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Mhm . 

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So a few things off the top . Yeah . 

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Bear with me . 

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Okay , I think you've seen uh bye now . 

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Secretaries memo to the message to the 

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force about covid vaccines . Uh 

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that that's public now , so I'm not 

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gonna reread it for it . I think you 

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call can get the gist of it . I would 

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just point out that there's sort of 

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three elements here to it . one is that 

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uh that he will request approval from 

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the president for a waiver to make the 

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Covid vaccines mandatory by mid 

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september . Who made the request for 

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the waiver by mid september . I've seen 

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some reporting out there . That that 

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means that all the troops have to be 

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vaccinated by mid september . That's 

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not accurate . Will make the request by 

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mid september unless or until FDA 

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licensure occurs before that time . At 

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which point the secretary has the 

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authority he needs upon FDA licensure 

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to issue to make whatever vaccine is 

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then given that license mandatory , I 

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just want to clear that up . That's 

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point number one point number two . In 

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the meantime , two things are gonna 

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happen . One , the services are going 

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to be tasked to come back to the 

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secretary with implementation plans for 

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how they're going to get this moving . 

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And there is not probably a lot of time 

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between now , Certainly not a lot of 

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time between now in mid september , but 

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if F D a licensor comes sooner than 

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that and there's press reporting to 

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suggest that the Pfizer vaccine will be 

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perhaps even um completely approved 

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by the end of this month . So the 

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services have a fair but limited amount 

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of time to come back to the secretary 

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with their implementation plans for how 

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they would go about mandatory vaccines 

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for all their personnel . We have to 

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understand of course that they have 

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their own deployment schedules , their 

49
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own manning constructs , their own 

50
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differences in unvaccinated numbers . 

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Uh , And so we're going to be 

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respectful of that . The second thing 

53
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that will happen in the meantime , uh 

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is that we are going to be developing 

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policies to comply with the President's 

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direction , that the unvaccinated will 

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have to be subjected to certain 

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requirements and restrictions . I don't 

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have the details for all that today . 

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Uh We're working hard on what will be a 

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policy directive to come in the coming 

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days . Uh That will make it clear what 

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those requirements and restrictions are 

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and how they apply to everybody in the 

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D . O . D . Workforce , including 

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uniform personnel . And then the last 

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thing that I'd say about this memo is , 

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and I hope you caught the the towards 

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the end of it where the secretary says , 

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we're going to watch the trends closely . 

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Uh , We're seeing an uptick in cases 

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uptick in hospitalizations across the 

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force as we are in the country . Uh And 

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the delta variant is a factor in that . 

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So we're going to watch it closely . 

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And as the secretary told the force 

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today , if he needs to move act sooner 

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than this timeline then he'll do that . 

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So we're gonna watch the trends uh and 

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make sure that we're keeping readiness 

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of the force at the forefront . So 

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that's the memo , a couple of other 

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things that I want to hit If I can get 

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this to work . Um as you may have seen , 

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the Senate confirmed Carlos Del Toro , 

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a former surface warfare officer , is 

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the 78th Secretary of the Navy . As the 

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secretary noted in his statement , Mr 

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Del Toro was a student of the U . S . 

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Naval Academy , Naval postgraduate 

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School , Naval War College . He rose to 

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the ranks uh to serve as the first 

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commanding officer of the destroyer uh 

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Bulkeley DDG 84 . And then he later 

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worked at senior levels here in the 

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pentagon . The secretary is delighted 

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to have him on board . He should be 

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sworn in here very , very shortly . Uh 

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That will round out our service 

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secretaries . Each of the military 

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departments now have a Senate confirmed , 

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fully installed service secretary . And 

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the secretary is grateful for Mr Del 

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Toro's willingness to serve his country 

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again here in the Department of the 

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Navy . I also want to recognize chris 

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mayor for his Senate confirmation over 

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the weekend to be our next Assistant 

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Secretary of Defense for Special 

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Operations Command in low intensity 

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conflict . Now , as many of , you know , 

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the secretary signed a directive in May 

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that maintaining that position , 

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Assistant Secretary of Defense for 

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special operations and low intensity 

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conflict , otherwise known as Solich . 

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And that's how I'll talk about it for 

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the rest of this . As a principle to 

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sign a directive , maintaining that job 

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as a principal staff assistant who has 

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full access to the same for that . The 

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service secretaries will have . He also 

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made Solich an integral part of the 

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Under Secretary of Defense for Policy . 

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This special dual hatted approach , 

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strengthened civilian oversight of the 

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Special Operations Enterprise while 

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ensuring integrated policy advice on 

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special operations , counterterrorism 

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and irregular warfare to the secretary . 

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And I think you all know chris he's 

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worked on these issues in and around 

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the apartment for his entire career , 

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nobody better for this job and we look 

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forward to his leadership and 

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stewardship in this very very important 

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position on the exercise front US indo 

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pacific command is now conducting what 

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they call large scale global exercise . 

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21 L . S.G . through the 27th 

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of this month began back on the second . 

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The exercise is a proof of concept 

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global command and control pilot 

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exercise with a regional focus linking 

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existing planned service , joint and 

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multilateral exercises to conduct an 

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operational level maneuver . Us forces 

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will participate alongside the United 

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Kingdom , the Australian Defence Force 

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and the Japanese Self Defense Force . L 

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S G 21 is an all domain exercise across 

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the indo pacific and air , land and sea 

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field training , cyber and space 

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operations and special operations 

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activities and logistics . It's going 

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to improve our interoperability . It's 

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gonna strengthen our alliances and 

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partnerships and it offers a complex 

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and challenging multinational 

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environment for forces to hone their 

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skills . Now , while the Navy's pacific 

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forces are duly nested under L . S . G 

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L S G 21 the United States Navy's 

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large scale exercise , LSD LSD 21 is 

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running through august 16th with naval 

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forces operating around the globe to 

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include more than 80 live and virtual 

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units spanning 17 time zones and six 

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Naval and Marine Corps Component 

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commands units will participate in live 

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and virtual scenario driven globally 

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integrated fleet training . This again 

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demonstrates the flexibility of are 

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distributed maritime operations and 

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expeditionary and littoral operations 

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within a contested environment . And it 

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will include , as I said live and both 

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simulated training as well as real 

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world operations . And then finally , I 

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want to take a chance here to welcome 

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my are new and public affairs . Our new 

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principal deputy assistant to the 

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secretary , Elizabeth Trudeau , she's 

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coming to us from the State Department 

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uh career Foreign Service officer at 

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very senior levels . She was a consul 

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general just recently in Belfast . Uh 

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and before that in Lahore Pakistan . 

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Some of you know , I worked closely 

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with Elizabeth when I had the 

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opportunity to work at the State 

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Department a few years ago . No finer 

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professional . And I'm really excited 

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to have her on board to help me uh 

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communicate for the department . So was 

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she in the room ? No , she's not here . 

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Uh But I encourage you to uh come on by 

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and say hi to her , um shake your hand 

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if you haven't met her before . Uh And 

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again , I can't I just can't thank her 

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enough for being willing uh to depart 

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from the the normal career foreign 

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service track and the State Department 

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and come over here to the pentagon for 

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a little while to to help us do a 

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better job communicating . So I'm 

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grateful to her . Uh and I'm sure you 

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all will have a good time working with 

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her . So with that we'll take questions . 

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I think leaders on the phone . 

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Thanks . Done . Um One quick thing on 

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vaccines . And then I have a second 

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question on the vaccines . Do you , 

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does the department believe that it has 

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enough of the vaccine to meet 

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requirements if um and when the 

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president does approve the waiver or 

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something or it does become formal , um 

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and you you may not be able to answer 

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this because the implementation plans 

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aren't in yet , but are there enough 

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vaccines ? And then does it get rolled 

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out in phases ? And then my second 

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question is all the different topic . 

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Do you wanna wait ? Wait , let's let's 

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wait . So on the inventory , uh we 

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don't believe the inventory is going to 

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be a problem . Again . That's one of 

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the reasons why the secretary is given 

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the services a couple of weeks to come 

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back with their implementation plans 

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and certainly any concerns that they 

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might have about inventory . And I 

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can't speak to service inventory . You 

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really have to go to them . But we will 

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make sure that the inventory will not 

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be a limiting factor here when these 

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vaccines are made mandatory . And then 

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as for phases . Again , that's what 

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we're looking for from the services 

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leader to to come back to to tell the 

242
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secretary how best they think they can 

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implement once the vaccines are made 

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mandatory . Because each service is 

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unique . They each each one has a 

246
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different unvaccinated population . 

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Each one has different deployment and 

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operational and exercise demands . I 

249
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just went through a bunch of exercises 

250
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in the pacific um so there's there's a 

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lot of different um intrinsic cultural 

252
00:09:25,050 --> 00:09:26,828
and operational issues that the 

253
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services will have to factor in . And 

254
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the secretary is interested in hearing 

255
00:09:31,106 --> 00:09:33,161
their plans for doing it in the most 

256
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efficient way . There will be a 

257
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reporting requirement for the services 

258
00:09:37,106 --> 00:09:39,050
to come back to the secretary on a 

259
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periodic basis to let him know how 

260
00:09:40,994 --> 00:09:43,217
they're doing again . We don't have all 

261
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the details of exactly what that 

262
00:09:42,620 --> 00:09:44,787
reporting process is gonna look like . 

263
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But as soon as we get closer will 

264
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certainly make , make sure that 

265
00:09:48,453 --> 00:09:50,398
everybody is aware . What was your 

266
00:09:50,398 --> 00:09:52,990
second question , Afghanistan ? Um 

267
00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,780
you're aware , I'm sure about konduz 

268
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over the weekend with this with the 

269
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taliban clearly rolling along at this 

270
00:10:01,661 --> 00:10:05,410
point . Um Does the Secretary believe 

271
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that the U . S . Should increase the 

272
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amount of air strikes and support it's 

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giving to the afghans . And can you say 

274
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whether or not Uh pentagon is making 

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any recommendations to be allowed to do 

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airstrikes beyond August 31 as 

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currently planned . Thank you . On the 

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second part , I don't have anything to 

279
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update with respect to what authorities 

280
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might exist after August 31 I think 

281
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when the secretary was last year at the 

282
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podium , he said that our focus is on 

283
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executing the authorities and using the 

284
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capabilities we have through the end of 

285
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the drawdown , which is at the end of 

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the month and I'm simply not going to 

287
00:10:48,047 --> 00:10:47,770
speculate what things are going to look 

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like beyond that . Um On on your first 

289
00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:53,030
question , the Secretary shares the 

290
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concern of the international community 

291
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about the security situation in 

292
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Afghanistan , which is clearly not 

293
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going in the right direction . Um , and 

294
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the Secretary continues to believe that 

295
00:11:03,830 --> 00:11:07,440
the Afghan forces have the capability , 

296
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they have the capacity to make a big 

297
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difference on the , on the battlefield . 

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Uh , we he he has maintained that we 

299
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will continue to to support them with 

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the authority where and when feasible , 

301
00:11:20,442 --> 00:11:22,387
understanding that it's not always 

302
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going to be feasible , but where and 

303
00:11:24,690 --> 00:11:26,857
when feasible will continue to support 

304
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them with airstrikes , for instance . 

305
00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:31,630
The other thing is we're focused as we 

306
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should be given the President's 

307
00:11:33,408 --> 00:11:35,630
direction , we're focused on completing 

308
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to draw down by the end of the month . 

309
00:11:37,797 --> 00:11:39,963
Uh and by transitioning to a different 

310
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bilateral relationship with Afghan 

311
00:11:41,908 --> 00:11:44,074
forces , that will be one of support , 

312
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financial and logistical maintenance 

313
00:11:46,130 --> 00:11:48,074
support from outside the country . 

314
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That's the focus , that's what we're 

315
00:11:50,130 --> 00:11:52,352
driving at . But again , as we have the 

316
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authorities and capabilities and 

317
00:11:54,186 --> 00:11:56,352
obviously , we have fewer capabilities 

318
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now than we did before the drawdown , 

319
00:11:58,463 --> 00:11:58,360
but as we have them and have them 

320
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available , we'll use them where and 

321
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when feasible . Go ahead . 

322
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Very much appreciated . As she 

323
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mentioned , Taliban increased their 

324
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attacks in Afghanistan and they control 

325
00:12:11,052 --> 00:12:13,270
most of the key provinces in 

326
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Afghanistan . Even President Ghani and 

327
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his Prime Minister , Afghan Prime 

328
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Minister said that behind of those 

329
00:12:19,910 --> 00:12:22,920
Taliban activity , Pakistan and people 

330
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,031
ask Afghan people ask that why United 

331
00:12:25,031 --> 00:12:27,087
States , especially pentagon doesn't 

332
00:12:27,087 --> 00:12:29,410
bring pressure on Pakistan and we don't 

333
00:12:29,420 --> 00:12:31,531
Afghan people did not understand that 

334
00:12:31,531 --> 00:12:33,760
Pakistan is their enemy or a friend . 

335
00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:36,580
The expectation is very hard to bring 

336
00:12:36,580 --> 00:12:38,770
pressure on Pakistan . We continue to 

337
00:12:38,770 --> 00:12:40,659
have conversations with Pakistani 

338
00:12:40,659 --> 00:12:43,010
leadership about the safe havens that 

339
00:12:43,010 --> 00:12:44,990
exist along that border between 

340
00:12:44,990 --> 00:12:47,330
Afghanistan and Pakistan . Uh and we're 

341
00:12:47,330 --> 00:12:50,830
mindful that those safe 

342
00:12:50,830 --> 00:12:54,180
havens are only providing a source of 

343
00:12:54,180 --> 00:12:56,124
more insecurity , more instability 

344
00:12:56,124 --> 00:12:58,069
inside Afghanistan . And we're not 

345
00:12:58,069 --> 00:13:00,124
bashful about having that discussion 

346
00:13:00,124 --> 00:12:59,970
with Pakistani leaders . We're also 

347
00:12:59,970 --> 00:13:02,360
mindful that Pakistan and the Pakistani 

348
00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,420
people also are fallen victim to 

349
00:13:05,430 --> 00:13:07,597
terrorist activities that emanate from 

350
00:13:07,597 --> 00:13:09,819
that same region . So , we're all uh we 

351
00:13:09,819 --> 00:13:12,770
all have a shared a sense of the 

352
00:13:12,770 --> 00:13:14,881
importance of closing down those safe 

353
00:13:14,881 --> 00:13:17,930
havens and and not allowing them to be 

354
00:13:17,930 --> 00:13:20,097
used by the Taliban or other terrorist 

355
00:13:20,097 --> 00:13:22,570
networks to sow discord . And again , 

356
00:13:22,570 --> 00:13:24,792
we're having that conversation with the 

357
00:13:24,792 --> 00:13:26,792
pakistanis all the time . Yeah , go 

358
00:13:26,792 --> 00:13:28,792
ahead Lucas , john , why aren't you 

359
00:13:28,792 --> 00:13:30,959
doing more to help the Afghan forces ? 

360
00:13:30,959 --> 00:13:33,070
As I said , Lucas , we are continuing 

361
00:13:33,070 --> 00:13:34,959
to support them . I assume you're 

362
00:13:34,959 --> 00:13:37,126
asking about airstrikes , I'm guessing 

363
00:13:37,126 --> 00:13:39,348
because we are helping afghan forces in 

364
00:13:39,348 --> 00:13:41,181
a myriad of other ways . But I'm 

365
00:13:41,181 --> 00:13:40,810
assuming that's your question . And as 

366
00:13:40,810 --> 00:13:43,150
I said , to lead to uh , nothing has 

367
00:13:43,150 --> 00:13:45,372
changed about the fact that we have the 

368
00:13:45,372 --> 00:13:47,372
authorities to do it throughout the 

369
00:13:47,372 --> 00:13:49,483
drawdown , we have some capability to 

370
00:13:49,483 --> 00:13:51,706
do it from obviously over the horizon . 

371
00:13:51,706 --> 00:13:53,928
And the strikes that we have taken have 

372
00:13:53,928 --> 00:13:56,150
all been from over the horizon . Uh and 

373
00:13:56,150 --> 00:13:56,120
we'll continue to use those 

374
00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:58,287
capabilities where and when feasible . 

375
00:13:58,340 --> 00:14:00,562
But as I said , Lucas , it's not always 

376
00:14:00,562 --> 00:14:02,618
going to be feasible in every case . 

377
00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:04,473
And the Taliban have been making 

378
00:14:04,473 --> 00:14:06,362
advance , There's no question the 

379
00:14:06,362 --> 00:14:08,251
afghans have capacity , they have 

380
00:14:08,251 --> 00:14:10,307
capability , they have a capable air 

381
00:14:10,307 --> 00:14:13,060
force . Uh and as I said , weeks ago , 

382
00:14:13,070 --> 00:14:15,460
I think whatever the outcome here , 

383
00:14:16,340 --> 00:14:19,390
when we look back , we're going to be 

384
00:14:19,390 --> 00:14:21,501
able to know , we're going to be able 

385
00:14:21,501 --> 00:14:23,834
to say that it was driven by leadership , 

386
00:14:23,834 --> 00:14:25,723
afghan leadership , political and 

387
00:14:25,723 --> 00:14:27,723
military leadership . That's what's 

388
00:14:27,723 --> 00:14:29,668
vital here . When you say that the 

389
00:14:29,668 --> 00:14:31,834
Afghan forces have the means to defend 

390
00:14:31,834 --> 00:14:33,946
themselves , what proof do you have ? 

391
00:14:33,946 --> 00:14:35,834
They've lost now , six provincial 

392
00:14:35,834 --> 00:14:37,890
capitals in Afghanistan , I have the 

393
00:14:37,890 --> 00:14:39,946
proof that they have a force of over 

394
00:14:39,946 --> 00:14:43,540
300,000 soldiers and police . They have 

395
00:14:43,550 --> 00:14:45,772
a modern air force and air force by the 

396
00:14:45,772 --> 00:14:47,883
way , which we continue to contribute 

397
00:14:47,883 --> 00:14:50,106
to and to and to improve . Uh they have 

398
00:14:50,106 --> 00:14:52,310
modern weaponry . Uh they have uh they 

399
00:14:52,310 --> 00:14:54,532
have an organizational structure , they 

400
00:14:54,532 --> 00:14:56,421
have a lot of advantages that the 

401
00:14:56,421 --> 00:14:58,477
taliban don't have . Taliban doesn't 

402
00:14:58,477 --> 00:15:00,699
have an air force . Taliban doesn't own 

403
00:15:00,699 --> 00:15:02,366
airspace . They have a lot of 

404
00:15:02,366 --> 00:15:04,588
advantages . Now they have to use those 

405
00:15:04,588 --> 00:15:06,643
advantages . They have to exert that 

406
00:15:06,643 --> 00:15:06,330
leadership . And it's got to come both 

407
00:15:06,330 --> 00:15:08,108
from the political and from the 

408
00:15:08,108 --> 00:15:10,219
military side . You sign that they're 

409
00:15:10,219 --> 00:15:12,441
using those advantages right now in the 

410
00:15:12,441 --> 00:15:12,100
country . I'm not going to get into an 

411
00:15:12,100 --> 00:15:13,989
assessment every day here , Lucas 

412
00:15:13,989 --> 00:15:15,878
district by district , provincial 

413
00:15:15,878 --> 00:15:18,100
capital by a provincial capital . Where 

414
00:15:18,100 --> 00:15:20,211
as I said at the very beginning of my 

415
00:15:20,211 --> 00:15:21,933
answer , the secretaries , the 

416
00:15:21,933 --> 00:15:24,100
secretary is watching this closely and 

417
00:15:24,100 --> 00:15:26,322
we're deeply concerned about the trends 

418
00:15:26,322 --> 00:15:28,433
and where it's going . The reason why 

419
00:15:28,433 --> 00:15:30,489
not is because it's their country to 

420
00:15:30,489 --> 00:15:32,600
defend . Now this is their struggle . 

421
00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:34,711
The commander in chief has given us a 

422
00:15:34,711 --> 00:15:36,933
new mission and that mission is to draw 

423
00:15:36,933 --> 00:15:36,770
down by the end of this month and 

424
00:15:36,770 --> 00:15:38,826
that's where we're moving to what it 

425
00:15:38,826 --> 00:15:40,937
looks like . Beyond that . I'm simply 

426
00:15:40,937 --> 00:15:42,992
not going to speculate . But this is 

427
00:15:42,992 --> 00:15:42,940
their country . These are these are 

428
00:15:42,940 --> 00:15:45,162
their military forces , these are their 

429
00:15:45,162 --> 00:15:47,273
provincial capitals , their people to 

430
00:15:47,273 --> 00:15:49,600
defend and and and it's really going to 

431
00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,433
come down to the leadership that 

432
00:15:51,433 --> 00:15:53,544
they're willing to exude here at this 

433
00:15:53,544 --> 00:15:56,650
particular moment . Yeah go 

434
00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,600
john as far as the United Nations are 

435
00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,450
concerned , have United Nations ask for 

436
00:16:03,450 --> 00:16:06,110
the member's any role in Afghanistan 

437
00:16:06,110 --> 00:16:09,090
now after the US leaves Afghanistan And 

438
00:16:09,090 --> 00:16:12,480
also what role you think now India and 

439
00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:14,850
Pakistan should or are playing there ? 

440
00:16:15,340 --> 00:16:17,451
I won't answer the U . N . Question . 

441
00:16:17,451 --> 00:16:19,562
Uh That's really for my colleagues at 

442
00:16:19,562 --> 00:16:21,618
the State Department and the U . N . 

443
00:16:21,618 --> 00:16:23,729
Ambassador up in new york city that's 

444
00:16:23,729 --> 00:16:26,580
out of our lane . But I would to your 

445
00:16:26,590 --> 00:16:29,200
second question , we want all 

446
00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:31,110
neighbouring countries , all 

447
00:16:31,250 --> 00:16:35,010
neighbouring countries . Two to 

448
00:16:35,010 --> 00:16:37,390
not take actions that make the 

449
00:16:37,390 --> 00:16:39,612
situation in Afghanistan more dangerous 

450
00:16:39,612 --> 00:16:41,834
than it is already . And to continue to 

451
00:16:41,834 --> 00:16:44,480
try to used international pressure to 

452
00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:46,591
get a negotiated , peaceful political 

453
00:16:46,591 --> 00:16:48,650
settlement to this war just quickly 

454
00:16:48,650 --> 00:16:51,600
follow . As far as India is concerned . 

455
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,544
Since the Secretary of defense and 

456
00:16:53,544 --> 00:16:55,656
sector state , both were in India and 

457
00:16:55,656 --> 00:16:57,690
also now Prime Minister modi means 

458
00:16:57,690 --> 00:17:00,380
India is sharing the United Nations 

459
00:17:00,390 --> 00:17:03,680
Security Council chairmanship . Now you 

460
00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:07,650
think us have ever asked India or 

461
00:17:07,650 --> 00:17:11,500
India asked us uh about India's role in 

462
00:17:11,500 --> 00:17:14,120
Afghanistan . Now , I'm not aware of 

463
00:17:14,120 --> 00:17:16,120
discussions between the U . S . And 

464
00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:18,398
India bilaterally at the U . N . Level . 

465
00:17:18,398 --> 00:17:22,210
Um uh as you know , India has played a 

466
00:17:22,210 --> 00:17:24,432
constructive role in Afghanistan in the 

467
00:17:24,432 --> 00:17:27,450
past in terms of training and uh other 

468
00:17:27,450 --> 00:17:30,120
infrastructure improvements . Clearly 

469
00:17:30,130 --> 00:17:32,360
that kind of work that kind of effort 

470
00:17:32,540 --> 00:17:35,720
to help Afghanistan you know , 

471
00:17:35,730 --> 00:17:38,210
maintain stability and good governance 

472
00:17:38,220 --> 00:17:40,442
is always welcome . But in terms of the 

473
00:17:40,442 --> 00:17:42,553
specifics , I would again refer to my 

474
00:17:42,553 --> 00:17:44,664
State Department colleagues . I gotta 

475
00:17:44,664 --> 00:17:46,720
go to the phone , guys , I'm sorry . 

476
00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:48,776
Let me just do a couple here . Dance 

477
00:17:48,776 --> 00:17:50,553
gallon . PBS . Thanks . Are you 

478
00:17:50,553 --> 00:17:52,664
surprised that Afghan security forces 

479
00:17:52,670 --> 00:17:56,600
are unable to hold um are unable to 

480
00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,230
stop the taliban's onslaught ? Or is 

481
00:17:59,230 --> 00:18:01,397
this kind of momentum that the taliban 

482
00:18:01,397 --> 00:18:03,990
has something that it's expected ? I 

483
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,720
would say we're again deeply concerned 

484
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:10,490
by uh , the uh , the security situation 

485
00:18:10,490 --> 00:18:13,130
in Afghanistan . I would remind you dan 

486
00:18:13,130 --> 00:18:17,130
that even before the president made 

487
00:18:17,130 --> 00:18:19,186
his decision about withdrawal , even 

488
00:18:19,186 --> 00:18:21,352
before the president took office , the 

489
00:18:21,352 --> 00:18:23,574
taliban had been making advances on the 

490
00:18:23,574 --> 00:18:25,574
ground . Now , clearly , uh , those 

491
00:18:25,574 --> 00:18:27,590
advances have accelerated uh , and 

492
00:18:27,590 --> 00:18:29,701
deepened . Nobody's walking away from 

493
00:18:29,701 --> 00:18:31,980
that . But it's not that it's not that 

494
00:18:31,990 --> 00:18:34,840
their desires . Uh , we weren't we 

495
00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,360
weren't seeing uh the kinds of things 

496
00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:39,360
that they were interested in on the 

497
00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:41,082
ground , but okay . But you're 

498
00:18:41,082 --> 00:18:43,249
concerned about what about surprised ? 

499
00:18:43,249 --> 00:18:45,471
You're not surprised , characterized it 

500
00:18:45,471 --> 00:18:47,638
appropriately dan were concerned . And 

501
00:18:47,638 --> 00:18:49,860
we've and we've made that concern clear 

502
00:18:49,860 --> 00:18:51,693
about the deteriorating security 

503
00:18:51,693 --> 00:18:55,050
situation on the ground . Um JJ Green . 

504
00:18:56,540 --> 00:19:00,320
Yeah . Thank you john . So 

505
00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:02,098
you've you've outlined what the 

506
00:19:02,098 --> 00:19:04,209
advantages are that the Afghan forces 

507
00:19:04,209 --> 00:19:06,760
have and what the taliban doesn't have , 

508
00:19:07,140 --> 00:19:10,250
then what what can answer to your 

509
00:19:10,250 --> 00:19:12,028
knowledge and to the pentagon's 

510
00:19:12,028 --> 00:19:14,083
understanding why they're not having 

511
00:19:14,090 --> 00:19:16,910
more success uh in dealing with what 

512
00:19:16,910 --> 00:19:18,743
the taliban essentially has been 

513
00:19:18,743 --> 00:19:20,940
rolling out systematically for a while 

514
00:19:20,940 --> 00:19:23,051
now , why is it that they're not able 

515
00:19:23,051 --> 00:19:25,218
to respond to the higher level ? J . J 

516
00:19:25,218 --> 00:19:27,162
I'm not going to speak for another 

517
00:19:27,162 --> 00:19:29,970
military and give assessments here of 

518
00:19:29,980 --> 00:19:32,147
their battlefield performance on a day 

519
00:19:32,147 --> 00:19:35,440
to day basis . As I said at the outset , 

520
00:19:35,450 --> 00:19:37,728
I think when whatever the outcomes are , 

521
00:19:37,728 --> 00:19:39,950
when we look back on this , we're going 

522
00:19:39,950 --> 00:19:42,117
to see that leadership , leadership in 

523
00:19:42,117 --> 00:19:44,061
the field leadership in Kabul were 

524
00:19:44,061 --> 00:19:46,228
really the keys and I think I'll leave 

525
00:19:46,228 --> 00:19:48,172
it at that . And one more from the 

526
00:19:48,172 --> 00:19:50,006
phones here , uh , Stephen Lucey 

527
00:19:50,006 --> 00:19:53,940
military dot com , uh , thanks . So 

528
00:19:53,950 --> 00:19:56,530
how is the service going to track 

529
00:19:56,540 --> 00:19:58,960
compliance for the Covid vaccine and 

530
00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:00,960
verify that people who got the shot 

531
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:02,950
elsewhere , like not in a military 

532
00:20:02,950 --> 00:20:04,617
facility , like guardsmen and 

533
00:20:04,617 --> 00:20:06,330
reservists have actually been 

534
00:20:06,330 --> 00:20:08,970
vaccinated and aren't just claiming 

535
00:20:08,970 --> 00:20:11,192
that they did . My second question is , 

536
00:20:11,192 --> 00:20:13,303
what are the consequences going to be 

537
00:20:13,303 --> 00:20:15,470
for those who don't , who continued to 

538
00:20:15,470 --> 00:20:17,637
refuse to get the shot ? Is this going 

539
00:20:17,637 --> 00:20:19,859
to be punished like a refusal to obey a 

540
00:20:19,859 --> 00:20:21,914
lawful order ? So , uh , I think the 

541
00:20:21,914 --> 00:20:24,137
first question you're referring to what 

542
00:20:24,137 --> 00:20:26,248
the interim between now and when it's 

543
00:20:26,248 --> 00:20:28,470
mandatory , because once the vaccine is 

544
00:20:28,470 --> 00:20:30,581
mandatory , your your inoculations go 

545
00:20:30,581 --> 00:20:32,748
into your electronic medical records . 

546
00:20:32,748 --> 00:20:35,420
So it's it's documented that way . Um 

547
00:20:35,430 --> 00:20:37,486
uh So if you're talking about what's 

548
00:20:37,486 --> 00:20:39,652
gonna happen between now and then , as 

549
00:20:39,652 --> 00:20:41,652
I said at the very beginning of the 

550
00:20:41,652 --> 00:20:43,708
press conference , uh we are working 

551
00:20:43,708 --> 00:20:45,930
through what will be a policy directive 

552
00:20:45,930 --> 00:20:48,152
to the services to lay it out for him . 

553
00:20:48,152 --> 00:20:47,710
What do the new restrictions and 

554
00:20:47,710 --> 00:20:50,250
requirements ordered by the president ? 

555
00:20:50,250 --> 00:20:52,028
What does that mean for uniform 

556
00:20:52,028 --> 00:20:54,139
personnel ? So I just don't have that 

557
00:20:54,139 --> 00:20:56,361
answer right now . Your second question 

558
00:20:56,361 --> 00:20:58,361
is about , I'm guessing what you're 

559
00:20:58,361 --> 00:21:00,472
talking about is uh once the vaccines 

560
00:21:00,472 --> 00:21:03,700
are mandatory and if a member uh were 

561
00:21:03,700 --> 00:21:07,380
to refuse after it became um in 

562
00:21:07,380 --> 00:21:09,710
order a lawful order . Um I'm not gonna 

563
00:21:09,710 --> 00:21:11,766
speculate and get into hypotheticals 

564
00:21:11,766 --> 00:21:15,170
right now . Um uh but I think 

565
00:21:15,540 --> 00:21:19,110
uh you saw in the secretary's memo of 

566
00:21:19,110 --> 00:21:21,460
today that uh that he has full 

567
00:21:21,460 --> 00:21:23,627
confidence that service leadership and 

568
00:21:23,627 --> 00:21:25,738
commanders are going to implement the 

569
00:21:25,738 --> 00:21:27,349
new vaccination program with 

570
00:21:27,349 --> 00:21:29,182
professionalism , skill and with 

571
00:21:29,182 --> 00:21:31,349
compassion and I think I'll leave it , 

572
00:21:31,349 --> 00:21:33,516
leave it at that for now . Okay , back 

573
00:21:33,516 --> 00:21:35,682
to the room Megan . What is the actual 

574
00:21:35,682 --> 00:21:37,849
deadline for the service leadership to 

575
00:21:37,849 --> 00:21:40,240
get their plans to the secretary ? He 

576
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,310
did not issue a specific deadline in 

577
00:21:42,310 --> 00:21:46,120
this memo . They were already some of 

578
00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:48,800
them were already working on uh the 

579
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,080
potential because all of us had a sense 

580
00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:55,670
that this was coming , uh but he did 

581
00:21:55,670 --> 00:21:57,781
not give them an actual deadline . He 

582
00:21:57,781 --> 00:22:00,003
does not expect that it's going to take 

583
00:22:00,003 --> 00:22:01,837
them very long to come back with 

584
00:22:01,837 --> 00:22:03,837
implementation plans , but he wants 

585
00:22:03,837 --> 00:22:06,170
those implementation plans ready before . 

586
00:22:06,170 --> 00:22:08,450
Uh certainly before the middle of 

587
00:22:08,450 --> 00:22:11,130
september . Obviously , we'd like to 

588
00:22:11,130 --> 00:22:13,650
see those plans submitted earlier than 

589
00:22:13,650 --> 00:22:15,594
that because it's possible that we 

590
00:22:15,594 --> 00:22:17,960
could reach FDA licensure on at least 

591
00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,130
one vaccine . Perhaps as early as the 

592
00:22:20,130 --> 00:22:22,074
end of the month . He met with the 

593
00:22:22,074 --> 00:22:24,297
service secretaries this morning . They 

594
00:22:24,297 --> 00:22:26,519
all understand the timing here . Uh and 

595
00:22:26,519 --> 00:22:28,741
the secretary is not worried about them 

596
00:22:28,741 --> 00:22:28,560
meeting a certain deadline on the 

597
00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,727
counter . They all know what they have 

598
00:22:30,727 --> 00:22:32,782
to do in the time frame within which 

599
00:22:32,782 --> 00:22:34,727
they have to do it and follow up . 

600
00:22:34,727 --> 00:22:36,560
Given there's already kind of an 

601
00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:38,449
accountability infrastructure for 

602
00:22:38,449 --> 00:22:40,393
ongoing vaccines . While you're in 

603
00:22:40,393 --> 00:22:43,350
uniform , what needs to be hammered out , 

604
00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:45,360
flu vaccines are given every year . 

605
00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:47,670
There's an accountability that's that's 

606
00:22:47,670 --> 00:22:49,892
in the computer . If you don't get your 

607
00:22:49,892 --> 00:22:51,559
flu vaccine , there's already 

608
00:22:51,559 --> 00:22:53,614
consequences . So , what needs to be 

609
00:22:53,614 --> 00:22:53,480
hammered out when this infrastructure 

610
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:55,890
already exists , adding a vaccine to 

611
00:22:55,890 --> 00:22:57,950
the mandatory list ? Doesn't doesn't 

612
00:22:57,950 --> 00:23:00,700
happen every day . Megan . Uh , it's a 

613
00:23:00,710 --> 00:23:02,654
it's a big muscle movement and the 

614
00:23:02,654 --> 00:23:04,860
secretary wants to give the services 

615
00:23:04,870 --> 00:23:08,230
ample time to prepare for that as well 

616
00:23:08,230 --> 00:23:10,570
as the force . I mean , this has been 

617
00:23:10,570 --> 00:23:12,681
as you and I have gone back and forth 

618
00:23:12,681 --> 00:23:14,848
here for months . I mean , it's been a 

619
00:23:14,848 --> 00:23:17,014
voluntary vaccine , uh , from the from 

620
00:23:17,014 --> 00:23:19,237
as soon as the time we had them and and 

621
00:23:19,237 --> 00:23:21,550
now shifting to making it eventually 

622
00:23:21,550 --> 00:23:23,700
making it a mandatory vaccine , a 

623
00:23:23,700 --> 00:23:25,922
required vaccine . That's a big shift , 

624
00:23:25,922 --> 00:23:27,730
not just for the system and our 

625
00:23:27,740 --> 00:23:29,880
military treatment facilities , but 

626
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,880
also for the force itself . And you can 

627
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,120
consider this memo today as what we 

628
00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:37,287
would call in the military , a warning 

629
00:23:37,287 --> 00:23:39,342
order , a warning order to the force 

630
00:23:39,342 --> 00:23:42,060
that this is coming . And we want you 

631
00:23:42,340 --> 00:23:44,470
to be ready for it as well . And 

632
00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,360
obviously we prefer that that that that 

633
00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:50,490
you get the vaccine now and not wait 

634
00:23:50,490 --> 00:23:52,712
for the mandate . So that mid september 

635
00:23:52,712 --> 00:23:54,934
date then , is that more trying to line 

636
00:23:54,934 --> 00:23:56,934
up with these FDA approvals ? Given 

637
00:23:56,934 --> 00:23:58,990
that you don't think that it's gonna 

638
00:23:58,990 --> 00:24:00,934
take very long for plans to be put 

639
00:24:00,934 --> 00:24:03,157
together and the secretary is not going 

640
00:24:03,157 --> 00:24:03,140
to take very long to approve those 

641
00:24:03,140 --> 00:24:05,600
plans . Why wait more than a month to 

642
00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,310
get this stuff again ? We we think that 

643
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,320
FDA licensor will probably occur at 

644
00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:12,653
least in one case sooner than that . Um , 

645
00:24:12,653 --> 00:24:14,820
uh , and this was really determined to 

646
00:24:14,820 --> 00:24:16,764
give enough time and space for the 

647
00:24:16,764 --> 00:24:18,987
force , a very geographically dispersed 

648
00:24:18,987 --> 00:24:21,690
operationally , uh , able and out there 

649
00:24:21,690 --> 00:24:23,950
force uh , to get ready for the 

650
00:24:23,950 --> 00:24:26,660
potential mandatory issuance of these 

651
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,560
vaccine . It it was in the Secretary's 

652
00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,850
determination , uh , an ample amount of 

653
00:24:31,850 --> 00:24:34,650
time to prepare . Keeping in mind that 

654
00:24:34,660 --> 00:24:37,370
we may have to move sooner based on FDA 

655
00:24:37,370 --> 00:24:39,260
approval with the secretary has 

656
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,130
approval authority once FDA licensed 

657
00:24:42,140 --> 00:24:45,340
FDA licensure occurs . So it was a 

658
00:24:45,340 --> 00:24:47,120
combination of factors . Okay , 

659
00:24:47,450 --> 00:24:49,680
Courtney , I got a bunch . Okay , so 

660
00:24:49,690 --> 00:24:51,746
let me get my pen . We'll come to be 

661
00:24:51,746 --> 00:24:53,912
like that at the end of the briefing . 

662
00:24:53,912 --> 00:24:56,134
I just keep adding more . So the is the 

663
00:24:56,134 --> 00:24:58,246
assumption that the reason that there 

664
00:24:58,246 --> 00:25:00,468
was no mention of a waiver in that memo 

665
00:25:00,468 --> 00:25:02,634
is because the assumption is that it's 

666
00:25:02,634 --> 00:25:04,746
going to get full authorization prior 

667
00:25:04,746 --> 00:25:07,023
to this becoming mandatory for no , no , 

668
00:25:07,023 --> 00:25:09,246
there was a mention of a waiver . He in 

669
00:25:09,246 --> 00:25:11,412
the memo itself , such moves away from 

670
00:25:11,412 --> 00:25:13,523
left . I'm mistaken . I will seek the 

671
00:25:13,523 --> 00:25:15,357
President's approval to make the 

672
00:25:15,357 --> 00:25:17,579
vaccines mandatory . That's the same as 

673
00:25:17,579 --> 00:25:19,690
saying a waiver . So he's gonna he is 

674
00:25:19,690 --> 00:25:21,801
that he is asking for the waiver . He 

675
00:25:21,801 --> 00:25:23,746
intends to ask for a waiver by mid 

676
00:25:23,746 --> 00:25:26,560
september unless or until 

677
00:25:27,550 --> 00:25:30,790
FDA licensing occurs first and then so , 

678
00:25:30,790 --> 00:25:33,390
and if it becomes mandatory before it 

679
00:25:33,390 --> 00:25:35,057
has the bull authors full FDA 

680
00:25:35,057 --> 00:25:38,650
authorization . I don't then 

681
00:25:39,140 --> 00:25:41,251
what will the difference be then ? If 

682
00:25:41,251 --> 00:25:43,251
service members then refuse ? Still 

683
00:25:43,251 --> 00:25:45,490
refuse even if it's because it's 

684
00:25:45,490 --> 00:25:47,730
different then right ? Like if it not 

685
00:25:47,730 --> 00:25:49,897
really , I guess we'll be , will there 

686
00:25:49,897 --> 00:25:51,897
be consequences if a service member 

687
00:25:51,897 --> 00:25:51,110
refuses before it has full 

688
00:25:51,110 --> 00:25:53,720
authorization of that day . So two 

689
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,780
parts there , let's , let's say that 

690
00:25:56,790 --> 00:25:59,012
FDA licensure doesn't come . And by mid 

691
00:25:59,012 --> 00:26:02,280
september he seeks the waiver . And uh , 

692
00:26:02,290 --> 00:26:04,457
and the president grants that waiver . 

693
00:26:04,457 --> 00:26:07,200
They then become added to the list of 

694
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:09,160
vaccines that are required of all 

695
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,130
service members in the military . Um , 

696
00:26:12,140 --> 00:26:15,400
I won't speculate about consequences on 

697
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:19,360
the back end . The It 

698
00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:21,527
would be premature to do that . But it 

699
00:26:21,527 --> 00:26:23,693
then becomes a required vaccine , just 

700
00:26:23,693 --> 00:26:25,693
like all the other vaccines . And I 

701
00:26:25,693 --> 00:26:27,860
think there's 17 total . There's eight 

702
00:26:27,860 --> 00:26:30,027
at least . I know that you have to get 

703
00:26:30,027 --> 00:26:32,082
just just to go to boot camp . Um it 

704
00:26:32,082 --> 00:26:33,971
just becomes part of that of that 

705
00:26:33,971 --> 00:26:36,027
regiment . And I think the secretary 

706
00:26:36,027 --> 00:26:38,450
believes that the the men and women of 

707
00:26:38,450 --> 00:26:40,617
the military , even the ones that have 

708
00:26:40,617 --> 00:26:42,783
been hesitant we'll comply with that . 

709
00:26:42,783 --> 00:26:44,783
Should it should it take that ? But 

710
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:47,350
what he's asking for in this message to 

711
00:26:47,350 --> 00:26:49,572
the force today is don't wait . They're 

712
00:26:49,572 --> 00:26:51,628
safe . They're effective . They work 

713
00:26:51,628 --> 00:26:53,850
they make us a more ready for some more 

714
00:26:53,850 --> 00:26:55,961
lethal force and there's no reason to 

715
00:26:55,961 --> 00:26:58,128
wait for the mandate . Once it becomes 

716
00:26:58,128 --> 00:27:00,183
mandatory . Will the D . O . D . Now 

717
00:27:00,183 --> 00:27:02,183
then provide declaration rates that 

718
00:27:02,183 --> 00:27:04,239
people do decline ? I don't know . I 

719
00:27:04,239 --> 00:27:07,020
don't know if If we made that decision 

720
00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:08,964
courting one Afghanistan one . You 

721
00:27:08,964 --> 00:27:11,187
mentioned that the advances the Taliban 

722
00:27:11,187 --> 00:27:13,353
events have accelerated and deepened . 

723
00:27:13,353 --> 00:27:16,610
Does that mean that the the the taliban 

724
00:27:16,610 --> 00:27:19,280
is moving rolling through these areas , 

725
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,640
taking areas faster then the pentagon 

726
00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:24,862
or that the military had expected . And 

727
00:27:24,862 --> 00:27:26,640
if so , why do you think that's 

728
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:28,862
occurring ? I don't want to get into an 

729
00:27:28,862 --> 00:27:31,029
assessment of faster than was expected 

730
00:27:31,029 --> 00:27:33,410
or not expected . Clearly the security 

731
00:27:33,410 --> 00:27:35,780
situation is deteriorating and just 

732
00:27:35,780 --> 00:27:39,360
over the last What 72 hours 

733
00:27:39,370 --> 00:27:42,600
um Roughly five provincial 

734
00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,800
capitals fell to the Taliban . That's 

735
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:49,440
deeply concerning . Um Again , I don't 

736
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,190
want to get into a statement about 

737
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:54,820
surprise or not . It's concerning . Uh 

738
00:27:54,830 --> 00:27:56,663
and and we're watching that very 

739
00:27:56,663 --> 00:27:58,950
closely . Thanks . Yeah . Yes , ma'am . 

740
00:28:00,140 --> 00:28:02,820
Uh Sorry of it is the cloud , the U . S . 

741
00:28:02,820 --> 00:28:05,800
Navy has sent aircraft to Greece to 

742
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,970
help with forest fires . And at weekend 

743
00:28:08,970 --> 00:28:10,803
U . S . Embassy in Ankara made a 

744
00:28:10,803 --> 00:28:13,400
statement and announced that two of uh 

745
00:28:13,410 --> 00:28:16,880
CH 47 china will be deployed to Turkey 

746
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,991
as well , which also is battling with 

747
00:28:18,991 --> 00:28:21,550
wildfires . Are you aware of its 

748
00:28:21,550 --> 00:28:23,760
process and when they will be there ? 

749
00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,290
Um I think the in the case of 

750
00:28:28,300 --> 00:28:31,640
Greece , a P eight Poseidon maritime 

751
00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:33,690
surveillance aircraft was already 

752
00:28:33,700 --> 00:28:36,620
provided to assist greek authorities 

753
00:28:36,620 --> 00:28:39,860
with basically getting a better picture . 

754
00:28:39,860 --> 00:28:42,150
It's a surveillance aircraft . So uh 

755
00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,830
reconnaissance aircraft , sorry . Um so 

756
00:28:45,900 --> 00:28:48,830
the request was for help with them 

757
00:28:48,830 --> 00:28:50,941
getting a better understanding of the 

758
00:28:50,941 --> 00:28:52,719
scope of the wildfires and that 

759
00:28:52,719 --> 00:28:55,260
aircraft has already been provided they 

760
00:28:55,740 --> 00:28:58,450
The flu operations in support of Greek 

761
00:28:58,450 --> 00:29:00,394
authorities over the course of the 

762
00:29:00,394 --> 00:29:02,980
weekend from the 5th to 7 August ? Um 

763
00:29:02,990 --> 00:29:06,790
as for the um as for the situation in 

764
00:29:06,790 --> 00:29:08,846
Turkey at the request of the Turkish 

765
00:29:08,846 --> 00:29:10,901
government , U . S . Army europe and 

766
00:29:10,901 --> 00:29:14,730
Africa is sending to CH 47 

767
00:29:14,740 --> 00:29:16,740
Chinook aircraft . They're equipped 

768
00:29:16,740 --> 00:29:18,851
with water delivery buckets . So they 

769
00:29:18,851 --> 00:29:21,000
are actually going to be involved in 

770
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,820
helping put out the fires . Again , the 

771
00:29:23,830 --> 00:29:26,860
request of the Turkish government , I 

772
00:29:26,860 --> 00:29:29,560
don't have the details on whether 

773
00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:31,393
they're there yet . Whether they 

774
00:29:31,393 --> 00:29:33,727
started flying yet , I'd refer you to U . 

775
00:29:33,727 --> 00:29:35,949
S . Army europe and Africa to give they 

776
00:29:35,949 --> 00:29:37,949
have a much better sense . But I do 

777
00:29:37,949 --> 00:29:37,860
know that the Turkish government asked 

778
00:29:37,860 --> 00:29:40,027
for that and and we are providing that 

779
00:29:40,027 --> 00:29:42,550
different kind of help but uh , but 

780
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:44,671
still willing to lean in and and help 

781
00:29:44,671 --> 00:29:47,730
our partners Jennings . Thank you . I 

782
00:29:47,740 --> 00:29:50,820
have a complication for you . You have 

783
00:29:50,820 --> 00:29:53,670
what ? I have a complication . Okay . 

784
00:29:56,740 --> 00:30:00,180
You may have seen the report that there 

785
00:30:00,180 --> 00:30:03,110
was listen to the six F 

786
00:30:03,740 --> 00:30:07,460
16 fighters emergency authority put on 

787
00:30:07,930 --> 00:30:10,790
the airways in South Korea . Why did 

788
00:30:10,790 --> 00:30:13,460
they , the department of 

789
00:30:13,940 --> 00:30:17,830
Because released this fact right 

790
00:30:17,830 --> 00:30:20,080
after the north korean kingdoms are 

791
00:30:20,090 --> 00:30:22,920
demanded cancellation and the 

792
00:30:22,930 --> 00:30:25,152
cancellation of the year . So it's cool 

793
00:30:25,152 --> 00:30:27,950
you're doing today exercise . I don't 

794
00:30:27,950 --> 00:30:30,130
have anything specific on uh these 

795
00:30:30,130 --> 00:30:32,320
reported sorties . What I can tell you 

796
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,460
is that F sixteens and other U . S . 

797
00:30:34,460 --> 00:30:37,590
Air Force aircraft routinely fly out of 

798
00:30:37,590 --> 00:30:39,570
Kunsan air base and they conduct 

799
00:30:39,570 --> 00:30:42,040
training missions and support regional 

800
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:43,984
security right alongside with Iraq 

801
00:30:43,984 --> 00:30:45,818
allies that flying aircraft at a 

802
00:30:45,818 --> 00:30:49,460
concern is not unusual . Um And again 

803
00:30:49,460 --> 00:30:51,682
part of the normal security arrangement 

804
00:30:51,682 --> 00:30:55,530
with with the art . Okay . Uh do you 

805
00:30:55,530 --> 00:30:57,870
have any background on this ? Because 

806
00:30:57,870 --> 00:31:01,540
of why they have an emergency salty ? 

807
00:31:01,940 --> 00:31:05,320
That is not regular exercise . I 

808
00:31:05,330 --> 00:31:07,386
honestly don't think I can answer it 

809
00:31:07,386 --> 00:31:09,790
better a second time . Another one . It 

810
00:31:09,790 --> 00:31:12,710
is reported that South korean National 

811
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,560
Intelligence Service detained the spy 

812
00:31:16,570 --> 00:31:19,160
who received the orders from North 

813
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,640
Korea . Two of treaties , The 

814
00:31:22,650 --> 00:31:26,510
purchase of F 35 fighters from 

815
00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:30,320
United States . Are there any problem 

816
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:33,220
with the protest country ? I don't have 

817
00:31:33,220 --> 00:31:37,090
anything for you on that . No , 

818
00:31:37,100 --> 00:31:39,100
I'm not going to take that question 

819
00:31:39,100 --> 00:31:41,267
because you're talking about what it's 

820
00:31:41,267 --> 00:31:43,267
first of all , it's an intelligence 

821
00:31:43,267 --> 00:31:45,322
question related to another nation's 

822
00:31:45,322 --> 00:31:47,433
intelligence services And that we are 

823
00:31:47,433 --> 00:31:49,544
just not going to speak , we're going 

824
00:31:49,544 --> 00:31:51,711
to speak to something like that . They 

825
00:31:51,711 --> 00:31:53,933
have a lot of damage in South Korea . I 

826
00:31:53,933 --> 00:31:56,100
appreciate your interest in this , but 

827
00:31:56,100 --> 00:31:56,040
I think that's a better question put to 

828
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:58,040
our Okay allies , not to the United 

829
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,290
States Department of Defense , reduced 

830
00:32:00,290 --> 00:32:03,420
to purchase from 35 . 

831
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:06,584
Okay , this is the last occasion . 

832
00:32:06,584 --> 00:32:10,170
China also demanded the cancellation of 

833
00:32:10,170 --> 00:32:12,003
the U . S . In South Korea joint 

834
00:32:12,003 --> 00:32:15,670
military exercise . Also , those korean 

835
00:32:15,670 --> 00:32:19,550
lawmakers sign just a panda of the 

836
00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:23,200
joint military exercise . The point 

837
00:32:23,210 --> 00:32:25,540
is , the South korean government 

838
00:32:25,550 --> 00:32:28,950
dealing with joint exercise 

839
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:33,430
politically . Not from the 

840
00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:36,930
military perspective you mentioned 

841
00:32:37,270 --> 00:32:40,670
in the last briefing , What is your 

842
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,660
comment on this ? Because of ? Are 

843
00:32:43,660 --> 00:32:46,250
there any differences between us and 

844
00:32:46,250 --> 00:32:49,550
South Korea ? In terms of the military 

845
00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,620
perspective , I'm certainly not going 

846
00:32:52,620 --> 00:32:56,200
to speak to domestic politics 

847
00:32:56,210 --> 00:32:59,530
inside South Korea again , that's 

848
00:32:59,530 --> 00:33:03,480
for the South korean legislators 

849
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:07,370
to speak to . Nothing's changed about 

850
00:33:07,370 --> 00:33:11,250
our need uh for readiness on the 

851
00:33:11,250 --> 00:33:14,650
korean peninsula and our desire to work 

852
00:33:14,660 --> 00:33:17,360
in lockstep with our our Okay allies on 

853
00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:20,100
training regimen that improves that 

854
00:33:20,100 --> 00:33:22,044
readiness and keeps that readiness 

855
00:33:22,044 --> 00:33:23,822
strong and we are we make these 

856
00:33:23,822 --> 00:33:25,767
decisions , as I've said many many 

857
00:33:25,767 --> 00:33:28,210
times before in lockstep with our Okay 

858
00:33:28,210 --> 00:33:30,432
allies and that's not going to change . 

859
00:33:31,630 --> 00:33:35,370
I I gave you a fundamental 

860
00:33:35,370 --> 00:33:38,350
answer . You just don't like it , But 

861
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:41,020
it is an accurate answer . I'm going to 

862
00:33:41,020 --> 00:33:43,920
ask you , what is the year view of the 

863
00:33:43,930 --> 00:33:46,990
I just gave you perspective and nobody 

864
00:33:46,990 --> 00:33:49,157
cares about my view of anything I gave 

865
00:33:49,157 --> 00:33:51,268
you the department's view of training 

866
00:33:51,268 --> 00:33:53,379
and readiness on the Korean peninsula 

867
00:33:55,020 --> 00:33:58,100
on September 15 date . Yeah . Don't get 

868
00:33:58,100 --> 00:34:00,100
hung up on 15 september . I've seen 

869
00:34:00,100 --> 00:34:02,211
that in some of the press reporting . 

870
00:34:02,211 --> 00:34:04,489
It says by mid september the President , 

871
00:34:04,489 --> 00:34:06,544
the White House released a statement 

872
00:34:06,544 --> 00:34:06,490
from the President already saying he 

873
00:34:06,490 --> 00:34:09,160
strongly supports the Secretary's 

874
00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:11,870
decision to add it to the list . So 

875
00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:15,660
cute . I mean , so dont has permission 

876
00:34:16,140 --> 00:34:18,307
right now . The President has said , I 

877
00:34:18,307 --> 00:34:20,473
support you . Go ahead . I mean , what 

878
00:34:20,473 --> 00:34:22,640
is there is that just to give them the 

879
00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:24,807
services breathing room to sort of get 

880
00:34:24,807 --> 00:34:27,570
their ducks and you still have to get 

881
00:34:27,580 --> 00:34:29,802
we and we certainly saw the President's 

882
00:34:29,802 --> 00:34:32,090
statement and grateful for it for the 

883
00:34:32,090 --> 00:34:35,370
support that he very clearly iterated 

884
00:34:35,370 --> 00:34:39,160
in that . But you still , unless FDA 

885
00:34:39,170 --> 00:34:42,850
licensor has occurred , you still need 

886
00:34:43,020 --> 00:34:46,670
a waiver uh , for the authorization . 

887
00:34:46,670 --> 00:34:49,460
You still need a formal waiver by the 

888
00:34:49,460 --> 00:34:51,682
President , United States , which we do 

889
00:34:51,682 --> 00:34:54,800
not have right now . So , uh , well , 

890
00:34:54,810 --> 00:34:57,590
we obviously saw and appreciate the 

891
00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,711
President's statement of support . We 

892
00:34:59,711 --> 00:35:02,480
would still be compelled by law to ask 

893
00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:04,702
for that waiver . Obviously , given the 

894
00:35:04,702 --> 00:35:06,758
President's statement , we certainly 

895
00:35:06,758 --> 00:35:08,813
don't expect any problem with that . 

896
00:35:08,813 --> 00:35:10,924
But but it's a it's a process issue . 

897
00:35:10,924 --> 00:35:12,869
Another question . Different topic 

898
00:35:12,869 --> 00:35:14,980
fairly . There's been some commercial 

899
00:35:14,980 --> 00:35:17,147
satellite images have spotted a couple 

900
00:35:17,147 --> 00:35:19,620
of I C . B . M . Fields in china . Is 

901
00:35:19,620 --> 00:35:21,676
the pentagon concerned about china's 

902
00:35:21,676 --> 00:35:24,360
rapid nuclear build up ? I'm not going 

903
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:26,470
to speak to the imagery issue and 

904
00:35:26,470 --> 00:35:28,470
certainly I'm not going to get into 

905
00:35:28,470 --> 00:35:30,414
intelligence assessments . We have 

906
00:35:30,414 --> 00:35:32,470
maintained uh since the beginning of 

907
00:35:32,470 --> 00:35:34,850
administration , our concerns about the 

908
00:35:34,860 --> 00:35:37,410
kinds of military capabilities that 

909
00:35:37,420 --> 00:35:39,642
China is procuring and putting into the 

910
00:35:39,642 --> 00:35:42,970
field and it's a deplete uh which uh 

911
00:35:42,980 --> 00:35:45,202
and the way in which they're using some 

912
00:35:45,202 --> 00:35:47,330
of these capabilities to course , uh 

913
00:35:47,340 --> 00:35:49,562
their neighbors . Uh And that's why the 

914
00:35:49,562 --> 00:35:51,618
secretary considers china the number 

915
00:35:51,618 --> 00:35:53,951
one pacing challenge for the department . 

916
00:35:53,951 --> 00:35:55,562
That's why he's now made two 

917
00:35:55,562 --> 00:35:57,729
international trips to the region . In 

918
00:35:57,729 --> 00:35:59,618
part why he made two trips to the 

919
00:35:59,618 --> 00:36:01,840
region . Uh And it's why we're doing so 

920
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:03,896
much to revitalize our alliances and 

921
00:36:03,896 --> 00:36:03,420
partnerships . And you've heard him 

922
00:36:03,420 --> 00:36:06,320
talk about integrated deterrence and 

923
00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:08,220
making sure that we have the 

924
00:36:08,220 --> 00:36:10,442
appropriate capacity and capabilities , 

925
00:36:10,442 --> 00:36:12,553
not just in the joint force but among 

926
00:36:12,553 --> 00:36:14,776
our allies and partners , uh to provide 

927
00:36:14,776 --> 00:36:16,900
a credible , viable deterrent 

928
00:36:16,900 --> 00:36:19,370
capability for any adversary in that 

929
00:36:19,370 --> 00:36:21,592
part of the world . Okay , let me go to 

930
00:36:21,592 --> 00:36:23,703
the phones . I haven't , I don't want 

931
00:36:23,703 --> 00:36:25,870
to neglect them too much , Jeff Selden 

932
00:36:25,870 --> 00:36:27,981
via , Hey john , thanks very much for 

933
00:36:27,981 --> 00:36:29,926
doing this . A couple questions on 

934
00:36:29,926 --> 00:36:31,759
Afghanistan , given that U . S . 

935
00:36:31,759 --> 00:36:33,870
Airstrikes are all over the horizon , 

936
00:36:33,870 --> 00:36:36,092
it means the planes , the platforms are 

937
00:36:36,092 --> 00:36:38,203
up in the air for some time . So what 

938
00:36:38,203 --> 00:36:40,426
extent is the pentagon concern that the 

939
00:36:40,426 --> 00:36:40,080
taliban have been able to kind of map 

940
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:43,120
out the roots that that the U . S . Is 

941
00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:45,064
taking here in order to coordinate 

942
00:36:45,064 --> 00:36:47,009
their offensives to miss where the 

943
00:36:47,009 --> 00:36:50,150
planes are most likely to be . And also 

944
00:36:51,030 --> 00:36:53,760
how much can the U . S . Do in cases 

945
00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:55,760
where it seems like we saw over the 

946
00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:58,070
weekend where Afghan forces don't put 

947
00:36:58,070 --> 00:37:00,150
up any fight or don't put up a fight 

948
00:37:00,150 --> 00:37:03,270
for very long before retreating . I'm 

949
00:37:03,270 --> 00:37:05,214
sorry , can you repeat that second 

950
00:37:05,214 --> 00:37:07,326
question ? There was knocking on your 

951
00:37:07,326 --> 00:37:09,550
phone ? I I couldn't , yeah sorry about 

952
00:37:09,550 --> 00:37:12,300
that . Um The second question is how 

953
00:37:12,300 --> 00:37:14,350
much is the us able to do to help 

954
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,860
Afghan security forces in cases like we 

955
00:37:17,860 --> 00:37:20,082
saw over the weekend where it seems the 

956
00:37:20,082 --> 00:37:22,570
Afghan forces aren't putting up much of 

957
00:37:22,570 --> 00:37:24,681
a fight or not putting up a fight for 

958
00:37:24,681 --> 00:37:27,290
very long given the distances involved 

959
00:37:27,290 --> 00:37:29,740
with the U . S . And the air power now . 

960
00:37:29,750 --> 00:37:31,972
Well the answer to that question is not 

961
00:37:31,972 --> 00:37:35,290
much . I mean it we don't have forces 

962
00:37:35,290 --> 00:37:37,568
on the ground in partnership with them . 

963
00:37:37,568 --> 00:37:40,900
Um And uh we we can't 

964
00:37:40,910 --> 00:37:43,080
uh we will certainly support from the 

965
00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:45,400
air where and when feasible but that's 

966
00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:47,460
no substitute for leadership on the 

967
00:37:47,460 --> 00:37:49,238
ground . It's no substitute for 

968
00:37:49,238 --> 00:37:51,830
political leadership in Kabul . Um It's 

969
00:37:51,830 --> 00:37:53,460
no substitute for using the 

970
00:37:53,460 --> 00:37:56,070
capabilities and capacity uh That we 

971
00:37:56,070 --> 00:37:58,292
know they have they have an air force . 

972
00:37:58,292 --> 00:38:00,348
The Taliban doesn't they have modern 

973
00:38:00,348 --> 00:38:02,280
weaponry , that an organizational 

974
00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:04,680
skills , The taliban doesn't uh they 

975
00:38:04,690 --> 00:38:06,960
they have superior numbers to the 

976
00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:09,480
Taliban . Uh and so again , they have 

977
00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:12,850
the advantage advantage is , uh and uh , 

978
00:38:12,860 --> 00:38:15,082
it's really now their time to use those 

979
00:38:15,082 --> 00:38:17,249
advantages . And that's for your first 

980
00:38:17,249 --> 00:38:19,304
question . Again , I'm not , I don't 

981
00:38:19,304 --> 00:38:21,400
want to get into um , uh , specifics 

982
00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:23,622
about each and every air strike and how 

983
00:38:23,622 --> 00:38:26,040
they're conducted . Uh , what I would 

984
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:28,270
tell you is that where and when they 

985
00:38:28,270 --> 00:38:31,340
are feasible , we use the capabilities 

986
00:38:31,340 --> 00:38:34,240
that we have most available , uh , to 

987
00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:37,400
meet the needs of whatever that strike 

988
00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:39,622
mission and whatever that package needs 

989
00:38:39,622 --> 00:38:42,280
to be . Um , and uh , we always , in 

990
00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:45,190
any case , uh , factor in force 

991
00:38:45,190 --> 00:38:48,280
protection , uh , on any military 

992
00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:50,058
operation we conduct . And that 

993
00:38:50,058 --> 00:38:52,330
includes aerial strikes on the ground . 

994
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:55,780
Okay . Uh , I gotta keep going here . 

995
00:38:55,780 --> 00:38:59,540
Guys , stay with me here , dan them off . 

996
00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:03,490
Yeah . Yes . Thank you to to follow ups 

997
00:39:03,490 --> 00:39:06,950
please . I'm the vaccine issue , 

998
00:39:07,620 --> 00:39:09,453
realize it's early . But can you 

999
00:39:09,453 --> 00:39:11,453
elaborate at all on what this might 

1000
00:39:11,453 --> 00:39:13,620
mean for deployments , preparation for 

1001
00:39:13,620 --> 00:39:15,842
deployment of those sorts of things and 

1002
00:39:15,842 --> 00:39:17,787
then on Afghanistan , uh , can you 

1003
00:39:17,787 --> 00:39:19,842
elaborate a bit on just what some of 

1004
00:39:19,842 --> 00:39:21,620
the recent U . S . Operations , 

1005
00:39:21,620 --> 00:39:23,676
airstrikes etcetera have looked like 

1006
00:39:23,676 --> 00:39:25,731
over the last several days . Lots of 

1007
00:39:25,731 --> 00:39:27,787
questions are getting directed up to 

1008
00:39:27,787 --> 00:39:29,787
the OsD level at this point and I'm 

1009
00:39:29,787 --> 00:39:32,009
just trying to get The clarity and some 

1010
00:39:32,009 --> 00:39:34,680
additional transparency . Thanks Dan on 

1011
00:39:34,690 --> 00:39:38,090
your 1st 1 . I don't , we don't 

1012
00:39:38,100 --> 00:39:40,540
have specifics right now in terms of , 

1013
00:39:41,420 --> 00:39:43,770
well what the new vaccination policies 

1014
00:39:43,770 --> 00:39:45,881
are gonna , what effects are going to 

1015
00:39:45,881 --> 00:39:48,048
have on deployments . As the secretary 

1016
00:39:48,048 --> 00:39:50,103
putting his memo , we want a healthy 

1017
00:39:50,103 --> 00:39:52,270
and ready force . That means of course 

1018
00:39:52,270 --> 00:39:54,492
that's ready to deploy . Um , and until 

1019
00:39:54,492 --> 00:39:56,830
these vaccines become mandatory , we 

1020
00:39:56,830 --> 00:39:59,770
continue to want to appeal to a sense 

1021
00:39:59,770 --> 00:40:01,860
of teamwork among the unvaccinated 

1022
00:40:01,860 --> 00:40:04,027
service members in the force that this 

1023
00:40:04,027 --> 00:40:06,193
isn't just about you . It's about your 

1024
00:40:06,193 --> 00:40:08,920
ship , it's about your platoon . Uh , 

1025
00:40:08,930 --> 00:40:11,630
it's about your squadron . It's your 

1026
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,100
opportunity to contribute to the health 

1027
00:40:14,100 --> 00:40:16,480
and readiness of your teammates and 

1028
00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:19,220
thereby the nation . Uh , Now , once 

1029
00:40:19,220 --> 00:40:21,109
they become mandatory , they will 

1030
00:40:21,109 --> 00:40:23,550
become mandatory as for the effect on 

1031
00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:26,970
dip lawyers between now and mandatory . 

1032
00:40:27,110 --> 00:40:29,110
Again , we're still working through 

1033
00:40:29,110 --> 00:40:31,054
that as I said at the outset , and 

1034
00:40:31,054 --> 00:40:32,943
we'll have , I think more defined 

1035
00:40:32,943 --> 00:40:35,750
policy , prescriptive requirements and 

1036
00:40:35,750 --> 00:40:38,490
restrictions in the very near future on 

1037
00:40:38,490 --> 00:40:40,440
airstrikes , dan . Not gonna be a 

1038
00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:42,440
satisfying answer , but it'll be an 

1039
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:44,440
honest one . We're not going to get 

1040
00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:46,662
into specific details of each and every 

1041
00:40:46,662 --> 00:40:48,718
strike . Where , when , what kind of 

1042
00:40:48,718 --> 00:40:50,718
ordinance ? Um , we continue to fly 

1043
00:40:50,718 --> 00:40:53,480
airstrikes in support of afghan forces 

1044
00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:55,813
on the ground . Where and when feasible . 

1045
00:40:55,813 --> 00:40:57,758
I know you're probably tired of me 

1046
00:40:57,758 --> 00:40:57,250
saying that , but that's the truth 

1047
00:40:57,250 --> 00:40:59,417
where and when feasible , knowing that 

1048
00:40:59,417 --> 00:41:01,639
it is not going to always be feasible . 

1049
00:41:01,639 --> 00:41:04,830
Uh We have conducted airstrikes uh in 

1050
00:41:04,830 --> 00:41:06,941
the last several days but I won't get 

1051
00:41:06,941 --> 00:41:09,590
into the specifics about uh about 

1052
00:41:09,590 --> 00:41:11,757
targeting and B . D . A . And and that 

1053
00:41:11,757 --> 00:41:15,490
kind of thing . Okay . Um 

1054
00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:17,500
let me go back here to the room . I 

1055
00:41:17,500 --> 00:41:19,833
I've been pretty good about that really . 

1056
00:41:19,833 --> 00:41:21,970
Thank you . I have two questions on 

1057
00:41:21,980 --> 00:41:25,600
vaccine mandate the U . S . Forces . Us 

1058
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:28,280
forces frequently interact with others 

1059
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:30,690
pulses in military exercises . For 

1060
00:41:30,690 --> 00:41:33,750
example , do you hope to rise will also 

1061
00:41:33,750 --> 00:41:37,540
require their forces to get vaccinated 

1062
00:41:37,550 --> 00:41:40,470
in the future to do a joint operation 

1063
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:42,670
smoothly and sacred . These are 

1064
00:41:42,670 --> 00:41:44,726
sovereign decisions by nation states 

1065
00:41:44,726 --> 00:41:46,948
with respect to their armed forces were 

1066
00:41:46,948 --> 00:41:49,230
in no position to dictate how and when 

1067
00:41:49,290 --> 00:41:51,630
they likewise seek covid protection for 

1068
00:41:51,630 --> 00:41:54,010
their forces . On a separate topic . 

1069
00:41:54,020 --> 00:41:55,820
The Secretary met the parallel 

1070
00:41:55,830 --> 00:41:59,830
president last week . The panel defect 

1071
00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:02,310
uh parallel request . It is a us to 

1072
00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:05,990
construct a new military base . When 

1073
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,800
the former secretary expert visited a 

1074
00:42:08,810 --> 00:42:11,300
parole last year . Did you have any 

1075
00:42:11,310 --> 00:42:14,830
progress in the meeting to build uh new 

1076
00:42:14,830 --> 00:42:18,680
military facilities or basis to create 

1077
00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:22,230
a more distributed both posture ? In 

1078
00:42:22,230 --> 00:42:24,341
the western past week , Secretary was 

1079
00:42:24,341 --> 00:42:26,508
delighted to meet with President whips 

1080
00:42:26,508 --> 00:42:28,452
last week and they had a very good 

1081
00:42:28,452 --> 00:42:30,397
conversation . It was not centered 

1082
00:42:30,397 --> 00:42:32,508
around the construction or additional 

1083
00:42:32,508 --> 00:42:34,400
info or building of additional 

1084
00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:36,670
infrastructure to support US forces . 

1085
00:42:36,670 --> 00:42:38,837
He did thank President whips of course 

1086
00:42:38,837 --> 00:42:41,020
for the rotational support that we do 

1087
00:42:41,020 --> 00:42:44,240
get from palau , its modest in size , 

1088
00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:47,330
but it's important , it's important for 

1089
00:42:47,340 --> 00:42:50,760
again , our network of alliances , 

1090
00:42:50,760 --> 00:42:52,982
partnerships and friendships in the end 

1091
00:42:52,982 --> 00:42:54,871
of pacific region , but there was 

1092
00:42:54,871 --> 00:42:56,927
nothing specific discussed or agreed 

1093
00:42:56,927 --> 00:42:58,704
upon with respect to additional 

1094
00:42:58,704 --> 00:43:01,038
infrastructure . Thank you . Yeah . Yes , 

1095
00:43:01,038 --> 00:43:03,410
sir , paul , Honey from a couple of 

1096
00:43:03,410 --> 00:43:05,680
things . When can you following up on 

1097
00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:07,736
the earlier question , can you say , 

1098
00:43:07,736 --> 00:43:11,080
how many bombing flights or strikes 

1099
00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:14,050
have taken place ? And does the US have 

1100
00:43:14,050 --> 00:43:16,730
the capacity to increase those or are 

1101
00:43:16,730 --> 00:43:19,160
you at the limits the over horizon 

1102
00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:21,271
limits ? Right now ? I do not , and I 

1103
00:43:21,271 --> 00:43:23,990
won't get into a specific number . Um 

1104
00:43:23,990 --> 00:43:26,380
and as for our capacity , we have a 

1105
00:43:26,380 --> 00:43:28,102
pretty robust over the horizon 

1106
00:43:28,102 --> 00:43:30,670
capability already in the region , um 

1107
00:43:30,670 --> 00:43:32,781
and we're going to continue to use it 

1108
00:43:32,781 --> 00:43:34,948
again , uh where and when it makes the 

1109
00:43:34,948 --> 00:43:37,281
most sense where and when it's feasible . 

1110
00:43:37,281 --> 00:43:39,448
Um and as for whether it needs to step 

1111
00:43:39,448 --> 00:43:41,559
up or step down , that's gonna depend 

1112
00:43:41,559 --> 00:43:45,350
again on uh on a the 

1113
00:43:45,350 --> 00:43:47,406
conditions on the ground and what is 

1114
00:43:47,406 --> 00:43:49,350
feasible from our perspective , in 

1115
00:43:49,350 --> 00:43:51,683
terms of uh , in terms of effectiveness . 

1116
00:43:51,683 --> 00:43:53,794
So , you said , as you said , I'm not 

1117
00:43:53,794 --> 00:43:56,017
what I want to walk away from . Is this 

1118
00:43:56,017 --> 00:43:58,128
idea that we plan to accelerate or we 

1119
00:43:58,128 --> 00:44:00,128
plan to decelerate , we're going to 

1120
00:44:00,128 --> 00:44:02,350
continue to support them where and when 

1121
00:44:02,350 --> 00:44:04,517
feasible . You could accelerate if you 

1122
00:44:04,517 --> 00:44:06,461
we have a robust capability in the 

1123
00:44:06,461 --> 00:44:08,683
region . You said before and said again 

1124
00:44:08,683 --> 00:44:12,250
today , that things are getting worse . 

1125
00:44:12,260 --> 00:44:14,427
We've heard that for several weeks and 

1126
00:44:14,427 --> 00:44:16,427
that the Afghan leadership needs to 

1127
00:44:16,427 --> 00:44:18,930
step up . Clearly , if things are 

1128
00:44:18,940 --> 00:44:22,400
getting worse , they're not doing what 

1129
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:24,567
they need to do , what do they need to 

1130
00:44:24,567 --> 00:44:27,740
do ? It's are they failing ? That is 

1131
00:44:27,740 --> 00:44:30,190
not a question uh , that the 

1132
00:44:30,190 --> 00:44:32,301
department's going to take a position 

1133
00:44:32,301 --> 00:44:35,410
on paul , as I've said , uh , they have 

1134
00:44:35,990 --> 00:44:38,157
all the advantages , it's really about 

1135
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:40,710
using those advantages to maximum 

1136
00:44:40,710 --> 00:44:44,120
effect this , that question is much 

1137
00:44:44,120 --> 00:44:47,320
better put afghan officials in kabul 

1138
00:44:47,330 --> 00:44:50,320
and in the field not to this because 

1139
00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:52,487
this has been going on for four or six 

1140
00:44:52,487 --> 00:44:54,653
weeks , two months already to say that 

1141
00:44:54,653 --> 00:44:56,653
same thing . What aren't they doing 

1142
00:44:56,653 --> 00:44:58,876
that they could do to stop this advance 

1143
00:44:58,876 --> 00:45:00,876
of the Taliban ? I mean , clearly , 

1144
00:45:00,876 --> 00:45:03,098
you're supporting them to stop it , but 

1145
00:45:03,098 --> 00:45:05,209
it's not working . I just don't think 

1146
00:45:05,209 --> 00:45:07,320
that that's an assessment we're gonna 

1147
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:06,920
make here from the Department of 

1148
00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:09,031
Defense . And that's really those are 

1149
00:45:09,031 --> 00:45:10,753
questions better put to Afghan 

1150
00:45:10,753 --> 00:45:12,920
officials . Uh , this is , as I said , 

1151
00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:14,920
when we look back , it's gonna come 

1152
00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:17,087
down to leadership and what leadership 

1153
00:45:17,087 --> 00:45:19,198
was demonstrated or not . And I'm not 

1154
00:45:19,198 --> 00:45:21,309
gonna get into an assessment here day 

1155
00:45:21,309 --> 00:45:23,420
by day of what they're doing right or 

1156
00:45:23,420 --> 00:45:25,198
what they're doing wrong . Uh , 

1157
00:45:25,198 --> 00:45:25,150
certainly here from Washington , not 

1158
00:45:25,150 --> 00:45:27,800
being there on the field , uh , 

1159
00:45:27,990 --> 00:45:30,101
alongside Afghan forces , it would be 

1160
00:45:30,101 --> 00:45:32,320
inappropriate for us to do that . And 

1161
00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:35,970
the back there . Is it a political 

1162
00:45:35,970 --> 00:45:38,800
question or failure in your opinion ? 

1163
00:45:38,810 --> 00:45:40,790
Again , I'm not going to assess 

1164
00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:44,420
the decisions that 

1165
00:45:44,790 --> 00:45:47,280
afghan officials are or not making . 

1166
00:45:47,290 --> 00:45:49,457
Those are questions that really should 

1167
00:45:49,457 --> 00:45:51,623
be put to them to speak to how they're 

1168
00:45:51,623 --> 00:45:53,957
executing their strategy . It's not a U . 

1169
00:45:53,957 --> 00:45:55,901
S . Military strategy , its afghan 

1170
00:45:55,901 --> 00:45:58,123
strategy to defend their own people and 

1171
00:45:58,123 --> 00:46:00,290
and they should speak to that . Not to 

1172
00:46:00,290 --> 00:46:02,512
us . What we can speak to is that we're 

1173
00:46:02,512 --> 00:46:04,623
going to maintain a good relationship 

1174
00:46:04,623 --> 00:46:06,568
with Afghan forces going forward . 

1175
00:46:06,568 --> 00:46:08,623
We're going to continue to help them 

1176
00:46:08,623 --> 00:46:10,734
defend themselves to the best ability 

1177
00:46:10,734 --> 00:46:12,568
we have for the remainder of the 

1178
00:46:12,568 --> 00:46:14,346
drawdown . And I'm not going to 

1179
00:46:14,346 --> 00:46:16,401
speculate about what it's gonna look 

1180
00:46:16,401 --> 00:46:18,401
like beyond that . Okay , given the 

1181
00:46:18,401 --> 00:46:20,568
last development , the developments in 

1182
00:46:20,568 --> 00:46:22,780
the last 72 hours , do you still find 

1183
00:46:22,780 --> 00:46:25,260
it relevant to say the mission was 

1184
00:46:25,260 --> 00:46:27,260
successfully accomplished in 

1185
00:46:27,260 --> 00:46:29,371
Afghanistan ? I assume you're talking 

1186
00:46:29,371 --> 00:46:30,982
about the U . S . Mission in 

1187
00:46:30,982 --> 00:46:33,110
Afghanistan . The president has said 

1188
00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:35,736
that we accomplished the mission for 

1189
00:46:35,736 --> 00:46:37,402
which our troops were sent to 

1190
00:46:37,402 --> 00:46:40,320
Afghanistan and that was to disrupt and 

1191
00:46:40,320 --> 00:46:42,810
defeat al Qaeda and the threat that al 

1192
00:46:42,810 --> 00:46:45,220
Qaeda represented to the homeland . Uh 

1193
00:46:45,230 --> 00:46:47,450
and that mission has been complete . 

1194
00:46:47,460 --> 00:46:49,571
The president's made that clear , But 

1195
00:46:49,571 --> 00:46:52,600
we are going back 20 years back . The 

1196
00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:54,711
other thing the president has said is 

1197
00:46:54,711 --> 00:46:56,378
that we're not going to allow 

1198
00:46:56,378 --> 00:46:58,378
Afghanistan to be a safe haven from 

1199
00:46:58,378 --> 00:47:00,489
which terrorist groups can attack the 

1200
00:47:00,489 --> 00:47:02,544
homeland . That's why we're going to 

1201
00:47:02,544 --> 00:47:04,156
maintain an over the horizon 

1202
00:47:04,156 --> 00:47:06,100
counterterrorism capability in the 

1203
00:47:06,100 --> 00:47:07,600
region . One more question 

1204
00:47:09,980 --> 00:47:12,300
there would be a collective response 

1205
00:47:12,300 --> 00:47:15,800
for the attack against a nurse , a ship , 

1206
00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:19,790
the Mercer , the Iran and the Arab . C 

1207
00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:23,210
the question , are you engaged , are 

1208
00:47:23,210 --> 00:47:25,010
you going to be engaged in this 

1209
00:47:25,010 --> 00:47:27,900
collective response ? I'm not gonna 

1210
00:47:27,900 --> 00:47:30,410
speak to potential operations of the 

1211
00:47:30,410 --> 00:47:33,490
United States military at all . I never 

1212
00:47:33,490 --> 00:47:37,470
do . But , uh , I believe 

1213
00:47:37,470 --> 00:47:39,692
what Secretary blanket was referring to 

1214
00:47:39,692 --> 00:47:42,850
was an overall interagency effort , uh , 

1215
00:47:42,860 --> 00:47:45,930
to better deal with the continued 

1216
00:47:45,930 --> 00:47:49,130
threats posed by Iran and for their 

1217
00:47:49,130 --> 00:47:51,520
support , uh , to terrorist networks 

1218
00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:54,490
which we call on them to stop . Okay , 

1219
00:47:55,180 --> 00:47:57,210
um , Sam Lagrone us . And I , 

1220
00:47:58,980 --> 00:48:01,036
hey john , just following up on that 

1221
00:48:01,036 --> 00:48:04,040
point , it looks to be that , you know , 

1222
00:48:04,040 --> 00:48:08,000
Iran is continuing to harass merchant 

1223
00:48:08,010 --> 00:48:11,500
ships in the Middle East . Specifically , 

1224
00:48:11,500 --> 00:48:13,440
there's some relatively credible 

1225
00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:16,230
circumstantial evidence that , um , you 

1226
00:48:16,230 --> 00:48:18,270
know , an Iranian military force 

1227
00:48:18,280 --> 00:48:20,710
attempted to seize control of a 

1228
00:48:20,710 --> 00:48:22,560
merchant ship . I mean , is the 

1229
00:48:22,560 --> 00:48:24,900
secretary concerned at the level of 

1230
00:48:24,900 --> 00:48:27,760
rising , um , you know , seemingly 

1231
00:48:27,760 --> 00:48:31,120
Iranian actions or Iranian enable proxy 

1232
00:48:31,120 --> 00:48:33,176
actions against merchant shipping in 

1233
00:48:33,176 --> 00:48:35,480
the region ? I think it's fair to say 

1234
00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:37,424
that we're concerned as we watch , 

1235
00:48:37,424 --> 00:48:39,950
Iran's increasingly aggressive and 

1236
00:48:39,960 --> 00:48:42,071
malign behavior throughout the region 

1237
00:48:42,071 --> 00:48:43,960
without speaking to an individual 

1238
00:48:43,960 --> 00:48:46,182
situation . You cited two , but without 

1239
00:48:46,182 --> 00:48:48,293
speaking to anyone in particular , we 

1240
00:48:48,293 --> 00:48:50,182
obviously are watching with great 

1241
00:48:50,182 --> 00:48:52,520
concern . Uh , Iran's continued use of 

1242
00:48:52,530 --> 00:48:54,710
intimidation and aggression in the 

1243
00:48:54,710 --> 00:48:56,877
region . And of course their support , 

1244
00:48:56,877 --> 00:48:58,520
continued support for proxy 

1245
00:48:58,530 --> 00:49:02,510
uh proxy militia as 

1246
00:49:02,510 --> 00:49:04,600
well as proxy terrorist groups . Are 

1247
00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:08,000
you ? Um , but I'm glad you're okay joe . 

1248
00:49:08,570 --> 00:49:10,848
I think I think we might have lost him . 

1249
00:49:10,848 --> 00:49:13,014
Let me go to Jeff and then I'll finish 

1250
00:49:13,014 --> 00:49:15,181
up with you . Jim . Okay , Jeff show , 

1251
00:49:15,770 --> 00:49:18,710
thank you . I can't hear you . Someone 

1252
00:49:18,710 --> 00:49:20,800
is having a phone conversation while 

1253
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:23,430
this briefing is going on . Thank you . 

1254
00:49:23,440 --> 00:49:26,840
Uh Mr Kirby just a quick question . Let 

1255
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:29,980
me tell you , go ahead . I can't say 

1256
00:49:29,980 --> 00:49:32,240
what might happen if someone refuses to 

1257
00:49:32,240 --> 00:49:34,351
get vaccinated . But you can say what 

1258
00:49:34,351 --> 00:49:36,407
happens if one refuses to get one of 

1259
00:49:36,407 --> 00:49:39,220
the 17 mandatory vaccines . Now , as 

1260
00:49:39,220 --> 00:49:41,290
things now stand what happened , 

1261
00:49:42,870 --> 00:49:45,560
Jeff ? I think I got the gist of the 

1262
00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:47,727
question . That's okay . I think I got 

1263
00:49:47,727 --> 00:49:50,004
the gist of the question . Okay . Okay . 

1264
00:49:50,004 --> 00:49:51,949
So I'll contact them and have them 

1265
00:49:51,949 --> 00:49:54,171
shipped to you guys , basically . Oh my 

1266
00:49:54,171 --> 00:49:57,080
God , can you hear me all right , dude , 

1267
00:49:57,080 --> 00:50:01,030
News hour you're on . Hello ? 

1268
00:50:01,030 --> 00:50:03,197
Can you hear me , Jeff ? Is that you ? 

1269
00:50:03,197 --> 00:50:05,540
Yes , I'm so sorry . Okay , my question 

1270
00:50:05,540 --> 00:50:07,710
is Jeff , Jeff . I got your question . 

1271
00:50:07,720 --> 00:50:09,998
I got it . You don't need to repeat it . 

1272
00:50:09,998 --> 00:50:13,100
I got it . I got it . Um uh I'm not 

1273
00:50:13,100 --> 00:50:15,230
gonna lie . I understand the question 

1274
00:50:15,230 --> 00:50:18,260
and I certainly can't speak to every 

1275
00:50:18,260 --> 00:50:22,220
case where uh an individual 

1276
00:50:22,230 --> 00:50:25,950
member of the Armed Services in refuses 

1277
00:50:25,950 --> 00:50:29,370
to uh take a required vaccine . First 

1278
00:50:29,370 --> 00:50:32,330
of all . Uh we don't have any evidence 

1279
00:50:32,330 --> 00:50:35,180
that suggests that this is a widespread 

1280
00:50:35,180 --> 00:50:38,590
problem right now . Um And um I mean , 

1281
00:50:38,590 --> 00:50:40,820
I think members of the military 

1282
00:50:40,830 --> 00:50:42,880
understand when you sign up for the 

1283
00:50:42,880 --> 00:50:45,047
military , that there are requirements 

1284
00:50:45,047 --> 00:50:47,158
laid upon you . And and some of those 

1285
00:50:47,158 --> 00:50:49,324
requirements include being healthy and 

1286
00:50:49,324 --> 00:50:51,580
fit and ready to serve . And the some 

1287
00:50:51,580 --> 00:50:55,280
of that depends on your uh , 

1288
00:50:55,860 --> 00:50:58,880
you know , our requirement to make sure 

1289
00:50:58,880 --> 00:51:00,850
you're fit and healthy through 

1290
00:51:00,850 --> 00:51:03,200
inoculation and vaccination , uh as 

1291
00:51:03,200 --> 00:51:05,600
well as a whole host of other medical 

1292
00:51:05,600 --> 00:51:07,700
treatment that that you get when uh 

1293
00:51:07,710 --> 00:51:10,230
when you sign up . So we just it isn't 

1294
00:51:10,240 --> 00:51:12,460
a widespread issue , uh and to the 

1295
00:51:12,460 --> 00:51:15,020
degree that it happens . Um My 

1296
00:51:15,020 --> 00:51:17,131
assumption is that that is dealt with 

1297
00:51:17,131 --> 00:51:19,610
at the command level . Uh And I would 

1298
00:51:19,610 --> 00:51:21,554
again , I'm not going to speculate 

1299
00:51:21,554 --> 00:51:24,130
about going forward here , but I would 

1300
00:51:24,130 --> 00:51:27,350
again point you to what the secretary 

1301
00:51:27,350 --> 00:51:29,128
said in his memo today as every 

1302
00:51:29,128 --> 00:51:32,030
expectation that commanders , uh once 

1303
00:51:32,030 --> 00:51:33,974
this new vaccination program is in 

1304
00:51:33,974 --> 00:51:35,919
place , i . E . It's mandatory are 

1305
00:51:35,919 --> 00:51:37,863
going to implement that , that new 

1306
00:51:37,863 --> 00:51:40,180
program with skill and with 

1307
00:51:40,180 --> 00:51:42,236
professionalism , the same skill and 

1308
00:51:42,236 --> 00:51:44,013
professionalism they do now for 

1309
00:51:44,013 --> 00:51:46,180
existing mandatory vaccines as well as 

1310
00:51:46,180 --> 00:51:49,940
compassion . Jim . Just sort of build 

1311
00:51:49,940 --> 00:51:52,051
on that . I guess it's something like 

1312
00:51:52,051 --> 00:51:55,730
73% of the active duty force now has 

1313
00:51:55,730 --> 00:51:58,770
had at least one shot of uh 

1314
00:51:58,780 --> 00:52:02,370
vaccine . And probably the last 

1315
00:52:02,380 --> 00:52:04,760
third of the secretary's memo was 

1316
00:52:04,770 --> 00:52:08,470
urging service members to to just get 

1317
00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:12,210
the vaccine . Given that the the delta 

1318
00:52:12,210 --> 00:52:14,266
variant is already sort of driven up 

1319
00:52:14,266 --> 00:52:16,790
vaccination levels . Do you do you 

1320
00:52:16,790 --> 00:52:20,170
expect that that alone in putting this 

1321
00:52:20,340 --> 00:52:22,760
sep mid september date on that might 

1322
00:52:23,250 --> 00:52:26,230
make a lot of guys and gals who are who 

1323
00:52:26,230 --> 00:52:29,870
are on the fence , go and get the guys . 

1324
00:52:29,880 --> 00:52:33,380
We certainly hope so jim again . As I 

1325
00:52:33,390 --> 00:52:35,334
said , I think it was an answer to 

1326
00:52:35,334 --> 00:52:37,501
Megan . You can consider this memo not 

1327
00:52:37,501 --> 00:52:39,690
just a warning order to the services 

1328
00:52:39,690 --> 00:52:41,840
but to the troops themselves . Uh and 

1329
00:52:41,840 --> 00:52:43,951
we certainly hope that they will take 

1330
00:52:43,951 --> 00:52:46,173
advantage of the opportunity to get the 

1331
00:52:46,173 --> 00:52:49,150
vaccines now that are available now to 

1332
00:52:49,150 --> 00:52:52,360
them on a voluntary basis . Um That's 

1333
00:52:52,370 --> 00:52:55,710
that's obviously uh potential effect 

1334
00:52:55,710 --> 00:52:57,760
that we'd like to see achieved as a 

1335
00:52:57,760 --> 00:53:00,390
result of the secretary's message . But 

1336
00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:02,740
if they don't eventually we're going to 

1337
00:53:02,740 --> 00:53:05,500
get to a mandatory uh sort of regimen 

1338
00:53:05,500 --> 00:53:07,770
and uh and we'll take care of it then 

1339
00:53:08,150 --> 00:53:10,372
okay . Thanks everybody appreciate it . 

1340
00:53:12,330 --> 00:53:16,230
And 73% of the of the force has 

1341
00:53:16,230 --> 00:53:19,060
been received one dose and I can get to 

1342
00:53:19,060 --> 00:53:21,116
the exact number . But I think we're 

1343
00:53:21,116 --> 00:53:24,520
over 60 something like to 62% are fully 

1344
00:53:24,520 --> 00:53:27,380
vaccinated . It's active duty . 

1345
00:53:27,530 --> 00:53:30,570
Thank you . 

1346
00:53:32,250 --> 00:53:33,060
Mhm . Mhm .