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done . Okay , Thank you , 

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janie . Did you go ? Were you over 

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there ? 

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We had another mission more important 

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than covering the Secretary of Defense . 

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No kidding . Well , you did . I didn't 

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see you there . Where ? But I covered 

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the watch . Mm hmm . 

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I'll take your word for it . All right . 

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Just a couple of things at the top . 

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Hopefully . Um , you had a chance to 

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see the secretary's condolence 

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statement about the passing of former 

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Senator bob dole . I just want to 

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reiterate , um , the key points of that , 

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obviously , that he was a true american 

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hero bravely served in World War Two , 

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uh , in Italy , uh , suffered grievous 

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wounds trying to help save the life of 

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one of his troopers . And uh , and then 

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of course , went on to an incredible 

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life of public service and all of us 

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here at the Department of Defense . I 

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want to express our condolences , our 

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thoughts and prayers to the , to the 

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Dole family . Um , hopefully you also 

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got a chance to see the Secretary's 

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statement on um , 

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inherent risks the Department of a 

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potential long term continuing 

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resolution . Now , there is a 

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continuing resolution that has been , 

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that was passed . Of course , you , you 

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saw that over the weekend , um , ends 

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in middle mid february . But we have 

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seen some suggestions . Some people are 

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talking about the potential for a 

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longer term . It maybe even as long as 

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a full year . And secretary wanted to 

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lay out clearly his concerns about that . 

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I won't reiterate those . Hopefully 

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you've seen those statements , but 

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essentially it really does tie the 

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department's hands when it comes to 

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flexibility , uh , in terms of 

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budgeting and and starting new programs 

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building new ships , really advancing 

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new capabilities . So , uh , he 

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continues to urge Congress uh , uh , to 

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pass an appropriations bill that funds 

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us at the President's request for this 

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fiscal year so that we can continue to 

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do the job we need to do to defend the 

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nation . And again , if you haven't 

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seen that , it's um , it's on our site . 

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Um I do want to announce that the 

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secretary has now approved the next 

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round of departmental advisory boards 

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and committees for resumption of of 

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duties and operations of the three that 

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we can announce that we are going to 

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resume and are the Defense Advisory 

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Committee on Military Personnel testing . 

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The board of advisors for the Joint 

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artificial Intelligence Center and the 

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Reserve Forces Policy board positions 

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for these boards will be filled now in 

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the coming weeks and we'll be 

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transparent with you as that happens . 

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But I did think it was important to let 

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you know that that we did restore and 

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announce the resumption of of those 

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three boards . We look forward to 

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getting them filled and seeing them get 

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to work and provide useful advice and 

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counsel for the department . Um On a 

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personal note , we're pleased to 

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announce the arrival of Mr Kingston 

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Reef as the new Deputy Assistant 

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Secretary of Defense threat reduction 

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and Arms control . And that's part of 

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the acquisition and sustainment team . 

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Kingston joined the team right at the 

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end of last month , November 29 . And 

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he comes to the department uh from a 

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job as the former director of uh 

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disarmament and threat reduction policy 

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at the Arms Control Association . So we 

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welcome aboard , glad to have him here 

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and look forward to his expertise going 

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forward . And then finally tomorrow I 

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think you all know is the 80th 

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anniversary of the attack on Pearl 

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Harbor . Secretary of the Navy , Carlos 

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del Toro will be the keynote speaker at 

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an event out there in Hawaii attended 

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by approximately 40 Pearl Harbor 

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survivors . The event will begin at 1 

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40 Eastern time . Uh It will be 

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livestreamed obviously on our website 

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then at four PM Eastern time . Uh the U . 

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S . Navy in partnership with the 

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Department of Defense P . O . W . M . I . 

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A accounting agency and the National 

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Memorial Cemetery of the pacific will 

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host the re internment for the 33 

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remaining Unknown sailors who were 

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lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor 

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aboard the USS Oklahoma . Through the 

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six year effort of project Oklahoma . 

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355 of 388 sailors and 

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Marines have been identified . So 

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incredible work . Uh And we're grateful 

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for everything that the P . O . W . M . 

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I . A . Office is doing out there in 

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Hawaii . You know , the secretary had a 

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chance to visit with them . Uh not too 

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long ago . It truly is incredible what 

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they , what they're doing uh to provide 

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some closure . Not just for the United 

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States Navy and Marine Corps but also 

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for so many families of World War Two 

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veterans . Okay with that . We'll start 

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with you later . Thanks john . Um can 

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you update us on Ukraine and the 

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secretaries uh schedule ? Has he had 

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any meetings uh in the last couple of 

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days on Ukraine or any plans for later 

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today to sort of discuss ongoing 

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military build up of Russian troops on 

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the ground there . And has there been 

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any discussion about increasing 

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military aid specifically ? Are there 

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any military advisers on the ground ? 

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Or is there any talk about putting 

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advisers on the ground there ? Thanks a 

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lot there . Elita I can tell you that 

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the Secretary did chair a meeting this 

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morning um with key departmental 

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leaders including the Chairman of the 

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Joint Chiefs of Staff and General 

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Walters out at Yukon to discuss the 

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situation in 

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in Ukraine and of course in Western 

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Russia , um I won't get into 

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intelligence assessments but he is 

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staying very keenly and closely 

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informed by uh senior military 

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and policy leaders here at the 

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department about what we continue to 

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see and what we continue to see is um 

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uh added capability that 

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that President Putin continues to add 

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added military capability uh in the in 

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the western part of his country and 

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around Ukraine . Uh I'm not going to 

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get ahead of uh decisions one way or 

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another that the administration uh May 

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or may not make here Leader as you know , 

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President biden will be calling and 

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talking to President Putin tomorrow . 

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Um I think we need to let that 

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conversation happen . What I would um 

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what I would point you to is the 

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secretary's comments over the weekend 

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when he was out at the Reagan National 

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Defense Forum where you know , he said 

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and and still believes that the 

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diplomacy and leadership can still make 

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a difference here um and that there 

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needs to be space for that diplomacy 

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and for that leadership uh to come to 

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play to try to get an outcome here that 

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is destabilizing and that doesn't 

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result in any sort of open or armed 

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conflict . Yeah , tom there's still us 

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military trainers in Ukraine if so , 

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how many what kind of training you're 

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providing and also what kind of 

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military equipment is still being 

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provided to Ukraine . I don't have a 

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specific number of advisors that may or 

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may not be on the ground . As you know , 

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tom that's a sort of a rotational thing 

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and it's been ah um it's been in 

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keeping with longstanding support by 

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two different administrations about 

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making sure that Ukraine can continue 

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to defend itself . I don't have an 

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update on uh on specifics with that 

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with that . Um I don't I don't have an 

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update tom I don't I'm not gonna 

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Speculate one way or another on that . 

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You have seen this administration as 

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well as previous administrations 

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continue to provide security assistance 

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to Ukraine . Again , I'm not going to 

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get ahead of decisions that haven't 

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been made yet , but , but we have 

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Provided millions of dollars worth of 

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lethal and non lethal assistance to 

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Ukraine in just the last , you know , 

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10 months , 11 months . Uh , it has 

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included , uh , antitank weapons . 

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Absolutely , but also non lethal 

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assistance as well . Um , and as you 

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heard the Secretary say , um , you know , 

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over the weekend , we're going to 

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continue to look at that . Uh , and uh , 

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and nothing has changed about our 

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commitment to making sure that Ukraine 

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has what it needs to defend itself . 

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And it's not just the United States tom 

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as you know , I mean , other NATO 

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allies and partners have also helped 

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contribute to Ukraine's capabilities 

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over the last several years . But again , 

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I want to go back to what I said before . 

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Uh , we don't believe that conflict is 

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inevitable here and that there is time 

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and space and there's there's room for 

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diplomacy here to reach the best 

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possible outcome . Yeah . Thanks , john , 

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two questions the same topic . How was 

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Secretary Austin reassuring NATO 

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eastern flank allies about this Russia 

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troop build up ? But there's some 

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specifics , additional rotations or 

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capabilities . There's a lot of promise 

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of assuring the defenses of those NATO 

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allies , but what what is he doing ? 

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Well , Abraham , I would , first of all , 

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you're right , we are reassuring our 

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allies and partners in NATO across NATO , 

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not just in eastern flank , but 

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certainly in the eastern flank of of 

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our commitment to them and to the 

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alliance . There's no question about 

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that . I don't have new proposals or 

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initiatives to announce today , but I 

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would remind you , we've already done 

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an awful lot through the european 

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Reassurance Initiative that was started 

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in the Obama administration and 

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continued right up through today . Um 

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to make sure that we have uh 

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a credible rotational deployment scheme 

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throughout many of those nations uh 

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that continues today . So again , I 

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don't have any additions to add but but 

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nothing has changed about the 

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rotational support and assistance that 

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training the exercises that were 

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conducting with many of these countries , 

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all that continues . If I may just 

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another question on the cr impact . Can 

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you talk about how that might impact 

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research and development ? Especially 

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in hypersonic . If there's a yearlong 

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continuing resolution , the Secretary 

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does believe that it will have an 

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impact on our research and development 

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programs . I think , you know , we 

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submitted with this budget , the 

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largest ever request for R and D 

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uh for science and technology , R and D . 

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Um and not being able to start those 

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initiatives will definitely have an 

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impact , not just on hypersonic and I 

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understand the interest in hypersonic , 

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but it goes beyond that . Um you've 

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heard the Secretary talked about 

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integrated deterrence and making sure 

274
00:10:49,278 --> 00:10:49,250
we have and he talked about this on 

275
00:10:49,250 --> 00:10:51,306
saturday and making sure we have the 

276
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technology in place um to better defend 

277
00:10:53,528 --> 00:10:55,750
this nation against threats such as the 

278
00:10:55,750 --> 00:10:57,750
kinds of threats that could emanate 

279
00:10:57,750 --> 00:11:00,300
from places like Russia and china . Um 

280
00:11:00,310 --> 00:11:03,030
and when you can't start new programs , 

281
00:11:03,030 --> 00:11:05,086
when you can't begin to , you know , 

282
00:11:05,086 --> 00:11:07,197
you don't have that money to spend on 

283
00:11:07,197 --> 00:11:09,419
that sort of investment . It absolutely 

284
00:11:09,419 --> 00:11:11,197
will affect your ability , your 

285
00:11:11,197 --> 00:11:11,090
capabilities going forward . You have 

286
00:11:11,090 --> 00:11:13,201
another question though that I missed 

287
00:11:13,201 --> 00:11:15,400
on this . Okay , let me go back to the 

288
00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:17,150
phones here , louis Martinez . 

289
00:11:21,540 --> 00:11:24,280
Hi jim . Thanks for taking the question 

290
00:11:24,290 --> 00:11:26,800
um with regards to Ukraine . Yeah , I 

291
00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:28,689
know you said you have nothing to 

292
00:11:28,689 --> 00:11:30,800
announce at this time . But does that 

293
00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:30,630
mean that there's been some planning or 

294
00:11:30,630 --> 00:11:33,220
some consideration about additional aid 

295
00:11:33,220 --> 00:11:37,180
packages to Ukraine . And also over 

296
00:11:37,180 --> 00:11:39,402
the weekend there were some claims made 

297
00:11:39,402 --> 00:11:41,347
by the Russian Ministry of Defense 

298
00:11:41,347 --> 00:11:43,513
about some um intercepts that may have 

299
00:11:43,513 --> 00:11:45,680
gone maybe a little too dangerous . If 

300
00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:47,736
you have any comment on that . Thank 

301
00:11:47,736 --> 00:11:49,902
you on the on the first one . I'm just 

302
00:11:49,902 --> 00:11:51,958
not gonna get ahead of decisions and 

303
00:11:51,958 --> 00:11:54,069
options that uh that the president is 

304
00:11:54,069 --> 00:11:56,291
going to consider . So I don't want you 

305
00:11:56,291 --> 00:11:58,458
to read more or less into that louis . 

306
00:11:58,458 --> 00:12:00,458
I'm not trying to signal that , you 

307
00:12:00,458 --> 00:12:02,569
know , some things in the offing back 

308
00:12:02,569 --> 00:12:04,624
to my answer to tom I mean , we have 

309
00:12:04,624 --> 00:12:06,680
provided tens of millions of dollars 

310
00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:08,680
just in the last year , less than a 

311
00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:10,680
year uh to assist Ukraine and their 

312
00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:12,902
self defense capability . Um and as the 

313
00:12:12,902 --> 00:12:14,902
secretary himself said , you know , 

314
00:12:14,902 --> 00:12:17,013
we're going to constantly review that 

315
00:12:17,013 --> 00:12:19,400
and look at that and um uh and uh and 

316
00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:20,844
make whatever appropriate 

317
00:12:20,844 --> 00:12:23,067
recommendations are going forward , but 

318
00:12:23,067 --> 00:12:25,820
I'm not gonna get ahead of um of the 

319
00:12:25,820 --> 00:12:28,153
president or the administration on this . 

320
00:12:28,153 --> 00:12:30,330
And then on your second question about 

321
00:12:30,330 --> 00:12:33,140
the intercepts , I did see uh some 

322
00:12:33,140 --> 00:12:35,500
comments made by Russian authorities 

323
00:12:35,510 --> 00:12:38,340
about an intercept and I think you 

324
00:12:38,340 --> 00:12:40,229
probably saw european command has 

325
00:12:40,229 --> 00:12:42,062
already addressed this . Uh this 

326
00:12:42,062 --> 00:12:44,173
particular incident they were talking 

327
00:12:44,173 --> 00:12:47,390
about , I had to do with risk to a 

328
00:12:47,390 --> 00:12:49,420
civilian airliner from US military 

329
00:12:49,420 --> 00:12:52,340
aircraft . Um there was no such risk , 

330
00:12:52,350 --> 00:12:55,840
there was no such uh unsafe or 

331
00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:58,062
unprofessional interactions , certainly 

332
00:12:58,062 --> 00:13:00,229
not by the United States military . Um 

333
00:13:00,229 --> 00:13:03,340
It was it was a matter that was simply 

334
00:13:03,340 --> 00:13:07,210
resolved by common sense and routine 

335
00:13:07,210 --> 00:13:09,043
air traffic control procedures . 

336
00:13:09,043 --> 00:13:11,570
Getting two aircraft that were um that 

337
00:13:11,570 --> 00:13:13,792
were at the same altitude , did not fly 

338
00:13:13,792 --> 00:13:16,126
at the same altitude . And this happens , 

339
00:13:16,126 --> 00:13:18,237
you know , thousands of times all all 

340
00:13:18,237 --> 00:13:20,070
over the world and all manner of 

341
00:13:20,070 --> 00:13:22,340
different circumstances . So our 

342
00:13:22,340 --> 00:13:25,640
Russian friends were uh speaking of it 

343
00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:27,980
hyperbolically about an incident that 

344
00:13:27,980 --> 00:13:31,670
actually didn't occur jenny , thank you , 

345
00:13:31,670 --> 00:13:35,500
dan . Last week , the United States 

346
00:13:35,500 --> 00:13:39,340
and rok Defense Secretary 

347
00:13:39,350 --> 00:13:41,490
meeting in South Korea . 

348
00:13:42,990 --> 00:13:43,640
Secretary 

349
00:13:52,790 --> 00:13:56,530
Secretary Austin noticed that in the 

350
00:13:56,540 --> 00:13:59,560
pacific region it's a top 

351
00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:03,030
reality for the U . S . Department of 

352
00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,420
Defense and South Korea is aware 

353
00:14:06,430 --> 00:14:09,680
that the United stated in the 

354
00:14:09,690 --> 00:14:13,160
pacific strategizing is 

355
00:14:13,170 --> 00:14:17,070
primarily after 

356
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,600
complaining china , that's just how 

357
00:14:20,620 --> 00:14:23,350
could I say that . So 

358
00:14:24,140 --> 00:14:27,370
therefore I was government . 

359
00:14:28,130 --> 00:14:31,020
It is a still reluctant to join in the 

360
00:14:31,030 --> 00:14:32,960
pacific and the quad 

361
00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,940
concepts of china according to your 

362
00:14:37,950 --> 00:14:41,470
colleague . So there's a lot there . I 

363
00:14:41,470 --> 00:14:44,960
mean , first of all , um 

364
00:14:47,740 --> 00:14:49,962
our approach to the indo pacific is not 

365
00:14:49,962 --> 00:14:52,630
about containing china or any other 

366
00:14:52,630 --> 00:14:56,200
nation . Um uh It is 

367
00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:59,760
uh about frankly dealing with the 

368
00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,240
continued challenges to a free and open 

369
00:15:03,250 --> 00:15:05,720
indo pacific that we see mounted by 

370
00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,090
china , the coercion of their neighbors 

371
00:15:08,090 --> 00:15:11,370
and economic aggressiveness as well as 

372
00:15:11,570 --> 00:15:13,737
maritime aggressiveness , particularly 

373
00:15:13,737 --> 00:15:16,600
in the south china sea . Um So there's 

374
00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:18,822
a lot of national security interests at 

375
00:15:18,822 --> 00:15:20,933
play in the indo pacific china is not 

376
00:15:20,933 --> 00:15:23,156
the only one . Certainly it is a as the 

377
00:15:23,156 --> 00:15:25,378
secretary said , a pacing challenge for 

378
00:15:25,378 --> 00:15:29,160
this department and significant and he 

379
00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,271
had the opportunity to talk about the 

380
00:15:31,271 --> 00:15:33,382
pacing challenge of china when he was 

381
00:15:33,382 --> 00:15:37,030
in Seoul for his second visit . Uh And 

382
00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:39,260
uh and I think that I won't speak for 

383
00:15:39,260 --> 00:15:43,060
ministers saw but uh the 

384
00:15:43,060 --> 00:15:45,960
Minister recognized and and seize those 

385
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:48,071
challenges for themselves . They they 

386
00:15:48,071 --> 00:15:51,030
see that as well . Um But primarily the 

387
00:15:51,030 --> 00:15:53,060
discussion in Seoul was about the 

388
00:15:53,060 --> 00:15:55,282
threat posed by North Korea and threats 

389
00:15:55,282 --> 00:15:57,504
to stability , stability , and security 

390
00:15:57,504 --> 00:15:59,671
on the korean peninsula . And a chance 

391
00:15:59,671 --> 00:16:01,740
for the Secretary to reiterate our 

392
00:16:01,750 --> 00:16:04,930
ironclad commitment to our alliance 

393
00:16:04,940 --> 00:16:07,850
with the rok and to our shared national 

394
00:16:07,850 --> 00:16:09,628
security interests there on the 

395
00:16:09,628 --> 00:16:11,710
peninsula , to making sure that we 

396
00:16:11,710 --> 00:16:13,877
continue to work towards the goal of a 

397
00:16:13,877 --> 00:16:16,650
denuclearized peninsula . That was that 

398
00:16:16,650 --> 00:16:20,480
was the focus . Now I um uh I will 

399
00:16:20,490 --> 00:16:22,546
won't speak for South korean leaders 

400
00:16:22,546 --> 00:16:25,200
and uh and uh and how they view the 

401
00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:27,960
region and uh and what priorities uh 

402
00:16:27,970 --> 00:16:30,390
they're putting on their own peace and 

403
00:16:30,390 --> 00:16:32,557
security that's for them to speak to . 

404
00:16:32,557 --> 00:16:34,668
But I can tell you that the secretary 

405
00:16:34,668 --> 00:16:36,770
left Seoul more confident than ever 

406
00:16:36,780 --> 00:16:39,040
that this alliance was in a very good 

407
00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,820
place and that we were both uniformly 

408
00:16:42,940 --> 00:16:45,051
committed to making it stronger going 

409
00:16:45,051 --> 00:16:47,920
forward . Okay . Regarding the U . S . 

410
00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:50,760
And South Korea , agree the 

411
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,460
strategic in a plane . You you 

412
00:16:54,460 --> 00:16:58,380
started the plane on this and back 

413
00:16:58,390 --> 00:17:01,890
rest from North Korea and China is 

414
00:17:01,890 --> 00:17:05,330
expected . China is more 

415
00:17:05,330 --> 00:17:08,070
pressure to South Korea . It's a 

416
00:17:08,070 --> 00:17:10,970
significant right now the reaction to 

417
00:17:10,980 --> 00:17:14,420
what we have previously . So what is 

418
00:17:14,420 --> 00:17:17,310
your comment for this ? Chinese gonna 

419
00:17:17,350 --> 00:17:19,930
diplomatically pressure to North and 

420
00:17:19,940 --> 00:17:23,340
South Korea ? How did you respond on 

421
00:17:23,350 --> 00:17:26,250
this ? Well look , a couple of things 

422
00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:28,417
that we're not making countries choose 

423
00:17:28,417 --> 00:17:30,528
between the United States and china . 

424
00:17:30,528 --> 00:17:33,790
And we understand that South Korea has 

425
00:17:33,790 --> 00:17:35,901
a bilateral relationship with china . 

426
00:17:35,901 --> 00:17:37,623
We respect that . I mean there 

427
00:17:37,940 --> 00:17:40,470
practically neighbors in all respects 

428
00:17:40,470 --> 00:17:43,010
they actually are . Uh And so we 

429
00:17:43,010 --> 00:17:45,010
understand that and they're not the 

430
00:17:45,010 --> 00:17:47,040
only indo pacific nation that has a 

431
00:17:47,050 --> 00:17:49,270
bilateral relationship with china that 

432
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:51,807
that is different than the one that we 

433
00:17:51,807 --> 00:17:54,350
have and we respect that um 

434
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,360
what we continue to see china do with 

435
00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:01,690
uh nations throughout the region is to 

436
00:18:01,690 --> 00:18:05,200
coerce and intimidate uh to try to 

437
00:18:05,210 --> 00:18:08,360
uh move them two 

438
00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,690
positions of policy , uh an orientation 

439
00:18:12,690 --> 00:18:14,860
that are more in keeping with china's 

440
00:18:14,860 --> 00:18:16,971
view of what the region ought to look 

441
00:18:16,971 --> 00:18:19,082
like and be like uh than what most of 

442
00:18:19,082 --> 00:18:21,304
the international community feels . And 

443
00:18:21,304 --> 00:18:23,360
certainly our concerns in the United 

444
00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:25,471
States is that a lot of what china is 

445
00:18:25,471 --> 00:18:27,416
trying to achieve in the region is 

446
00:18:27,416 --> 00:18:29,638
actually inimical to what we believe is 

447
00:18:29,638 --> 00:18:31,804
in our national security interests and 

448
00:18:31,804 --> 00:18:33,749
certainly in the national security 

449
00:18:33,749 --> 00:18:35,916
interests of our allies and partners . 

450
00:18:35,916 --> 00:18:37,971
I would remind you five of our seven 

451
00:18:37,971 --> 00:18:40,193
treaty alliances are in that region and 

452
00:18:40,193 --> 00:18:39,270
we take those commitments very 

453
00:18:39,270 --> 00:18:41,437
seriously . Again , I'll let the south 

454
00:18:41,437 --> 00:18:43,326
Koreans speak for their bilateral 

455
00:18:43,326 --> 00:18:45,381
relations . It's a sovereign country 

456
00:18:45,381 --> 00:18:47,437
and they should do that . But we are 

457
00:18:47,437 --> 00:18:49,603
not unmindful of the kinds of coercive 

458
00:18:49,603 --> 00:18:51,810
nous and uh and intimidation that that 

459
00:18:51,820 --> 00:18:53,487
china continues to perpetuate 

460
00:18:53,487 --> 00:18:55,770
throughout the region . Yep , college . 

461
00:18:56,540 --> 00:18:59,620
You two different topics , if I may 

462
00:19:00,350 --> 00:19:02,350
1st , I'm sure you've seen the Wall 

463
00:19:02,350 --> 00:19:04,350
Street Journal report about china's 

464
00:19:04,350 --> 00:19:06,294
attempt to seek a military base in 

465
00:19:06,294 --> 00:19:08,294
equatorial guinea . Can you confirm 

466
00:19:08,294 --> 00:19:10,239
that um that that that you've seen 

467
00:19:10,239 --> 00:19:12,072
evidence that they are trying to 

468
00:19:12,072 --> 00:19:14,183
establish a base there . What I would 

469
00:19:14,183 --> 00:19:16,128
just tell you as um as part of our 

470
00:19:16,128 --> 00:19:19,860
normal diplomacy to address maritime 

471
00:19:19,860 --> 00:19:22,460
security issues there in that region . 

472
00:19:22,470 --> 00:19:24,692
We have made clear , the administration 

473
00:19:24,692 --> 00:19:26,859
has made clear , I don't know what the 

474
00:19:26,859 --> 00:19:28,914
Department of Defense necessarily to 

475
00:19:28,914 --> 00:19:31,137
the leaders of equatorial guinea , that 

476
00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,220
certain potential steps involving the 

477
00:19:34,220 --> 00:19:37,990
PRC and the PRC's 

478
00:19:37,990 --> 00:19:40,760
activities there would raise national 

479
00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:42,816
security concerns for us . And we've 

480
00:19:42,940 --> 00:19:45,980
we've been uh the administration has 

481
00:19:45,980 --> 00:19:48,390
been clear about that . When you say 

482
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,730
national security concerns , can you 

483
00:19:50,740 --> 00:19:52,907
help our audience understand what some 

484
00:19:52,907 --> 00:19:55,018
of those may tell ? Well look again , 

485
00:19:55,018 --> 00:19:57,640
China's just like we're talking about 

486
00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:00,010
in the pacific in Africa . They 

487
00:20:00,010 --> 00:20:03,370
continued to try to uh course 

488
00:20:03,380 --> 00:20:07,020
behavior out of many African 

489
00:20:07,020 --> 00:20:10,320
nations uh and try to intimidate , use 

490
00:20:10,330 --> 00:20:13,770
economic leverage uh to seek their 

491
00:20:13,780 --> 00:20:17,540
own uh national security goals 

492
00:20:17,540 --> 00:20:21,190
there , which do not contribute uh in 

493
00:20:21,190 --> 00:20:24,340
the end run , we don't believe um uh to 

494
00:20:24,340 --> 00:20:26,396
the betterment of security stability 

495
00:20:26,396 --> 00:20:28,562
there and to the and for the interests 

496
00:20:28,562 --> 00:20:30,840
of many of these African nations . Now , 

497
00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,062
obviously look , these leaders of these 

498
00:20:33,062 --> 00:20:35,284
are sovereign nations uh and we respect 

499
00:20:35,284 --> 00:20:38,700
that they will have bilateral relations 

500
00:20:38,700 --> 00:20:41,300
of their own . That that's that's the 

501
00:20:41,300 --> 00:20:44,960
way the system works . Um But what we 

502
00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,360
have seen china tried to do 

503
00:20:49,140 --> 00:20:51,440
there and elsewhere around the world is 

504
00:20:51,450 --> 00:20:54,170
establish a foothold uh 

505
00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,670
that they could use um 

506
00:20:59,540 --> 00:21:02,670
that they could advance their own 

507
00:21:03,910 --> 00:21:06,870
military goals . And I think that's 

508
00:21:07,150 --> 00:21:09,261
that's the real crux of the issue . I 

509
00:21:09,261 --> 00:21:11,830
really , I don't think I want to get 

510
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:13,610
any deeper than that . Okay , 

511
00:21:13,620 --> 00:21:16,700
separately . Um The cr the continuing 

512
00:21:16,700 --> 00:21:20,050
resolution included 4.3 billion for D . 

513
00:21:20,050 --> 00:21:22,106
O . data support Afghans on military 

514
00:21:22,106 --> 00:21:24,217
basis . There's 34,000 that are still 

515
00:21:24,217 --> 00:21:26,272
on the seven bases . Can you help us 

516
00:21:26,272 --> 00:21:28,494
understand what specifically that money 

517
00:21:28,494 --> 00:21:30,606
can be used for ? And and if you have 

518
00:21:30,606 --> 00:21:32,772
any sort of update on the timeline for 

519
00:21:32,772 --> 00:21:34,994
finishing the process , could you share 

520
00:21:34,994 --> 00:21:37,217
that ? Yeah , I'll let north come speak 

521
00:21:37,217 --> 00:21:39,439
to the specifics of how they're gonna , 

522
00:21:39,439 --> 00:21:41,494
how that money is going to be broken 

523
00:21:41,494 --> 00:21:43,439
down . But I think just in general 

524
00:21:43,439 --> 00:21:45,606
carla , this is about remember the D . 

525
00:21:45,606 --> 00:21:47,661
O . D . Mission here is to provide a 

526
00:21:47,661 --> 00:21:47,390
safe and secure environment . It's 

527
00:21:47,390 --> 00:21:49,700
basically housing them while they work 

528
00:21:49,700 --> 00:21:51,850
through a process that we don't own 

529
00:21:51,860 --> 00:21:53,810
that belongs to DHS and the State 

530
00:21:53,810 --> 00:21:56,270
Department . Um And so this money and 

531
00:21:56,270 --> 00:21:58,750
more grateful for it will allow us to 

532
00:21:58,750 --> 00:22:00,806
continue that mission while we still 

533
00:22:00,806 --> 00:22:04,390
have afghans on on 

534
00:22:04,390 --> 00:22:06,557
military bases . I would tell you that 

535
00:22:06,557 --> 00:22:08,723
over the weekend and I can get you the 

536
00:22:08,723 --> 00:22:10,890
exact numbers . I don't have them here 

537
00:22:10,890 --> 00:22:14,850
handy but we have now um we 

538
00:22:14,850 --> 00:22:17,560
now have we have fewer 

539
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,840
afghans on military bases than than 

540
00:22:20,850 --> 00:22:23,660
ever before um and more now have 

541
00:22:23,660 --> 00:22:26,460
processed out than we have waiting to 

542
00:22:26,460 --> 00:22:29,330
get processed . Um So that work 

543
00:22:29,330 --> 00:22:32,800
continues . I don't have an update only 

544
00:22:32,810 --> 00:22:35,032
we have seven bases that are doing this 

545
00:22:35,032 --> 00:22:37,088
now . Um and I don't have a specific 

546
00:22:37,088 --> 00:22:39,300
update or timeline to announce on on 

547
00:22:39,310 --> 00:22:42,320
when additional basis will no longer be 

548
00:22:42,330 --> 00:22:44,880
used in that for that mission ? Fort 

549
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:47,550
lee as you know , has has halted there 

550
00:22:47,730 --> 00:22:49,619
Contributions to Operation Allies 

551
00:22:49,619 --> 00:22:51,730
Welcome . There are still seven bases 

552
00:22:51,730 --> 00:22:54,350
doing it . Um , and , and as we 

553
00:22:54,350 --> 00:22:56,890
continue to see afghans leave , that 

554
00:22:56,890 --> 00:23:00,250
will certainly Make it easier for us to , 

555
00:23:00,260 --> 00:23:02,316
to no longer have to use those seven 

556
00:23:02,316 --> 00:23:04,149
bases and be able to close those 

557
00:23:04,149 --> 00:23:06,204
missions down . I just don't have an 

558
00:23:06,204 --> 00:23:08,538
update for you on the specifics of that . 

559
00:23:08,538 --> 00:23:10,371
Just for my clarity , the 34,000 

560
00:23:10,371 --> 00:23:12,593
evacuees number . Can we just determine 

561
00:23:12,593 --> 00:23:14,649
if that's the final number after the 

562
00:23:14,649 --> 00:23:16,260
reductions of this weekend . 

563
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:21,887
If you give me a second here , I might 

564
00:23:21,887 --> 00:23:25,860
just be able to yeah , let's see here . 

565
00:23:30,540 --> 00:23:33,960
Okay , mike I'm frozen . 

566
00:23:34,540 --> 00:23:38,450
Fantastic happen to 

567
00:23:38,460 --> 00:23:41,760
be on the slope . You're a good man . 

568
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,410
Okay . So yeah , 34,077 

569
00:23:45,420 --> 00:23:48,270
locations . Um , 

570
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,470
We have a capacity for 46,000 . So 

571
00:23:52,470 --> 00:23:54,840
obviously we're not meeting that . Um , 

572
00:23:54,910 --> 00:23:57,077
did you want to break down by location 

573
00:23:57,077 --> 00:24:00,540
or I just wanted to make sure that 34 , 

574
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,310
locations , I don't have an update on , 

575
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,950
on how they're on how they're doing in 

576
00:24:05,950 --> 00:24:07,894
terms of like what the timeline is 

577
00:24:07,894 --> 00:24:11,060
going to be . Um , but we're glad to 

578
00:24:11,060 --> 00:24:13,890
see that a majority of those who came 

579
00:24:13,890 --> 00:24:15,834
to the United States have now been 

580
00:24:15,834 --> 00:24:18,960
resettled Kourtney . So just on Carla's 

581
00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:20,960
question , you said that what we've 

582
00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,016
seen is china trying to try to do is 

583
00:24:23,016 --> 00:24:24,738
establish a foothold there and 

584
00:24:24,738 --> 00:24:26,849
elsewhere . So you're confirming then 

585
00:24:26,849 --> 00:24:28,627
that china is trying to build a 

586
00:24:28,627 --> 00:24:30,793
military installation and no , I'm not 

587
00:24:30,793 --> 00:24:33,016
confirming that they're trying to build 

588
00:24:33,016 --> 00:24:32,790
a military installation in equatorial 

589
00:24:32,790 --> 00:24:35,012
guinea . I've said that we've expressed 

590
00:24:35,012 --> 00:24:37,234
leaders there are concerns our national 

591
00:24:37,234 --> 00:24:39,401
security concerns uh and we absolutely 

592
00:24:39,401 --> 00:24:41,457
have seen trying to try to establish 

593
00:24:41,457 --> 00:24:43,234
footholds . I'm not saying just 

594
00:24:43,234 --> 00:24:45,401
military footholds , just footholds in 

595
00:24:45,401 --> 00:24:47,623
other places around the world influence 

596
00:24:47,623 --> 00:24:49,790
that that they're trying to gain . And 

597
00:24:49,790 --> 00:24:52,012
what I mean , what leverage does the US 

598
00:24:52,012 --> 00:24:54,290
have over equatorial guinea ? You know , 

599
00:24:54,290 --> 00:24:54,270
but you can express that they have you 

600
00:24:54,270 --> 00:24:56,381
have national security concerns about 

601
00:24:56,381 --> 00:24:58,548
it . But I mean , what what can the US 

602
00:24:58,548 --> 00:25:01,460
do really to convince them not to allow 

603
00:25:01,460 --> 00:25:03,571
china to establish this foothold ? Is 

604
00:25:03,571 --> 00:25:05,793
there something that the US is offering 

605
00:25:05,793 --> 00:25:07,682
them or there's probably a better 

606
00:25:07,682 --> 00:25:09,682
question put to my State Department 

607
00:25:09,682 --> 00:25:11,849
colleagues ? Obviously that's a really 

608
00:25:11,849 --> 00:25:13,793
a diplomatic issue , but I would I 

609
00:25:13,793 --> 00:25:15,960
would just offer that it's not so much 

610
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,182
about leverage , It's not so much about 

611
00:25:18,182 --> 00:25:22,040
um trying to get some 

612
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,720
sort of , you know , quid pro quo here . 

613
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,700
It's really about having an honest 

614
00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:29,590
conversation with them about the 

615
00:25:29,590 --> 00:25:31,812
concerns that we have and and and we've 

616
00:25:31,812 --> 00:25:33,812
done that obviously , like I said , 

617
00:25:33,812 --> 00:25:35,979
it's a sovereign nation and we respect 

618
00:25:35,979 --> 00:25:37,979
their their right to have bilateral 

619
00:25:37,979 --> 00:25:40,090
relations uh in manners that they see 

620
00:25:40,090 --> 00:25:42,312
fit , but we wouldn't be doing right by 

621
00:25:42,312 --> 00:25:44,170
our relationship , our bilateral 

622
00:25:44,170 --> 00:25:46,226
relationship with them if we weren't 

623
00:25:46,226 --> 00:25:48,337
honest about what our concerns were ? 

624
00:25:48,337 --> 00:25:50,580
But it's not about enforcing some sort 

625
00:25:50,580 --> 00:25:52,880
of leverage on them . What level were 

626
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,102
those conversations was that like a D . 

627
00:25:55,102 --> 00:25:57,710
O . D . To ? It wasn't it wasn't the 

628
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:01,260
Department of Defense . It was done 

629
00:26:01,260 --> 00:26:03,316
through diplomatic channels . Yeah . 

630
00:26:03,740 --> 00:26:07,080
Yes sir . Thank you john my question is 

631
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,740
about Ukraine reports in US . Media 

632
00:26:10,740 --> 00:26:13,030
suggests that the U . S . Intelligence 

633
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:16,630
reach a conclusion that Russia 

634
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,390
is Planning to deploy 

635
00:26:19,650 --> 00:26:22,760
175,000 troops to the border 

636
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,780
And again planning to attack and 

637
00:26:26,780 --> 00:26:30,600
military offensive in early 2022 . 

638
00:26:30,610 --> 00:26:33,460
So does the department of defense share 

639
00:26:33,460 --> 00:26:37,000
that assessment ? And should we expect 

640
00:26:37,010 --> 00:26:39,343
an escalation in following weeks ? Yeah . 

641
00:26:39,343 --> 00:26:41,510
I think I would point you back to what 

642
00:26:41,510 --> 00:26:43,621
the Secretary said over the weekend . 

643
00:26:43,621 --> 00:26:43,610
I'm not going to get into intelligence 

644
00:26:43,610 --> 00:26:45,499
assessments . I've seen the press 

645
00:26:45,499 --> 00:26:47,610
reporting uh as as you have , I'm not 

646
00:26:47,610 --> 00:26:49,610
not going to speculate about that . 

647
00:26:49,610 --> 00:26:52,530
What I would tell you is uh we continue 

648
00:26:52,530 --> 00:26:55,830
to see a build up of military Russian 

649
00:26:55,830 --> 00:26:59,060
military forces in the areas around uh 

650
00:26:59,070 --> 00:27:01,460
eastern northeastern and eastern 

651
00:27:01,460 --> 00:27:04,740
Ukraine . But obviously in Western 

652
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,140
Russia , um this build up is concerning 

653
00:27:08,140 --> 00:27:11,880
to us . It is still not uh entirely 

654
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,120
clear what Mr Putin's intentions are . 

655
00:27:14,130 --> 00:27:17,010
Um Again , I won't speak for the White 

656
00:27:17,010 --> 00:27:19,232
House . I think that my my colleague at 

657
00:27:19,232 --> 00:27:21,343
the White House has already spoken to 

658
00:27:21,343 --> 00:27:23,454
the President's upcoming conversation 

659
00:27:23,454 --> 00:27:26,770
with President Putin . Um And ah 

660
00:27:28,140 --> 00:27:30,520
what we have done here at the 

661
00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:32,353
Department has continued to have 

662
00:27:32,353 --> 00:27:34,242
conversations with our allies and 

663
00:27:34,242 --> 00:27:36,076
partners about this situation um 

664
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:39,340
sharing with them what we can about 

665
00:27:39,340 --> 00:27:41,910
what we're seeing . Um and making sure 

666
00:27:41,910 --> 00:27:44,880
that that they know that our commitment 

667
00:27:44,890 --> 00:27:48,020
to NATO and two alliance priorities is 

668
00:27:48,030 --> 00:27:50,330
um is simply not going to change . But 

669
00:27:50,330 --> 00:27:52,552
again , I I want to go back to what the 

670
00:27:52,552 --> 00:27:54,552
secretary said . There's uh there's 

671
00:27:54,552 --> 00:27:56,719
room here for diplomacy , there's room 

672
00:27:56,719 --> 00:27:58,552
here for leadership . There's uh 

673
00:27:58,552 --> 00:28:00,719
there's no reason that this has to end 

674
00:28:00,719 --> 00:28:03,210
up in some sort of uh conflict or 

675
00:28:03,220 --> 00:28:05,320
incursion . And again , I won't get 

676
00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:07,542
ahead of the president's conversation . 

677
00:28:07,542 --> 00:28:10,050
Yeah john can you give him any update 

678
00:28:10,050 --> 00:28:12,106
or any more information on the Syria 

679
00:28:12,106 --> 00:28:14,272
drones , drug from friday . Uh D . O . 

680
00:28:14,272 --> 00:28:16,217
D . Had said there was a senior Al 

681
00:28:16,217 --> 00:28:16,190
Qaeda leader and planner that was 

682
00:28:16,190 --> 00:28:18,412
killed . Can you identify him ? And can 

683
00:28:18,412 --> 00:28:20,023
you give an update on on the 

684
00:28:20,023 --> 00:28:22,301
investigation into civilian casualties ? 

685
00:28:23,940 --> 00:28:27,490
So what I can confirm is that a senior 

686
00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:30,670
leader with Harris Elden , which is an 

687
00:28:30,670 --> 00:28:32,781
Al Qaeda affiliated group by the name 

688
00:28:32,781 --> 00:28:36,460
of musaab Keenan Was the 

689
00:28:36,460 --> 00:28:38,682
person targeted and killed in a Kinetic 

690
00:28:38,682 --> 00:28:41,140
strike by US forces near Idlib on three 

691
00:28:41,140 --> 00:28:45,060
December . It was a strike conducted 

692
00:28:46,340 --> 00:28:50,170
From an MQ nine unmanned aircraft . 

693
00:28:50,700 --> 00:28:53,500
The initial review of the strike uh did 

694
00:28:53,500 --> 00:28:55,500
indicate the potential for possible 

695
00:28:55,500 --> 00:28:57,667
civilian casualties . I don't have any 

696
00:28:57,667 --> 00:28:59,556
updates for you on that . I would 

697
00:28:59,556 --> 00:29:01,722
appoint you to centcom for that as you 

698
00:29:01,722 --> 00:29:03,944
know , whenever there's a potential for 

699
00:29:03,944 --> 00:29:03,570
that , they do their own investigation 

700
00:29:03,570 --> 00:29:05,681
and I certainly wouldn't get ahead of 

701
00:29:05,681 --> 00:29:09,230
that . Um On your the second question , 

702
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:11,580
what the what review are you talking 

703
00:29:11,580 --> 00:29:15,140
about ? That one ? The investigation ? 

704
00:29:15,260 --> 00:29:17,380
Yeah . All I know is that they've 

705
00:29:17,380 --> 00:29:19,750
launched a civilian casualty assessment 

706
00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:22,540
uh report which they which they have to 

707
00:29:22,540 --> 00:29:24,818
do when they think there's a potential . 

708
00:29:24,818 --> 00:29:26,873
Um and as far as I know that's still 

709
00:29:26,873 --> 00:29:29,096
ongoing , I don't know what the results 

710
00:29:29,096 --> 00:29:31,151
might be tom Hey john , welcome back 

711
00:29:31,151 --> 00:29:33,096
two questions . One on one of your 

712
00:29:33,096 --> 00:29:36,160
opening statement in regard to mr 

713
00:29:37,340 --> 00:29:39,710
Mr Leif ? Was he his appointment ? Is 

714
00:29:39,710 --> 00:29:41,877
that one of the positions that have to 

715
00:29:41,877 --> 00:29:43,766
be confirmed by the Senate ? No , 

716
00:29:43,766 --> 00:29:45,932
that's a Deputy Assistant Secretary of 

717
00:29:45,932 --> 00:29:48,099
Defense level . And my second question 

718
00:29:48,099 --> 00:29:49,988
is the french have confirmed that 

719
00:29:49,988 --> 00:29:52,154
they're planning to sell mirage jets . 

720
00:29:52,154 --> 00:29:54,377
The U . A . E . UsA is also looking for 

721
00:29:54,377 --> 00:29:56,377
f . 35 . How would you , how does , 

722
00:29:56,377 --> 00:29:58,654
depending on assessed the relationship ? 

723
00:29:58,654 --> 00:29:58,580
Secretary Austin just was there . How 

724
00:29:58,580 --> 00:30:00,191
does the pentagon assess the 

725
00:30:00,191 --> 00:30:02,247
relationship with the U . A . E . In 

726
00:30:02,247 --> 00:30:04,302
regards to arms sales and the future 

727
00:30:04,302 --> 00:30:06,136
employment ? Well look , without 

728
00:30:06,136 --> 00:30:08,358
getting into arms sales , That's really 

729
00:30:08,358 --> 00:30:08,280
the purview of the State Department . 

730
00:30:08,290 --> 00:30:11,470
We were just there as you noted , uh 

731
00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:14,210
the USA is a tremendous partner for the 

732
00:30:14,210 --> 00:30:17,770
United States in the region . Um Where 

733
00:30:18,910 --> 00:30:21,240
significant in helping us with the 

734
00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,860
evacuation of of afghans in 

735
00:30:24,870 --> 00:30:27,250
august . Um and the secretary wanted to 

736
00:30:27,250 --> 00:30:29,990
thank them personally for that . Um and 

737
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,180
to talk to them about um uh continuing 

738
00:30:33,190 --> 00:30:35,760
efforts for us to cooperate against um 

739
00:30:35,770 --> 00:30:37,937
threats and challenges in the region , 

740
00:30:37,937 --> 00:30:40,670
including terrorist threats . Um again , 

741
00:30:40,670 --> 00:30:43,020
I won't speak about potential arms 

742
00:30:43,020 --> 00:30:45,020
sales one way or the other . That's 

743
00:30:45,020 --> 00:30:46,798
really the purview of the State 

744
00:30:46,798 --> 00:30:48,909
Department . But the only thing again 

745
00:30:48,909 --> 00:30:51,980
that I'd add is um uh it was no mistake 

746
00:30:51,980 --> 00:30:55,160
that we made a stop uh in the U . A . 

747
00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:57,500
Because of what a significant partner 

748
00:30:57,500 --> 00:31:01,300
they are . Thank you . Really thank 

749
00:31:01,300 --> 00:31:04,890
you last week , the U . S . And China's 

750
00:31:04,900 --> 00:31:08,300
defense offshore hardware working level 

751
00:31:08,310 --> 00:31:10,750
budget meeting on china's military 

752
00:31:10,750 --> 00:31:13,450
power report . What was the tone of the 

753
00:31:13,450 --> 00:31:15,800
conversation ? And did you get a better 

754
00:31:15,810 --> 00:31:19,090
understanding of china's motivation and 

755
00:31:19,090 --> 00:31:21,370
strategy to expand the nuclear 

756
00:31:21,370 --> 00:31:23,592
capability ? Yeah , I mean , this was a 

757
00:31:23,592 --> 00:31:25,750
routine meeting at at a at a lower 

758
00:31:25,750 --> 00:31:28,180
level in the department to uh walk 

759
00:31:28,180 --> 00:31:30,460
through the china military Power and 

760
00:31:30,460 --> 00:31:32,571
Assessment report that we submitted . 

761
00:31:32,571 --> 00:31:34,627
Um we gave a readout of that rio . I 

762
00:31:34,627 --> 00:31:36,738
would point you back to that in terms 

763
00:31:36,738 --> 00:31:38,960
of what was discussed . I wasn't in the 

764
00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:40,960
room so I can't give you a color of 

765
00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:43,730
what the tone and tenor was . Um but my 

766
00:31:43,730 --> 00:31:45,786
understanding , it was that it was a 

767
00:31:45,786 --> 00:31:48,970
professional conversation uh and 

768
00:31:48,980 --> 00:31:52,340
uh and that there was no acrimony uh 

769
00:31:52,350 --> 00:31:55,020
necessarily represented on on on either 

770
00:31:55,020 --> 00:31:58,820
side there , um separate and 

771
00:31:58,820 --> 00:32:00,876
distinct from that . I mean , you've 

772
00:32:00,876 --> 00:32:02,931
heard the the secretary talked about 

773
00:32:02,931 --> 00:32:04,987
the china challenge in his speech at 

774
00:32:04,987 --> 00:32:07,153
the Reagan Forum on saturday . I think 

775
00:32:07,153 --> 00:32:09,650
he laid it out very well . Um We see 

776
00:32:09,650 --> 00:32:11,706
this as a challenge as a competition 

777
00:32:11,706 --> 00:32:13,810
that does not need to resort to 

778
00:32:13,810 --> 00:32:16,430
conflict and we see the chinese 

779
00:32:16,430 --> 00:32:18,097
continued to develop advanced 

780
00:32:18,097 --> 00:32:21,010
capabilities um that that are clearly 

781
00:32:21,010 --> 00:32:24,120
designed uh in many ways 

782
00:32:24,130 --> 00:32:27,770
uh to try to limit uh uh 

783
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:30,240
the access of the United States and 

784
00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:33,080
other international partners in the 

785
00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:35,302
indo pacific , particularly the Western 

786
00:32:35,302 --> 00:32:37,930
indo pacific . Do you have any update 

787
00:32:37,940 --> 00:32:40,050
on the Secretary's future engagement 

788
00:32:40,060 --> 00:32:41,960
with China's counterpart ? 

789
00:32:43,540 --> 00:32:45,760
Um Alex Horton Marston post ? 

790
00:32:50,170 --> 00:32:53,390
Thanks for that . Welcome back . Um I'm 

791
00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:55,850
curious if you can give us sort of a 

792
00:32:55,860 --> 00:32:57,804
general overview of the rotational 

793
00:32:57,804 --> 00:32:59,749
forces in europe , you know , what 

794
00:32:59,749 --> 00:33:02,320
units are aware um and whether any 

795
00:33:02,330 --> 00:33:04,441
future deployments have been moved up 

796
00:33:04,441 --> 00:33:06,219
accelerated , haven't even been 

797
00:33:06,219 --> 00:33:08,386
extended under deployments . What sort 

798
00:33:08,386 --> 00:33:11,590
of been the the situation um there if 

799
00:33:11,590 --> 00:33:13,701
any , in terms of movement either way 

800
00:33:14,340 --> 00:33:17,080
Alex , I'm gonna take your question uh 

801
00:33:17,090 --> 00:33:19,440
because I'm I'm not equipped with that 

802
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:21,607
level of detail here in terms of who's 

803
00:33:21,607 --> 00:33:23,718
where and what rotational deployments 

804
00:33:23,718 --> 00:33:25,940
are ongoing and I think that's gettable 

805
00:33:25,940 --> 00:33:28,051
information and we'll we'll do that . 

806
00:33:28,051 --> 00:33:30,270
Um I don't have any announcements to 

807
00:33:30,270 --> 00:33:32,240
make today or any changes to the 

808
00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:34,184
rotational posture to speak to . I 

809
00:33:34,184 --> 00:33:36,980
think as you saw when we rolled out the 

810
00:33:36,990 --> 00:33:39,268
global posture review a week or so ago . 

811
00:33:39,268 --> 00:33:42,020
Um dr Karlin talked about the 

812
00:33:42,020 --> 00:33:43,742
importance of these rotational 

813
00:33:43,742 --> 00:33:45,520
deployments and that they would 

814
00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:47,520
continue . The Secretary reiterated 

815
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:49,631
that in recent conversations he's had 

816
00:33:49,631 --> 00:33:51,798
with many of our partners . In fact he 

817
00:33:51,798 --> 00:33:53,631
talked to the polish Minister of 

818
00:33:53,631 --> 00:33:55,742
Defense on the way to Seoul last week 

819
00:33:55,742 --> 00:33:57,631
and that was certainly one of his 

820
00:33:57,631 --> 00:33:59,687
messages was that that we value that 

821
00:33:59,687 --> 00:33:59,670
relationship and those rotational 

822
00:33:59,670 --> 00:34:01,614
deployments to Poland are going to 

823
00:34:01,614 --> 00:34:04,270
continue . But let me get let me take 

824
00:34:04,270 --> 00:34:06,381
your question if you'll permit me and 

825
00:34:06,381 --> 00:34:08,492
we'll see if we can get you a cleaner 

826
00:34:08,492 --> 00:34:10,714
lay down . I just I'm not equipped with 

827
00:34:10,714 --> 00:34:12,603
that right now . How many U . S . 

828
00:34:12,603 --> 00:34:14,881
Troops may still be training Ukrainian ? 

829
00:34:14,881 --> 00:34:17,460
I'm happy to take that . I asked about 

830
00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:19,929
oh weapons sales . If it's like a 

831
00:34:19,929 --> 00:34:23,300
continuing what I can do court is give 

832
00:34:23,300 --> 00:34:26,140
you what we have already approved this 

833
00:34:26,140 --> 00:34:29,480
year . Uh in terms of the security 

834
00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:31,702
assistance , I'm not gonna get ahead of 

835
00:34:31,702 --> 00:34:33,813
decisions that have been made one way 

836
00:34:33,813 --> 00:34:36,036
or the other . I will see if we can get 

837
00:34:36,036 --> 00:34:38,820
him an answer on the advisers . Yeah . 

838
00:34:38,830 --> 00:34:42,220
In the back there , are you seeing any 

839
00:34:42,220 --> 00:34:45,110
reluctance from your european alliance 

840
00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:47,880
allies regarding common actions that 

841
00:34:47,890 --> 00:34:51,800
may be taken against Russia in Ukraine . 

842
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,380
I'm speaking here about Germany , I 

843
00:34:54,380 --> 00:34:56,600
won't speak for other countries . They 

844
00:34:56,610 --> 00:34:58,666
they would have to make decisions on 

845
00:34:58,666 --> 00:35:01,750
their own . Um what I can tell you is 

846
00:35:01,750 --> 00:35:04,970
that we continue to consult with our 

847
00:35:04,970 --> 00:35:07,137
allies and partners , particularly our 

848
00:35:07,137 --> 00:35:09,359
NATO allies , about what we're seeing . 

849
00:35:09,359 --> 00:35:13,110
Um and and about what our concerns 

850
00:35:13,110 --> 00:35:16,780
are . But each of those allies as a 

851
00:35:16,780 --> 00:35:18,947
sovereign nation and they have to make 

852
00:35:18,947 --> 00:35:21,169
decisions for themselves about um about 

853
00:35:21,169 --> 00:35:23,447
their assessments of what we're seeing . 

854
00:35:23,447 --> 00:35:26,670
Um and whether and to what degree 

855
00:35:28,340 --> 00:35:31,550
they want to help hold Russia 

856
00:35:31,550 --> 00:35:35,550
accountable um should Russia try to 

857
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:37,440
make an incursion into Ukraine , 

858
00:35:37,450 --> 00:35:39,506
another incursion into Ukraine ? I I 

859
00:35:39,506 --> 00:35:41,561
can't speak to that . All I can tell 

860
00:35:41,561 --> 00:35:43,630
you is that we're deeply concerned 

861
00:35:43,630 --> 00:35:46,150
about it . We're watching it closely , 

862
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,049
we are consulting with allies and 

863
00:35:48,049 --> 00:35:50,104
partners . And as the Secretary said 

864
00:35:50,104 --> 00:35:52,104
over the weekend , we still believe 

865
00:35:52,104 --> 00:35:51,890
that there is space for diplomacy and 

866
00:35:51,890 --> 00:35:53,890
leadership here . One more question 

867
00:35:53,890 --> 00:35:55,834
about the Israeli Defense Minister 

868
00:35:55,834 --> 00:35:59,220
visit Defense 

869
00:35:59,220 --> 00:36:02,410
Minister . Israeli media reported that 

870
00:36:02,410 --> 00:36:06,290
the that the minister will allow us 

871
00:36:06,290 --> 00:36:10,010
to carry military strikes on Iran and 

872
00:36:10,020 --> 00:36:12,150
prepare a plan B in case the 

873
00:36:12,150 --> 00:36:14,670
negotiations . How do you comment on 

874
00:36:14,670 --> 00:36:17,840
that ? Well , we as you know , we are 

875
00:36:18,330 --> 00:36:21,530
in the midst of negotiations to try to 

876
00:36:21,540 --> 00:36:23,650
get our way to to find a way back to 

877
00:36:23,660 --> 00:36:25,938
the joint comprehensive Plan of action . 

878
00:36:25,938 --> 00:36:28,190
Um that is really more from our 

879
00:36:28,190 --> 00:36:30,412
National Security Council and our State 

880
00:36:30,412 --> 00:36:32,301
Department colleagues to speak to 

881
00:36:32,301 --> 00:36:34,412
rather than here at the Department of 

882
00:36:34,412 --> 00:36:36,523
Defense . What the Secretary has made 

883
00:36:36,523 --> 00:36:38,579
very clear is that no problem in the 

884
00:36:38,579 --> 00:36:40,801
Middle East gets easier to solve with a 

885
00:36:40,801 --> 00:36:43,600
nuclear armed Iran and that we continue 

886
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:45,656
to support here . The efforts of our 

887
00:36:45,656 --> 00:36:48,130
diplomats to find a way to return to 

888
00:36:48,130 --> 00:36:51,850
the Iran deal . Um Now the our 

889
00:36:51,850 --> 00:36:54,490
colleagues across uh the river there 

890
00:36:54,490 --> 00:36:57,030
have already spoken to um how things 

891
00:36:57,030 --> 00:36:59,197
are going in Vienna , I'd point you to 

892
00:36:59,197 --> 00:37:03,080
them as to how progress would uh uh is 

893
00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:05,136
occurring . The other thing that the 

894
00:37:05,136 --> 00:37:07,270
Secretary has said that separate and 

895
00:37:07,270 --> 00:37:10,030
distinct from our desire to see a 

896
00:37:10,030 --> 00:37:12,990
diplomatic return to the J C P O A . He 

897
00:37:12,990 --> 00:37:14,712
has an obligation , we have an 

898
00:37:14,712 --> 00:37:16,823
obligation to defend our interests in 

899
00:37:16,823 --> 00:37:18,934
the Middle East , which means we have 

900
00:37:18,934 --> 00:37:21,101
to continue to have a robust footprint 

901
00:37:21,101 --> 00:37:23,101
there and we do , we need to have a 

902
00:37:23,101 --> 00:37:24,823
robust set of capabilities and 

903
00:37:24,823 --> 00:37:26,712
operational concepts to use those 

904
00:37:26,712 --> 00:37:28,657
resources and we do and the global 

905
00:37:28,657 --> 00:37:30,823
posture review that we laid out a week 

906
00:37:30,823 --> 00:37:33,046
or so ago stresses that reiterates that 

907
00:37:33,046 --> 00:37:35,046
that that would obviously there are 

908
00:37:35,046 --> 00:37:37,379
some changes that could occur over time , 

909
00:37:37,379 --> 00:37:39,601
but in general , we believe that we are 

910
00:37:39,601 --> 00:37:41,601
posture appropriately to defend our 

911
00:37:41,601 --> 00:37:43,712
national security interests against a 

912
00:37:43,712 --> 00:37:45,601
range of threats to include those 

913
00:37:45,601 --> 00:37:47,657
threats from uh from from Iran going 

914
00:37:47,657 --> 00:37:49,768
forward . I'm not gonna , I certainly 

915
00:37:49,768 --> 00:37:51,323
won't speak for our Israeli 

916
00:37:51,323 --> 00:37:53,490
counterparts and what their intentions 

917
00:37:53,490 --> 00:37:55,980
are one way or the other . Um The and I 

918
00:37:55,980 --> 00:37:58,950
think , well , the Secretary looks 

919
00:37:58,950 --> 00:38:01,117
forward to meeting with Minister Gantz 

920
00:38:01,117 --> 00:38:03,006
later in the week . We'll have an 

921
00:38:03,006 --> 00:38:05,061
official announcement out relatively 

922
00:38:05,061 --> 00:38:07,006
soon about that , but he's looking 

923
00:38:07,006 --> 00:38:09,228
forward to that discussion . It will be 

924
00:38:09,228 --> 00:38:11,450
the first of several , I'm not the most 

925
00:38:11,450 --> 00:38:13,617
recent of several that he has had with 

926
00:38:13,617 --> 00:38:13,380
Minister Gantz since he became 

927
00:38:13,380 --> 00:38:15,530
Secretary of Defense options on the 

928
00:38:15,550 --> 00:38:17,550
table in case the negotiation , I'm 

929
00:38:17,550 --> 00:38:19,772
simply not gonna get into hypotheticals 

930
00:38:19,772 --> 00:38:21,994
here . We have a responsibility here to 

931
00:38:21,994 --> 00:38:24,217
protect our national security interests 

932
00:38:24,217 --> 00:38:26,050
in the region and we're going to 

933
00:38:26,050 --> 00:38:28,050
continue to look at that . What the 

934
00:38:28,050 --> 00:38:29,939
what the secretary has said is he 

935
00:38:29,939 --> 00:38:31,717
supports very much a diplomatic 

936
00:38:31,717 --> 00:38:34,270
resolution to Iran's growing nuclear 

937
00:38:34,270 --> 00:38:36,520
ambitions and no problem in the Middle 

938
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:38,353
East gets easier to solve with a 

939
00:38:38,353 --> 00:38:42,230
nuclear armed Iran . Okay , jim john 

940
00:38:42,230 --> 00:38:45,290
the other day at the Reagan form , the 

941
00:38:45,300 --> 00:38:47,356
secretary said that he was concerned 

942
00:38:47,356 --> 00:38:50,850
about the public's dropping the 

943
00:38:50,850 --> 00:38:54,740
approval rating of the US military and 

944
00:38:54,740 --> 00:38:56,907
then he said he would like to study it 

945
00:38:56,907 --> 00:38:59,018
as a first sort of iteration . Do you 

946
00:38:59,018 --> 00:39:01,720
have any theories on why the public's 

947
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:03,887
perception of the U . S . Military has 

948
00:39:03,887 --> 00:39:07,110
fallen so much ? Well what he said was 

949
00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:09,231
he wanted to spend more time with the 

950
00:39:09,231 --> 00:39:11,231
survey . I mean he had he had had a 

951
00:39:11,231 --> 00:39:13,730
chance to look at it briefly before 

952
00:39:13,730 --> 00:39:15,830
going to the Reagan national Defense 

953
00:39:15,830 --> 00:39:17,830
Forum and I think you heard him say 

954
00:39:17,830 --> 00:39:19,997
that certainly the numbers represented 

955
00:39:19,997 --> 00:39:21,997
in that survey are not going in the 

956
00:39:21,997 --> 00:39:24,108
direction . He would like to see them 

957
00:39:24,108 --> 00:39:26,219
in terms of trust and confidence it's 

958
00:39:26,219 --> 00:39:28,330
it's concerning . So I think he wants 

959
00:39:28,330 --> 00:39:30,497
to take a little bit more time to look 

960
00:39:30,497 --> 00:39:32,552
at it . Um I won't speculate for him 

961
00:39:32,552 --> 00:39:34,719
about what's behind those numbers . Uh 

962
00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:38,780
But I would point you to what he talked 

963
00:39:38,780 --> 00:39:40,780
about there with his interview with 

964
00:39:40,780 --> 00:39:42,836
with bret bear that um you know that 

965
00:39:42,836 --> 00:39:45,058
we're not we are we're an all volunteer 

966
00:39:45,058 --> 00:39:47,490
force and the men and women who serve 

967
00:39:47,490 --> 00:39:50,130
in this department come from from homes 

968
00:39:50,130 --> 00:39:52,780
and families all over the country . And 

969
00:39:52,780 --> 00:39:56,750
so the american public's perceptions of 

970
00:39:57,220 --> 00:39:59,331
the United States military matters to 

971
00:39:59,331 --> 00:40:01,420
us not not just from a recruiting 

972
00:40:01,430 --> 00:40:03,652
perspective , although that's valid but 

973
00:40:03,652 --> 00:40:05,263
also from a representational 

974
00:40:05,263 --> 00:40:08,330
perspective . Um uh and the trust and 

975
00:40:08,330 --> 00:40:10,441
confidence in american people . We we 

976
00:40:10,441 --> 00:40:12,663
continue to believe is um is critically 

977
00:40:12,663 --> 00:40:15,840
important to the institution and just 

978
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:17,951
like it matters to us . It also makes 

979
00:40:17,951 --> 00:40:21,330
us uh we are not immune 

980
00:40:21,790 --> 00:40:25,310
to the kinds of uh polarization 

981
00:40:25,610 --> 00:40:29,050
um that we see out in the american 

982
00:40:29,060 --> 00:40:31,060
society . I mean we because we come 

983
00:40:31,060 --> 00:40:34,910
from America what what's out there 

984
00:40:34,910 --> 00:40:38,200
in our society affects us . It 

985
00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:40,144
absolutely does . Um So I think he 

986
00:40:40,144 --> 00:40:42,256
wants to spend a little bit more time 

987
00:40:42,256 --> 00:40:44,350
and and and try to um see if there's 

988
00:40:44,350 --> 00:40:48,240
some some wisdom he can he can glean 

989
00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:50,407
from the survey . He obviously took it 

990
00:40:50,407 --> 00:40:52,462
seriously when he had a chance to at 

991
00:40:52,462 --> 00:40:54,684
least look at it briefly . Um The other 

992
00:40:54,684 --> 00:40:58,340
thing he said is that if 

993
00:40:58,350 --> 00:41:00,572
he believes that if the american people 

994
00:41:00,572 --> 00:41:02,628
could see what he sees when he's out 

995
00:41:02,628 --> 00:41:04,794
there with our troops . Like he was in 

996
00:41:04,794 --> 00:41:07,017
Seoul like he was just a week or so ago 

997
00:41:07,017 --> 00:41:09,590
on a mine sweeper in bahrain if if if 

998
00:41:09,590 --> 00:41:11,812
they could see what he sees in terms of 

999
00:41:11,812 --> 00:41:14,146
what the troops are actually focused on . 

1000
00:41:14,146 --> 00:41:16,146
Not the perceptions of what they're 

1001
00:41:16,146 --> 00:41:18,201
focused on but what they're actually 

1002
00:41:18,201 --> 00:41:20,201
focused on uh that uh that the that 

1003
00:41:20,201 --> 00:41:22,146
he's confident the american people 

1004
00:41:22,146 --> 00:41:25,290
would uh would be just as proud as as 

1005
00:41:25,290 --> 00:41:27,512
he is of them and and just as confident 

1006
00:41:27,512 --> 00:41:30,220
in their capabilities , Jeff shuttle , 

1007
00:41:32,510 --> 00:41:34,980
Thank you very much . The 51st Stryker 

1008
00:41:34,980 --> 00:41:37,036
Brigade combat team with the Florida 

1009
00:41:37,036 --> 00:41:39,313
National Guard is currently in Ukraine . 

1010
00:41:39,313 --> 00:41:41,147
Are they allowed to follow their 

1011
00:41:41,147 --> 00:41:45,130
charges into combat , Jeff ? I'm 

1012
00:41:45,130 --> 00:41:47,074
gonna have to take your question . 

1013
00:41:48,410 --> 00:41:50,830
I I have to confess to not 

1014
00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:54,980
having at my fingertips the the 

1015
00:41:54,990 --> 00:41:56,990
deployment schedules of the florida 

1016
00:41:56,990 --> 00:41:59,210
National Guard . So well we'll see if 

1017
00:41:59,210 --> 00:42:01,377
we can take that question , we may end 

1018
00:42:01,377 --> 00:42:03,154
up referring you to the florida 

1019
00:42:03,154 --> 00:42:05,377
National Guard or to the National Guard 

1020
00:42:05,377 --> 00:42:07,543
Bureau Jeff . But uh you're gonna have 

1021
00:42:07,543 --> 00:42:07,220
to excuse my ignorance on this one . 

1022
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:09,856
Thank you . This is the U . S . Also 

1023
00:42:09,856 --> 00:42:11,880
planting any antipersonnel mines 

1024
00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:14,750
between Belarus and Kaliningrad to 

1025
00:42:14,750 --> 00:42:17,350
protect the silver rocky gap . I know 

1026
00:42:17,350 --> 00:42:20,160
of no such plans , Jeff . Okay , I'll 

1027
00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:22,382
take one more . Yes ma'am . Oh and then 

1028
00:42:22,382 --> 00:42:24,660
to you Megan , thank you for taking my 

1029
00:42:24,660 --> 00:42:28,010
question . Um the 

1030
00:42:28,500 --> 00:42:30,722
one of the fastest growing areas of the 

1031
00:42:30,722 --> 00:42:34,300
US economy is in the area of space and 

1032
00:42:34,300 --> 00:42:36,600
that's the ability for that to continue 

1033
00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:39,850
to grow is based on viable defensive 

1034
00:42:39,850 --> 00:42:42,190
space . And that of course brings us 

1035
00:42:42,190 --> 00:42:44,412
back to the continuing resolution . And 

1036
00:42:44,412 --> 00:42:47,630
what that impact might have on are well 

1037
00:42:47,630 --> 00:42:49,740
educated , service member member 

1038
00:42:49,740 --> 00:42:51,907
population and the ability to continue 

1039
00:42:51,907 --> 00:42:54,129
being on the cutting edge of technology 

1040
00:42:54,129 --> 00:42:56,407
development . Um Can you speak to that ? 

1041
00:42:56,407 --> 00:42:58,573
And then I have another question . I I 

1042
00:42:58,573 --> 00:43:00,390
think I would point you to the 

1043
00:43:00,390 --> 00:43:02,557
secretary's statement on the potential 

1044
00:43:02,557 --> 00:43:04,612
for a long term cr remember , look , 

1045
00:43:04,612 --> 00:43:06,390
the cr now funds us through mid 

1046
00:43:06,390 --> 00:43:09,060
february . And as Karla noted , um 

1047
00:43:09,070 --> 00:43:11,200
there is some funds represented in 

1048
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:13,144
there to help us with , you know , 

1049
00:43:13,144 --> 00:43:15,940
operation Allies welcome a cr is not 

1050
00:43:15,950 --> 00:43:18,006
the ideal way to fund the department 

1051
00:43:18,006 --> 00:43:20,283
and I think everybody understands that . 

1052
00:43:20,700 --> 00:43:24,600
Um and what we're concerned about here 

1053
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:26,322
and you hopefully solid in the 

1054
00:43:26,322 --> 00:43:28,378
secretary statement is the potential 

1055
00:43:28,378 --> 00:43:30,433
for a long term , maybe as long as a 

1056
00:43:30,433 --> 00:43:33,140
full year . Um That's where it really 

1057
00:43:33,140 --> 00:43:35,390
begins to be damaging , not just to our 

1058
00:43:35,390 --> 00:43:38,530
R and D uh into our ability to to start 

1059
00:43:38,530 --> 00:43:40,586
new programs and like I said , build 

1060
00:43:40,586 --> 00:43:42,808
new ships , but also in terms of making 

1061
00:43:42,808 --> 00:43:45,800
sure our troops get the pay raise that 

1062
00:43:45,810 --> 00:43:48,032
that they so richly deserved . I mean , 

1063
00:43:48,032 --> 00:43:50,088
they'll still get that pay raise but 

1064
00:43:50,088 --> 00:43:52,143
it'll come at a cost of other things 

1065
00:43:52,143 --> 00:43:54,310
that will have to that will have to um 

1066
00:43:54,310 --> 00:43:56,700
to to defund or at least reduce funding 

1067
00:43:56,700 --> 00:43:59,230
for . So um I would just point you back 

1068
00:43:59,230 --> 00:44:01,174
to what he said , I don't have any 

1069
00:44:01,174 --> 00:44:03,230
specific space impacts to speak to . 

1070
00:44:03,230 --> 00:44:06,060
Again , we're this is a partial c are 

1071
00:44:06,060 --> 00:44:09,380
not only until mid february . Okay then 

1072
00:44:09,380 --> 00:44:11,770
my other question has to do with since 

1073
00:44:11,770 --> 00:44:14,250
there is this perception of us focus 

1074
00:44:14,250 --> 00:44:16,980
being on uh what's happening in Ukraine 

1075
00:44:16,980 --> 00:44:18,980
right now along the border there as 

1076
00:44:18,980 --> 00:44:21,202
Russia masses , troops and then some of 

1077
00:44:21,202 --> 00:44:23,760
the focus on the J . C . P . O . A all 

1078
00:44:23,760 --> 00:44:25,927
of that stall out in the Middle East . 

1079
00:44:27,130 --> 00:44:28,908
Is there any has there been any 

1080
00:44:28,908 --> 00:44:32,690
dimunition of focus or force posture 

1081
00:44:32,880 --> 00:44:35,590
in the indo pacific , especially around 

1082
00:44:35,830 --> 00:44:38,930
the sea of a sea of japan and all that 

1083
00:44:38,930 --> 00:44:41,380
area ? The south china . Not at all . 

1084
00:44:41,380 --> 00:44:43,491
And I think again I point you back to 

1085
00:44:43,491 --> 00:44:45,658
the global posture review that we that 

1086
00:44:45,658 --> 00:44:47,602
we just recently released released 

1087
00:44:47,602 --> 00:44:49,769
which made clear that the indo pacific 

1088
00:44:49,769 --> 00:44:52,370
is our priority region . The secretary 

1089
00:44:52,500 --> 00:44:55,190
was just there uh and gave a pretty 

1090
00:44:55,190 --> 00:44:57,640
comprehensive set of remarks on 

1091
00:44:57,640 --> 00:44:59,950
saturday about the china challenge . 

1092
00:44:59,950 --> 00:45:02,900
Specifically we still are laser focused 

1093
00:45:02,910 --> 00:45:05,890
on that pacing challenge . Uh And um 

1094
00:45:05,900 --> 00:45:08,390
and I don't I don't see any dimunition 

1095
00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:12,000
of that effort that focus um uh 

1096
00:45:12,390 --> 00:45:14,390
and the application of resources to 

1097
00:45:14,390 --> 00:45:16,650
that challenge given other challenges 

1098
00:45:16,650 --> 00:45:18,539
around the world . Look , we're a 

1099
00:45:18,539 --> 00:45:20,206
global power , we have global 

1100
00:45:20,206 --> 00:45:23,960
responsibilities . Um and it's not it's 

1101
00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:27,170
not either or it's not it's not focused 

1102
00:45:27,170 --> 00:45:29,281
on the china challenge at the expense 

1103
00:45:29,281 --> 00:45:31,530
of all others . Again , I think if you 

1104
00:45:31,530 --> 00:45:33,586
go through the global posture of you 

1105
00:45:33,586 --> 00:45:37,430
can see that we're still investing in 

1106
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:39,440
many places around the world . Were 

1107
00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:41,440
still applying resources that's not 

1108
00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:43,680
just people and bases but actual 

1109
00:45:43,680 --> 00:45:45,740
capabilities all over the world and 

1110
00:45:45,740 --> 00:45:47,962
that that's going to continue . We have 

1111
00:45:47,962 --> 00:45:50,184
global responsibilities that we have to 

1112
00:45:50,184 --> 00:45:52,351
meet . We can walk and chew gum at the 

1113
00:45:52,351 --> 00:45:54,184
same time . So another nationals 

1114
00:45:54,184 --> 00:45:55,990
artificial is questioning the 

1115
00:45:55,990 --> 00:45:58,101
Pentagon's official narrative of what 

1116
00:45:58,101 --> 00:46:00,690
happened here on January six . in terms 

1117
00:46:00,690 --> 00:46:02,801
of sending troops over to the Capitol 

1118
00:46:02,801 --> 00:46:05,580
to stop the insurrection . The D . O . 

1119
00:46:05,580 --> 00:46:07,636
D . I . G . Has said that everything 

1120
00:46:07,636 --> 00:46:09,858
was good to go . I know you don't speak 

1121
00:46:09,858 --> 00:46:11,691
for the I . G . But is there any 

1122
00:46:11,691 --> 00:46:13,747
motivation here to review or further 

1123
00:46:13,747 --> 00:46:16,180
investigate how all of that happened to 

1124
00:46:16,180 --> 00:46:18,347
sort of close the gap between what the 

1125
00:46:18,347 --> 00:46:20,402
D . C . Guard is saying and what the 

1126
00:46:20,402 --> 00:46:22,624
army slash the pentagon has been saying 

1127
00:46:22,624 --> 00:46:24,791
about how that went . There will be no 

1128
00:46:24,791 --> 00:46:26,902
such effort . One more thing . Um The 

1129
00:46:26,902 --> 00:46:29,013
secretary last week gave the military 

1130
00:46:29,013 --> 00:46:28,710
departments today is the deadline to 

1131
00:46:28,710 --> 00:46:30,970
publish their policies for how they're 

1132
00:46:30,970 --> 00:46:33,560
going to enforce vaccines for National 

1133
00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:35,671
Guard and for the Ready Reserve . Did 

1134
00:46:35,671 --> 00:46:37,870
those policies have to be sent up to 

1135
00:46:37,870 --> 00:46:39,648
osd for any sort of approval or 

1136
00:46:39,648 --> 00:46:41,870
discussion or did the secretary read 

1137
00:46:41,870 --> 00:46:44,750
about them before the services , You 

1138
00:46:44,750 --> 00:46:46,861
know , he's been well informed by the 

1139
00:46:46,861 --> 00:46:48,806
service secretaries , the military 

1140
00:46:48,806 --> 00:46:50,806
departments about about how they're 

1141
00:46:50,806 --> 00:46:53,028
executing on the mandatory vaccine . So 

1142
00:46:53,028 --> 00:46:55,139
specifically for how they're going to 

1143
00:46:55,139 --> 00:46:57,083
enforce the National Guard and the 

1144
00:46:57,083 --> 00:46:59,083
Ready Reserve have let me take that 

1145
00:46:59,083 --> 00:47:01,306
particular question because again , the 

1146
00:47:01,306 --> 00:47:03,194
deadline for their publication is 

1147
00:47:03,194 --> 00:47:05,250
supposed to be today . Okay , let me 

1148
00:47:05,250 --> 00:47:07,361
take that question . I don't I wasn't 

1149
00:47:07,361 --> 00:47:09,361
tracking the Reserve National Guard 

1150
00:47:09,361 --> 00:47:11,639
peace . So let me ask . Okay . Alright . 

1151
00:47:11,639 --> 00:47:13,806
Question question about the advisers . 

1152
00:47:13,806 --> 00:47:16,460
He also asked if they're permitted to 

1153
00:47:16,460 --> 00:47:19,550
follow the people their training to the 

1154
00:47:19,560 --> 00:47:22,480
front and you didn't address that part 

1155
00:47:22,480 --> 00:47:26,340
of it . I'm not gonna um are they 

1156
00:47:26,350 --> 00:47:28,517
permitted to do that ? Is the question 

1157
00:47:28,517 --> 00:47:30,628
not willing to do that ? But are they 

1158
00:47:30,628 --> 00:47:32,906
permitted to do so I took the question , 

1159
00:47:32,906 --> 00:47:35,017
I'm going to leave it at that tom but 

1160
00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:37,710
to the larger point here , um , 

1161
00:47:39,190 --> 00:47:42,800
there's no reason for this two , 

1162
00:47:43,480 --> 00:47:47,400
the uh , to come into 

1163
00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:49,936
to come to blows . There's no reason 

1164
00:47:49,936 --> 00:47:52,310
for this to become a conflict . As the 

1165
00:47:52,310 --> 00:47:54,520
Secretary said , there's still space 

1166
00:47:54,520 --> 00:47:56,353
for diplomacy and leadership . I 

1167
00:47:56,353 --> 00:47:58,409
understand and appreciate the way of 

1168
00:47:58,409 --> 00:48:01,070
asking that question . To to try to to 

1169
00:48:01,070 --> 00:48:03,237
have to get me to speculate on whether 

1170
00:48:03,237 --> 00:48:05,237
or not , you know , we're gonna get 

1171
00:48:05,237 --> 00:48:07,514
involved or not , I mean , but um , no , 

1172
00:48:07,514 --> 00:48:09,737
no tom I'm not talking about from you . 

1173
00:48:09,737 --> 00:48:11,903
I'm talking about the way it was first 

1174
00:48:11,903 --> 00:48:15,260
posed . Um , but uh , but uh , so I'll 

1175
00:48:15,260 --> 00:48:17,950
take the question , I'll find out or 

1176
00:48:17,950 --> 00:48:20,061
we'll send them to the National Guard 

1177
00:48:20,061 --> 00:48:22,283
Bureau to get an answer to that . I was 

1178
00:48:22,283 --> 00:48:24,172
not , I am not informed about the 

1179
00:48:24,172 --> 00:48:26,172
florida National Guard's deployment 

1180
00:48:26,172 --> 00:48:28,920
schedule . But um , as the secretary 

1181
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:31,031
has said and said many times over the 

1182
00:48:31,031 --> 00:48:33,198
weekend , there's still space and time 

1183
00:48:33,198 --> 00:48:35,364
for diplomacy and leadership . There's 

1184
00:48:35,364 --> 00:48:37,309
no reason for this to devolve into 

1185
00:48:37,309 --> 00:48:39,740
armed conflict . Um , uh , and what we 

1186
00:48:39,740 --> 00:48:42,040
will continue to do and what we have 

1187
00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:45,990
done in Ukraine is help to help Ukraine 

1188
00:48:45,990 --> 00:48:49,370
defend itself to help them with self 

1189
00:48:49,370 --> 00:48:51,900
defense capabilities . And that effort 

1190
00:48:51,910 --> 00:48:53,688
continues . And again , I won't 

1191
00:48:53,688 --> 00:48:55,854
speculate about future decisions , but 

1192
00:48:55,854 --> 00:48:58,188
we've been very clear about that . Okay , 

1193
00:48:58,188 --> 00:48:58,390
thanks everybody .