --> 01:26:22.840
think you're going to see that .

01:26:22.840 --> 01:26:25.118
Continue , um , to your other question .

01:26:25.118 --> 01:26:28.680
Uh , the

01:26:28.690 --> 01:26:32.380
department , uh , sees no

01:26:32.390 --> 01:26:35.980
reason why tensions over

01:26:35.980 --> 01:26:39.170
Taiwan need toe lead to anything like

01:26:39.520 --> 01:26:43.410
confrontation on DSO . We find that

01:26:43.410 --> 01:26:47.220
comment unfortunate on certainly ,

01:26:47.660 --> 01:26:51.000
um , not commensurate with

01:26:51.480 --> 01:26:55.400
are intentions to

01:26:55.780 --> 01:26:58.310
meet our obligations under the Taiwan

01:26:58.310 --> 01:27:02.200
Relations Act and to continue to , um

01:27:02.880 --> 01:27:04.940
Azaz Secretary blinking at the State

01:27:04.940 --> 01:27:07.107
Department , said yesterday , Look for

01:27:07.107 --> 01:27:09.273
ways where we can cooperate with China

01:27:09.273 --> 01:27:11.496
Way , But we have we have obligations .

01:27:11.496 --> 01:27:13.551
Uh , that we intend to meet . Okay ,

01:27:13.551 --> 01:27:15.773
Thanks very much . The U . S . Military

01:27:15.773 --> 01:27:17.884
ready and capable to defend Taiwan to

01:27:17.884 --> 01:27:19.940
get the potential Chinese invasion .

01:27:19.940 --> 01:27:22.107
I'm not gonna get into hypotheticals .

01:27:22.107 --> 01:27:24.273
The United States , potentially United

01:27:24.273 --> 01:27:26.329
States military remains ready in all

01:27:26.329 --> 01:27:26.200
respects to meet our security

01:27:26.200 --> 01:27:28.311
commitments in the region . Thank you

01:27:28.311 --> 01:27:31.620
very much . Tell me what you got .

01:27:34.450 --> 01:27:37.050
I get many e u