WEBVTT

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After 50 years , the all volunteer

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force remains the best model for the US

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military . And that's why we celebrate

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it has delivered for us operationally

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and societally , it was the right

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decision for the US military and the

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nation at the time . And over the last

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50 years in times of conflict and in

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times of peace , it has continued to be

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the right decision . Our force the

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finest in the world and made up

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entirely of volunteers delivers across

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the battle space . It reinforces

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American ideals of personal liberty and

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freedom and it offers Americans who

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have the desire and ability to serve

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training , career , mobility and

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financial benefits in addition to

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community connection and a common

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purpose . But as so many of you in this

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audience have studied or observed the

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success and endurance of our all

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volunteer force was not a foregone

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conclusion . I think we can acknowledge

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that maintaining an all volunteer force

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comes with its own set of challenges .

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Some of these challenges were clear at

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the outset the foremost being without

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the draft , can we ensure a broad cross

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section of American society will serve

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in the military before ending the draft ,

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the Nixon administration established

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the Gates Commission to develop a

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comprehensive plan for ending

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conscription and sending volunteers .

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The commission assembled industry and

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nonprofit leaders , academics and

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university presidents , policy makers

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and former defense professionals and

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even a Georgetown law student .

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Although the head of the commission was

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initially skeptical in the final report ,

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the commission unanimously agreed that

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we could indeed maintain our military

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strength through volunteers at the time .

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In fact , there was little opposition

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in the Department of Defense or in

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Congress to this conclusion . Three

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years later , Defense Secretary Melvin

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Laird dispatched a press release

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informing the service secretaries that

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quote , the armed forces henceforth

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will depend exclusively on volunteer

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soldiers , sailors , airmen , and

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marines . Before succinctly declaring

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use of the draft has ended . Since

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that time , more than 11 million young

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adults have joined active duty service .

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And today , more than 1.5 million men

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and women serve in the uniform across

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the total force and they have proved

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the highest quality military military

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force in the world . And yet even with

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that rich history and the amazing

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talent bench of our nation we face

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today . Some of the greatest recruiting

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challenges we've known . There is no

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one factor driving this dynamic . We've

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experienced a global pandemic that shut

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down many schools creating the least

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opportunity for recruiter contact in

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the A VFS history . The veteran

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population has gone from 18% of

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American adults in 1980 to less than 7%

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in 2022 . Further reducing Americans

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familiarity with the military . This

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means fewer Americans have direct ties

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to a family member , friend or neighbor

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who has served and without those direct

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ties , it's harder to observe the

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military way of life up close . And we

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have the hottest job market and

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corresponding lowest unemployment rate

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in nearly 54 years . Moreover , the

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challenges we face in recruiting for

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the military also seem to be part of a

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broader drop in public interest among

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today's youth in the past several years ,

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professions like firefighting , nursing ,

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teaching and applications to

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prestigious government programs such as

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the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps have all

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experienced a decline . A recent Gallup

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poll even shows that there is a

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widespread dip in volunteerism that

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predates the pandemic . And this dip

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holds true for young adults even as

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they report the most interest in

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community engagement in 50 years .

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Public service and volunteerism are not

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only life changing activities , they

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can be life saving . So what's going on

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why this disconnect ? There are likely

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many causes that go beyond the scope of

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this gathering . But one of the most

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striking reasons that young adults say

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they don't volunteer is highly relevant .

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It's because no one asked them to .

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Today's younger generations have so

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many choices . So many career options

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they can pursue . Because a career in

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public service is a matter of a choice

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among many , it's important to

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communicate the benefits of public

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service , especially military service

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to our youth . And the maddeningly

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ironic reality is that even as

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recruiting is hard today , the US

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military's retention numbers are

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outstanding with every service

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exceeding 100% of their goals in

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2022 . Think about that . The all

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volunteer force is proving its value

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proposition to those who choose it . It

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creates long term opportunities for

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military personnel while in uniform and

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thereafter and in virtually every

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career field , the responsibility ,

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leadership and skills developed while

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in service to our nation reap life long

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benefits for individuals , their

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families , their communities and

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society at large . It is in our

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national interest to ensure that

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younger generations consider public

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service as a career option . And it's

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also in their interest . In 1975 the

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University of Michigan began a

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continuing study of American youth

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which asked high school seniors to

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weigh what life values are important to

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them . You can probably take a few

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guesses as to what they found most

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important back then , finding steady

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work , being successful in their line

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of work , being able to give their

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Children better opportunities than they

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had themselves , finding purpose and

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having strong friendships . These were

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all at the top of their list , timeless

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values values that align with the

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career in public service . Military

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service , not only offers pay education

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and health benefits and opportunity to

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travel and experience adventure that

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generations have prized across the

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decades . It also reflects values that

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have increased in importance to

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American youth . Since 1976 . Those

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values include making a contribution to

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society which has risen in importance

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by 17% and being a leader in the

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community which has risen in importance

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by 28% . Take , for instance , one of

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my colleagues Frank , an army major who

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recently graduated from George , she's

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mccourt School of Public Policy with a

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master's in policy management . Frank

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tells me influential mentors during his

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young adulthood , inspired him to serve

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their pride , their commitment to

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public and community service and the

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constant care with which they tended to

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the community . These attributes

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resonated strongly with Frank who

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wanted to take part in something bigger

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than himself and to do good in the

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world . They motivated him to drive to

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a recruiter's office to learn about

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becoming an officer and eventually to

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commission as a second lieutenant .

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That's the sense of connectedness .

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Today's youth also craves and that

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military service and public service can

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provide for the health of our all

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volunteer force and the health of our

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democracy and civil society . We must

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create a renewed call to public service .

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We must make this ask a persistent one

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coming from many different directions

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and of every generation and that strong

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sense of civic duty will not only

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propel the success of our military

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force , it will also attract our future

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civilian leaders and improve the health

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of our civil military relations . The

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United States has a proud history of

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healthy civil military relations . It

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has seen its challenges to be sure ,

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but friction is natural and our

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system's safeguards have been tested

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and held . We are a nation of laws and

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of checks and balances . Congress ,

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federal statutes and our courts , the

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professionalism of our armed forces ,

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the will of the people . These are all

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guard rails to ensure that we as a

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nation maintain civilian control of the

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armed forces . But of course , we

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cannot take this health for granted .

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That's why Secretary Austin has

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prioritized promoting healthy civil

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military relations . I have spent a

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considerable amount of my career at dod

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and from my perspective , the

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professionalism of our internal

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department interactions across civilian

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and military lines , the best I have

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seen . But this isn't just about the

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department's internal dynamics . Every

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citizen has a role to play in ensuring

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healthy civil military relations like

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democracy itself . We all bear a

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responsibility in upholding and tending

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to it . It's important fundamental even

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that we continue to develop mutual

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understanding and trust between

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civilians and those who serve . And

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here's another reason why this

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maintenance is so important . What we

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do matters beyond our borders because

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our civil military relations model

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demonstrates America's commitment to

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its founding principles and serves as a

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model for militaries around the world .

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Several days ago , we marked the one

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year anniversary of Russia's latest

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invasion of Ukraine , which provides an

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opportunity to reflect on the stark

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contrast between how we and Russia

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treat our service members . Russia has

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resorted to conscription and is

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treating its people as canon fodder .

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Our force . On the other hand , is

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professional , voluntary , well

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equipped and thoughtfully employed .

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That's also vital to good civil

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military relations . We must continue

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to build bridges and pathways across

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the civil military divide . It's

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important that we maintain a deep sense

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of trust and mutual respect ,

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institutionally , but also at a human

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to human level by getting to know

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service members as individuals and as

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members of our communities . It is

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important that we demystify our armed

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forces . Most service members don't

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want to be glorified or singled out for

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special treatment , but they do want to

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feel understood and like Frank , they

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do want to live a life of service and

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they need to be bolstered by good pay

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and benefits , education and career

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opportunities , world class training

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and wo world class work environments .

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Now , I am hardly the first person to

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raise these issues . I'm not even the

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first senior dod official to raise

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these issues . And I can assure you at

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the defense department , we are pulling

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every lever to ensure that we maintain

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the fiercest and finest force in the

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world . But we have to understand the

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challenge America faces is bigger than

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just the future of the all volunteer

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force . As important as that is , it is

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a crisis of civics . So it's critical

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that we foster a widespread commitment

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to public service service is about

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family and community and collective

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responsibility . The truth is we don't

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need every American to serve in uniform

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or work in national security . But we

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cannot afford a future of disconnection .

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A future without the firefighters ,

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nurses , teachers , public servants or

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service members , we need to advance

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the common good . We should all

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consider how we're going to leave the

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world a better place than we found it .

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So that's my charge to you and I need

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your help . We must amplify the

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importance of service and its

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relationship to the health of our

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democracy . And I am confident that

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this renewed call will be answered . If

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it is heard . As I close , then I want

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to note that in in addition to the 50

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th anniversary of the All Volunteer

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Force , as I know , you all know , this

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year marks the 75th anniversary of the

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racial integration of the armed forces .

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With that came the promise of an

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integrated force and full equality that

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we could be stronger by drawing on the

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talents of qualified Americans of every

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race . Today . I am proud to help

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lead a defense department that

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continues to expand opportunity to

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qualified Americans regardless of race

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or gender or identity , reaching from

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sea to shining sea . We are proud of

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the steps we've taken to welcome all

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Americans who are qualified and capable

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of serving . As this community of

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scholars knows to be most effective for

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our democracy . The US military must

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reflect the nation that it is called to

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defend . That idea has always met with

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resistance from 1948 when President

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Trump Truman , excuse me , signed the

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executive order to end segregation in

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the armed services to ending . Don't

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ask , don't tell to allowing women to

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serve in combat roles . Yet we know for

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a fact that each of these steps has

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only made our strong military stronger

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and more effective . And would anyone

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seriously question the dominance of the

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all volunteer force that we have built ?

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I think not . So , thank you again for

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this timely event . I look forward to

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continuing the conversation with Peter

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over the fireside chat .

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So , so thank you . I , I wanna pull on

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a couple of the threads that you left

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out . Uh You dangled in front of us .

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Uh One is that when the shift from

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conscription to the All Volunteer Force

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was being contemplated , the designers

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worried that the military would lose

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its connection uh to American society .

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And I don't think they anticipated that

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the military could get as small as it's

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gotten today so that those connections

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just by sheer demographics are harder

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to maintain . So talk to us a little

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bit about whether you see that as a

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problem and what the dod can do to

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maintain the military's connection to

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the rest of society even if they're not

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going to be joining the military . Sure ,

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I do think it's a challenge . There's

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no doubt about it , as you said , just

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demographically and you know , that ,

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that plays out in , in , in all kinds

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of ways . Um So it does take much more

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effort to bring the civilian and

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military closer together that happens

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on both sides . You know , on the

14:54.979 --> 14:56.812
military side , there's a lot of

14:56.812 --> 14:58.701
community engagement that happens

14:58.701 --> 15:00.423
installation to installation .

15:00.423 --> 15:02.646
Certainly the efforts that we undertake

15:02.646 --> 15:04.646
to connect to society through major

15:04.646 --> 15:06.923
events . You can think sporting events ,

15:06.923 --> 15:08.923
other , other uh things like that ,

15:08.923 --> 15:11.380
more ability to bring us civil society

15:11.390 --> 15:13.739
to , to our bases . We have programs of

15:13.750 --> 15:15.806
course , that try to um make sure we

15:15.806 --> 15:18.119
have exposure , the ability to reach

15:18.130 --> 15:21.700
into um colleges and other uh places

15:21.710 --> 15:23.488
where , where youth are forming

15:23.488 --> 15:25.765
opinions of what their next steps are .

15:25.856 --> 15:27.800
So that's on the military side , I

15:27.800 --> 15:29.856
think on the civilian side , this is

15:29.856 --> 15:32.023
the part of the question is what uh is

15:32.023 --> 15:34.245
the responsibility for civilians to get

15:34.245 --> 15:36.300
to know their military ? And I think

15:36.300 --> 15:38.412
there is more opportunity , as I said

15:38.412 --> 15:40.467
there , I also think that the to the

15:40.467 --> 15:42.578
extent that we have a better exposure

15:42.578 --> 15:45.096
to public service generally , there are ,

15:45.106 --> 15:47.476
there are absolutely unique aspects of

15:47.486 --> 15:49.502
military service , but there is a

15:49.512 --> 15:51.831
commonality to public service and to

15:51.841 --> 15:53.452
the extent that we have more

15:53.452 --> 15:55.762
individuals engaged in public service .

15:55.771 --> 15:58.492
I think that also builds uh more

15:58.502 --> 16:00.669
commonality in community with military

16:00.669 --> 16:02.911
service . So it seems to me the , the

16:02.921 --> 16:04.977
anniversary , as you mentioned , the

16:04.977 --> 16:08.122
50th the 75th that's an opportunity for

16:08.132 --> 16:12.012
a country wide reflection and not just

16:12.021 --> 16:13.965
amongst the tribe of folks who are

16:13.965 --> 16:16.077
already watching it . Uh Do you think

16:16.077 --> 16:18.132
there's more that the administration

16:18.132 --> 16:20.354
can do to remind the people about their

16:20.354 --> 16:22.530
military and what it took to build it

16:22.539 --> 16:24.706
and what it will take to maintain it ?

16:24.710 --> 16:26.543
I do . And I think , as I said ,

16:26.543 --> 16:28.543
Secretary Austin is very focused on

16:28.543 --> 16:30.654
this call to service . Um And I think

16:30.654 --> 16:32.877
you'll see a lot in this in this year ,

16:32.877 --> 16:35.369
2023 of us putting making these points

16:35.380 --> 16:37.602
very clearly . First , we're very proud

16:37.602 --> 16:39.658
of this military , incredibly robust

16:39.658 --> 16:42.020
and ready military . Um As I said ,

16:42.030 --> 16:44.859
fiercest and finest in the world . Um

16:44.869 --> 16:47.036
And we need to be talking about that .

16:47.036 --> 16:49.091
We need to talk about the quality of

16:49.091 --> 16:51.202
the force , the things we're doing to

16:51.202 --> 16:53.369
maintain the quality of that force and

16:53.369 --> 16:55.536
how proud the nation should be of that

16:55.536 --> 16:55.440
force . And I do think you'll hear much

16:55.450 --> 16:57.617
more of that . I welcome you all doing

16:57.617 --> 16:59.617
the same . Yeah , I think something

16:59.617 --> 17:01.728
like that at say Duke University just

17:01.728 --> 17:03.950
to pick a place at random that would be

17:03.950 --> 17:05.950
really helpful . A number of people

17:05.950 --> 17:08.228
though , look at the present situation ,

17:08.228 --> 17:10.228
look at the challenges that the all

17:10.228 --> 17:12.283
volunteer forces had in recruiting .

17:12.283 --> 17:14.506
Look at the cha geopolitical challenges

17:14.506 --> 17:16.672
we face , which is very different from

17:16.672 --> 17:18.950
the ones we faced in the last 20 years .

17:18.950 --> 17:21.172
And they say no , we need to go back to

17:21.172 --> 17:23.339
a draft . Uh , what do you think about

17:23.339 --> 17:25.450
that proposal ? Yeah , I mean , I was

17:25.450 --> 17:27.172
talking to you a little , uh ,

17:27.172 --> 17:29.339
backstage . I , I , um , I don't think

17:29.339 --> 17:31.672
you should ever callously dismiss ideas .

17:31.672 --> 17:33.728
Let me say that . But I think , as I

17:33.728 --> 17:35.506
said in my remarks that the All

17:35.506 --> 17:37.561
Volunteer Force has more than proved

17:37.561 --> 17:39.728
its worth . It's , it's the , it's the

17:39.728 --> 17:39.420
right model . It's a model that we're

17:39.430 --> 17:41.652
gonna have to work hard to maintain for

17:41.652 --> 17:43.819
the reasons we just talked about , but

17:43.819 --> 17:45.819
it provides so many benefits to the

17:45.819 --> 17:48.180
service members as well as to , uh ,

17:48.189 --> 17:49.967
you know , operationally on the

17:49.967 --> 17:51.911
battlefield . Um that , you know ,

17:51.911 --> 17:54.022
there's , there's no doubt in my mind

17:54.022 --> 17:56.189
that that's the direction we're in the

17:56.189 --> 17:58.133
right direction and we should keep

17:58.133 --> 17:57.599
heading there . We got to make it

17:57.609 --> 18:00.359
stronger . So I thought you were , your

18:00.369 --> 18:03.560
remarks were very careful scrupulously ,

18:03.569 --> 18:06.959
uh nonpartisan . Uh and yet in our

18:06.969 --> 18:09.119
polarized political environment , I

18:09.130 --> 18:11.074
think some people would , could be

18:11.074 --> 18:13.390
triggered by just saying the word

18:13.400 --> 18:15.400
diversity or inclusion or something

18:15.400 --> 18:18.069
like that . So talk about the challenge

18:18.079 --> 18:21.939
of doing this kind of work of building

18:21.949 --> 18:24.329
and maintaining the armed forces in a

18:24.339 --> 18:28.079
highly charged partisan uh environment .

18:28.089 --> 18:30.579
That is our present day . It's very

18:30.589 --> 18:32.756
difficult , I think for anyone leading

18:32.756 --> 18:34.978
an institution and , and you know , the

18:34.978 --> 18:37.200
military , probably more than any , but

18:37.200 --> 18:39.819
not again alone among uh uh workplaces

18:39.829 --> 18:42.107
where you're trying to , uh , you know ,

18:42.107 --> 18:44.218
kind of reach a goal in our case it's

18:44.218 --> 18:47.180
defend the nation . Um , and do so , um ,

18:47.189 --> 18:49.699
in a way that , uh , can build unity ,

18:49.709 --> 18:52.189
builds teams , um , that's what we're

18:52.199 --> 18:54.032
all about when you're in the fox

18:54.032 --> 18:56.199
proverbial or real fox hole . Uh , you

18:56.199 --> 18:58.255
need to be able to look to your left

18:58.255 --> 19:00.477
and your right and rely on those people

19:00.477 --> 19:02.421
no matter what they look like , no

19:02.421 --> 19:02.260
matter what their background is , no

19:02.270 --> 19:04.159
matter what their accent is . And

19:04.159 --> 19:06.381
that's what we're all about . How do we

19:06.381 --> 19:08.437
build readiness and make sure we can

19:08.437 --> 19:10.659
deliver on the battlefield . And , um ,

19:10.659 --> 19:12.714
in order to tap the talent we need ,

19:12.714 --> 19:14.881
you know , you just , just look at the

19:14.881 --> 19:17.103
incredible demographic advantage . It's

19:17.103 --> 19:19.159
an asymmetry for the United States .

19:19.159 --> 19:21.381
Such a huge advantage to us to tap into

19:21.381 --> 19:23.603
every last , you know , um , a bit that

19:23.603 --> 19:25.548
we have . And so that's what we're

19:25.548 --> 19:27.714
gonna do . Any smart and lawyers would

19:27.714 --> 19:29.937
do that is doing that and we need to be

19:29.937 --> 19:32.103
competitive in that , in that uh fight

19:32.103 --> 19:34.401
for talent . So we make no apologies .

19:34.411 --> 19:36.522
I make no apologies for the fact that

19:36.522 --> 19:38.633
defense department is trying to reach

19:38.633 --> 19:40.800
the best quality Americans that we can

19:40.800 --> 19:42.967
and bring them into the force . And we

19:42.967 --> 19:45.133
recognize that to do that , it's going

19:45.133 --> 19:47.300
to be a very diverse force and our job

19:47.300 --> 19:49.411
is to bring them , understand their ,

19:49.411 --> 19:51.578
their backgrounds and needs and how we

19:51.578 --> 19:53.744
bring that together . Let me ask you ,

19:53.744 --> 19:55.689
uh , a , a question about military

19:55.689 --> 19:58.199
service . You benefited from being able

19:58.209 --> 20:00.569
to be in government and then time out

20:00.579 --> 20:02.746
of government reflect on it . You come

20:02.746 --> 20:04.560
back and you serve at different

20:04.569 --> 20:07.000
leadership positions during that same

20:07.010 --> 20:09.349
20 year period . A military officer

20:09.359 --> 20:11.526
didn't have that chance , except maybe

20:11.526 --> 20:13.415
if they had one year fellowship ,

20:13.589 --> 20:15.700
you're in it until you leave and then

20:15.700 --> 20:18.020
you're gone for , for good . What do

20:18.030 --> 20:20.086
you think about more flexible in and

20:20.086 --> 20:22.979
outer experiences ? And , and is the

20:22.989 --> 20:25.045
department looking at those kinds of

20:25.045 --> 20:27.400
options ? I think it's a model . We

20:27.410 --> 20:29.466
need to do much more of , we do have

20:29.466 --> 20:31.521
some authorities there . Space Force

20:31.521 --> 20:33.410
actually is one of the components

20:33.410 --> 20:37.040
that's actively uh building in parallel

20:37.050 --> 20:40.300
um uh entry models . And uh

20:40.310 --> 20:43.430
um we , we need to really see how that

20:43.439 --> 20:45.606
uh takes off . Sorry , that's probably

20:45.606 --> 20:47.883
a Space force plan , see how that goes .

20:47.883 --> 20:50.589
Um And then borrow from it to expand it

20:50.599 --> 20:52.877
across the forest , I think , you know ,

20:52.877 --> 20:54.821
we're just gonna have to prove the

20:54.821 --> 20:56.932
model . Um But there's no doubt in my

20:56.932 --> 20:59.043
mind . Yes . Right . There's no doubt

20:59.043 --> 21:01.099
in my mind , we have to move more in

21:01.099 --> 21:03.520
that direction and we can , yeah , we

21:03.530 --> 21:05.752
spent a lot of time today talking about

21:05.752 --> 21:07.863
public confidence in the military and

21:07.863 --> 21:10.030
the pros and cons of it . But also the

21:10.030 --> 21:12.439
concerns that maybe again , as a

21:12.449 --> 21:14.750
function of this polarized environment ,

21:14.949 --> 21:17.116
public confidence might not be as high

21:17.116 --> 21:19.338
today as it was say , three years ago .

21:19.338 --> 21:21.520
Uh Is that something that you all pay

21:21.530 --> 21:23.697
attention to , uh , do you worry about

21:23.697 --> 21:25.863
it ? What can you do about it ? Sure .

21:25.863 --> 21:28.086
Of course , we worry about it . I think

21:28.086 --> 21:30.252
the trust in institutions overall is ,

21:30.252 --> 21:32.363
is obviously , uh , I'm , I'm telling

21:32.363 --> 21:34.586
the crowd that knows this very well way

21:34.586 --> 21:37.040
down . Um , we are in a relatively good

21:37.050 --> 21:39.719
position among institutions but as part

21:39.729 --> 21:41.785
of that overall trend , trust in the

21:41.785 --> 21:43.930
military goes down as well . Look , I

21:43.939 --> 21:47.209
think it's good for it to not be put on

21:47.219 --> 21:49.660
a pedestal . It's an institution , it's

21:49.670 --> 21:51.726
an institution that needs to be well

21:51.726 --> 21:53.781
led , intended to and not considered

21:53.781 --> 21:55.900
infallible in some way . So that that

21:55.910 --> 21:58.229
part is good to have a healthy , you

21:58.239 --> 22:01.229
know , civilian respect for the

22:01.239 --> 22:03.819
military as an institution . Um But it

22:03.829 --> 22:06.760
is important also when times of crisis

22:06.770 --> 22:08.540
come to trust your military to

22:08.550 --> 22:10.819
understand that it will be alit , it's

22:10.829 --> 22:13.239
going to be ready , it can execute and

22:13.250 --> 22:17.219
it will follow regardless of the ,

22:17.229 --> 22:20.280
the anything that is legal provided

22:20.290 --> 22:22.989
from political leadership . So um

22:23.290 --> 22:25.346
that's where I think we want to be .

22:25.346 --> 22:27.568
And I do think that's really challenged

22:27.568 --> 22:30.239
in a environment in which the military

22:30.250 --> 22:32.472
is weaponized in a political sense . So

22:32.472 --> 22:34.639
that's , that's something we , we , we

22:34.639 --> 22:36.890
work really hard every day to stay as a

22:36.900 --> 22:39.122
political and focused on our mission as

22:39.122 --> 22:40.789
we can . And do you think the

22:40.789 --> 22:43.011
department's interested enough to say ,

22:43.011 --> 22:45.067
to buy copies of books that might be

22:45.067 --> 22:47.344
coming out on this topic in the in the .

22:47.344 --> 22:50.069
Don't answer that . Um Let , let me ask

22:50.079 --> 22:53.910
you a question about um about

22:53.920 --> 22:57.890
Congress . So you are confirmed .

22:57.900 --> 23:00.520
So you answer to Congress uh and it's a

23:00.530 --> 23:03.199
new environment in , in Congress . Uh

23:03.209 --> 23:06.910
What is your expectation say for

23:06.920 --> 23:09.829
the , the support for funding the

23:09.839 --> 23:12.530
military at the level that needs to be

23:12.540 --> 23:14.859
funded . We have very strong support ,

23:14.869 --> 23:18.339
bipartisan support um for our defense

23:18.349 --> 23:20.516
planning and , and the budgets that go

23:20.516 --> 23:23.010
with it really robust outreach and

23:23.020 --> 23:25.290
routine interaction with members of

23:25.300 --> 23:27.467
Congress Secretary and I just met with

23:27.467 --> 23:29.356
what's called the big eight , the

23:29.356 --> 23:31.467
chairs and rankings of the four major

23:31.467 --> 23:33.522
committees that deal with defense on

23:33.522 --> 23:35.744
the hill just this morning . That's not

23:35.744 --> 23:37.522
unusual for us to be in regular

23:37.522 --> 23:39.467
dialogue . That dialogue is really

23:39.467 --> 23:41.467
important in order to um be able to

23:41.467 --> 23:44.000
build out that trust and confidence

23:44.010 --> 23:46.939
that you've created . In this case , on

23:46.949 --> 23:49.060
your question , a defense budget that

23:49.060 --> 23:50.893
really reflects the needs of the

23:50.893 --> 23:53.005
military . You can explain why you're

23:53.005 --> 23:55.171
asking for what you're asking that can

23:55.171 --> 23:57.282
answer the hard questions that you're

23:57.282 --> 23:59.338
happy to go into detail with them in

23:59.338 --> 24:01.560
the right environment rather than say ,

24:01.560 --> 24:03.505
you know , that's classified . You

24:03.505 --> 24:03.469
don't , you don't need to know that we

24:03.479 --> 24:05.660
don't do that . We get into a dialogue

24:05.670 --> 24:07.819
with them that's part of civilian

24:07.829 --> 24:10.760
control too . Um And really respecting

24:10.770 --> 24:12.270
the role , the fundamental

24:12.270 --> 24:14.270
constitutional role , article , one

24:14.270 --> 24:16.492
role of Congress is really important to

24:16.492 --> 24:18.214
how we approach civil military

24:18.214 --> 24:20.326
relations . And it's important to how

24:20.326 --> 24:22.159
we are then are able to actually

24:22.159 --> 24:24.103
execute , of course , particularly

24:24.103 --> 24:26.048
given Congress's a central role in

24:26.048 --> 24:27.826
funding . So I'm gonna ask some

24:27.826 --> 24:27.709
questions about civilian control in a

24:27.719 --> 24:30.099
moment . But first , I wanna one more

24:30.109 --> 24:33.329
societal level uh context at the time

24:33.339 --> 24:35.506
that the all volunteer force was being

24:35.506 --> 24:37.561
created actually because it was , it

24:37.561 --> 24:40.270
was created . The reason had to do with

24:40.489 --> 24:42.545
uh the disappointment in the way the

24:42.545 --> 24:44.711
war in Vietnam went and the sense that

24:44.711 --> 24:46.433
we needed to go in a different

24:46.433 --> 24:49.310
direction . The end of Afghanistan has

24:49.319 --> 24:51.660
been compared to the end of the war in

24:51.670 --> 24:53.559
Vietnam in different ways and the

24:53.559 --> 24:55.619
challenges that might face in

24:56.069 --> 24:59.160
internally , in the building rebuilding ,

24:59.170 --> 25:01.979
re centering on military professionals ,

25:01.989 --> 25:04.156
etcetera . Talk , tell us a little bit

25:04.156 --> 25:06.900
about how you are thinking about that

25:06.910 --> 25:09.069
part of the job reorienting the

25:09.079 --> 25:11.880
military to the the current threats and

25:11.890 --> 25:14.112
processing the lessons learned from the

25:14.112 --> 25:16.329
last war . So Chinese are facing a

25:16.339 --> 25:18.339
challenge . We're very , very clear

25:18.339 --> 25:20.395
that we think the PR C is developing

25:20.395 --> 25:22.395
out the kind of a suite of military

25:22.395 --> 25:24.709
capabilities and intent that really

25:24.719 --> 25:26.886
threaten us interests . And that's the

25:26.886 --> 25:28.941
focal point has been the focal point

25:28.941 --> 25:30.775
for our strategy both officially

25:30.775 --> 25:32.886
codified fuel in our national defense

25:32.886 --> 25:35.310
strategy from 2022 . But operating so

25:35.319 --> 25:37.270
from the time we came in in this

25:37.280 --> 25:39.329
administration and pulling from the

25:39.339 --> 25:41.780
prior administration . So that does

25:41.790 --> 25:45.469
absolutely focus my day every day to

25:45.479 --> 25:47.535
make sure we're putting together the

25:47.535 --> 25:49.646
concepts and capabilities we need for

25:49.646 --> 25:52.300
the ability to create stability to make

25:52.310 --> 25:54.421
sure we can deter threats . We're not

25:54.421 --> 25:56.366
looking for conflicts . What we're

25:56.366 --> 25:58.477
looking to do is make sure we compete

25:58.477 --> 26:00.421
effectively to deter threats . And

26:00.421 --> 26:02.477
again , pr C is the pacing challenge

26:02.477 --> 26:04.643
that is very different than the decade

26:04.643 --> 26:08.474
or so that I was also present for much

26:08.484 --> 26:10.651
of during the global war on terror and

26:10.651 --> 26:13.099
including um the wars in Iraq and in

26:13.109 --> 26:15.880
Afghanistan . So really shifting the

26:15.890 --> 26:18.260
force to where we think , you know , we

26:18.270 --> 26:20.479
need to be ready in order to create

26:20.489 --> 26:23.380
stability . That's our focus . But just

26:23.390 --> 26:25.446
picking up again on the the theme of

26:25.446 --> 26:27.540
lessons learned from the uh from

26:27.550 --> 26:30.099
Afghanistan and how that that shapes

26:30.109 --> 26:32.380
the profession . Do you , do you see it

26:32.390 --> 26:34.699
working its way through the the

26:34.709 --> 26:36.598
building in the same way that the

26:36.598 --> 26:38.431
lessons learned from the Vietnam

26:38.431 --> 26:40.542
experience worked its way through the

26:40.542 --> 26:42.598
building in the seventies ? Yeah , I

26:42.598 --> 26:44.431
don't , I don't think I have the

26:44.431 --> 26:46.765
parallel in mind that you have . If you ,

26:46.765 --> 26:48.709
if your question is as a matter of

26:48.709 --> 26:51.030
professional military education and

26:51.040 --> 26:53.290
learning and doctrine development ,

26:53.300 --> 26:56.209
there will be as there is in any era ,

26:56.229 --> 26:58.930
a review again of that full global war

26:58.939 --> 27:01.106
on terror . However , you want to call

27:01.106 --> 27:03.209
you call that period , Iraq ,

27:03.219 --> 27:05.329
Afghanistan and other , you know ,

27:05.339 --> 27:07.283
counter terrorism related fights ,

27:07.283 --> 27:11.010
nation building counter insurgency .

27:11.020 --> 27:13.380
Absolutely . I think we are a learning

27:13.390 --> 27:15.557
institution . Um It's one of the great

27:15.557 --> 27:17.785
things about the military . Um and

27:17.795 --> 27:19.854
folks work hard to make sure that

27:19.864 --> 27:22.584
lessons are not only learned but are

27:22.594 --> 27:24.761
learned from and put into employment .

27:24.761 --> 27:26.935
So I do expect that . Ok , so now let

27:26.944 --> 27:29.165
me shift focus to civilian control .

27:29.175 --> 27:32.484
That part of your day to day job . 24 7

27:32.744 --> 27:35.064
is uh to assist Secretary Austin being

27:35.074 --> 27:37.018
the civilian in civilian control .

27:38.270 --> 27:40.214
You're do , you've been doing that

27:40.214 --> 27:42.270
though for much of your political uh

27:42.270 --> 27:44.599
your career at lower levels . So what

27:44.609 --> 27:47.300
do you now know as deputy that you did

27:47.310 --> 27:50.319
not know as under or more junior ? What

27:50.329 --> 27:52.496
are , what are the things that you see

27:52.496 --> 27:54.607
now from your current perch that were

27:54.607 --> 27:56.959
harder to see ? Yeah , I would say

27:56.969 --> 27:58.660
that's the , this interesting

27:58.670 --> 28:02.359
combination of uh having run transition

28:02.369 --> 28:04.890
for the defense department um coming

28:04.900 --> 28:07.959
into this administration . It's that an

28:07.969 --> 28:11.349
institution that I found so healthy and

28:11.359 --> 28:13.526
it is healthy and there are incredible

28:13.526 --> 28:15.470
people all through it that there's

28:15.470 --> 28:17.581
fragility in that , that institutions

28:17.869 --> 28:20.739
um you know , have to be nurtured and

28:20.750 --> 28:23.069
we cannot take for granted every from

28:23.079 --> 28:26.454
civilian control to more fund mentally

28:26.464 --> 28:28.686
um kind of the the health of our public

28:28.686 --> 28:30.694
institutions . That is probably the

28:30.704 --> 28:32.815
number one thing that I took away . I

28:32.815 --> 28:35.037
know . Uh my dear friend , Alice friend

28:35.037 --> 28:37.260
is here , doctor friend came with me to

28:37.260 --> 28:39.371
the Pentagon , she was there before I

28:39.371 --> 28:41.260
got there . Um uh Day one in this

28:41.260 --> 28:43.426
administration . And I think she would

28:43.426 --> 28:45.593
probably agree that fragility was very

28:45.593 --> 28:47.760
clear . Um It's , it's going to take a

28:47.760 --> 28:49.982
lot to make sure these institutions can

28:49.982 --> 28:52.800
withstand political wins , especially

28:52.810 --> 28:55.109
when they're targeted at the military

28:55.119 --> 28:57.175
personnel , when they're targeted at

28:57.175 --> 29:00.339
civil servants . It's just really hard

29:00.349 --> 29:02.589
to continue to attract and retain

29:02.599 --> 29:05.739
talent , um , and keep people believing

29:05.750 --> 29:07.917
that they're contributing to mission .

29:07.917 --> 29:09.917
I'm really proud of what we've been

29:09.917 --> 29:12.139
able to do to , to get everybody's kind

29:12.139 --> 29:14.250
of uh frame of reference back there .

29:14.250 --> 29:16.306
But that's something that I wouldn't

29:16.306 --> 29:18.472
have seen before , took it for granted

29:18.472 --> 29:20.528
before . And are there other lessons

29:20.528 --> 29:22.694
learned that you brought with you from

29:22.694 --> 29:24.806
your previous experience ? You said ,

29:24.806 --> 29:26.972
OK , we did it this way . I don't want

29:26.972 --> 29:26.890
to do it that way this time or I want

29:26.900 --> 29:29.122
to redo that play because that worked .

29:29.122 --> 29:31.369
Yeah , I would say my , my entire

29:31.380 --> 29:34.369
career has been about lessons learned

29:34.380 --> 29:36.969
to apply now and they're really about

29:36.979 --> 29:38.590
incentives and how you align

29:38.590 --> 29:40.646
organizational incentives to achieve

29:40.646 --> 29:43.390
goals . It's about making sure that um

29:43.540 --> 29:46.089
you know , uh a process which is , you

29:46.099 --> 29:49.150
know , often um is um

29:49.160 --> 29:52.750
really , you know , fair , transparent ,

29:53.020 --> 29:56.060
efficient , effective uh folks under

29:56.260 --> 29:58.482
understand how their voices are heard .

29:58.482 --> 30:00.482
Obviously , this plays out in civil

30:00.482 --> 30:02.704
military relations . Everyone can think

30:02.704 --> 30:02.599
their favorite examples where the

30:02.609 --> 30:04.831
voices heard . Did they have an ability

30:04.831 --> 30:06.887
to air in the principles I know from

30:06.887 --> 30:09.500
the , from the letter um that was um

30:09.510 --> 30:11.619
signed all of that becomes really

30:11.630 --> 30:13.630
important . And that is what I have

30:13.630 --> 30:15.797
learned over the years . I really have

30:15.797 --> 30:18.189
seen it all in terms of how folks , you

30:18.199 --> 30:20.421
know , either invest in the institution

30:20.421 --> 30:22.310
to build it up and make sure it's

30:22.310 --> 30:24.477
stronger and where they're just trying

30:24.477 --> 30:26.588
to get something done fast . And that

30:26.588 --> 30:29.670
inevitably those um roots of change

30:29.680 --> 30:32.000
never , never take and I would like

30:32.010 --> 30:34.170
change to take . So I'm attending to

30:34.180 --> 30:36.347
the roots , you mentioned the letter I

30:36.347 --> 30:38.458
wanted to ask you about that when you

30:38.458 --> 30:40.569
saw that come out in September , what

30:40.569 --> 30:42.910
was your reaction to it ? And uh if you

30:42.920 --> 30:44.753
were editing it , would you make

30:44.753 --> 30:46.698
changes to it ? No , I thought , I

30:46.698 --> 30:48.809
thought it was excellent . It might ,

30:48.809 --> 30:51.540
I'm sorry to say that I feel like I

30:51.550 --> 30:53.717
should critique it . No , I thought it

30:53.717 --> 30:55.550
was excellent . I , I think what

30:55.550 --> 30:57.772
strikes me more than anything very much

30:57.772 --> 30:59.994
on the same theme is that um you know ,

30:59.994 --> 31:02.217
it's , it , it's so self evident if you

31:02.217 --> 31:04.272
took yourself out of the context and

31:04.272 --> 31:06.494
said , why would , why would a group of

31:06.494 --> 31:08.650
senior leaders on a bipartisan basis

31:08.829 --> 31:10.885
think they had to sit down and , you

31:10.885 --> 31:13.939
know , recapitulate the constitution

31:13.949 --> 31:16.109
and things we take for granted , you

31:16.119 --> 31:18.420
know , the old standards . Um I , I

31:18.430 --> 31:22.140
think it was um a , a great reminder

31:22.150 --> 31:25.589
again that there is this a political um

31:25.800 --> 31:28.949
history and set of uh constitutional

31:28.959 --> 31:32.859
tenets that form the basis of why

31:32.869 --> 31:35.729
we do what we do and they are worth

31:35.739 --> 31:37.880
protecting and defending and that is

31:37.890 --> 31:40.001
what we should focus on . It's a good

31:40.001 --> 31:43.119
reminder . And when you , when it came

31:43.130 --> 31:45.790
out , did you think this is alarmist ?

31:45.800 --> 31:48.520
This is going to scare people or ? I

31:48.530 --> 31:50.530
don't recall . I , I , no , I don't

31:50.530 --> 31:52.697
want you to have a negative reaction .

31:52.697 --> 31:54.697
No , I , I , no , I didn't have any

31:54.697 --> 31:56.919
kind of negative reaction like that . I

31:56.919 --> 31:55.959
thought it was good to have a

31:55.969 --> 31:58.689
reaffirmation . So this will sound like

31:58.699 --> 32:00.921
special . I feel like maybe I should be

32:00.921 --> 32:02.921
asking you how did you feel when it

32:02.921 --> 32:04.866
came out ? It feel like maybe some

32:04.866 --> 32:06.977
therapy might , I felt gratified that

32:06.977 --> 32:10.560
it came out as what I felt . But um and

32:10.569 --> 32:12.458
I know you think I've done enough

32:12.458 --> 32:14.291
special pleading already , but I

32:14.291 --> 32:16.513
actually think that that is uh a useful

32:16.513 --> 32:19.069
uh Touchstone for confirmations and

32:19.079 --> 32:21.920
nominations . So I'm , I'm hoping that

32:21.930 --> 32:24.041
the Senate will pick up on that . And

32:24.041 --> 32:26.349
we ask future deputy secretaries ,

32:26.359 --> 32:29.680
future Cocos and et cetera . Do you

32:29.689 --> 32:31.411
agree with this ? Is this your

32:31.411 --> 32:33.189
understanding of civil military

32:33.189 --> 32:35.411
relations ? And if not , you know , how

32:35.411 --> 32:37.578
would you change it ? That would spark

32:37.578 --> 32:39.467
a inter branch conversation about

32:39.467 --> 32:42.609
civilian control that may not be fully

32:42.619 --> 32:44.760
uh as rich as it otherwise could be .

32:45.420 --> 32:47.890
And so , yeah , I , I most people may

32:47.900 --> 32:49.956
not know that we have these advanced

32:49.956 --> 32:52.067
policy questions when you're up for a

32:52.067 --> 32:54.011
confirmation and they um there has

32:54.011 --> 32:56.233
always , there has long been a standard

32:56.233 --> 32:58.122
set for the Senate Armed Services

32:58.122 --> 32:58.020
Committee of what I would call civilian

32:58.030 --> 33:00.410
control related questions . Um , and

33:00.420 --> 33:02.420
those are really important to their

33:02.420 --> 33:04.739
affirmations for one to say . Yes , I

33:04.750 --> 33:06.972
agree with this . Yeah . And so yes , I

33:06.972 --> 33:09.250
think the set that you're putting , uh ,

33:09.250 --> 33:11.583
uh , that were put forward in that , um ,

33:11.583 --> 33:13.890
a particular article are perfectly

33:13.900 --> 33:17.750
viable set to , to , uh , propose . So ,

33:17.760 --> 33:20.709
what was different ? Four years a a

33:20.719 --> 33:23.459
after . So you , you served , you saw

33:23.469 --> 33:25.469
the Obama administration up close ,

33:25.469 --> 33:27.636
then you were out for four years . You

33:27.636 --> 33:30.989
came back , I was OK , but not just for

33:31.640 --> 33:34.380
eight years , not just in terms of your

33:34.390 --> 33:37.859
change in elevation , but you saw um

33:38.040 --> 33:39.984
what , what is different about the

33:39.984 --> 33:42.096
building ? Well , as I said , I think

33:42.096 --> 33:43.984
what was really striking was just

33:43.984 --> 33:46.160
fragility um and trying to get things

33:46.170 --> 33:48.281
um you know , into a regular order to

33:48.281 --> 33:51.630
use a uh a term . Um Again , that ,

33:51.640 --> 33:54.010
that is in that article , probably

33:54.020 --> 33:56.131
something people don't recognize that

33:56.131 --> 33:58.353
they need until they don't have it . We

33:58.359 --> 34:00.849
heard loud and clear over the course ,

34:00.859 --> 34:02.915
particularly of the first year , how

34:02.915 --> 34:05.109
much that was welcomed from both the

34:05.119 --> 34:07.286
military and civilians who were in the

34:07.286 --> 34:09.800
Pentagon that was lacking , it wasn't

34:09.810 --> 34:11.760
lacking the entirety of the prior

34:11.770 --> 34:13.826
administration . I don't mean that ,

34:13.826 --> 34:15.881
but it was certainly lacking when we

34:15.881 --> 34:17.992
came into the uh um at this beginning

34:17.992 --> 34:20.103
of the Biden administration . So , uh

34:20.103 --> 34:22.409
again , just sort of making sure that

34:22.419 --> 34:24.530
there's a system of governance that's

34:24.530 --> 34:26.669
focused on goals and priorities and

34:26.679 --> 34:28.790
moving the ball forward in a way that

34:28.790 --> 34:32.050
is fair , transparent um and effective .

34:32.060 --> 34:34.300
That's I think the biggest thing that I

34:34.310 --> 34:36.310
noticed needed to be done . I think

34:36.310 --> 34:38.580
we've done a good job of that . What

34:38.590 --> 34:40.646
about the joint staff ? How was that

34:40.646 --> 34:43.209
different or was it ? Did you when

34:43.219 --> 34:45.441
you're interacting with the joint staff

34:45.441 --> 34:47.663
said ? Oh yeah , I remember this . This

34:47.663 --> 34:47.000
is exactly the same . Was there any

34:47.010 --> 34:49.520
change in interactions at that level ?

34:49.530 --> 34:51.030
Yeah . No , I wouldn't say

34:51.030 --> 34:53.197
categorically . We , we have excellent

34:53.197 --> 34:55.500
uh relationships uh between uh OS D if

34:55.510 --> 34:57.843
that's what you mean in the joint staff .

34:57.843 --> 35:00.010
Uh I don't mean to sound obnoxious but

35:00.010 --> 35:02.121
I'm above the joint staff . So they ,

35:02.121 --> 35:04.177
they treat me very well , I think is

35:04.177 --> 35:06.399
how I would put it . Um But I , yes , I

35:06.399 --> 35:08.399
think Os D and the joint staff work

35:08.399 --> 35:10.621
very closely together . And um uh we've

35:10.621 --> 35:12.788
seen , I think a very positive trend .

35:12.788 --> 35:15.280
I think anyone who has been around that ,

35:15.290 --> 35:17.820
that I speak to on the Os D side and on

35:17.830 --> 35:19.886
the joint staff side tend to say the

35:19.886 --> 35:21.719
same thing . And as I said in my

35:21.719 --> 35:23.941
remarks , it's pretty strong , it's the

35:23.941 --> 35:26.052
strongest I've seen . So I'm about to

35:26.052 --> 35:28.530
turn to the uh audience . So if you

35:28.540 --> 35:30.651
wanna get questions , get in , get in

35:30.651 --> 35:33.770
line . But my last question to you , uh

35:33.780 --> 35:36.239
is you're gonna be spending a lot of

35:36.250 --> 35:38.449
time in front of Congress . Probably

35:38.459 --> 35:40.949
you and the , the team , uh , and

35:40.959 --> 35:42.903
they'll be asking you for a lot of

35:42.903 --> 35:45.181
things , a lot of answers to questions .

35:45.181 --> 35:47.348
But if , and you'll be asking them for

35:47.348 --> 35:49.570
a lot of money . But aside from money ,

35:49.570 --> 35:51.403
what are , are , do you have the

35:51.403 --> 35:53.515
authorities that the building needs ?

35:53.515 --> 35:55.669
Do you think you have the legislation

35:55.939 --> 35:58.379
that you think the building needs to do

35:58.389 --> 36:01.139
all of the tasks you've outlined for us

36:01.149 --> 36:03.371
today ? The number one thing we need is

36:03.371 --> 36:06.439
on time appropriations . You can't

36:06.449 --> 36:09.399
be working in a competition against

36:09.409 --> 36:11.959
another major power and lose months of

36:11.969 --> 36:14.760
every year . Um , and years over the

36:14.770 --> 36:17.750
last decade in total , uh without

36:17.760 --> 36:20.709
having uh uh appropriations . And we

36:20.719 --> 36:22.719
don't , can't do new starts when we

36:22.719 --> 36:24.719
don't have appropriations . We have

36:24.719 --> 36:26.775
lots of challenges moving forward on

36:26.775 --> 36:29.052
big ideas on modernization . So that's ,

36:29.052 --> 36:31.163
that's the number one thing we need .

36:31.163 --> 36:31.100
Uh , we need , we need the

36:31.110 --> 36:34.729
appropriations bill . Um , the other

36:34.739 --> 36:36.961
kinds of authorities . Yes . Every year

36:36.961 --> 36:39.072
we put forward authorities that would

36:39.072 --> 36:41.072
help us , but I wouldn't say any of

36:41.072 --> 36:43.239
those . Uh , you know , we , we aren't

36:43.239 --> 36:45.649
sort of crippled in any way , um with

36:45.659 --> 36:47.715
on time appropriations and in strong

36:47.715 --> 36:49.770
partnership with Congress . And they

36:49.770 --> 36:51.715
have given us a lot of authorities

36:51.715 --> 36:53.881
honestly , oftentimes it's on our side

36:53.881 --> 36:55.770
to make sure we're using the full

36:55.770 --> 36:58.048
authorities that we have . Um But yeah ,

36:58.048 --> 37:00.215
they're , they're a little tweaks . We

37:00.215 --> 36:59.913
can move forward on there . They're in

36:59.923 --> 37:02.145
personnel policy . We just talked about

37:02.145 --> 37:04.512
some areas where if we can demonstrate

37:04.522 --> 37:06.744
good use of the authorities , we have ,

37:06.744 --> 37:08.855
we might want to go for some others .

37:08.855 --> 37:11.022
Um And that would be I think personnel

37:11.022 --> 37:13.133
policy , it actually be high up on my

37:13.133 --> 37:15.133
list . On the acquisition side , we

37:15.133 --> 37:17.189
have pretty good authorities . There

37:17.189 --> 37:19.552
are some um standard , this not law but

37:19.562 --> 37:21.633
standard ways of interacting between

37:21.643 --> 37:24.365
appropriation cycles that uh it would

37:24.375 --> 37:26.486
be , it would be great if we had more

37:26.486 --> 37:28.597
flexibility from Congress on how we ,

37:28.597 --> 37:30.708
how we acted in between appropriation

37:30.708 --> 37:32.597
cycles , so we can move forward ,

37:32.597 --> 37:34.319
promising new technologies and

37:34.319 --> 37:36.319
capabilities . And you said you had

37:36.319 --> 37:38.542
very fruitful meetings with the gang of

37:38.542 --> 37:40.375
eight . That was , was , are you

37:40.375 --> 37:42.375
optimistic that you're gonna get on

37:42.375 --> 37:44.264
time appropriations and the , the

37:44.264 --> 37:46.431
things you need or are you moving into

37:46.431 --> 37:48.542
this year ? Looking at the challenges

37:48.542 --> 37:50.597
across the river and thinking ? Hm ,

37:50.597 --> 37:52.899
maybe not this year . Yeah , I , I I'm

37:52.909 --> 37:54.909
always optimistic . I don't think I

37:54.909 --> 37:57.076
would still be in public service after

37:57.076 --> 37:59.020
30 years if I didn't fundamentally

37:59.020 --> 38:01.131
believe that this nation has um great

38:01.131 --> 38:03.298
um opportunity and great promise . And

38:03.298 --> 38:05.187
that includes our ability to work

38:05.187 --> 38:07.187
within Washington to get done , the

38:07.187 --> 38:09.242
American people's work done . So I'm

38:09.242 --> 38:12.070
optimistic . Let's go here for the

38:12.080 --> 38:14.136
first question . Thank you so much ,

38:14.136 --> 38:16.389
madam Deputy Secretary . Um Thank you

38:16.399 --> 38:18.455
so much for your remark . My name is

38:18.455 --> 38:20.343
Brian . I'm from Taiwan and I'm a

38:20.343 --> 38:22.399
junior here at the School of Foreign

38:22.399 --> 38:24.621
Service . Uh Today's topic is about the

38:24.621 --> 38:26.560
50 year anniversary of the All

38:26.570 --> 38:28.792
Volunteer Force . But if I may please ,

38:28.792 --> 38:30.903
I want to ask you a question about us

38:30.903 --> 38:33.379
and Taiwan military relation . So to

38:33.389 --> 38:36.620
the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act US arms

38:36.629 --> 38:38.796
sales to Taiwan has long been confined

38:38.796 --> 38:41.073
to defensive natures . On the one hand ,

38:41.073 --> 38:43.351
this was intended to not provoke China .

38:43.351 --> 38:45.573
And on the other hand , this is because

38:45.573 --> 38:47.462
Taiwan still had the potential to

38:47.462 --> 38:49.407
assault China back then . And this

38:49.407 --> 38:51.240
nature of arms so prevented this

38:51.240 --> 38:54.340
however fast forward 40 years to 2020

38:54.350 --> 38:56.379
23 . Right now , Taiwan has already

38:56.389 --> 38:58.979
lost its ability and will to assault

38:58.989 --> 39:00.878
China while China is growing more

39:00.878 --> 39:03.459
aggressive against Taiwan . Moreover ,

39:03.469 --> 39:06.750
possessing only defensive weapons as we

39:06.760 --> 39:09.290
have seen in the Ukrainian case , fails

39:09.300 --> 39:11.189
to effectively deter enemies from

39:11.189 --> 39:13.300
waging a war and in the case of a war

39:13.310 --> 39:15.469
fails to quickly and swiftly push the

39:15.479 --> 39:17.500
enemy out . On the other hand ,

39:17.520 --> 39:19.820
countries like Israel with effective

39:19.830 --> 39:21.886
offensive weapons were able to deter

39:21.889 --> 39:25.199
wars , can we do offensive weapon

39:25.760 --> 39:28.070
question ? Great question . Thank you .

39:28.129 --> 39:31.350
Thank you . First of all , a fine essay .

39:31.360 --> 39:35.040
Uh So , so it's uh uh well , well put

39:35.050 --> 39:36.883
together um the United States is

39:36.889 --> 39:39.111
committed to the Taiwan Relations Act .

39:39.111 --> 39:40.833
We are absolutely committed to

39:40.833 --> 39:42.889
assisting Taiwan in self defense . I

39:42.889 --> 39:44.778
disagree with the premise of your

39:44.778 --> 39:46.722
question entirely . Um I think the

39:46.722 --> 39:48.889
first of all , that there is much more

39:48.889 --> 39:50.778
that uh , Taiwan can do alongside

39:50.778 --> 39:52.722
partners like the United States to

39:52.722 --> 39:54.945
strengthen self defense . Those are not

39:54.945 --> 39:56.689
just systems , those are um ,

39:57.209 --> 39:59.919
improvements that are already under way

39:59.929 --> 40:02.040
or talked about in Taiwan with regard

40:02.040 --> 40:04.225
to the improvements of their own

40:04.235 --> 40:05.457
military . Talk about

40:05.457 --> 40:07.624
professionalization and the advantages

40:07.624 --> 40:09.405
of making sure you have longer

40:09.415 --> 40:11.637
conscription cycles and other things of

40:11.637 --> 40:13.637
that sort . I'll just also add that

40:13.637 --> 40:16.745
Taiwan does have partners and friends

40:16.754 --> 40:19.875
to count on and its ability to deter

40:19.885 --> 40:21.996
aggression against it is not , it's a

40:21.996 --> 40:24.280
loan to bear . Um And that's why the

40:24.290 --> 40:27.000
United States works so hard to make

40:27.010 --> 40:29.179
clear as I said , that we are a force

40:29.189 --> 40:31.300
for stability . We're not looking for

40:31.300 --> 40:33.411
conflict , but we do believe that the

40:33.411 --> 40:35.356
state of affairs across the Taiwan

40:35.356 --> 40:37.633
strait should be maintained peacefully .

40:37.633 --> 40:39.800
Let me sneak in my own Taiwan question

40:39.800 --> 40:42.750
on the back of that many uh folks

40:42.760 --> 40:46.370
outside who are opposed to the efforts

40:46.379 --> 40:49.000
in Ukraine say we shouldn't focus on

40:49.010 --> 40:51.010
Ukraine , we should focus on Taiwan

40:51.010 --> 40:53.270
that it's a distraction . Uh And we're

40:53.280 --> 40:55.590
sending weapons to Ukraine that are

40:55.600 --> 40:57.711
needed in Taiwan . So they try to put

40:57.711 --> 40:59.822
the two theaters against each other .

40:59.929 --> 41:02.151
That's not the Biden administration for

41:02.151 --> 41:04.373
you . Explain what , what that argument

41:04.373 --> 41:06.540
is missing if you would . Sure there's

41:06.540 --> 41:08.762
a couple of different elements . Let me

41:08.762 --> 41:10.929
start with the um kind of the concrete

41:10.929 --> 41:13.024
part which is we are not trading off

41:13.034 --> 41:15.975
arms , for instance , that are in the

41:15.985 --> 41:17.929
foreign military sales process for

41:17.929 --> 41:20.685
Taiwan . We're not giving those away or

41:20.695 --> 41:24.304
selling them somehow using our

41:24.314 --> 41:27.385
authorities from Congress for Ukraine

41:27.625 --> 41:29.736
two totally different processes . The

41:29.736 --> 41:31.847
presidential draw down authority that

41:31.847 --> 41:34.169
we've been using . Um for the kinds of

41:34.179 --> 41:36.346
systems that folks are familiar with .

41:36.346 --> 41:38.457
In the Taiwan case , those are coming

41:38.457 --> 41:40.401
out of us , stocks , older systems

41:40.401 --> 41:42.401
coming out of us , stocks Taiwan um

41:42.401 --> 41:44.235
that those are purchases for new

41:44.235 --> 41:46.290
systems . So that's sort of the most

41:46.300 --> 41:48.929
concrete version . Um Here's the bigger

41:48.939 --> 41:52.629
strategic issue . What the Ukraine

41:52.639 --> 41:56.370
crisis has demonstrated is that a

41:56.379 --> 41:58.510
country that is willing to defend

41:58.520 --> 42:01.590
itself , that can bring the will and

42:01.600 --> 42:04.469
the capability can really attract

42:04.479 --> 42:07.979
substantial international support if

42:07.989 --> 42:10.267
it's , there's an aggressor against it .

42:10.439 --> 42:13.080
And that is a big takeaway for Russia .

42:13.229 --> 42:15.451
It's a big takeaway for Taiwan . It's a

42:15.451 --> 42:18.560
big takeaway for the PR C . They are

42:18.570 --> 42:20.770
seeing incredible economic effects on

42:20.780 --> 42:23.449
Russia that worries them . They are

42:23.459 --> 42:26.649
seeing the unity of not just Europe but

42:26.659 --> 42:28.770
an international community in support

42:28.770 --> 42:30.715
of Ukraine that worries them . And

42:30.715 --> 42:32.826
they're seeing that the United States

42:32.826 --> 42:34.992
is actually galvanizing its industrial

42:34.992 --> 42:37.169
base and thinking about how that

42:37.179 --> 42:40.290
industrial base can perform , not only

42:40.300 --> 42:42.467
in support of the Ukraine crisis , but

42:42.467 --> 42:45.600
in future conflicts , Doctor Grove ,

42:45.810 --> 42:48.419
ma'am , Doctor Brian Groves , I'm a

42:48.429 --> 42:50.373
colonel at Army Forces command . I

42:50.373 --> 42:52.540
spent my last couple of years prior to

42:52.540 --> 42:54.651
that on the joint staff . So I'm glad

42:54.651 --> 42:56.762
that you felt we treated you ? Well ,

42:56.762 --> 43:00.340
I'm glad you did too . Yes , ma'am . So

43:00.350 --> 43:02.239
yesterday , the national military

43:02.239 --> 43:04.461
strategy was delivered to congressional

43:04.461 --> 43:06.294
leaders . I had the privilege of

43:06.294 --> 43:09.060
helping lead that team during my time

43:09.070 --> 43:11.399
there . And so I'm interested in your

43:11.409 --> 43:13.620
perspective on the role that

43:13.629 --> 43:17.040
authoritative documents uh largely in

43:17.050 --> 43:19.300
this case with the N Ds and the N MS

43:19.310 --> 43:22.280
that are congressionally mandated play

43:22.290 --> 43:24.550
in their interaction with each other

43:24.560 --> 43:28.340
and in uh the hills oversight of

43:28.350 --> 43:32.139
dod and anything that you might want to

43:32.149 --> 43:35.360
share about that . Sure . So I think

43:35.370 --> 43:38.510
the , the rich history in the and , and

43:38.520 --> 43:42.520
even the incentives that drive strong

43:42.530 --> 43:45.600
alignment and codification , you know ,

43:45.610 --> 43:47.666
through multi layered , whether it's

43:47.666 --> 43:49.554
strategy , documents , planning ,

43:49.554 --> 43:51.666
documents , et cetera , that's really

43:51.666 --> 43:54.040
healthy inside the military institution .

43:54.050 --> 43:57.149
It helps to make sure that commanders

43:57.159 --> 43:59.326
intent and guidance is pushed down all

43:59.330 --> 44:01.530
the way through the system . Um And is

44:01.540 --> 44:04.959
a continual opportunity to reinforce

44:04.969 --> 44:07.419
the tie of the goals to the actions

44:07.429 --> 44:09.485
that are happening at lower levels .

44:09.485 --> 44:11.818
I'll just add a secondary piece to that ,

44:11.818 --> 44:13.707
which is when you're at the lower

44:13.707 --> 44:15.485
levels . Um It's always good to

44:15.485 --> 44:17.651
understand how you fit into the system

44:17.651 --> 44:19.651
because as I said , part of what is

44:19.651 --> 44:21.485
such a great um uh you know , uh

44:21.485 --> 44:24.330
proposition in the military or in , for

44:24.340 --> 44:27.219
civilians in , in public service is how

44:27.229 --> 44:29.451
am I , you know , how am I contributing

44:29.451 --> 44:31.760
to mission today and that sort of

44:31.770 --> 44:33.729
cascading of documents and

44:33.739 --> 44:36.679
formalization of ties really always

44:36.689 --> 44:39.229
helps orient folks to where they fit in

44:39.239 --> 44:41.399
the system and how it connects to

44:41.409 --> 44:44.219
bigger national level goals . So that's

44:44.229 --> 44:46.770
my view . And II , I think Congress has

44:46.780 --> 44:48.947
been able to codify that including the

44:48.947 --> 44:52.260
N MS um over the years to help , you

44:52.270 --> 44:53.714
know , regardless of what

44:53.714 --> 44:55.937
administration is , help kind of create

44:55.937 --> 44:58.879
that discipline . Good afternoon madam

44:58.889 --> 45:00.889
secretary , my name is Major Sharon

45:00.889 --> 45:03.056
Sparrow . Um One key element mentioned

45:03.056 --> 45:04.833
here but emphasized in previous

45:04.833 --> 45:06.945
discussions regarding the A VF is the

45:06.945 --> 45:08.889
increasing importance of women and

45:08.889 --> 45:10.945
immigrants and the role that they'll

45:10.945 --> 45:13.111
play for our future forces . However ,

45:13.111 --> 45:15.111
there still remains barriers to our

45:15.111 --> 45:17.222
retention and meaningful employment .

45:17.222 --> 45:19.445
Despite fairly good retention numbers ,

45:19.445 --> 45:21.556
retention of women remains very low .

45:21.556 --> 45:23.667
I'm confident that should you ask any

45:23.667 --> 45:25.556
minority military member , how to

45:25.556 --> 45:27.778
remove these barriers ? They would have

45:27.778 --> 45:29.778
an answer but their recommendations

45:29.778 --> 45:31.945
often get stuck in the frozen middle .

45:31.945 --> 45:31.750
How do we raise the real concerns of

45:31.760 --> 45:33.982
our underrepresented groups to catapult

45:33.982 --> 45:36.780
action ? Yeah , I mean , I just want to

45:36.790 --> 45:39.340
validate the again the premise in this

45:39.350 --> 45:41.360
case , which is that the retention

45:41.370 --> 45:43.426
rates are lower uh for women and for

45:43.426 --> 45:46.979
minorities um in the armed forces . Um

45:47.500 --> 45:50.209
So we know again , I said retention

45:50.219 --> 45:52.386
overall is quite high . It's something

45:52.386 --> 45:54.441
to lean into , which is , you know ,

45:54.441 --> 45:56.663
once we have folks in the force , we do

45:56.663 --> 45:59.000
a better job uh retaining them . So we

45:59.010 --> 46:01.121
wanna make sure we can have that same

46:01.121 --> 46:03.288
quality of retention and advancement ,

46:03.288 --> 46:05.232
of course , is part of the issue ,

46:05.232 --> 46:08.879
which is the disproportion in our

46:08.889 --> 46:10.778
advancement . And so retention is

46:10.778 --> 46:12.722
always going to be challenged when

46:12.722 --> 46:14.945
that's the case . So I think one of the

46:14.945 --> 46:17.167
first , first and most obvious things I

46:17.167 --> 46:19.278
would say is we need people above the

46:19.278 --> 46:21.500
frozen middle . And so that's where you

46:21.500 --> 46:23.445
see , you know , right now we have

46:23.445 --> 46:25.667
several of our combatant commanders are

46:25.667 --> 46:29.415
female , we have the VCO is female .

46:29.639 --> 46:32.600
Um Those sort of senior , uh they're

46:32.610 --> 46:34.832
not just role models , they're decision

46:34.832 --> 46:36.979
makers . Um They're not just in the

46:36.989 --> 46:39.211
room or at the table , they're the head

46:39.211 --> 46:41.045
of the table . That makes a huge

46:41.045 --> 46:43.211
difference . I can tell you first hand

46:43.211 --> 46:45.433
representation matters . And so I think

46:45.433 --> 46:47.378
making sure we have in this case ,

46:47.378 --> 46:49.659
women , but uh a , a force that is

46:49.669 --> 46:51.836
representative all the way through its

46:51.836 --> 46:54.002
ranks is one of the best things we can

46:54.002 --> 46:56.169
do to make sure that we understand the

46:56.169 --> 46:58.129
barriers and we can remove them .

46:58.239 --> 47:00.572
There's lots of other efforts under way .

47:00.572 --> 47:02.795
Of course , throughout the department ,

47:02.795 --> 47:04.961
as I said , I think the goal always in

47:04.961 --> 47:04.409
the defense department is to think

47:04.419 --> 47:06.860
about readiness . And you know , how

47:06.870 --> 47:09.050
you build a holistic view of readiness

47:09.060 --> 47:11.171
is making sure you're looking out for

47:11.171 --> 47:13.116
your teammates . We have a massive

47:13.116 --> 47:15.171
effort under way , for instance , on

47:15.171 --> 47:17.227
countering sexual assault and sexual

47:17.227 --> 47:19.338
harassment that affects people of all

47:19.338 --> 47:21.282
genders , but it certainly affects

47:21.282 --> 47:23.282
women more than others . Um I think

47:23.282 --> 47:25.282
that's a big piece of our retention

47:25.282 --> 47:27.449
story as well . Can I ask you to apply

47:27.449 --> 47:29.560
that question to the civilian side of

47:29.560 --> 47:31.560
dod ? Uh What changes have you seen

47:31.560 --> 47:34.850
over your career ? Uh , in terms of

47:34.860 --> 47:36.916
opportunities for women and also the

47:36.916 --> 47:39.138
experience of women serving in national

47:39.138 --> 47:41.580
security posts like Dod ? Yeah , I

47:41.590 --> 47:44.570
think in dod , we , you know , it's

47:44.580 --> 47:46.860
selfishly . I think we do pretty well .

47:46.870 --> 47:49.092
It's something we're constantly looking

47:49.092 --> 47:50.926
at , certainly for the political

47:50.926 --> 47:52.981
appointees , but also for the senior

47:52.981 --> 47:55.037
career , I was a senior . Uh I was a

47:55.037 --> 47:57.419
career , excuse me before I became a

47:57.429 --> 47:59.485
political appointee . So I'm , I'm ,

47:59.485 --> 48:01.651
I'm particularly attuned to that and ,

48:01.651 --> 48:03.596
and I don't have the numbers at my

48:03.596 --> 48:05.762
fingertips , but they're , but they're

48:05.762 --> 48:07.818
relatively good , I think across the

48:07.818 --> 48:07.669
national security community , it

48:07.679 --> 48:10.409
continues to be a challenge . So it's

48:10.419 --> 48:13.919
something to watch overall . Ok .

48:14.729 --> 48:16.896
Thank you , madam , deputy secretary .

48:16.896 --> 48:19.007
Um My name is Christian . I'm a first

48:19.007 --> 48:20.840
year uh masters student here and

48:20.840 --> 48:23.062
teaching assistant with the uh security

48:23.062 --> 48:25.007
studies program at Georgetown . Um

48:25.007 --> 48:27.062
acquisition uh and budgets have been

48:27.062 --> 48:29.229
talked about a little tagen today . Um

48:29.229 --> 48:31.229
uh Obviously , uh it's important to

48:31.229 --> 48:33.118
innovation and the small business

48:33.118 --> 48:35.285
strategy was just released , I believe

48:35.285 --> 48:37.507
last month . Um But pertaining to civil

48:37.507 --> 48:39.451
military relations , are there any

48:39.451 --> 48:41.618
changes that you would recommend um in

48:41.618 --> 48:41.209
terms of the distribution of

48:41.219 --> 48:43.870
responsibilities between Os D and the

48:43.879 --> 48:45.823
military services when it comes to

48:45.823 --> 48:47.768
acquisition budget or , you know ,

48:47.768 --> 48:49.823
innovation writ large , whether it's

48:49.823 --> 48:51.712
like bureaucratic structure or um

48:51.712 --> 48:54.520
agency of the individuals involved . Um

48:54.530 --> 48:57.129
I , I would not to , to really the

48:57.139 --> 48:59.361
question you're asking , I would not uh

48:59.361 --> 49:02.340
currently uh recommend reversing the

49:02.350 --> 49:06.209
last round of major acquisition reforms .

49:06.280 --> 49:09.790
Um I , we can make it work . I think

49:09.800 --> 49:13.260
one of the biggest um how do I put this

49:14.100 --> 49:16.159
for folks who have not lived in an

49:16.169 --> 49:18.909
organization or institution ? Um I

49:18.919 --> 49:22.219
think it is common to underestimate how

49:22.229 --> 49:24.340
incredibly disruptive it is to

49:24.350 --> 49:27.590
constantly change statute slash

49:27.600 --> 49:29.649
organizational structure or wiring

49:29.659 --> 49:33.080
diagrams . Um I'm not interested in

49:33.090 --> 49:35.034
that right now , I'm interested in

49:35.034 --> 49:36.923
getting after how we modernize as

49:36.923 --> 49:39.090
quickly as humanly possible . And that

49:39.090 --> 49:41.312
basically means work with the system we

49:41.312 --> 49:40.979
have and start moving it , get the

49:40.989 --> 49:43.156
right people in the right job , remove

49:43.156 --> 49:45.459
barriers . Um work with Congress where

49:45.469 --> 49:48.260
necessary , you know , to build the

49:48.270 --> 49:50.492
trust , to get the next level of effort

49:50.492 --> 49:52.548
going . But right now , I think it's

49:52.548 --> 49:54.770
working just fine , having the services

49:54.770 --> 49:56.826
have more acquisition authority than

49:56.826 --> 49:58.992
they had say a decade ago , not saying

49:58.992 --> 50:01.159
that's what I would have recommended .

50:01.159 --> 50:03.381
But I , I think the system that we have

50:03.381 --> 50:05.603
today we can work with and that's where

50:05.603 --> 50:08.469
our focus should be making it work . Hi ,

50:08.479 --> 50:10.701
Doctor Hicks . My name is Samuel Chan .

50:10.701 --> 50:12.701
I'm a freshman at George Washington

50:12.701 --> 50:14.757
University . Thank you very much for

50:14.757 --> 50:16.923
your talk . Um Funny enough , I'm also

50:16.923 --> 50:19.090
a Taiwanese and I think the , the last

50:19.090 --> 50:20.979
two people have kind of asked the

50:20.979 --> 50:23.146
questions I kind of wanted to ask . So

50:23.146 --> 50:25.312
I just wanted to talk to you about the

50:25.312 --> 50:24.449
planning , programming , budgeting and

50:24.459 --> 50:28.169
executing part of Congress P PB E um in

50:28.179 --> 50:30.310
regards to modernization , I suppose

50:30.320 --> 50:33.399
being going in that direction . Um I've

50:33.409 --> 50:35.465
done a lot of readings on like the ,

50:35.465 --> 50:37.520
the Valley of Death when it comes to

50:37.520 --> 50:39.742
how a lot of our modernization programs

50:39.742 --> 50:42.076
kind of fall through because , you know ,

50:42.076 --> 50:44.187
the the the constant two year cycle .

50:44.187 --> 50:46.187
Um I'm not quite sure your exact um

50:46.187 --> 50:48.353
role when it comes to like planning in

50:48.353 --> 50:50.353
depth on budgeting . But if you can

50:50.353 --> 50:52.353
make any policy recommendations for

50:52.353 --> 50:54.870
either Congress or for os D on how we

50:54.879 --> 50:57.530
could better avoid that value of death ,

50:57.540 --> 50:59.762
how would you go about it ? Thank you .

50:59.762 --> 51:02.050
Sure . Absolutely . Um First of all ,

51:02.060 --> 51:04.171
you said P PB and value of death . So

51:04.171 --> 51:06.116
I'm so I'm so happy , this was all

51:06.116 --> 51:08.489
worth it just for that . Um uh My happy

51:08.500 --> 51:11.729
place . Uh So there are many challenges

51:11.739 --> 51:13.683
and there , because there are many

51:13.683 --> 51:15.572
valleys of death , there are many

51:15.572 --> 51:17.795
points of transition within the defense

51:17.795 --> 51:20.209
enterprise in order to get a capability

51:20.219 --> 51:22.386
from , let's say , at its , you know ,

51:22.386 --> 51:25.010
basic research and an engineering stage

51:25.020 --> 51:27.479
all the way to field and capability and

51:27.489 --> 51:29.929
it changes hands many times over , it

51:29.939 --> 51:32.106
actually relates in some ways to the ,

51:32.106 --> 51:36.010
to the Brier question . Um So my goal

51:36.020 --> 51:38.280
is really to identify which of those

51:38.290 --> 51:40.879
valleys of death are most um

51:40.889 --> 51:43.919
impacting , negatively impacting the

51:43.929 --> 51:46.040
ability of the war fighter to get the

51:46.040 --> 51:49.229
capabilities that she or he needs . Um

51:49.239 --> 51:51.330
and going after re removing those

51:51.340 --> 51:53.451
barriers . So some of the places that

51:53.451 --> 51:55.750
we are focused on are what's called

51:55.760 --> 51:57.982
transition , which is probably the most

51:57.982 --> 51:59.982
directly relevant . How do you make

51:59.982 --> 52:01.593
sure that you can transition

52:01.593 --> 52:03.830
capabilities in any one of those , you

52:03.840 --> 52:06.070
know , break points ? Um And there are

52:06.080 --> 52:08.413
things we need from Congress to do that .

52:08.413 --> 52:10.469
Congress on the authorizing side has

52:10.469 --> 52:12.691
created some transition funds that help

52:12.691 --> 52:14.858
us work between appropriation cycles .

52:14.858 --> 52:17.294
Um The appropriators uh don't like

52:17.304 --> 52:19.304
appro those , they don't like those

52:19.304 --> 52:21.526
kinds of funds because they're not , uh

52:21.526 --> 52:23.748
there's a lot of flexibility in those .

52:23.748 --> 52:25.804
So we work hard . We were given some

52:25.804 --> 52:28.082
appropriations for instance , recently ,

52:28.082 --> 52:30.304
we're working hard to prove that we are

52:30.304 --> 52:32.520
using them um appropriately . And

52:32.530 --> 52:34.752
that's the kind of thing that we try to

52:34.752 --> 52:36.752
do to sort of then be able to scale

52:36.752 --> 52:38.919
that . Um So that's a transition we're

52:38.919 --> 52:41.189
looking at security processes . Um So

52:41.199 --> 52:43.199
that can be security clearances for

52:43.199 --> 52:45.159
contractors , making sure that the

52:45.169 --> 52:47.760
security security of facilities is

52:47.770 --> 52:50.479
easier so that uh building out a system

52:50.489 --> 52:53.280
isn't left only to those major prime

52:53.290 --> 52:55.110
contractors who can absorb the

52:55.120 --> 52:57.342
transaction cost . But that say a small

52:57.342 --> 52:59.453
business could still be competitive ,

52:59.479 --> 53:01.981
um if can help them get a secure

53:01.991 --> 53:04.892
facility . That's another example , our

53:04.902 --> 53:07.312
training , our acquisition workforce in

53:07.322 --> 53:10.322
the latest approaches . So we have lots

53:10.332 --> 53:12.165
of different authorities . Other

53:12.165 --> 53:14.276
transactional authority is an example

53:14.276 --> 53:16.499
that many folks on the hill have tended

53:16.499 --> 53:18.554
to be ok with , we have these middle

53:18.554 --> 53:20.499
tier acquisition processes that we

53:20.499 --> 53:22.554
pursue also authorized by Congress ,

53:22.554 --> 53:24.665
but they're still a little suspect of

53:24.665 --> 53:26.888
how we use them . So making sure we use

53:26.888 --> 53:28.499
all those authorities really

53:28.499 --> 53:30.665
effectively means we have to train our

53:30.665 --> 53:32.721
acquisition workforce to know how to

53:32.721 --> 53:32.604
use them . And so those are just some

53:32.614 --> 53:35.624
examples . Uh bottom line , there is no

53:35.634 --> 53:37.523
silver bullet . It's not a wiring

53:37.523 --> 53:40.493
diagram . It's not a new authority . It

53:40.503 --> 53:43.033
is making , looking at the system at a

53:43.043 --> 53:45.513
systems level and making sure you

53:45.523 --> 53:48.033
understand where the where the in a not

53:48.063 --> 53:50.773
analysis way where the hard areas are

53:50.783 --> 53:52.839
and working those hard areas to make

53:52.839 --> 53:55.005
sure we can get the war fighter , what

53:55.005 --> 53:57.172
she or he needs . And his question was

53:57.172 --> 53:59.283
another one that maybe you could take

53:59.283 --> 54:01.283
30 seconds and answer . He said , I

54:01.283 --> 54:03.339
don't know what the deputy Secretary

54:03.339 --> 54:05.505
does . Folks might not know uh outside

54:05.505 --> 54:07.227
might not know what the deputy

54:07.227 --> 54:09.339
secretary does . So can you just give

54:09.339 --> 54:11.672
us the 32nd version of what your job is ?

54:11.672 --> 54:13.906
As I think the 32nd version is that I

54:13.916 --> 54:16.756
am essentially the coo but back to the

54:16.766 --> 54:18.933
advanced policy questions . One of the

54:18.933 --> 54:21.044
things Congress says is do you intend

54:21.044 --> 54:24.459
to follow the uh uh normal um division

54:24.469 --> 54:26.636
of labor between the secretary and the

54:26.636 --> 54:28.636
Deputy Secretary of Defense and the

54:28.636 --> 54:30.858
answer , they ask both Secretary Austin

54:30.858 --> 54:32.747
as a nominee , they asked me as a

54:32.747 --> 54:34.858
nominee and the answer we , of course

54:34.858 --> 54:36.802
both gave is yes . Uh which is the

54:36.802 --> 54:38.691
secretary generally speaking , is

54:38.691 --> 54:40.691
focused up and out . He's looking ,

54:40.691 --> 54:40.500
he's , you know , working with allies

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and partners , he's working closely

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with the White House , um , in the

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interagency process , um , et cetera .

54:46.864 --> 54:49.215
I am very much focused uh down and in ,

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as we would say , the uh chief

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operating officer of the organization

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trying to make sure his priorities um

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are um executed and implemented

54:57.125 --> 54:59.347
throughout the department . Great . And

54:59.347 --> 55:02.879
last question in the back there . Hello

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madam secretary . Um um my name is

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Gabriel Beltran . I am um originally I

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was born in Colombia , but I joined the

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army and I just got out like around two

55:15.010 --> 55:18.780
months ago . I , I am in the security

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studies program in the first semester .

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Um as , as , as , as you were saying ,

55:24.050 --> 55:26.217
uh I've seen the , the , the diversity

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in the military , right ? And the open

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doors that the military have for

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minorities such as me , as you can tell

55:32.439 --> 55:35.090
by my accent . And so , uh while I was

55:35.100 --> 55:38.149
in the military , um I , I learned so

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many things and , and it was uh such a

55:40.326 --> 55:43.169
great opportunity . However , uh one of

55:43.179 --> 55:46.149
the things that I always wanted to uh

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dig a little , a little bit deeper on

55:48.830 --> 55:51.163
was the mental health of soldiers Right .

55:51.379 --> 55:53.989
Um I'm also a survivor spouse and I

55:54.000 --> 55:56.310
have seen how I have seen the effects

55:56.320 --> 55:58.209
on , on , on the mental health of

55:58.209 --> 56:00.489
soldiers , right ? And I also saw so

56:00.500 --> 56:03.739
many times how difficult is for senior

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leaders to realize about the

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challenges on this . So I , I believe

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that uh our , our military force is as

56:13.610 --> 56:17.040
strong as their people , right ? And um

56:17.050 --> 56:20.429
I wanted to ask you so on your , on ,

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on your level , on a senior level ,

56:22.439 --> 56:24.661
what are the changes , changes that you

56:24.661 --> 56:26.550
have seen that improve , uh , the

56:26.550 --> 56:28.969
system , um , that senior leader have

56:28.979 --> 56:31.449
to address the mental health issues and

56:31.459 --> 56:33.649
soldiers ? Thank you . Yeah . No ,

56:33.659 --> 56:35.881
thank you . Uh , so glad you raised the

56:35.881 --> 56:38.290
topic . Um , we have , of course in the

56:38.300 --> 56:40.522
nation , a mental health crisis . I , I

56:40.522 --> 56:42.689
think everyone is well aware that we ,

56:42.689 --> 56:44.911
uh , don't have enough providers across

56:44.911 --> 56:46.633
the nation . We have um , uh ,

56:46.633 --> 56:48.856
burgeoning and , you know , interest in

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mental health , which is fantastic , um ,

56:51.419 --> 56:54.290
that we are increasingly normalizing

56:54.300 --> 56:56.370
the view that health is health is

56:56.379 --> 56:58.379
health and mental health is part of

56:58.379 --> 57:00.659
health . Um , and that's true in Dod as

57:00.669 --> 57:02.613
well . And that's a , that's a sea

57:02.613 --> 57:04.891
change , that's a cultural change . Um ,

57:04.891 --> 57:07.113
it takes leaders and we do have leaders

57:07.113 --> 57:09.113
in uniform who are good about , you

57:09.113 --> 57:11.550
know , tweeting or writing or otherwise

57:11.560 --> 57:13.727
indicating , hey , I'm , I'm off to my

57:13.727 --> 57:15.782
mental health appointment now . Uh ,

57:15.782 --> 57:17.893
that becomes very important . Same on

57:17.893 --> 57:20.060
suicide prevention where folks talk we

57:20.060 --> 57:22.171
are willing to talk about um suicidal

57:22.171 --> 57:24.227
ideation and the way they over , you

57:24.227 --> 57:26.504
know , have overcome suicidal ideation ,

57:26.504 --> 57:28.449
things of that sort , what we have

57:28.449 --> 57:30.671
found really works well are small group

57:30.671 --> 57:32.893
interactions . That's true basically of

57:32.893 --> 57:34.616
any training . Um And so we're

57:34.616 --> 57:36.671
increasingly using that couple other

57:36.671 --> 57:38.727
tools that we're doing . I mentioned

57:38.727 --> 57:40.838
before that we have put a substantial

57:40.838 --> 57:42.727
investment into countering sexual

57:42.727 --> 57:44.949
assault and sexual harassment . We have

57:44.949 --> 57:44.379
built something called the prevention

57:44.389 --> 57:47.110
workforce . We are hiring thousands of

57:47.120 --> 57:50.219
prevention workforce members . And uh

57:50.229 --> 57:53.129
while the core of the purpose behind

57:53.139 --> 57:55.195
them was to counter sexual assault ,

57:55.195 --> 57:57.139
sexual harassment , they're really

57:57.139 --> 57:59.370
gonna be focused on uh self harm and

57:59.379 --> 58:02.925
harm issues , behavioral issues that

58:02.935 --> 58:06.465
are intersectional . Um And so that is

58:06.475 --> 58:08.586
mental health being one of those . So

58:08.594 --> 58:10.524
we think that major hiring of

58:10.534 --> 58:12.590
prevention workforce , some of which

58:12.590 --> 58:14.756
will inevitably going to have to be re

58:14.756 --> 58:16.923
skilling for the reasons I pointed out

58:16.923 --> 58:19.090
in terms of the mental health provider

58:19.090 --> 58:21.090
crisis . I think that's going to be

58:21.090 --> 58:23.312
really important . Last thing I'll just

58:23.312 --> 58:23.114
mention because we have a lot under way .

58:23.530 --> 58:27.209
Um is uh uh tele mental

58:27.219 --> 58:30.379
health . Um We have greatly expanded

58:30.389 --> 58:32.620
the provision of telehealth for

58:32.629 --> 58:34.685
behavioral uh specialists and mental

58:34.685 --> 58:36.296
health appointments . That's

58:36.296 --> 58:38.462
particularly important , important for

58:38.462 --> 58:40.629
those who are in remote locations . Um

58:40.629 --> 58:42.796
Alaska would be a good example of that

58:42.796 --> 58:44.796
and we have increased over the last

58:44.796 --> 58:46.685
year , something like 60,000 plus

58:46.685 --> 58:48.629
appointment availability and we're

58:48.629 --> 58:50.740
continuing to expand that through the

58:50.740 --> 58:52.796
Defense Health Agency . So thank you

58:52.796 --> 58:54.740
for what you do down and in and on

58:54.740 --> 58:56.709
behalf of the Georgetown Security

58:56.719 --> 58:58.860
Studies Program and , and the America

58:58.870 --> 59:00.926
and the World Consortium . Thank you

59:00.926 --> 59:02.870
for coming out once in a while and

59:02.870 --> 59:04.926
talking to your people . Thank you .

59:04.926 --> 59:06.979
Appreciate it . Thank you .