1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:02,107 The three of you to show up , 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:08,060 I'll wait you guys . Good . 3 00:00:10,340 --> 00:00:14,100 All right . Uh today , as I think , you 4 00:00:14,100 --> 00:00:16,500 know , secretary also met with Defense 5 00:00:16,510 --> 00:00:18,677 Japanese Defense Minister Kishi , they 6 00:00:18,677 --> 00:00:20,899 had a terrific discussion . Just talked 7 00:00:20,899 --> 00:00:22,732 about regional security issues , 8 00:00:22,732 --> 00:00:25,450 bilateral efforts to upgrade upgrade 9 00:00:26,110 --> 00:00:28,310 the US Japan alliance and measure to 10 00:00:28,310 --> 00:00:30,310 expand cooperation with like minded 11 00:00:30,310 --> 00:00:32,450 partners . The Secretary thanked 12 00:00:32,450 --> 00:00:34,672 Minister Kishi for his participation in 13 00:00:34,672 --> 00:00:36,894 the Ukraine security consultative group 14 00:00:36,894 --> 00:00:39,540 last week in Germany and he welcomed 15 00:00:39,550 --> 00:00:41,606 Japan's continued leadership role in 16 00:00:41,606 --> 00:00:44,320 countering Russia's illegal aggression . 17 00:00:45,140 --> 00:00:47,140 They also discussed china's ongoing 18 00:00:47,140 --> 00:00:49,196 coercion in the east and south china 19 00:00:49,196 --> 00:00:51,418 seas and they need to uphold a free and 20 00:00:51,418 --> 00:00:53,473 indo indo pacific that secures peace 21 00:00:53,473 --> 00:00:56,270 and prosperity for all . I never had 22 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,450 theme music to my opening statement . 23 00:00:58,940 --> 00:01:01,107 It's uh no , it's it's very soothing . 24 00:01:01,870 --> 00:01:04,660 Please don't stop it . Um 25 00:01:05,740 --> 00:01:09,710 Finally , the , sorry , finally , they 26 00:01:09,710 --> 00:01:11,710 affirmed the need to continue close 27 00:01:11,710 --> 00:01:13,877 collaboration with allies and partners 28 00:01:13,877 --> 00:01:16,030 to bolster integrated deterrence um 29 00:01:16,050 --> 00:01:18,050 elsewhere here at the pentagon , US 30 00:01:18,050 --> 00:01:19,994 Assistant Secretary of Defense for 31 00:01:19,994 --> 00:01:21,939 International Affairs . Dr celeste 32 00:01:21,939 --> 00:01:24,161 Wallander is meeting today with kenya , 33 00:01:24,161 --> 00:01:26,161 Cabinet Secretary of Defense Eugene 34 00:01:26,161 --> 00:01:28,383 Wamalwa and the Kenyan Chief of Defense 35 00:01:28,383 --> 00:01:30,606 General robert kibaki . Um They're here 36 00:01:30,606 --> 00:01:32,661 in the United States for the U . S . 37 00:01:32,661 --> 00:01:34,980 Kenya bilateral defense forum . The two 38 00:01:34,980 --> 00:01:37,147 sides are discussing a range of topics 39 00:01:37,147 --> 00:01:38,702 including regional security 40 00:01:38,702 --> 00:01:41,010 cybersecurity , security cooperation , 41 00:01:41,020 --> 00:01:44,060 uh U . S . Africa Command mission and 42 00:01:44,060 --> 00:01:46,310 climate change . And then lastly , in 43 00:01:46,310 --> 00:01:48,940 the Southern Command , a r South 44 00:01:48,940 --> 00:01:50,829 commons participating in exercise 45 00:01:50,829 --> 00:01:54,370 centam Guardian 22 in El Salvador Uh 46 00:01:54,380 --> 00:01:56,547 started on the first of the month runs 47 00:01:56,547 --> 00:01:58,750 through the 22nd Centam Guardian is an 48 00:01:58,750 --> 00:02:00,917 annual multinational exercise designed 49 00:02:00,917 --> 00:02:02,861 to build humanitarian assistance , 50 00:02:02,861 --> 00:02:05,028 disaster response capacity and promote 51 00:02:05,028 --> 00:02:06,861 cooperation and interoperability 52 00:02:06,861 --> 00:02:08,861 between participating forces . Four 53 00:02:08,861 --> 00:02:11,070 nations , including El Salvador as the 54 00:02:11,070 --> 00:02:13,070 host nation , of course , Guatemala 55 00:02:13,070 --> 00:02:15,014 Honduras and the United States are 56 00:02:15,014 --> 00:02:17,126 participating and all told it's about 57 00:02:17,126 --> 00:02:19,348 320 personnel from those four countries 58 00:02:19,348 --> 00:02:21,403 participating in that exercise . And 59 00:02:21,403 --> 00:02:23,740 again it runs Until 22 May , so that 60 00:02:23,750 --> 00:02:27,300 lead them . Um as 61 00:02:27,310 --> 00:02:29,477 you're aware , Russia has been hitting 62 00:02:29,477 --> 00:02:32,360 a lot more targets out in the west 63 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,080 towards um Love Eve and hitting 64 00:02:35,090 --> 00:02:37,630 electrical um stations and things like 65 00:02:37,630 --> 00:02:39,741 that . Is there a concern that Russia 66 00:02:39,741 --> 00:02:42,260 is getting more precise and in their 67 00:02:42,260 --> 00:02:44,427 ability to hit critical infrastructure 68 00:02:44,427 --> 00:02:46,420 like that ? And does this raise 69 00:02:46,420 --> 00:02:48,510 concerns about the safety , 70 00:02:48,780 --> 00:02:52,160 particularly diplomats etcetera in LVIV ? 71 00:02:52,940 --> 00:02:55,710 And will the U . S . Defense Department 72 00:02:55,710 --> 00:02:57,877 provide additional security for them ? 73 00:02:57,877 --> 00:03:00,280 They're there , you're right . They are 74 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,447 attempting to hit what we assess to be 75 00:03:02,447 --> 00:03:04,620 critical infrastructure targets out 76 00:03:04,620 --> 00:03:07,660 towards the west , um um 77 00:03:07,670 --> 00:03:11,330 electrical power , uh transportation 78 00:03:11,330 --> 00:03:13,386 hubs , that kind of thing . We think 79 00:03:13,386 --> 00:03:15,608 this is an effort to try to disrupt the 80 00:03:15,608 --> 00:03:18,350 Ukrainians ability to replenish uh and 81 00:03:18,350 --> 00:03:22,280 reinforce themselves . Um We are , you 82 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,391 know , particularly these most recent 83 00:03:24,391 --> 00:03:26,613 strikes were still assessing the degree 84 00:03:26,613 --> 00:03:28,447 to which they hit what they were 85 00:03:28,447 --> 00:03:31,180 targeted ? I would just offer um 86 00:03:31,190 --> 00:03:34,160 without without trying to correlate 87 00:03:34,940 --> 00:03:36,829 specifically to these most recent 88 00:03:36,829 --> 00:03:40,200 strikes . I would just remind you that 89 00:03:40,210 --> 00:03:42,700 um that their ability to target with 90 00:03:42,700 --> 00:03:46,350 precision has been um 91 00:03:46,940 --> 00:03:50,720 less than um than 92 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,690 advertised throughout this entire war . 93 00:03:53,860 --> 00:03:57,670 They are not good at precision strikes . 94 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,880 They are not discriminate with 95 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,530 how they , how they target . 96 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:07,980 So again , I'm not making a statement 97 00:04:07,980 --> 00:04:10,036 about these most recent ones , but I 98 00:04:10,036 --> 00:04:11,790 think it's just good to remind 99 00:04:11,790 --> 00:04:14,200 ourselves of their lack of accuracy 100 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,730 over the course of the last Almost 70 101 00:04:16,730 --> 00:04:20,170 days here . As for security of our 102 00:04:20,170 --> 00:04:22,650 diplomats . Um I'll let the State 103 00:04:22,650 --> 00:04:24,539 Department speak to their , their 104 00:04:24,539 --> 00:04:26,317 movements um and their security 105 00:04:26,317 --> 00:04:29,460 protocols . Um as I've said before , 106 00:04:30,140 --> 00:04:33,460 we're in constant discussion with with 107 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:36,696 with our State Department colleagues 108 00:04:36,890 --> 00:04:40,840 and and obviously , you 109 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:42,729 know , it's typical for embassies 110 00:04:42,729 --> 00:04:45,730 around the world to have um a U . S . 111 00:04:45,740 --> 00:04:47,796 Marine security footprint there . We 112 00:04:47,796 --> 00:04:49,907 don't have , we're not we're not back 113 00:04:49,907 --> 00:04:52,073 at the embassy in Kiev . And so I just 114 00:04:52,073 --> 00:04:54,240 don't have anything to specifically to 115 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,910 speak to with respect to um us military 116 00:04:57,090 --> 00:05:00,560 support right now follow up . Do 117 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,500 you see much impediment to 118 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:07,910 us weapons transfers into Ukraine 119 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,350 and our shipments still getting to them 120 00:05:11,350 --> 00:05:14,210 successfully considering these hitting 121 00:05:14,210 --> 00:05:16,432 the rail heads and all of that . Yeah . 122 00:05:16,432 --> 00:05:18,520 What I can tell you is that the flow 123 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,710 into the region continues at an 124 00:05:21,710 --> 00:05:24,840 incredible pace and uh the flow of 125 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:27,007 materials from the region into Ukraine 126 00:05:27,007 --> 00:05:29,810 also continues every single day . And 127 00:05:29,810 --> 00:05:33,210 we know that uh because we talk to the 128 00:05:33,250 --> 00:05:35,630 Iranians every single day . We know 129 00:05:35,630 --> 00:05:37,630 that that material those weapons of 130 00:05:37,630 --> 00:05:39,797 systems are are getting into Ukrainian 131 00:05:39,797 --> 00:05:42,560 hands , yep . Okay , anybody else ? 132 00:05:43,140 --> 00:05:46,160 Yeah , thanks john this morning at a 133 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,327 briefing from some of the trainers out 134 00:05:48,327 --> 00:05:52,000 in Germany as you know , and it 135 00:05:52,010 --> 00:05:54,730 sounded like a lot of us army soldiers 136 00:05:54,740 --> 00:05:57,018 doing that training and National Guard . 137 00:05:57,018 --> 00:05:59,860 I wondered if given that the US is 138 00:05:59,860 --> 00:06:02,140 giving this phoenix ghost U A V . And 139 00:06:02,150 --> 00:06:05,570 other materials that perhaps pertained 140 00:06:05,570 --> 00:06:07,570 to the Air Force , if any Air Force 141 00:06:07,570 --> 00:06:09,403 personnel are doing training and 142 00:06:09,403 --> 00:06:11,690 Ukrainians , I don't know the status of 143 00:06:11,690 --> 00:06:13,690 phoenix ghost training . But you're 144 00:06:13,690 --> 00:06:17,620 right . We had some some officials 145 00:06:17,620 --> 00:06:19,787 from Yukon , the Army Training command 146 00:06:19,787 --> 00:06:22,020 talk to you guys about their , about 147 00:06:22,020 --> 00:06:24,298 the systems that they were training um , 148 00:06:24,298 --> 00:06:26,409 Ukrainian soldiers on . As you know , 149 00:06:26,409 --> 00:06:28,576 we had a small group that were here in 150 00:06:28,576 --> 00:06:30,631 the United States that got both some 151 00:06:30,631 --> 00:06:32,687 switchblade training as well as some 152 00:06:32,687 --> 00:06:34,909 unmanned surface vessel training . Uh I 153 00:06:34,909 --> 00:06:37,131 just don't have anything on the phoenix 154 00:06:37,131 --> 00:06:39,353 ghost , but it would most likely be Air 155 00:06:39,353 --> 00:06:43,050 Force training uh used to train 156 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,860 um operators who know how to conduct 157 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,720 U . S . Operations . So it would be our 158 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,170 expectation that it would be airports 159 00:06:52,170 --> 00:06:54,114 people doing that training . But I 160 00:06:54,114 --> 00:06:56,170 don't know whether that training has 161 00:06:56,170 --> 00:06:58,337 started and what that looks like right 162 00:06:58,337 --> 00:07:00,281 now , the status update of where I 163 00:07:00,281 --> 00:07:00,200 don't have a status update on the 164 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,200 phoenix ghost training . But but it 165 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,311 would r it's safe to assume that that 166 00:07:04,311 --> 00:07:06,478 training would be conducted by the Air 167 00:07:06,478 --> 00:07:08,256 Force follow up on one of these 168 00:07:08,256 --> 00:07:10,960 questions about um , 169 00:07:11,550 --> 00:07:14,340 the , well , I'll have to come back to 170 00:07:14,340 --> 00:07:18,070 you later . Are you sure Travis ? 171 00:07:19,270 --> 00:07:21,500 Um , the department just decided to 172 00:07:21,500 --> 00:07:24,900 allow service members to ship gun safe 173 00:07:24,910 --> 00:07:27,610 with their household goods . Um , and 174 00:07:27,610 --> 00:07:29,980 it said one of the reasons for that was 175 00:07:29,990 --> 00:07:32,140 suicide , but also the announcement 176 00:07:32,140 --> 00:07:34,307 also said that this was something that 177 00:07:34,307 --> 00:07:36,510 was asked for . Uh , the the Air Force 178 00:07:36,510 --> 00:07:38,732 had asked for . I was just wondering if 179 00:07:38,732 --> 00:07:40,954 there's something more that you can say 180 00:07:40,954 --> 00:07:42,954 about that decision . And does this 181 00:07:42,954 --> 00:07:45,010 dovetail , or is it connected at all 182 00:07:45,010 --> 00:07:46,954 with the Secretary's Commission on 183 00:07:46,954 --> 00:07:50,510 Suicide ? Uh , I can't say that it's 184 00:07:50,510 --> 00:07:52,540 directly associated with the 185 00:07:52,540 --> 00:07:54,596 Independent Review Committee that he 186 00:07:54,596 --> 00:07:56,929 stood up , but it's very much , in fact , 187 00:07:56,929 --> 00:07:59,096 he's talked about this publicly . He's 188 00:07:59,096 --> 00:08:01,040 talked about the fact that so many 189 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,590 military suicides are by gunshots . Uh , 190 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,560 and that one of the things that we want 191 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,460 to look at is um , is uh , 192 00:08:11,690 --> 00:08:15,670 is is weapons safety , particularly 193 00:08:15,990 --> 00:08:19,680 making sure that that that the men and 194 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:22,890 women of the force , you know , their 195 00:08:22,890 --> 00:08:25,057 options of what's available to them in 196 00:08:25,057 --> 00:08:27,810 terms of keeping firearms safe in the 197 00:08:27,810 --> 00:08:31,760 home . So , um , uh , we 198 00:08:31,770 --> 00:08:34,460 very much and he very much welcomes any 199 00:08:34,460 --> 00:08:37,350 move by the services with respect to 200 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,800 improving firearm safety in the home um , 201 00:08:40,810 --> 00:08:43,200 as well , and to include travel between 202 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,089 stations . I mean , that's that's 203 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:47,580 that's welcome . It's it's prudent . 204 00:08:47,590 --> 00:08:51,040 It's um uh , it's the right thing to do 205 00:08:51,140 --> 00:08:53,196 because again , so many suicides are 206 00:08:53,196 --> 00:08:55,750 happening due to do the two gunshot 207 00:08:55,750 --> 00:08:57,750 wounds . Um You talked about in the 208 00:08:57,750 --> 00:09:00,280 past about the Secretary's concerned 209 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,290 about gun storage and suicide and I'm 210 00:09:03,290 --> 00:09:05,290 just wondering if there is anything 211 00:09:05,290 --> 00:09:07,457 else that the department is looking at 212 00:09:07,457 --> 00:09:09,679 as far as storage , um , any changes or 213 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:11,734 policies that it believes could help 214 00:09:11,734 --> 00:09:13,901 with suicide that might be coming up . 215 00:09:13,901 --> 00:09:16,012 I don't have any changes to policy to 216 00:09:16,012 --> 00:09:18,234 talk to you today , but it is a concern 217 00:09:18,234 --> 00:09:20,179 of the secretaries and the and the 218 00:09:20,179 --> 00:09:22,346 department's suicide writ large . Uh , 219 00:09:22,346 --> 00:09:24,290 and uh as you know , that's why he 220 00:09:24,290 --> 00:09:26,068 stood up the Independent Review 221 00:09:26,068 --> 00:09:28,290 Committee to to take a look at this and 222 00:09:28,290 --> 00:09:30,512 we're still putting all that together . 223 00:09:30,512 --> 00:09:32,457 But I don't have any , again , any 224 00:09:32,457 --> 00:09:34,623 specific announcements to make Barbara 225 00:09:34,623 --> 00:09:37,080 very subjective by May . Um Military 226 00:09:37,090 --> 00:09:39,270 women already faced . Some of the 227 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,590 compared to their civilian counterparts 228 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:43,790 face some of the strongest legal 229 00:09:43,790 --> 00:09:45,830 restrictions on getting abortion 230 00:09:45,830 --> 00:09:49,600 services already . Um , They can be 231 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:51,400 assigned to States just so you 232 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,067 understand my question is not 233 00:09:53,067 --> 00:09:55,233 hypothetical , they can be assigned to 234 00:09:55,233 --> 00:09:57,400 States with significant restrictions . 235 00:09:57,840 --> 00:09:59,960 They want to go to another state for 236 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:02,071 that medical service . Then they have 237 00:10:02,071 --> 00:10:04,293 to ask the commander for leave in their 238 00:10:04,293 --> 00:10:06,900 military hospitals and Military 239 00:10:06,900 --> 00:10:09,180 Insurance doesn't cover it . A number 240 00:10:09,180 --> 00:10:11,610 of states have triggered laws should 241 00:10:11,610 --> 00:10:13,666 roe versus wade be overturned . That 242 00:10:13,666 --> 00:10:15,832 will automatically mean additional new 243 00:10:15,832 --> 00:10:18,054 restrictions are put into place . So my 244 00:10:18,054 --> 00:10:20,710 question is in this environment which 245 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,380 already exists separate from the 246 00:10:23,430 --> 00:10:25,780 national discussion on the Supreme 247 00:10:25,780 --> 00:10:28,100 Court , the existing environment for 248 00:10:28,100 --> 00:10:31,740 military women , what concerns do you 249 00:10:31,740 --> 00:10:35,260 have ? Does the pentagon have that 250 00:10:35,940 --> 00:10:39,910 as you go forward , women looking 251 00:10:39,910 --> 00:10:41,799 at joining the military and women 252 00:10:41,799 --> 00:10:44,600 already in the military may not see it 253 00:10:44,610 --> 00:10:47,200 as the most appealing choice for their 254 00:10:47,210 --> 00:10:50,150 careers if they could be assigned , for 255 00:10:50,150 --> 00:10:52,200 example , to a state with severe 256 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:54,490 restrictions which already are in 257 00:10:54,490 --> 00:10:57,210 effect in places like texas , Do you 258 00:10:57,210 --> 00:11:00,770 have concerns that women as we go 259 00:11:00,770 --> 00:11:04,270 forward here , may not see the military 260 00:11:04,700 --> 00:11:07,300 as an attractive career option for 261 00:11:07,300 --> 00:11:09,730 themselves . Could it impact readiness ? 262 00:11:09,740 --> 00:11:12,040 Do you have are there concerns about 263 00:11:12,050 --> 00:11:14,640 this ? I think Barb in in general , we 264 00:11:14,650 --> 00:11:16,817 were always concerned about being able 265 00:11:16,817 --> 00:11:19,050 to recruit and retain talent and what 266 00:11:19,740 --> 00:11:21,796 what causes an individual to want to 267 00:11:21,796 --> 00:11:23,684 join the military is often a very 268 00:11:23,684 --> 00:11:25,630 individual decision . Uh And and 269 00:11:25,630 --> 00:11:27,574 there's a lot of factors that that 270 00:11:27,580 --> 00:11:29,990 affect one's decision to join and 271 00:11:29,990 --> 00:11:32,850 certainly a lot of factors once ones in 272 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,750 that affect their decision to stay . 273 00:11:35,750 --> 00:11:38,520 I'd I'd rather not get into an abortion 274 00:11:38,530 --> 00:11:40,790 centric discussion here today , but I 275 00:11:40,790 --> 00:11:43,180 can tell you that uh that the health 276 00:11:43,180 --> 00:11:45,710 and well being of our men and women are 277 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:47,498 paramount concern to department 278 00:11:47,498 --> 00:11:51,450 leadership and uh we uh we 279 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,860 we certainly want to make sure that um 280 00:11:55,940 --> 00:11:58,107 whoever they are and wherever they are 281 00:11:58,107 --> 00:12:01,480 that they know uh that that we're 282 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:04,050 serious about that pledge and that we 283 00:12:04,050 --> 00:12:06,272 are serious about making sure they have 284 00:12:06,272 --> 00:12:08,383 the information , the tools that they 285 00:12:08,383 --> 00:12:10,106 need to make the most informed 286 00:12:10,106 --> 00:12:12,272 decisions for their own uh , for their 287 00:12:12,272 --> 00:12:14,328 own personal health and well being . 288 00:12:14,328 --> 00:12:16,550 That is of course in in discussion with 289 00:12:16,550 --> 00:12:18,772 their , with their physicians and their 290 00:12:18,772 --> 00:12:22,770 families . Is that okay ? Well I want 291 00:12:22,770 --> 00:12:25,070 to let my colleague asked her question 292 00:12:25,070 --> 00:12:27,237 as well . Of course . But I'm going to 293 00:12:27,237 --> 00:12:30,540 ask I guess an additional time because 294 00:12:30,730 --> 00:12:34,210 the national conversation and I realize 295 00:12:34,410 --> 00:12:36,521 it may be difficult from the podium . 296 00:12:36,521 --> 00:12:38,590 But the national conversation is not 297 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,640 hypothetical . I didn't suggest that it 298 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,040 was certainly did not want to say that 299 00:12:44,050 --> 00:12:46,217 for the record . You did not do that . 300 00:12:46,217 --> 00:12:49,400 Um , The national conversation 301 00:12:49,410 --> 00:12:53,180 includes whether the military 302 00:12:53,190 --> 00:12:56,860 has opened its doors in recent years to 303 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,200 oh get rid of the don't ask don't tell 304 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,520 policy same marriage , L . G . B . T . 305 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,870 Q . Women's reproductive rights . And I 306 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:07,810 just wonder if the national 307 00:13:07,810 --> 00:13:11,050 conversation is yet at a point 308 00:13:11,740 --> 00:13:15,110 where you the military , the defense 309 00:13:15,110 --> 00:13:18,380 Department feels it will be 310 00:13:18,390 --> 00:13:21,390 allowed to maintain a 311 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,920 socially diverse force and 312 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:26,930 especially the question right now 313 00:13:26,930 --> 00:13:29,620 because no secret to anybody . The 314 00:13:29,620 --> 00:13:32,220 Supreme Court conversation for women on 315 00:13:32,220 --> 00:13:35,990 reproductive rights . Uh huh . I would 316 00:13:35,990 --> 00:13:38,046 just say a couple of things . I mean 317 00:13:38,046 --> 00:13:40,600 one we have , I never assumed 318 00:13:41,740 --> 00:13:44,900 ever that that we are somehow immune 319 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,200 two . What's going on in the rest of 320 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,540 America whether that's a social issue a 321 00:13:51,540 --> 00:13:54,730 medical issue legal issue or an 322 00:13:54,730 --> 00:13:57,410 economic issue Where an all volunteer 323 00:13:57,410 --> 00:13:59,632 force and have been since the mid 70s , 324 00:13:59,632 --> 00:14:01,521 which means we have to go out and 325 00:14:01,521 --> 00:14:03,466 recruit that talent , we've got to 326 00:14:03,466 --> 00:14:05,688 convince you that service in the United 327 00:14:05,688 --> 00:14:07,854 States military is in your interest as 328 00:14:07,854 --> 00:14:09,854 well as ours . Um , Sometimes we're 329 00:14:09,854 --> 00:14:11,688 successful and sometimes not and 330 00:14:11,688 --> 00:14:13,799 individuals obviously have a right to 331 00:14:13,799 --> 00:14:15,910 make that decision for themselves and 332 00:14:15,910 --> 00:14:18,680 we know that . And look , I mean , a 333 00:14:18,690 --> 00:14:20,690 macro example of this is , is the 334 00:14:20,690 --> 00:14:22,857 economy right now . I mean , there are 335 00:14:22,857 --> 00:14:25,060 plenty of jobs out there . And so our 336 00:14:25,060 --> 00:14:27,227 recruiters have been under some strain 337 00:14:27,227 --> 00:14:29,990 because covid we didn't give them the 338 00:14:29,990 --> 00:14:32,590 contact that they needed with potential 339 00:14:32,590 --> 00:14:35,250 recruits , the way we're used to going 340 00:14:35,250 --> 00:14:38,420 after talent . And um , and then the 341 00:14:38,430 --> 00:14:40,652 with the economy and the , and the jobs 342 00:14:40,652 --> 00:14:42,652 situation being so good out there , 343 00:14:42,652 --> 00:14:46,500 then we're competing with that . And so 344 00:14:46,510 --> 00:14:49,100 we were absolutely not immune to it . 345 00:14:49,110 --> 00:14:52,810 Um , all I can say in the 346 00:14:52,810 --> 00:14:55,730 aggregate is that , that as we make a 347 00:14:55,730 --> 00:14:59,120 case to a young person about joining 348 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:02,450 male or female , um , that uh , 349 00:15:03,500 --> 00:15:05,556 and it gets , it doesn't matter what 350 00:15:05,556 --> 00:15:07,722 service , you know what , what service 351 00:15:07,722 --> 00:15:10,740 you're talking about . I mean , we um , 352 00:15:10,750 --> 00:15:13,180 we try to make clear to them that that 353 00:15:13,190 --> 00:15:15,412 uh , that yes , service in the military 354 00:15:15,412 --> 00:15:18,650 can endure hardship . Uh , it can , 355 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,910 it can be dangerous . It is dangerous , 356 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,070 but that there is also great 357 00:15:26,070 --> 00:15:29,000 opportunity . Um , in terms of 358 00:15:29,010 --> 00:15:31,860 education and learning skills , um , 359 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,450 building leadership ability . Um , 360 00:15:35,940 --> 00:15:39,830 um , and , and the sense of pride 361 00:15:39,830 --> 00:15:42,052 that comes with serving in the military 362 00:15:42,052 --> 00:15:45,540 and when you sign that dotted line that 363 00:15:45,550 --> 00:15:48,050 we commit back to you to make good on 364 00:15:48,050 --> 00:15:50,920 those promises as best we can ? And 365 00:15:50,930 --> 00:15:53,650 that your your healthy , your physical 366 00:15:53,650 --> 00:15:55,761 well being , your mental health . You 367 00:15:55,761 --> 00:15:57,539 know , we're just talking about 368 00:15:57,539 --> 00:15:59,650 suicides a little bit ago and this is 369 00:15:59,650 --> 00:15:59,050 mental health month , that your that 370 00:15:59,050 --> 00:16:01,161 your health your total health matters 371 00:16:01,161 --> 00:16:03,510 to us . And that that when you come in , 372 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:05,730 we're going to care for that . And uh 373 00:16:05,740 --> 00:16:09,460 so again , do you think at this 374 00:16:09,460 --> 00:16:13,100 point there is and I 375 00:16:13,110 --> 00:16:16,670 just asking your view there's a risk to 376 00:16:16,670 --> 00:16:20,610 readiness if you cannot maintain the 377 00:16:20,610 --> 00:16:23,030 appeal of military service to women . 378 00:16:23,110 --> 00:16:25,950 Are you concerned ? It could get to 379 00:16:25,950 --> 00:16:28,172 that point . Again , I want to separate 380 00:16:28,172 --> 00:16:30,800 this from the current debate now 381 00:16:30,810 --> 00:16:34,680 uh with respect to abortion rights . 382 00:16:34,690 --> 00:16:37,850 Um but the short answer to your 383 00:16:37,850 --> 00:16:41,290 question is of course , yes , of course . 384 00:16:41,290 --> 00:16:44,320 We uh we cannot be an effective 385 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,410 military without without the the brave 386 00:16:47,410 --> 00:16:50,070 women who serve inside the military and 387 00:16:50,070 --> 00:16:53,670 who serve in the civilian ranks . Uh 388 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:57,050 think about the the ways in which they 389 00:16:57,050 --> 00:16:59,150 contribute literally to operational 390 00:16:59,150 --> 00:17:01,317 readiness every day and our commanding 391 00:17:01,317 --> 00:17:03,760 at the highest levels , Including two 392 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,670 combatant commanders . Yeah , 393 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:09,930 it's important for the military to 394 00:17:09,930 --> 00:17:12,910 represent all of America all of America . 395 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:15,750 Um Not just because it's important 396 00:17:15,750 --> 00:17:17,639 representational e it's important 397 00:17:17,639 --> 00:17:19,970 operationally . And I've seen it myself 398 00:17:19,980 --> 00:17:23,060 at sea on ships . Um uh and 399 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,090 why on Earth would we uh 400 00:17:27,100 --> 00:17:30,590 not try to attract the best talent in 401 00:17:30,590 --> 00:17:33,450 America regardless of background , as 402 00:17:33,450 --> 00:17:35,672 long as they're qualified to meet the , 403 00:17:35,672 --> 00:17:37,728 meet the requirements to come in and 404 00:17:37,728 --> 00:17:39,894 there's lots of them education and and 405 00:17:39,894 --> 00:17:42,630 and and and and physical as well . But 406 00:17:42,630 --> 00:17:46,100 we would be , we would be to your to 407 00:17:46,100 --> 00:17:48,211 your question . We would be literally 408 00:17:48,211 --> 00:17:50,044 cutting into our readiness if we 409 00:17:50,044 --> 00:17:53,900 weren't um talking with with men and 410 00:17:53,900 --> 00:17:56,240 women about their concerns about 411 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:58,530 joining . Um and what anxiety or 412 00:17:58,530 --> 00:18:00,474 worries they might have and how we 413 00:18:00,474 --> 00:18:02,697 could allay those or address those . Um 414 00:18:02,697 --> 00:18:04,863 and then to continue to do that and to 415 00:18:04,863 --> 00:18:06,641 have those conversations as one 416 00:18:06,641 --> 00:18:08,863 progresses through one's career so that 417 00:18:08,863 --> 00:18:10,586 all those opportunities remain 418 00:18:10,586 --> 00:18:13,130 available to you . So just to follow up 419 00:18:13,140 --> 00:18:14,918 and raise it just a notch . The 420 00:18:14,918 --> 00:18:17,500 military has a great history of women 421 00:18:17,500 --> 00:18:19,460 on the tech side and science side 422 00:18:19,890 --> 00:18:21,946 making extraordinary contributions . 423 00:18:22,340 --> 00:18:25,000 And the national , the White House's 424 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,167 signing a national Security memorandum 425 00:18:27,167 --> 00:18:29,110 today about quantum and women in 426 00:18:29,110 --> 00:18:31,332 science and technology . This is one of 427 00:18:31,332 --> 00:18:33,554 the areas where they are also leading , 428 00:18:33,554 --> 00:18:35,870 making , leading contributions . So I'm 429 00:18:35,870 --> 00:18:37,703 just asking whether you might be 430 00:18:37,703 --> 00:18:39,814 concerned about the kind of workforce 431 00:18:39,814 --> 00:18:42,037 and being able to attract the workforce 432 00:18:42,037 --> 00:18:44,180 that can do the work that's needed in 433 00:18:44,180 --> 00:18:47,010 the science in the quantum area . Again , 434 00:18:47,010 --> 00:18:48,788 I think yes , of course , we're 435 00:18:48,788 --> 00:18:50,788 concerned about that . We want , we 436 00:18:50,788 --> 00:18:53,860 want the uh we want a wide range 437 00:18:53,860 --> 00:18:57,790 of skills here in the military , thank 438 00:18:57,790 --> 00:19:00,430 goodness . There wasn't , uh , in 1986 439 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,750 a strong emphasis on quantum 440 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:04,704 intelligence or I never would have 441 00:19:04,704 --> 00:19:06,760 gotten in . I mean , uh , we don't , 442 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:08,816 you know , yes , stem matters . Uh , 443 00:19:08,816 --> 00:19:12,100 and uh , and you saw in the budget , we 444 00:19:12,100 --> 00:19:14,940 just submitted the highest ever amount 445 00:19:14,940 --> 00:19:16,996 of investment money we're asking for 446 00:19:16,996 --> 00:19:18,718 from Congress for research and 447 00:19:18,718 --> 00:19:20,940 development in science and technology . 448 00:19:20,940 --> 00:19:22,996 It's absolutely critical . You can't 449 00:19:22,996 --> 00:19:24,884 call china pacing , challenge and 450 00:19:24,884 --> 00:19:27,107 Russia an acute threat and then not try 451 00:19:27,107 --> 00:19:26,510 to invest in capabilities that allow 452 00:19:26,510 --> 00:19:28,343 you to get at dealing with those 453 00:19:28,343 --> 00:19:30,510 challenges and those threats . So it's 454 00:19:30,510 --> 00:19:32,566 absolutely vital to us . Um , and we 455 00:19:32,566 --> 00:19:34,670 recognize that that knowledge and 456 00:19:34,670 --> 00:19:36,890 scientific acumen doesn't just reside 457 00:19:36,890 --> 00:19:39,112 in , in one gender or the other . So of 458 00:19:39,112 --> 00:19:41,334 course we're concerned about that . And 459 00:19:41,334 --> 00:19:43,668 that's why back to my answer to Barbara , 460 00:19:43,668 --> 00:19:45,723 we're going to be diverse and who we 461 00:19:45,723 --> 00:19:47,890 try to bring in bring in the best very 462 00:19:47,890 --> 00:19:49,946 talent , the best talent that we can 463 00:19:49,946 --> 00:19:52,168 and then keep that talent . Um , but we 464 00:19:52,168 --> 00:19:54,112 also , we also need people who who 465 00:19:54,112 --> 00:19:56,112 don't specialize in in stem because 466 00:19:56,112 --> 00:19:58,334 there's a lot of skills in the , in the 467 00:19:58,334 --> 00:20:00,057 military that , that require a 468 00:20:00,057 --> 00:20:01,723 different set of intellectual 469 00:20:01,723 --> 00:20:03,723 capacities and , and capabilities . 470 00:20:03,723 --> 00:20:05,668 Again , thank goodness for me or I 471 00:20:05,668 --> 00:20:04,790 wouldn't have been able to join the 472 00:20:04,790 --> 00:20:06,901 United States Navy that you have to , 473 00:20:06,901 --> 00:20:09,068 you have to be broad and , and how and 474 00:20:09,068 --> 00:20:10,901 how you're looking at who you're 475 00:20:10,901 --> 00:20:13,179 bringing in and the broader the better ? 476 00:20:13,179 --> 00:20:15,401 Quite frankly , yes . On the place with 477 00:20:15,401 --> 00:20:18,230 Fox News . Um , you're not mike stone 478 00:20:18,230 --> 00:20:21,640 from writers , are you okay on the most 479 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:23,550 recent North Korea ballistic test 480 00:20:23,550 --> 00:20:25,780 launch . Um , is the timing of it 481 00:20:25,790 --> 00:20:28,370 concerning to you considering President 482 00:20:28,370 --> 00:20:30,370 biden is going to be in South Korea 483 00:20:30,370 --> 00:20:32,426 later this month in Japan later this 484 00:20:32,426 --> 00:20:34,370 month . Um , and is there anything 485 00:20:34,370 --> 00:20:36,540 different in particular with this test 486 00:20:36,540 --> 00:20:38,950 launch ? Well , we're still analyzing , 487 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:41,820 uh , this uh , launch were certainly 488 00:20:41,820 --> 00:20:43,940 aware of a ballistic missile launch 489 00:20:43,940 --> 00:20:46,051 yesterday . And uh , we're consulting 490 00:20:46,051 --> 00:20:48,218 closely as you might expect with Japan 491 00:20:48,218 --> 00:20:51,660 and with with our South korean allies 492 00:20:51,660 --> 00:20:53,993 as well as other partners in the region . 493 00:20:53,993 --> 00:20:56,160 So I don't wanna I don't have anything 494 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,230 more on this launch . Um , as for 495 00:20:58,230 --> 00:21:00,590 timing , I I don't think we can say 496 00:21:00,590 --> 00:21:02,368 specifically that it's time for 497 00:21:02,368 --> 00:21:04,534 anything in particular . There's never 498 00:21:04,534 --> 00:21:07,520 a good time quite frankly for the DpRK 499 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:09,970 to to to conduct these kinds of tests . 500 00:21:09,980 --> 00:21:12,091 And that's the larger point . Uh , so 501 00:21:12,091 --> 00:21:14,258 we'll consult with allies and partners 502 00:21:14,258 --> 00:21:16,202 in the region and we'll uh , we'll 503 00:21:16,202 --> 00:21:18,424 continue to assess what happened here . 504 00:21:18,424 --> 00:21:20,424 We continue to call on the North to 505 00:21:20,424 --> 00:21:22,536 stop these provocative tests uh , and 506 00:21:22,536 --> 00:21:24,880 to be willing to sit down as we have 507 00:21:24,890 --> 00:21:26,890 offered . We would be willing to do 508 00:21:26,890 --> 00:21:30,190 without precondition and discuss a 509 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:31,922 diplomatic way forward here to 510 00:21:31,922 --> 00:21:35,580 denuclearize the north quick follow up . 511 00:21:35,590 --> 00:21:37,534 Um , they've more than doubled the 512 00:21:37,534 --> 00:21:39,757 number of test launches since last year 513 00:21:40,060 --> 00:21:42,770 is the U . S . You know , twice as 514 00:21:42,770 --> 00:21:44,992 concerned that how how concerned is the 515 00:21:44,992 --> 00:21:47,720 US compared to last year were still 516 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,840 very deeply concerned about these tests 517 00:21:50,910 --> 00:21:53,330 and the provocative nature of their 518 00:21:53,340 --> 00:21:55,770 continuing ballistic missile program . 519 00:21:56,020 --> 00:21:59,380 And that is why again we have and not 520 00:21:59,380 --> 00:22:01,102 just the United States but the 521 00:22:01,102 --> 00:22:03,213 international community has condemned 522 00:22:03,213 --> 00:22:05,436 these these provocations . Um there are 523 00:22:05,436 --> 00:22:07,602 violations of U . N . Security Council 524 00:22:07,602 --> 00:22:09,824 resolutions . That's why we have called 525 00:22:09,824 --> 00:22:12,047 for the north to sit down again without 526 00:22:12,047 --> 00:22:14,324 precondition and and have a discussion . 527 00:22:14,324 --> 00:22:17,620 And it's also why we continue to focus 528 00:22:17,630 --> 00:22:19,830 on the readiness of our alliance , our 529 00:22:19,830 --> 00:22:22,470 alliance in Japan and meeting today 530 00:22:22,470 --> 00:22:24,526 with the Minister of Defense and our 531 00:22:24,526 --> 00:22:27,270 alliance with with our South korean 532 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,058 allies as well . They're on the 533 00:22:29,058 --> 00:22:31,750 peninsula . Yeah , really , thank you . 534 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:33,982 I want to ask you about the Secretary's 535 00:22:33,982 --> 00:22:36,149 meeting with Japanese Defense Minister 536 00:22:36,149 --> 00:22:39,290 Kishi . Uh the Japanese government is 537 00:22:39,300 --> 00:22:41,800 revising its all national defense 538 00:22:41,810 --> 00:22:44,210 strategy . So what input is the 539 00:22:44,210 --> 00:22:46,160 Secretary give to the Japanese 540 00:22:46,170 --> 00:22:50,160 counterpart to up to enhance the US 541 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,510 Japan defense cooperation and to make 542 00:22:52,510 --> 00:22:54,880 sure Japanese strategy is closely 543 00:22:54,890 --> 00:22:56,779 aligned with the U . S . National 544 00:22:56,779 --> 00:22:58,834 defense . They did have a discussion 545 00:22:58,834 --> 00:23:00,668 today about our national defense 546 00:23:00,668 --> 00:23:02,612 strategy and the Japanese national 547 00:23:02,612 --> 00:23:04,501 Security strategy and I think the 548 00:23:04,501 --> 00:23:06,557 secretary came away from the meeting 549 00:23:06,557 --> 00:23:08,668 feeling that that they were very much 550 00:23:08,668 --> 00:23:10,612 aligned and that is not a surprise 551 00:23:10,612 --> 00:23:12,557 because of our close alliance with 552 00:23:12,557 --> 00:23:15,140 Japan and the close deep collaboration 553 00:23:15,140 --> 00:23:17,251 and cooperation , we have military to 554 00:23:17,251 --> 00:23:19,418 military so that there was a very good 555 00:23:19,418 --> 00:23:21,640 discussion about that and the Secretary 556 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,862 doesn't have any concerns for a while . 557 00:23:23,862 --> 00:23:26,580 Uh the Mr Kishi said on top of the 558 00:23:26,580 --> 00:23:28,590 meeting that they would discuss the 559 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:30,920 extended the tolerance to the Northeast 560 00:23:30,930 --> 00:23:32,874 easier . So could you tell us more 561 00:23:32,874 --> 00:23:34,930 about what they discussed in greater 562 00:23:34,930 --> 00:23:37,190 detail and does the Secretary think 563 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,500 there should be some additional steps 564 00:23:39,510 --> 00:23:42,790 to keep the extended deterrence robust 565 00:23:42,790 --> 00:23:44,957 and credible ? Yeah , I'm not going to 566 00:23:44,957 --> 00:23:46,846 get more detailed than what we've 567 00:23:46,846 --> 00:23:48,734 already read out . They certainly 568 00:23:48,734 --> 00:23:50,457 talked about the importance of 569 00:23:50,457 --> 00:23:52,568 integrated deterrence in the region . 570 00:23:52,568 --> 00:23:54,734 Uh this is something the secretary has 571 00:23:54,734 --> 00:23:56,957 talked about um since almost the day he 572 00:23:56,957 --> 00:23:58,734 took office . Um and integrated 573 00:23:58,734 --> 00:24:00,957 deterrence isn't just about integrating 574 00:24:00,957 --> 00:24:02,957 our joint capabilities , it's about 575 00:24:02,957 --> 00:24:04,734 integrating allies and partners 576 00:24:04,734 --> 00:24:06,846 capabilities in conjunction with ours 577 00:24:06,846 --> 00:24:10,240 uh to uh to deter potential 578 00:24:10,250 --> 00:24:12,320 adversarial action . Uh and that 579 00:24:12,330 --> 00:24:14,610 certainly applies when , when you're 580 00:24:14,610 --> 00:24:16,832 talking about the pacing challenge that 581 00:24:16,832 --> 00:24:18,832 china represents , It certainly was 582 00:24:18,832 --> 00:24:20,943 discussed today with Minister Kishi , 583 00:24:20,943 --> 00:24:23,054 but I I let let the Japanese speak to 584 00:24:23,054 --> 00:24:25,054 specific extended deterrence issues 585 00:24:25,054 --> 00:24:27,110 with respect to their home islands . 586 00:24:27,110 --> 00:24:29,480 Again , it was the issue of deterrence . 587 00:24:29,490 --> 00:24:32,960 Um and china's continued bellicosity 588 00:24:32,970 --> 00:24:36,220 and aggressive and coercive moves was 589 00:24:36,230 --> 00:24:38,341 absolutely discussed , but I won't go 590 00:24:38,341 --> 00:24:40,286 any more detail than that . Okay , 591 00:24:42,970 --> 00:24:45,137 okay , then we'll go to the next one . 592 00:24:45,137 --> 00:24:48,160 The minister today said that North 593 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:49,938 Korea become a greater and more 594 00:24:49,938 --> 00:24:52,590 imminent threat and I'm wondering if 595 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,822 the pentagon agrees with that sentiment 596 00:24:54,822 --> 00:24:56,878 that are greater and more imminent ? 597 00:24:56,878 --> 00:24:58,989 And also if there's anything that you 598 00:24:58,989 --> 00:24:58,500 could flush out and I know you're going 599 00:24:58,500 --> 00:25:00,556 to tell me that , asked the japanese 600 00:25:00,556 --> 00:25:02,722 about this , but I'm asking if there's 601 00:25:02,722 --> 00:25:04,722 anything that you could flush about 602 00:25:04,722 --> 00:25:06,778 flush out about why particularly the 603 00:25:06,778 --> 00:25:08,889 recent tests or even this test , just 604 00:25:08,889 --> 00:25:11,000 history by North Korea may make north 605 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,056 Korea a more imminent threat I think 606 00:25:13,056 --> 00:25:14,333 with each test court , 607 00:25:16,340 --> 00:25:19,420 even if it's a failure . Um and again , 608 00:25:19,420 --> 00:25:22,120 we're still assessing this one . So I'm 609 00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:24,453 not going to get into the details of it . 610 00:25:24,453 --> 00:25:26,676 But with each test they learn with each 611 00:25:26,676 --> 00:25:28,842 test they try to improve and sometimes 612 00:25:28,842 --> 00:25:28,790 they actually do . So when we talk 613 00:25:28,790 --> 00:25:30,850 about greater , I think that's what 614 00:25:30,850 --> 00:25:32,906 we're all talking about and we would 615 00:25:32,906 --> 00:25:35,072 agree that the threat from North Korea 616 00:25:35,072 --> 00:25:37,017 continues to increase because they 617 00:25:37,017 --> 00:25:39,183 continue to test because they continue 618 00:25:39,183 --> 00:25:41,406 to learn because they continue to adapt 619 00:25:41,406 --> 00:25:43,572 their program . Um It would be foolish 620 00:25:43,572 --> 00:25:45,461 not to uh to assess that that the 621 00:25:45,461 --> 00:25:47,350 threat they're posing is actually 622 00:25:47,350 --> 00:25:49,406 increasing over time . Yeah , in the 623 00:25:49,406 --> 00:25:51,461 back there , thank you for taking my 624 00:25:51,461 --> 00:25:53,628 question . I'm coach from Kyoto News , 625 00:25:53,628 --> 00:25:55,683 Japanese media . I want to ask about 626 00:25:55,683 --> 00:25:58,000 the Japan , the Liberal Democratic 627 00:25:58,010 --> 00:26:01,110 Party of Japan has recommended 628 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,370 recommended Japanese government to 629 00:26:03,370 --> 00:26:06,350 possess counterattack capability 630 00:26:07,540 --> 00:26:10,810 uh in light of china's military rights , 631 00:26:10,820 --> 00:26:14,740 uh how how in light of chinese 632 00:26:14,740 --> 00:26:18,190 military rights ? Alright . 633 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:21,720 Alright , alright , alright . How 634 00:26:21,870 --> 00:26:25,180 the pentagon evaluate about this 635 00:26:25,250 --> 00:26:29,050 discussion ? I think . Go ahead . Do 636 00:26:29,050 --> 00:26:31,800 you have another one now . How do you 637 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:34,680 think the US Japan defense cooperation 638 00:26:34,690 --> 00:26:38,240 change if Japan possess counterattack 639 00:26:38,250 --> 00:26:40,430 capability ? Yeah , I think I'm gonna 640 00:26:40,430 --> 00:26:43,280 avoid waiting into Japanese politics 641 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,310 domestically . Um so I'm just simply 642 00:26:46,310 --> 00:26:50,170 not going to speak to that . Um 643 00:26:50,940 --> 00:26:52,940 I would just say a couple of things 644 00:26:52,940 --> 00:26:55,162 again , the alliance with Japan is rock 645 00:26:55,162 --> 00:26:57,384 solid uh and gets better every year and 646 00:26:57,384 --> 00:26:59,273 this is something that we're very 647 00:26:59,273 --> 00:27:01,496 dedicated to . Um I mean with the first 648 00:27:01,496 --> 00:27:03,718 trip the secretary took overseas was to 649 00:27:03,718 --> 00:27:06,760 uh the Tokyo into Seoul um and he was 650 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:08,704 very glad to meet with the defense 651 00:27:08,704 --> 00:27:10,816 Minister here here here today , we're 652 00:27:10,816 --> 00:27:14,030 always looking at ways to improve our 653 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:17,670 collective defensive capabilities . Um 654 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:19,920 and certainly with a with an eye on 655 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,087 what china is doing in the region . No 656 00:27:22,087 --> 00:27:24,087 question about that . And again , I 657 00:27:24,087 --> 00:27:25,920 point you back to the our budget 658 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,031 submission , which the secretary just 659 00:27:28,031 --> 00:27:30,253 testified to yesterday and the kinds of 660 00:27:30,253 --> 00:27:32,476 capabilities that are in there designed 661 00:27:32,476 --> 00:27:34,253 to help us with with the pacing 662 00:27:34,253 --> 00:27:36,420 challenge of china . And that was what 663 00:27:36,420 --> 00:27:38,587 the the discussion was about . Part of 664 00:27:38,587 --> 00:27:40,587 the discussion was about today with 665 00:27:40,587 --> 00:27:42,531 Minister Kishi about how uh how we 666 00:27:42,531 --> 00:27:44,753 continue to to to pursue this vision of 667 00:27:44,753 --> 00:27:46,976 integrated deterrence again with an eye 668 00:27:46,976 --> 00:27:49,950 towards china . But as for internal 669 00:27:49,950 --> 00:27:53,360 Japanese politics and and uh and and uh 670 00:27:54,510 --> 00:27:56,454 and proposals to the government in 671 00:27:56,454 --> 00:27:58,621 Tokyo ? I think I'd let the government 672 00:27:58,621 --> 00:28:00,677 in Tokyo speak to that . I think you 673 00:28:00,677 --> 00:28:02,566 hope you can understand that Tony 674 00:28:02,566 --> 00:28:04,788 health question and a couple of Russian 675 00:28:04,788 --> 00:28:06,843 questions . Has anybody who attended 676 00:28:06,843 --> 00:28:08,954 the White House correspondents dinner 677 00:28:08,954 --> 00:28:08,750 from the pentagon tested positive . 678 00:28:10,590 --> 00:28:13,300 Russia made a victory parade that Putin 679 00:28:13,300 --> 00:28:15,356 wants to put on Which science is the 680 00:28:15,356 --> 00:28:17,467 pentagon watching for in terms of any 681 00:28:17,467 --> 00:28:19,633 mega assaults between now and May nine 682 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,318 to solidify a parade of victory parade . 683 00:28:22,318 --> 00:28:24,830 I mean , massed armored formations more 684 00:28:24,930 --> 00:28:27,210 master our aircraft , artillery 685 00:28:27,210 --> 00:28:29,154 bombardments . Anything that would 686 00:28:29,154 --> 00:28:32,830 pretend we're not , we're not watching 687 00:28:32,830 --> 00:28:35,052 what's going on in Ukraine . Nor are we 688 00:28:35,052 --> 00:28:36,941 talking to the Ukrainians and and 689 00:28:36,941 --> 00:28:39,163 trying to help them with an eye towards 690 00:28:39,163 --> 00:28:41,219 what May 9th is gonna look like ? Uh 691 00:28:41,219 --> 00:28:43,330 look , I I don't know . We don't know 692 00:28:43,330 --> 00:28:46,150 if he's gonna throw a parade or a party . 693 00:28:46,150 --> 00:28:48,150 We don't know . We know we've heard 694 00:28:48,150 --> 00:28:50,261 rumors of him , you know , he's going 695 00:28:50,261 --> 00:28:52,317 to declare war now . They're denying 696 00:28:52,317 --> 00:28:54,483 that . And we're we are not focused on 697 00:28:54,483 --> 00:28:56,650 what Russia is going to do on May nine 698 00:28:56,650 --> 00:28:58,761 or what they're gonna say or proclaim 699 00:28:58,761 --> 00:29:00,761 or celebrate what we are focused on 700 00:29:00,761 --> 00:29:02,928 every day , including this day , is to 701 00:29:02,928 --> 00:29:05,039 make sure that we are helping Ukraine 702 00:29:05,039 --> 00:29:06,928 defend itself by getting them the 703 00:29:06,928 --> 00:29:09,039 weapons and the material they need as 704 00:29:09,039 --> 00:29:08,890 quickly as possible . And it's in 705 00:29:08,890 --> 00:29:10,946 lockstep with what they tell us they 706 00:29:10,946 --> 00:29:13,112 need . And if we don't have it , we're 707 00:29:13,112 --> 00:29:15,168 working with other countries that do 708 00:29:15,168 --> 00:29:17,223 have it that can help get it there . 709 00:29:17,223 --> 00:29:17,060 And in some cases were actually helping 710 00:29:17,060 --> 00:29:19,116 with that transport . So that's what 711 00:29:19,116 --> 00:29:21,730 the focus is on . I can't and won't 712 00:29:21,850 --> 00:29:25,490 speak to potential uh future operations 713 00:29:25,500 --> 00:29:28,100 in Ukraine . I wouldn't do that . Even 714 00:29:28,100 --> 00:29:30,156 if you know we were talking about us 715 00:29:30,156 --> 00:29:32,322 operations and we're not we're talking 716 00:29:32,322 --> 00:29:34,100 about a war in which we are not 717 00:29:34,100 --> 00:29:36,100 fighting . Um All I can tell you is 718 00:29:36,100 --> 00:29:39,190 that the Russians have not made the 719 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:41,311 kind of progress in the Donbas and in 720 00:29:41,311 --> 00:29:43,570 the south uh that we believe they 721 00:29:43,570 --> 00:29:45,403 wanted to make and we do believe 722 00:29:45,403 --> 00:29:47,626 they're behind schedule . We do believe 723 00:29:47,626 --> 00:29:50,680 it's been slow . Um And at every turn 724 00:29:50,690 --> 00:29:52,468 they have met a stiff Ukrainian 725 00:29:52,468 --> 00:29:54,579 resistance . What we're focused on is 726 00:29:54,579 --> 00:29:56,412 making sure that that resistance 727 00:29:56,412 --> 00:29:58,523 remains as stiff as possible in their 728 00:29:58,523 --> 00:30:01,190 parade . Yeah we're not we're not 729 00:30:01,190 --> 00:30:03,357 focused on his parade plans . You said 730 00:30:03,357 --> 00:30:05,523 also that they're they're like they're 731 00:30:05,523 --> 00:30:07,412 precision is less than advertised 732 00:30:07,412 --> 00:30:09,523 fairly surprising given the amount of 733 00:30:09,523 --> 00:30:11,579 money they spend on precision guided 734 00:30:11,579 --> 00:30:13,690 weaponry . What do you attribute that 735 00:30:13,690 --> 00:30:15,690 to Ukraine's air defenses that keep 736 00:30:15,690 --> 00:30:17,746 their I . S . R . Capability down or 737 00:30:17,746 --> 00:30:19,412 what I mean it's hard to know 738 00:30:19,412 --> 00:30:21,523 specifically again when it's not when 739 00:30:21,523 --> 00:30:23,246 it's not a missile that you're 740 00:30:23,246 --> 00:30:25,357 launching . Um It's hard to know what 741 00:30:25,357 --> 00:30:28,160 was the actual intended target . Um And 742 00:30:28,170 --> 00:30:30,337 how you know that and therefore if you 743 00:30:30,337 --> 00:30:32,448 don't know the actual intended target 744 00:30:32,448 --> 00:30:34,392 it's hard to know by how much they 745 00:30:34,392 --> 00:30:37,370 missed but we have indications that uh 746 00:30:37,380 --> 00:30:40,240 that uh they have not been precise . I 747 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:41,851 mean actually it's more than 748 00:30:41,851 --> 00:30:44,073 indications you can see it for yourself 749 00:30:44,073 --> 00:30:47,700 in the imagery . I mean um uh they 750 00:30:47,710 --> 00:30:49,920 they they have not been uh they have 751 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,031 not been precise , they have not been 752 00:30:52,031 --> 00:30:54,253 discriminate . And there's probably any 753 00:30:54,253 --> 00:30:56,364 number of reasons for that . It could 754 00:30:56,364 --> 00:30:58,309 be technical issues . It certainly 755 00:30:58,309 --> 00:31:00,364 could be Ukrainian defenses um or it 756 00:31:00,364 --> 00:31:02,531 could just be incompetence on the part 757 00:31:02,531 --> 00:31:04,642 of operators . I mean there's there's 758 00:31:04,642 --> 00:31:07,130 likely for any miss um there's likely a 759 00:31:07,130 --> 00:31:09,190 lot of reasons for that . These are 760 00:31:09,190 --> 00:31:11,412 precision guys , these are weapons that 761 00:31:11,412 --> 00:31:13,412 are designed to be precision guided 762 00:31:13,412 --> 00:31:15,412 that are working as intended versus 763 00:31:15,412 --> 00:31:17,634 dumb bombs . That is correct . Thanks . 764 00:31:17,634 --> 00:31:19,801 Yeah . Uh no Abraham already got you , 765 00:31:19,801 --> 00:31:21,912 let me get somebody on the phone . Uh 766 00:31:21,912 --> 00:31:25,600 paul , Shenkman , us news . Hi john um 767 00:31:25,610 --> 00:31:27,770 staying on Russia for a minute . What 768 00:31:27,770 --> 00:31:30,190 do you assess would happen if Putin 769 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:32,730 were to be incapacitated for any reason , 770 00:31:32,730 --> 00:31:34,786 particularly amid these reports that 771 00:31:34,786 --> 00:31:36,897 now he's giving direct orders for the 772 00:31:36,897 --> 00:31:39,119 military operation in Ukraine does like 773 00:31:39,119 --> 00:31:41,286 Russia appear to have a clear chain of 774 00:31:41,286 --> 00:31:43,230 command to succeed him or at least 775 00:31:43,230 --> 00:31:45,200 maintain operations in Ukraine . I 776 00:31:45,210 --> 00:31:47,850 don't want to speculate about their 777 00:31:47,850 --> 00:31:49,850 chain of command and how that would 778 00:31:49,850 --> 00:31:52,072 work if for some , I mean that's I just 779 00:31:52,072 --> 00:31:53,683 don't think that's a healthy 780 00:31:53,683 --> 00:31:57,120 speculation for us to get into . Um uh 781 00:31:57,130 --> 00:32:00,390 Mr Putin is the leader of his country 782 00:32:00,390 --> 00:32:02,446 is certainly the leader of his armed 783 00:32:02,446 --> 00:32:05,570 forces . Um And uh and how they execute 784 00:32:05,580 --> 00:32:08,200 orders down that that chain of command 785 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,950 is is not what is not perfectly visible 786 00:32:10,950 --> 00:32:14,820 to us in every way . Um uh Nor is it 787 00:32:14,820 --> 00:32:17,910 perfectly visible to us how information 788 00:32:17,910 --> 00:32:21,110 bubbles up from below the ranks up to 789 00:32:21,110 --> 00:32:24,260 him . So I think I I just I'm gonna not 790 00:32:24,260 --> 00:32:26,660 speculate on on that 791 00:32:28,660 --> 00:32:32,480 Jeff Vogel , thank you . The Chief 792 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:34,480 justice of the Supreme Court has 793 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:36,950 confirmed that the draft opinion on roe 794 00:32:37,110 --> 00:32:39,520 is accurate is authentic . So it's not 795 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:41,360 a question of if but when roe is 796 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:44,180 overturned , when that happens , will 797 00:32:44,180 --> 00:32:46,291 the Defense Department make sure that 798 00:32:46,291 --> 00:32:48,291 female service members and military 799 00:32:48,291 --> 00:32:50,513 dependents can still have surgeries for 800 00:32:50,513 --> 00:32:52,624 ectopic pregnancies and they will not 801 00:32:52,624 --> 00:32:54,736 be prosecuted by state authorities if 802 00:32:54,736 --> 00:32:57,670 they have miscarriages ? I beg to 803 00:32:57,670 --> 00:33:01,120 differ . I think it's been stated that 804 00:33:01,130 --> 00:33:03,550 that a draft opinion is just that draft 805 00:33:04,140 --> 00:33:06,170 and it's not our place here at the 806 00:33:06,170 --> 00:33:08,360 Department of Defense to speak to 807 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:11,990 opinions by the Supreme Court that that 808 00:33:11,990 --> 00:33:14,212 have not been rendered . Um So I'm just 809 00:33:14,212 --> 00:33:16,820 not gonna entertain that uh corona 810 00:33:16,820 --> 00:33:17,360 margin . 811 00:33:21,740 --> 00:33:24,260 Hi john um so I have a question that is 812 00:33:24,270 --> 00:33:27,800 about Ukraine earlier today , a senior 813 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:29,856 defense official was kind of talking 814 00:33:29,856 --> 00:33:31,800 about the advances that Russia was 815 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:34,022 making and how they've been stymied and 816 00:33:34,022 --> 00:33:36,244 not gotten much progress outside of are 817 00:33:36,244 --> 00:33:38,244 you bull getting to be like a novel 818 00:33:38,244 --> 00:33:40,189 Silka if I missed pronouncing that 819 00:33:40,189 --> 00:33:42,522 correctly and from museum to to lineman . 820 00:33:42,522 --> 00:33:44,578 Just I was wondering though , if you 821 00:33:44,578 --> 00:33:46,411 could kind of , from your take , 822 00:33:46,411 --> 00:33:48,467 explain are these advances something 823 00:33:48,467 --> 00:33:50,800 that aren't considered to be , you know , 824 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,856 terribly significant by the pentagon 825 00:33:52,856 --> 00:33:54,744 because there's some form of like 826 00:33:54,744 --> 00:33:54,370 deceleration because if you look at 827 00:33:54,370 --> 00:33:56,370 them on the map , it seems like the 828 00:33:56,370 --> 00:33:58,370 distance that's been covered by the 829 00:33:58,370 --> 00:34:00,592 Russian forces moving is like more than 830 00:34:00,592 --> 00:34:02,648 half of the way to slow the answer . 831 00:34:02,648 --> 00:34:04,870 More than half of the way to Kramatorsk 832 00:34:04,870 --> 00:34:06,981 for these cities that the pentagon is 833 00:34:06,981 --> 00:34:06,750 defined as potential targets of the 834 00:34:06,750 --> 00:34:08,972 Russian advance . So is there something 835 00:34:08,972 --> 00:34:11,028 else going on there that makes these 836 00:34:11,028 --> 00:34:13,040 not , you know , particularly , you 837 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,610 know , not alarming advances I suppose 838 00:34:15,610 --> 00:34:17,388 does it seemed like the defense 839 00:34:17,388 --> 00:34:19,280 official was saying or is that 840 00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:21,224 something that actually is putting 841 00:34:21,224 --> 00:34:23,058 Russians like in closer striking 842 00:34:23,058 --> 00:34:25,080 distance than maybe um , before is 843 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:27,302 there a pacing thing or something going 844 00:34:27,302 --> 00:34:29,358 on that's qualifying kind of the the 845 00:34:29,358 --> 00:34:31,469 inches on the map um , that seemed to 846 00:34:31,469 --> 00:34:33,760 put that fairly , you know , seem to 847 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:35,482 make it seem like they're more 848 00:34:35,482 --> 00:34:39,440 significant dances . Um , let me try it 849 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:41,460 this way again . We , 850 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:45,580 we believe their their progress in the 851 00:34:45,580 --> 00:34:47,850 Donbas and even in the south has been 852 00:34:47,860 --> 00:34:51,600 uneven and it has been slower than 853 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:55,360 they than we believe they anticipated 854 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,310 being . Um , we think in general and 855 00:34:59,310 --> 00:35:01,750 I'd rather not get into specific lines 856 00:35:01,750 --> 00:35:04,830 of advance or , or towns and cities 857 00:35:04,830 --> 00:35:06,997 here from the podium . But we think in 858 00:35:06,997 --> 00:35:09,219 general there's there's several reasons 859 00:35:09,219 --> 00:35:11,274 for this and it varies from place to 860 00:35:11,274 --> 00:35:13,497 place , but in general , um , uh , they 861 00:35:13,497 --> 00:35:15,719 still have , we don't believe they have 862 00:35:15,719 --> 00:35:17,886 solved their logistics and sustainment 863 00:35:17,886 --> 00:35:19,830 issues and that because they don't 864 00:35:19,830 --> 00:35:21,830 haven't solved them , they are more 865 00:35:21,830 --> 00:35:24,170 wary about getting too far out ahead of 866 00:35:24,170 --> 00:35:26,660 their supply lines . And so that has 867 00:35:26,660 --> 00:35:30,350 kept them uh , at a 868 00:35:30,350 --> 00:35:34,250 fairly slow pace in terms of 869 00:35:34,250 --> 00:35:37,750 movement number two . And 870 00:35:38,540 --> 00:35:40,651 actually this is not insignificant at 871 00:35:40,651 --> 00:35:43,410 all , is the Ukrainian resistance . Uh , 872 00:35:43,420 --> 00:35:45,420 this is an area that they have been 873 00:35:45,420 --> 00:35:47,531 fighting now over for eight years and 874 00:35:47,531 --> 00:35:49,753 the Ukrainians , it's it's their home , 875 00:35:49,753 --> 00:35:52,400 they know it um , and um , and they 876 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,456 know where to be and they , and they 877 00:35:54,456 --> 00:35:56,930 know uh , what they show up with and 878 00:35:56,930 --> 00:36:00,800 they have absolutely impeded Russian 879 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,090 progress in terms of their ability 880 00:36:04,090 --> 00:36:07,820 to , to take certain towns and villages 881 00:36:07,820 --> 00:36:10,153 or even in the case when they have , uh , 882 00:36:10,153 --> 00:36:12,098 they pull back in , the Ukrainians 883 00:36:12,098 --> 00:36:14,440 retake it . Um , so the Ukrainians are 884 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:16,720 very much a part of the reason why they 885 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:20,290 haven't uh progressed in a very even , 886 00:36:20,290 --> 00:36:23,660 or or or even at pace manner . 887 00:36:24,330 --> 00:36:26,290 Um , the weather is also having an 888 00:36:26,290 --> 00:36:28,346 effect . This is the muddy season in 889 00:36:28,346 --> 00:36:30,346 Ukraine . This is a part of Ukraine 890 00:36:30,346 --> 00:36:33,780 that is a flat , a lot of farmland . Um , 891 00:36:33,790 --> 00:36:35,957 it's been described to me a little bit 892 00:36:35,957 --> 00:36:38,179 like Kansas . And so if you think about 893 00:36:38,179 --> 00:36:40,410 that and and this this time of year in 894 00:36:40,410 --> 00:36:42,577 the , in the , in the spring , there's 895 00:36:42,577 --> 00:36:44,688 just a lot of rain and mud and that , 896 00:36:44,688 --> 00:36:47,470 that also has , has served to slow the 897 00:36:47,470 --> 00:36:50,360 Russians down a little bit . And then 898 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:53,550 lastly , um they still haven't 899 00:36:53,550 --> 00:36:55,750 overcome the leadership and unit 900 00:36:55,750 --> 00:36:58,850 cohesion challenges that uh that they 901 00:36:58,850 --> 00:37:01,120 had early on . I mean , they we still 902 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:02,842 have anecdotal evidence , it's 903 00:37:02,842 --> 00:37:05,009 anecdotal , I understand that it's not 904 00:37:05,009 --> 00:37:07,120 uniform , but anecdotal evidence of , 905 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:09,287 of morale and cohesion problems inside 906 00:37:09,287 --> 00:37:12,370 many units . Um , and uh and leadership 907 00:37:12,370 --> 00:37:14,370 challenges poor command and control 908 00:37:14,370 --> 00:37:16,860 that they haven't solved . So , um , we 909 00:37:16,870 --> 00:37:19,410 we do see that they are trying and have 910 00:37:19,410 --> 00:37:22,130 tried to overcome some of those 911 00:37:22,140 --> 00:37:24,350 challenges , but it is , it is not at 912 00:37:24,350 --> 00:37:26,239 all clear that they have . And so 913 00:37:26,239 --> 00:37:28,370 there's a whole wealth of reasons why 914 00:37:28,380 --> 00:37:31,960 the progresses as it is right now . Um , 915 00:37:32,330 --> 00:37:34,552 they have a lot of force power , left a 916 00:37:34,552 --> 00:37:36,663 lot of firepower left to them , a lot 917 00:37:36,663 --> 00:37:40,380 of forces left two uh , to 918 00:37:40,380 --> 00:37:43,140 continue this fight . Um , and and that 919 00:37:43,140 --> 00:37:46,160 is why uh , and we've said all along 920 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:48,780 that this could be , could end up being 921 00:37:48,790 --> 00:37:51,550 a prolonged battle in the don boss . 922 00:37:51,550 --> 00:37:53,650 And that's why we're focused . My 923 00:37:53,650 --> 00:37:55,706 answer to Tony , we're focused right 924 00:37:55,706 --> 00:37:57,940 now every day , including this day on 925 00:37:57,940 --> 00:38:00,500 making sure that we can give the 926 00:38:00,500 --> 00:38:02,556 Ukrainians the tools and the weapons 927 00:38:02,556 --> 00:38:04,722 that they need as well as the training 928 00:38:04,722 --> 00:38:06,944 that may be required with some of those 929 00:38:06,944 --> 00:38:09,610 tools um , to succeed . Okay , Laura 930 00:38:09,610 --> 00:38:10,610 Seligman , 931 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:16,542 hey , john , thanks for doing this , um 932 00:38:16,542 --> 00:38:18,709 I just wanted to take one more step at 933 00:38:18,709 --> 00:38:21,220 the abortion question um is if this 934 00:38:21,230 --> 00:38:23,563 ultimately is the decision of the court , 935 00:38:23,570 --> 00:38:25,403 you know , D O D . Is a planning 936 00:38:25,403 --> 00:38:27,348 organization , is D O . D . Making 937 00:38:27,348 --> 00:38:29,760 plans to offer some kind of workaround 938 00:38:29,770 --> 00:38:31,881 for service members . That might make 939 00:38:31,881 --> 00:38:33,770 it easier since as you know , the 940 00:38:33,770 --> 00:38:36,150 service women have even more obstacles 941 00:38:36,420 --> 00:38:38,531 to getting the medical care that they 942 00:38:38,531 --> 00:38:42,040 need . Then civilian women do Laura , I 943 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:44,880 I this this draft opinion just just 944 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:47,510 broke in the media , you know what , 24 , 945 00:38:47,770 --> 00:38:51,640 hours ago . Um and uh and I think that 946 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:53,862 the relevant authorities have spoken to 947 00:38:53,862 --> 00:38:56,760 it . Um and and it is a draft opinion . 948 00:38:56,760 --> 00:39:00,340 It is that we were 949 00:39:00,620 --> 00:39:03,740 we're focused on our requirements for 950 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:05,816 the health and well being of our our 951 00:39:05,816 --> 00:39:07,871 people , all of our people right now 952 00:39:07,871 --> 00:39:09,982 and we're just not gonna get ahead of 953 00:39:09,982 --> 00:39:12,093 where this goes uh , with the Supreme 954 00:39:12,093 --> 00:39:14,204 Court . I just don't think that would 955 00:39:14,204 --> 00:39:16,427 be prudent for us to do . Yes , ma'am . 956 00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:19,180 Has there been any weakening of the 957 00:39:19,190 --> 00:39:22,910 Russian blockade around the ports Mario 958 00:39:22,910 --> 00:39:25,980 Poland ? We we still assess that in the 959 00:39:25,980 --> 00:39:29,400 maritime domain . There's the there is 960 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:31,570 still there are still blockades , 961 00:39:31,580 --> 00:39:33,580 there's there still restricting the 962 00:39:33,580 --> 00:39:36,840 ability of uh of Ukraine to to trade 963 00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,170 economically that that they are still 964 00:39:39,170 --> 00:39:42,340 able to do that . Yeah . Yeah , johnny 965 00:39:42,350 --> 00:39:44,260 spoke a bit about how there's a 966 00:39:44,270 --> 00:39:47,360 continued flow of defense assistance to 967 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:50,510 Ukraine and has not been um less under 968 00:39:50,510 --> 00:39:52,788 inhibited . In fact , it's very strong . 969 00:39:52,788 --> 00:39:55,121 Some of the terms that you said earlier . 970 00:39:55,121 --> 00:39:57,177 Can you give us a little bit without 971 00:39:57,177 --> 00:39:59,232 revealing any operational security ? 972 00:39:59,232 --> 00:40:01,399 Can you give us some context as to how 973 00:40:01,399 --> 00:40:03,454 Russia could be striking last week , 974 00:40:03,454 --> 00:40:06,530 five railroads railroad stations and 975 00:40:06,530 --> 00:40:08,641 now hitting infrastructure , critical 976 00:40:08,641 --> 00:40:10,474 infrastructure that provides the 977 00:40:10,474 --> 00:40:12,770 electricity for that and yet there's no 978 00:40:12,780 --> 00:40:15,130 disruption . Can you have some are not 979 00:40:15,130 --> 00:40:18,240 hitting roads either ? I would just 980 00:40:18,250 --> 00:40:22,200 again , abraham , uh , what we said 981 00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:24,610 from the very beginning is , uh , we're 982 00:40:24,610 --> 00:40:26,777 not gonna talk about the ways in which 983 00:40:26,777 --> 00:40:28,832 materials getting inside Ukraine and 984 00:40:28,832 --> 00:40:30,999 that there are lots of ways to do that 985 00:40:30,999 --> 00:40:34,140 and that that that those 986 00:40:34,610 --> 00:40:38,100 ways change over time as they 987 00:40:38,100 --> 00:40:40,040 must . So 988 00:40:41,810 --> 00:40:43,850 there's redundancy built into the 989 00:40:43,850 --> 00:40:47,630 process and we're mindful 990 00:40:48,110 --> 00:40:51,940 um , uh , of the potential threat 991 00:40:51,950 --> 00:40:54,117 that that that could exist in terms of 992 00:40:54,117 --> 00:40:56,690 getting stuff in . So we so we're also 993 00:40:56,690 --> 00:41:00,520 mindful of of of changing 994 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:02,560 how we're doing that so that it can 995 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:04,616 continue to flow and it continues to 996 00:41:04,616 --> 00:41:06,727 flow . Is it constantly changing ? Or 997 00:41:06,727 --> 00:41:08,616 are you mindful ? It's constantly 998 00:41:08,616 --> 00:41:10,727 changing . It's constantly changing . 999 00:41:10,727 --> 00:41:11,130 Okay , Thanks everybody