1 00:00:01,690 --> 00:00:05,099 All right . Hi , everyone . Good 2 00:00:05,110 --> 00:00:07,550 afternoon . Um I do have a decent 3 00:00:07,559 --> 00:00:09,726 amount of updates to pass along at the 4 00:00:09,726 --> 00:00:11,948 top . So just bear with me while I read 5 00:00:11,948 --> 00:00:14,059 through some of this . So today , the 6 00:00:14,059 --> 00:00:16,115 secretary wraps up his trip where he 7 00:00:16,115 --> 00:00:18,115 visited and met with the leaders in 8 00:00:18,115 --> 00:00:20,059 Djibouti , Kenya and Angola in his 9 00:00:20,059 --> 00:00:22,337 capstone and historic speech in Angola . 10 00:00:22,337 --> 00:00:24,448 The secretary discussed the strategic 11 00:00:24,448 --> 00:00:26,559 importance of Africa , our commitment 12 00:00:26,559 --> 00:00:28,503 to enhancing partnerships with our 13 00:00:28,503 --> 00:00:30,670 valued African partners , the power of 14 00:00:30,670 --> 00:00:32,615 democracy and how we're looking to 15 00:00:32,615 --> 00:00:34,726 deepen defense relationships that are 16 00:00:34,726 --> 00:00:36,948 rooted in equality and mutual respect . 17 00:00:36,948 --> 00:00:39,115 As Secretary Austin Austin said in his 18 00:00:39,115 --> 00:00:41,470 remarks , quote , Africa matters , it 19 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:43,646 matters profoundly to the shape of the 20 00:00:43,646 --> 00:00:45,757 21st century world and it matters for 21 00:00:45,757 --> 00:00:47,812 our common prosperity and our shared 22 00:00:47,812 --> 00:00:50,639 security end quote . He also went on to 23 00:00:50,650 --> 00:00:52,706 emphasize that quote , we're joining 24 00:00:52,706 --> 00:00:54,761 hands with new partners and building 25 00:00:54,761 --> 00:00:56,983 new coalitions to oppose aggression and 26 00:00:56,983 --> 00:00:59,206 uphold sovereignty and we're empowering 27 00:00:59,206 --> 00:01:01,039 our partners to pursue locally , 28 00:01:01,039 --> 00:01:03,360 nationally and regionally led solutions 29 00:01:03,369 --> 00:01:05,669 to the dangers that they face . End 30 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:07,791 quote . I would encourage everyone to 31 00:01:07,791 --> 00:01:10,013 take a look at his full speech which is 32 00:01:10,013 --> 00:01:12,236 available at defense dot gov during his 33 00:01:12,236 --> 00:01:14,402 trip , the secretary also visited with 34 00:01:14,402 --> 00:01:16,624 us military military personnel deployed 35 00:01:16,624 --> 00:01:18,569 to Djibouti and Kenya to voice his 36 00:01:18,569 --> 00:01:20,347 gratitude for their service and 37 00:01:20,347 --> 00:01:22,124 dedication to promoting peace , 38 00:01:22,124 --> 00:01:24,291 stability and security in the region . 39 00:01:24,291 --> 00:01:26,458 Also today on the plane ride home from 40 00:01:26,709 --> 00:01:28,790 Angola , Secretary Austin spoke by 41 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:30,689 phone with crown Prince and Prime 42 00:01:30,689 --> 00:01:33,029 Minister , his royal highness Soleiman 43 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,709 bin Hamad Al Khalifa to convey his 44 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:38,470 condolences for the September 25th 45 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:40,970 attack reportedly carried out by Houthi 46 00:01:40,980 --> 00:01:43,279 elements on the Saudi Yemen border 47 00:01:43,290 --> 00:01:45,512 which killed Bahrainian service members 48 00:01:45,512 --> 00:01:47,860 and injured others . Secretary Austin 49 00:01:47,870 --> 00:01:49,537 strongly condemned the attack 50 00:01:49,537 --> 00:01:51,592 underscoring that these unacceptable 51 00:01:51,592 --> 00:01:53,703 attacks threatened the long period of 52 00:01:53,703 --> 00:01:56,690 calm since the war in Yemen began . Uh 53 00:01:57,209 --> 00:01:59,239 I believe yesterday . Uh Secretary 54 00:01:59,250 --> 00:02:01,250 Austin also spoke with his Japanese 55 00:02:01,250 --> 00:02:03,417 counterpart , newly appointed Minister 56 00:02:03,417 --> 00:02:06,690 of Defense Miro Kihara . Earlier this 57 00:02:06,699 --> 00:02:08,869 morning , the secretary congratulated 58 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:10,713 him on his new position and they 59 00:02:10,713 --> 00:02:12,936 committed to further cooperation on the 60 00:02:12,936 --> 00:02:15,559 US Japan alliance priorities including 61 00:02:15,570 --> 00:02:17,520 deeper and expanded multilateral 62 00:02:17,529 --> 00:02:19,820 cooperation in promoting a free and 63 00:02:19,830 --> 00:02:21,997 open indo Pacific region . And again , 64 00:02:21,997 --> 00:02:23,830 you'll be able to find that full 65 00:02:23,830 --> 00:02:25,941 readout on defense dot gov . Shifting 66 00:02:25,941 --> 00:02:27,970 gears . Secretary Austin has taken 67 00:02:27,979 --> 00:02:29,940 unprecedented action across the 68 00:02:29,949 --> 00:02:32,179 department to help improve quality of 69 00:02:32,190 --> 00:02:35,169 life for our service members today as 70 00:02:35,179 --> 00:02:37,235 part of broader efforts to ensure we 71 00:02:37,235 --> 00:02:39,068 take care of our people . One of 72 00:02:39,068 --> 00:02:41,440 Secretary Austin's top priorities , he 73 00:02:41,449 --> 00:02:44,210 approved a campaign to prevent suicide 74 00:02:44,229 --> 00:02:46,899 in the military aligned to five lines 75 00:02:46,910 --> 00:02:49,889 of effort over the past two years and 76 00:02:49,899 --> 00:02:52,010 I'm sorry . Over the past 2.5 years , 77 00:02:52,010 --> 00:02:54,010 the department has taken meaningful 78 00:02:54,010 --> 00:02:56,066 steps to counter harmful behavior in 79 00:02:56,066 --> 00:02:58,360 all its forms including suicide . While 80 00:02:58,369 --> 00:03:00,369 we recognize that su suicide has no 81 00:03:00,369 --> 00:03:02,480 single cause and no single preventive 82 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,258 action , treatment or cure will 83 00:03:04,258 --> 00:03:06,313 eliminate every individual suicide . 84 00:03:06,313 --> 00:03:08,360 Death . Implement implementation of 85 00:03:08,369 --> 00:03:10,202 these actions . Demonstrates our 86 00:03:10,202 --> 00:03:12,258 unwavering commitment to promote the 87 00:03:12,258 --> 00:03:14,258 wellness , health and morale of our 88 00:03:14,258 --> 00:03:16,258 total force and honor the memory of 89 00:03:16,258 --> 00:03:18,490 those lost to suicide . A copy of the 90 00:03:18,500 --> 00:03:20,729 secretary's memo can be , can be found 91 00:03:20,740 --> 00:03:23,610 on defense dot gov . Just a few more 92 00:03:23,619 --> 00:03:26,139 items here today , the Department of 93 00:03:26,149 --> 00:03:28,919 Defense also released its 2023 strategy 94 00:03:28,929 --> 00:03:30,651 for countering weapons of mass 95 00:03:30,651 --> 00:03:32,929 destruction . As many of you are aware , 96 00:03:32,929 --> 00:03:35,040 the United States faces a dynamic and 97 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:36,707 evolving security environment 98 00:03:36,707 --> 00:03:38,485 characterized by competitors in 99 00:03:38,485 --> 00:03:40,707 possession of current and emerging W MD 100 00:03:40,707 --> 00:03:42,540 capabilities . As a result , the 101 00:03:42,540 --> 00:03:44,762 strategy addresses current and emerging 102 00:03:44,762 --> 00:03:46,979 W MD challenges and threats and 103 00:03:46,990 --> 00:03:49,212 provides direction for tailored methods 104 00:03:49,212 --> 00:03:51,080 to address them . The department 105 00:03:51,089 --> 00:03:53,145 working closely with the interagency 106 00:03:53,145 --> 00:03:55,367 and us allies and partners will account 107 00:03:55,367 --> 00:03:57,229 for W MD threats holistically to 108 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,720 prevent withstand , operate through and 109 00:03:59,729 --> 00:04:02,309 recover from W MD attacks . The 110 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,542 strategy and additional information can 111 00:04:04,542 --> 00:04:06,487 also be found on defense dot gov . 112 00:04:07,039 --> 00:04:09,130 Switching to tomorrow tomorrow , 113 00:04:09,139 --> 00:04:11,361 Secretary Austin will participate in an 114 00:04:11,361 --> 00:04:13,528 armed forces farewell tribute in honor 115 00:04:13,528 --> 00:04:15,306 of General Mark Milley the 20th 116 00:04:15,306 --> 00:04:17,519 chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 117 00:04:17,529 --> 00:04:19,839 and welcome General CQ Brown Junior as 118 00:04:19,850 --> 00:04:22,540 the 21st chairman , General Milley has 119 00:04:22,549 --> 00:04:24,716 led the joint force in defense of this 120 00:04:24,716 --> 00:04:26,882 country admirably and selflessly . And 121 00:04:26,882 --> 00:04:28,993 we'd like to thank him and the entire 122 00:04:28,993 --> 00:04:31,216 Milly family for their selflessness and 123 00:04:31,216 --> 00:04:33,105 four decades long service to this 124 00:04:33,105 --> 00:04:36,149 nation . Last week , the Senate moved 125 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,104 forward on confirming three of our 126 00:04:38,104 --> 00:04:40,327 highly qualified nominees as you know , 127 00:04:40,327 --> 00:04:42,104 but unfortunately , our list of 128 00:04:42,104 --> 00:04:44,271 nominees that need Senate confirmation 129 00:04:44,271 --> 00:04:47,329 continues to grow as of as of yesterday . 130 00:04:47,339 --> 00:04:49,506 Senator Tuberville's holds now impacts 131 00:04:49,506 --> 00:04:52,869 371 nominations . You've heard me say 132 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:54,991 it over and over again , but I'll say 133 00:04:54,991 --> 00:04:56,880 it again . These holds impact our 134 00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:58,713 national security , our military 135 00:04:58,713 --> 00:05:00,880 readiness and of course , our military 136 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:02,991 families , the secretary is committed 137 00:05:02,991 --> 00:05:05,047 to engaging with members of Congress 138 00:05:05,047 --> 00:05:07,213 and both parties until all of our well 139 00:05:07,213 --> 00:05:09,436 qualified alit officers are confirmed . 140 00:05:09,436 --> 00:05:12,380 And last item here as I'm sure is on 141 00:05:12,390 --> 00:05:14,501 everyone's mind , the likelihood of a 142 00:05:14,501 --> 00:05:16,820 government shutdown first , we urge 143 00:05:16,829 --> 00:05:19,051 Congress to work in a bipartisan way to 144 00:05:19,051 --> 00:05:21,218 avert a government shutdown and pass a 145 00:05:21,218 --> 00:05:23,440 budget . Our priority is always to make 146 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:25,051 sure that we have an on time 147 00:05:25,051 --> 00:05:27,190 appropriations and as bad as it could 148 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:29,144 be to have a continuing resolution 149 00:05:29,329 --> 00:05:31,385 which we always want to avoid . It's 150 00:05:31,385 --> 00:05:33,273 even worse for the defense of the 151 00:05:33,273 --> 00:05:35,385 nation to have a shutdown . So what I 152 00:05:35,385 --> 00:05:37,440 can say is if there is a shutdown in 153 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,551 just a few days , our service members 154 00:05:39,551 --> 00:05:41,662 would be required to continue working 155 00:05:41,662 --> 00:05:43,773 but would be doing so without pay and 156 00:05:43,773 --> 00:05:45,551 hundreds and thousands of their 157 00:05:45,551 --> 00:05:47,885 civilian colleagues would be for a load . 158 00:05:47,885 --> 00:05:49,996 A government shutdown is a worst case 159 00:05:49,996 --> 00:05:51,996 scenario for the department . So we 160 00:05:51,996 --> 00:05:54,162 continue to ask Congress to do its job 161 00:05:54,162 --> 00:05:56,218 and fund the government . And I know 162 00:05:56,218 --> 00:05:58,385 that was a lot . So with that , I will 163 00:05:58,385 --> 00:05:57,709 take your questions , I'm gonna go to 164 00:05:57,720 --> 00:05:59,831 the phones first because I believe we 165 00:05:59,831 --> 00:06:02,053 have lita joining us remotely . So lita 166 00:06:02,053 --> 00:06:04,276 if you're there . Yeah . Hi , Sabrina . 167 00:06:04,276 --> 00:06:06,387 Thanks so much . Um I realize you may 168 00:06:06,387 --> 00:06:08,720 not be able to provide too much on this , 169 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,649 but on uh Travis King , can you give us 170 00:06:11,660 --> 00:06:13,929 an update on sort of what next for 171 00:06:13,940 --> 00:06:16,390 Travis King since he arrived uh 172 00:06:16,399 --> 00:06:19,829 overnight in Texas ? Um going 173 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:22,809 forward and then what concerns does the 174 00:06:22,820 --> 00:06:26,269 department have about anything King may 175 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,649 have said to anyone in North 176 00:06:29,660 --> 00:06:32,869 Korea ? And finally , do you have any 177 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,940 more insight into why he left or why 178 00:06:35,950 --> 00:06:38,820 the North Koreans let him go realize 179 00:06:38,829 --> 00:06:41,051 that's a lot . But thanks . Thank you . 180 00:06:41,051 --> 00:06:44,619 Thank you , Lita . Um So uh just I 181 00:06:44,630 --> 00:06:46,809 guess taking the last question first . 182 00:06:46,820 --> 00:06:50,350 So in terms of um why he left and , and 183 00:06:50,359 --> 00:06:53,570 motivations for um why he crossed over 184 00:06:53,579 --> 00:06:56,130 into the D pr K again , as you know , 185 00:06:56,140 --> 00:06:58,084 that's still under investigation , 186 00:06:58,084 --> 00:06:59,973 that's something that the army is 187 00:06:59,973 --> 00:07:02,220 leading um with uh un command as well . 188 00:07:02,230 --> 00:07:04,609 So I will , you know , let that 189 00:07:04,619 --> 00:07:08,209 investigation continue um in , in terms 190 00:07:08,220 --> 00:07:11,100 of uh details of what he is going 191 00:07:11,109 --> 00:07:13,276 through Now , so as you mentioned , um 192 00:07:13,276 --> 00:07:15,989 Private King arrived late last night or 193 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,056 um apologies early in the morning to 194 00:07:18,056 --> 00:07:20,549 San Antonio where he will be going 195 00:07:20,559 --> 00:07:23,649 through a reintegration program . Um 196 00:07:23,820 --> 00:07:25,609 How long he is there ? And this 197 00:07:25,619 --> 00:07:27,841 integration program is really dependent 198 00:07:27,841 --> 00:07:29,952 on each person that goes through . Uh 199 00:07:29,952 --> 00:07:31,952 But what I can tell you is he'll be 200 00:07:31,952 --> 00:07:34,063 going through medical screenings , uh 201 00:07:34,063 --> 00:07:37,119 medical evaluations . Um and then he'll 202 00:07:37,130 --> 00:07:39,510 be uh meeting with professionals to 203 00:07:39,519 --> 00:07:42,429 assess his emotional and mental health 204 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,140 uh uh Well being um and he'll be 205 00:07:45,149 --> 00:07:47,205 meeting with counselors . So this is 206 00:07:47,205 --> 00:07:49,427 something that you , I can't really put 207 00:07:49,427 --> 00:07:51,371 a timetable on , but um he will be 208 00:07:51,371 --> 00:07:52,871 there uh going through the 209 00:07:52,871 --> 00:07:54,705 reintegration program uh for the 210 00:07:54,705 --> 00:07:57,679 immediate future . Um And I'm so sorry , 211 00:07:57,690 --> 00:07:59,857 I'm , I forgot your second question if 212 00:07:59,857 --> 00:08:02,220 you could repeat that . Yeah , sure . 213 00:08:02,230 --> 00:08:04,540 Uh The , the question was what concerns 214 00:08:04,549 --> 00:08:07,010 does the US and the Pentagon have about ? 215 00:08:07,019 --> 00:08:09,019 What information he may have shared 216 00:08:09,019 --> 00:08:11,529 with North Korea ? Thanks Lita uh for 217 00:08:11,540 --> 00:08:13,484 reminding me um Well , during this 218 00:08:13,484 --> 00:08:15,651 process , he will be getting debriefed 219 00:08:15,651 --> 00:08:17,707 by us , military officials . So um I 220 00:08:17,707 --> 00:08:19,929 don't really have more to share on that 221 00:08:19,929 --> 00:08:22,040 as it's still pretty early . Um Right 222 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:25,019 now , what we are focused on is um his 223 00:08:25,029 --> 00:08:27,859 well being . Uh this was obviously um 224 00:08:28,290 --> 00:08:31,570 uh private king was in the D Pr K for 225 00:08:31,579 --> 00:08:33,669 um just over two months . So it's 226 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:35,901 something that we're incredibly focused 227 00:08:35,901 --> 00:08:37,901 on , on making sure that his health 228 00:08:37,901 --> 00:08:41,739 that he um is uh being able to , to um 229 00:08:42,489 --> 00:08:46,179 uh be reunited with his family and also 230 00:08:46,189 --> 00:08:47,745 be able to go through their 231 00:08:47,745 --> 00:08:49,967 reintegration program . And with that , 232 00:08:49,967 --> 00:08:52,300 I'd be happy to come in the room . Yeah , 233 00:08:52,300 --> 00:08:54,300 I will um following up on that . Um 234 00:08:54,300 --> 00:08:56,245 What if any disciplinary action is 235 00:08:56,245 --> 00:08:58,411 private king facing at this point ? Um 236 00:08:58,411 --> 00:09:00,522 I know he was , he was scheduled to , 237 00:09:00,522 --> 00:09:02,633 to face some , some actions when he , 238 00:09:02,633 --> 00:09:01,698 when he was supposed to come back to 239 00:09:01,708 --> 00:09:03,819 the States earlier . Is that still on 240 00:09:03,819 --> 00:09:05,708 the table ? Uh And when will that 241 00:09:05,708 --> 00:09:07,930 determination be made if it hasn't been 242 00:09:07,930 --> 00:09:07,499 already ? Yeah , so I don't have any 243 00:09:07,508 --> 00:09:09,452 more for you at this moment on any 244 00:09:09,452 --> 00:09:11,397 disciplinary actions that would be 245 00:09:11,397 --> 00:09:13,442 taken . Um Right now , what we are 246 00:09:13,453 --> 00:09:16,502 focused on is making sure that he is 247 00:09:16,513 --> 00:09:18,680 healthy . Um I was told he was in good 248 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:20,833 spirits when he was getting on um the 249 00:09:20,843 --> 00:09:23,783 flight to return home . Um This is of 250 00:09:23,793 --> 00:09:25,460 course , uh going through the 251 00:09:25,460 --> 00:09:27,404 reintegration program is something 252 00:09:27,404 --> 00:09:29,515 that's going to take time . Um And so 253 00:09:29,515 --> 00:09:31,626 we're really focused on his health um 254 00:09:31,626 --> 00:09:33,793 reuniting him with his family . Um And 255 00:09:33,793 --> 00:09:35,849 when we have more details provided , 256 00:09:35,849 --> 00:09:38,071 we'd be happy to do that . Did you have 257 00:09:38,071 --> 00:09:40,349 something else ? I'm sorry ? Ok . Yeah , 258 00:09:40,349 --> 00:09:42,182 Chris , thanks a question on the 259 00:09:42,182 --> 00:09:44,404 shutdown and its impact on the training 260 00:09:44,404 --> 00:09:46,293 of Ukrainian pilots . Um Will the 261 00:09:46,293 --> 00:09:48,695 training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s 262 00:09:48,895 --> 00:09:52,719 um in the US occur if the government is 263 00:09:52,729 --> 00:09:54,896 shut down by the time they're ready to 264 00:09:54,896 --> 00:09:56,840 come over or will that training be 265 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:58,809 delayed or otherwise negatively 266 00:09:58,820 --> 00:10:00,931 impacted in any way the government is 267 00:10:00,931 --> 00:10:03,264 still shut down ? Then I have a problem . 268 00:10:03,264 --> 00:10:05,487 Ok . Um In terms of shutdown impacts on 269 00:10:05,487 --> 00:10:08,099 training programs for Ukrainian pilots . 270 00:10:08,109 --> 00:10:11,979 Um First , as you heard me say in my 271 00:10:11,989 --> 00:10:15,000 top , the a government shutdown is the 272 00:10:15,010 --> 00:10:17,232 worst case scenario that the department 273 00:10:17,232 --> 00:10:19,530 can face . Um So you are gonna have 274 00:10:19,539 --> 00:10:21,679 military uniform personnel coming in 275 00:10:21,690 --> 00:10:23,750 performing their duties . But as a 276 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:25,871 result , you're gonna have a majority 277 00:10:25,871 --> 00:10:28,119 of civilian personnel fur load . So , 278 00:10:28,234 --> 00:10:31,715 um civilian personnel that are involved 279 00:10:31,724 --> 00:10:34,364 in the training of Ukrainian pilots , 280 00:10:34,375 --> 00:10:36,597 um such as English language training is 281 00:10:36,597 --> 00:10:38,819 what we're talking about right now . Um 282 00:10:38,819 --> 00:10:40,986 Absolutely , there could be impacts to 283 00:10:40,986 --> 00:10:43,284 training . Um We're still reviewing 284 00:10:43,294 --> 00:10:45,684 some of these details . Uh Again , 285 00:10:45,695 --> 00:10:49,340 we're hoping that the Congress can work 286 00:10:49,349 --> 00:10:51,516 and , and find a bipartisan bi caramel 287 00:10:51,516 --> 00:10:53,599 way to avoid a government shutdown . 288 00:10:53,609 --> 00:10:55,989 But um there's still more details that 289 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,056 we're working through on the impacts 290 00:10:58,056 --> 00:11:00,167 that programs will have . What I will 291 00:11:00,167 --> 00:11:02,167 say is that you're going to have um 292 00:11:02,500 --> 00:11:05,590 potentially trainers who if you know 293 00:11:05,599 --> 00:11:07,849 three of them , let's say are civilians 294 00:11:07,859 --> 00:11:09,859 and they're furloughed and you have 295 00:11:09,859 --> 00:11:11,748 only one person that's a military 296 00:11:11,748 --> 00:11:13,581 personnel and I'm just giving an 297 00:11:13,581 --> 00:11:15,803 example , you're gonna have that person 298 00:11:15,803 --> 00:11:17,803 doing the jobs of the hi his or her 299 00:11:17,803 --> 00:11:19,915 other colleagues . So it's definitely 300 00:11:19,915 --> 00:11:22,081 going to have an impact to training um 301 00:11:22,081 --> 00:11:24,248 uh on whatever that might be , whether 302 00:11:24,248 --> 00:11:26,359 it's , you know , actual personnel in 303 00:11:26,359 --> 00:11:28,581 the room , um , or , you know , if this 304 00:11:28,581 --> 00:11:30,637 continues to go longer , I , I'm not 305 00:11:30,637 --> 00:11:32,859 sure like the , how much training could 306 00:11:32,859 --> 00:11:34,915 be delayed for other aspects of , of 307 00:11:34,915 --> 00:11:37,520 pilot training . But um at this point 308 00:11:37,530 --> 00:11:39,752 right now , I just don't have like more 309 00:11:39,752 --> 00:11:42,460 specific details to offer . Sure , 310 00:11:44,049 --> 00:11:47,989 that unit is also a guard unit . Um So 311 00:11:48,020 --> 00:11:51,190 would that be functioning normally or 312 00:11:51,469 --> 00:11:53,302 would that be shut down ? Well , 313 00:11:53,302 --> 00:11:55,413 exactly . We're going through all the 314 00:11:55,413 --> 00:11:57,469 details right now . Um Again , I , I 315 00:11:57,469 --> 00:11:59,636 don't have more to share at this exact 316 00:11:59,636 --> 00:12:01,802 moment . Um I can reiterate and I will 317 00:12:01,802 --> 00:12:03,858 continue to do so that a shutdown is 318 00:12:03,858 --> 00:12:06,000 literally the worst case scenario for 319 00:12:06,010 --> 00:12:08,177 this department . We really don't want 320 00:12:08,177 --> 00:12:10,399 to have to go through uh making painful 321 00:12:10,399 --> 00:12:12,566 decisions like this . Um And I'll just 322 00:12:12,566 --> 00:12:14,677 leave it at that . And did you have a 323 00:12:14,677 --> 00:12:16,954 follow up on that ? Was your follow up ? 324 00:12:16,954 --> 00:12:19,066 Ok , Liz . And then I'll come to Jean 325 00:12:19,066 --> 00:12:21,177 my first question . So Representative 326 00:12:21,177 --> 00:12:23,399 Marjorie Taylor Greene had an amendment 327 00:12:23,399 --> 00:12:25,566 passed yesterday that Secretary Austin 328 00:12:25,566 --> 00:12:29,039 would only get paid a $1 salary . Your 329 00:12:29,049 --> 00:12:31,609 reaction to that . Well , look , that's 330 00:12:31,619 --> 00:12:33,675 pending legislation . I don't really 331 00:12:33,675 --> 00:12:35,397 have a comment on that . Um In 332 00:12:35,397 --> 00:12:37,619 particular , what I can say is that the 333 00:12:37,619 --> 00:12:39,563 secretary is deeply focused on the 334 00:12:39,563 --> 00:12:41,619 mission here for the department . Uh 335 00:12:41,619 --> 00:12:43,786 He's focused on defending our nation , 336 00:12:43,786 --> 00:12:46,008 protecting the all the interests of our 337 00:12:46,008 --> 00:12:48,008 allies and partners and of course , 338 00:12:48,008 --> 00:12:50,008 with a government shutdown , taking 339 00:12:50,008 --> 00:12:49,840 care of our people is one of his top 340 00:12:49,849 --> 00:12:52,090 priorities . Um And that's something 341 00:12:52,099 --> 00:12:54,266 that I the secretary coming off of his 342 00:12:54,266 --> 00:12:56,635 trip . Um back here home in the United 343 00:12:56,645 --> 00:12:58,701 States is , is really focused on the 344 00:12:58,701 --> 00:13:00,923 impacts of what the government shutdown 345 00:13:00,923 --> 00:13:02,978 means for our , our military service 346 00:13:02,978 --> 00:13:05,145 members . So I'll leave it that second 347 00:13:05,145 --> 00:13:07,312 question . Um A group of senators just 348 00:13:07,312 --> 00:13:09,367 released a bill um to make sure that 349 00:13:09,367 --> 00:13:11,478 service members get paid in case of a 350 00:13:11,478 --> 00:13:13,201 possible shutdown . Um Is that 351 00:13:13,201 --> 00:13:12,895 something the defense department 352 00:13:12,905 --> 00:13:15,125 supports ? And what happens if service 353 00:13:15,135 --> 00:13:18,460 members aren't paid ? Um Well , to take 354 00:13:18,469 --> 00:13:20,840 the first question , uh the , the last 355 00:13:20,849 --> 00:13:22,849 question first , if service members 356 00:13:22,849 --> 00:13:24,738 aren't paid in terms of what like 357 00:13:24,738 --> 00:13:27,071 during the shutdown during the shutdown , 358 00:13:27,071 --> 00:13:29,127 if they aren't paid on time . So , I 359 00:13:29,127 --> 00:13:28,840 mean , if they aren't paid on time , 360 00:13:28,849 --> 00:13:30,571 what's going to happen is life 361 00:13:30,571 --> 00:13:32,682 continues to go on . So these service 362 00:13:32,682 --> 00:13:35,320 members have rent to pay mortgages , 363 00:13:35,330 --> 00:13:38,390 child care . Um You know , you think of 364 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:40,890 the daily uh expenses that you make 365 00:13:40,900 --> 00:13:43,309 grocery bills and those bills are still 366 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:45,542 gonna incur for our service members for 367 00:13:45,542 --> 00:13:47,690 our civilian colleagues . Um And 368 00:13:47,700 --> 00:13:49,533 they're not gonna be receiving a 369 00:13:49,533 --> 00:13:51,589 paycheck during this time . So those 370 00:13:51,589 --> 00:13:51,400 bills are gonna mount up . It's an 371 00:13:51,409 --> 00:13:53,710 incredibly stressful time um for folks 372 00:13:53,719 --> 00:13:55,719 when there's any type of government 373 00:13:55,719 --> 00:13:57,997 shutdown . Um And so that's , you know , 374 00:13:57,997 --> 00:14:00,163 they would , that , that's just what's 375 00:14:00,163 --> 00:13:59,940 going , that's the reality . 376 00:13:59,950 --> 00:14:02,669 Unfortunately . Um , in terms of the , 377 00:14:02,940 --> 00:14:05,051 uh , I think you said it was a letter 378 00:14:05,051 --> 00:14:07,273 or legislation that's been introduced . 379 00:14:07,273 --> 00:14:09,384 Um , again , not legislation that has 380 00:14:09,384 --> 00:14:11,384 been passed . So it would be , um , 381 00:14:11,384 --> 00:14:13,551 don't want to get too far ahead of the 382 00:14:13,551 --> 00:14:15,551 ball here , but , um , we shouldn't 383 00:14:15,551 --> 00:14:17,662 really be in this position . Uh , the 384 00:14:17,662 --> 00:14:19,773 fiscal year timeline , deadline comes 385 00:14:19,773 --> 00:14:21,884 around every single year . Um This is 386 00:14:21,884 --> 00:14:23,940 not a surprise to anyone in Congress 387 00:14:23,940 --> 00:14:26,051 that we need a , we should be passing 388 00:14:26,051 --> 00:14:28,218 an on time appropriations bill . Um Of 389 00:14:28,218 --> 00:14:30,051 course , we would want our , our 390 00:14:30,051 --> 00:14:31,996 service members to be paid . So of 391 00:14:31,996 --> 00:14:33,884 course , if that bill does pass , 392 00:14:33,884 --> 00:14:35,940 that's um you know , great for our , 393 00:14:35,940 --> 00:14:38,107 our service members . But uh we really 394 00:14:38,107 --> 00:14:40,107 shouldn't be in this position where 395 00:14:40,107 --> 00:14:39,989 we're talking about parsing out who 396 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,940 gets paid . And when um when the 397 00:14:41,950 --> 00:14:44,349 reality is , is we have employees 398 00:14:44,359 --> 00:14:46,303 across the federal government that 399 00:14:46,303 --> 00:14:48,415 deserve an on time appropriation bill 400 00:14:48,415 --> 00:14:50,581 on time budget and deserve Congress to 401 00:14:50,581 --> 00:14:52,692 work on their behalf to honor those , 402 00:14:52,692 --> 00:14:54,859 those deadlines , Jeanie and then I'll 403 00:14:54,859 --> 00:14:54,260 go to the phones and come back 404 00:14:54,729 --> 00:14:57,590 regarding the unconditional release of 405 00:14:57,599 --> 00:15:00,530 a private king . Do you believe that 406 00:15:00,539 --> 00:15:03,630 North Korea interrogated the private 407 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,599 king and then expel him 408 00:15:06,609 --> 00:15:10,239 because his evaluation has been 409 00:15:10,250 --> 00:15:13,809 devalued . And uh what kind of 410 00:15:13,820 --> 00:15:17,239 punishment with private king ? Yeah , I 411 00:15:17,250 --> 00:15:19,390 wouldn't be able to speculate anymore 412 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,090 on his treatment in the D Pr K . Um 413 00:15:22,099 --> 00:15:23,821 Again , he's going through the 414 00:15:23,821 --> 00:15:25,979 Reintegration program . He will be uh 415 00:15:25,989 --> 00:15:28,100 interviewed with or , or meeting with 416 00:15:28,100 --> 00:15:30,429 us military officials . Um I just don't 417 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:32,496 have any more to add in terms of any 418 00:15:32,496 --> 00:15:34,496 type of uh punishment . I , I think 419 00:15:34,496 --> 00:15:36,329 that got to what will was asking 420 00:15:36,329 --> 00:15:38,551 earlier . Um Right now we're focused on 421 00:15:38,551 --> 00:15:40,551 his health , we're focused on , you 422 00:15:40,551 --> 00:15:42,662 know , ensuring that he is doing ok . 423 00:15:42,662 --> 00:15:44,829 Um I can't imagine what it was like to 424 00:15:44,829 --> 00:15:46,773 spend two months um in North Korea 425 00:15:46,773 --> 00:15:48,773 without , you know , access or , or 426 00:15:48,773 --> 00:15:50,829 without being able to be around your 427 00:15:50,829 --> 00:15:52,773 friends , your loved ones . And so 428 00:15:52,773 --> 00:15:54,940 we're making sure we're focused on his 429 00:15:54,940 --> 00:15:57,162 health and making sure that he is doing 430 00:15:57,162 --> 00:15:59,320 ok in San Antonio , North Korea , Kim 431 00:15:59,330 --> 00:16:02,739 Jong un specified the nuclear force 432 00:16:02,750 --> 00:16:05,890 policy in the Constitution and 433 00:16:06,104 --> 00:16:09,885 announced that he would drastically 434 00:16:09,895 --> 00:16:13,575 increase the number of nuclear weapons . 435 00:16:13,585 --> 00:16:16,224 What is your stance on North Korea will 436 00:16:16,284 --> 00:16:19,354 not giving up nuclear development ? 437 00:16:19,575 --> 00:16:21,797 Yeah , this just adds to the incredibly 438 00:16:21,797 --> 00:16:23,964 destabilizing rhetoric that we've seen 439 00:16:23,964 --> 00:16:27,010 out of North Korea before . Um I don't 440 00:16:27,020 --> 00:16:29,242 really have a comment on changes to the 441 00:16:29,242 --> 00:16:31,353 constitution other than that , uh you 442 00:16:31,353 --> 00:16:34,070 know , we've seen North Korea trying to , 443 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,136 we've seen comments like this before 444 00:16:36,136 --> 00:16:38,413 and I think I'll just leave it at that . 445 00:16:38,413 --> 00:16:40,580 I'm gonna go to the phones here really 446 00:16:40,580 --> 00:16:43,409 quick . Um Haley with CNN . Yeah , 447 00:16:43,419 --> 00:16:45,475 thanks Sabrina . Um I'm wondering if 448 00:16:45,475 --> 00:16:47,641 you can talk about with the shutdown . 449 00:16:47,641 --> 00:16:49,586 I know you just spoke a little bit 450 00:16:49,586 --> 00:16:51,419 about the impact on families not 451 00:16:51,419 --> 00:16:53,641 getting paid . Um I wanted to expand on 452 00:16:53,641 --> 00:16:53,250 that a little bit . I mean , I know , I 453 00:16:53,260 --> 00:16:55,482 know that we know that service member a 454 00:16:55,482 --> 00:16:57,316 lot , a lot of military families 455 00:16:57,316 --> 00:16:59,093 experience things like food and 456 00:16:59,093 --> 00:17:00,816 security already . I mean , is 457 00:17:00,816 --> 00:17:02,927 depending on , um , have any plans or 458 00:17:02,927 --> 00:17:04,982 putting anything in place to kind of 459 00:17:04,982 --> 00:17:04,790 take care of those families if they're 460 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:06,967 going without paychecks or what , what 461 00:17:06,967 --> 00:17:09,078 is that gonna look like on your end ? 462 00:17:10,088 --> 00:17:12,255 He , that's a great point . And thanks 463 00:17:12,255 --> 00:17:14,421 for the question , this is exactly why 464 00:17:14,421 --> 00:17:16,532 we shouldn't be in this position . Um 465 00:17:16,532 --> 00:17:18,869 We do have families that um are across 466 00:17:18,879 --> 00:17:21,889 our military force that um are , you 467 00:17:21,899 --> 00:17:24,218 know , either it's food insecure or 468 00:17:24,229 --> 00:17:27,468 require access to child care , um or 469 00:17:27,479 --> 00:17:29,535 whatever , whatever it might be that 470 00:17:29,535 --> 00:17:31,646 they require . Um We really shouldn't 471 00:17:31,646 --> 00:17:33,646 have been in this position to begin 472 00:17:33,646 --> 00:17:35,368 with , um , when it comes to a 473 00:17:35,368 --> 00:17:37,146 government shutdown because the 474 00:17:37,146 --> 00:17:39,090 shutdown is gonna impact all these 475 00:17:39,090 --> 00:17:41,201 families . Um Unfortunately , this is 476 00:17:41,201 --> 00:17:43,423 really up to Congress to decide uh what 477 00:17:43,423 --> 00:17:45,535 they are going to do when it comes to 478 00:17:45,535 --> 00:17:47,479 funding the government . Um We are 479 00:17:47,479 --> 00:17:49,646 going to , of course , uh work to make 480 00:17:49,646 --> 00:17:51,868 sure our folks um know that we are here 481 00:17:51,868 --> 00:17:53,868 for them , but in terms of actually 482 00:17:53,868 --> 00:17:56,146 funding , being able to pay our troops . 483 00:17:56,146 --> 00:17:56,005 Um That's something that Congress 484 00:17:56,015 --> 00:17:57,904 really needs to authorize and not 485 00:17:57,904 --> 00:18:00,015 something that's on the Department of 486 00:18:00,015 --> 00:18:02,071 Defense . Um I'll take one more from 487 00:18:02,071 --> 00:18:04,293 the phones here . Uh Brianna Riley . Uh 488 00:18:05,030 --> 00:18:07,160 Yeah , thank you so much . Uh quick 489 00:18:07,170 --> 00:18:09,609 question about Alabama Congressman Mike 490 00:18:09,619 --> 00:18:11,675 Rogers today . He said that he would 491 00:18:11,675 --> 00:18:13,730 work to withhold funds for the space 492 00:18:13,730 --> 00:18:15,508 comm headquarters following the 493 00:18:15,508 --> 00:18:17,730 administration's spacing decision . I'm 494 00:18:17,730 --> 00:18:19,897 curious to what extent would a lack of 495 00:18:19,897 --> 00:18:21,730 funding be an impediment for the 496 00:18:21,730 --> 00:18:23,730 Colorado Springs site ? Considering 497 00:18:23,730 --> 00:18:23,675 that space comp has already already 498 00:18:23,685 --> 00:18:26,135 nearly reached FOC and separately . If 499 00:18:26,145 --> 00:18:28,367 you have any update on the timeline for 500 00:18:28,367 --> 00:18:30,534 space come HQ to reach FOC , that'd be 501 00:18:30,534 --> 00:18:32,701 great . Thank you . Thanks . Um Thanks 502 00:18:32,701 --> 00:18:34,923 so much for the question . I don't have 503 00:18:34,923 --> 00:18:36,756 a um time , I , I don't have any 504 00:18:36,756 --> 00:18:38,978 specifics on um when space command will 505 00:18:38,978 --> 00:18:41,034 reach FOC , I would encourage you to 506 00:18:41,034 --> 00:18:43,145 reach out to space command for that . 507 00:18:43,145 --> 00:18:45,312 Um in terms of withholding funding , I 508 00:18:45,312 --> 00:18:48,265 mean , look , this is uh a command that 509 00:18:48,275 --> 00:18:52,229 um is on the forefront of uh of 510 00:18:52,239 --> 00:18:54,640 protecting American interests and our 511 00:18:54,650 --> 00:18:57,449 allies um all around the world and of 512 00:18:57,459 --> 00:19:00,489 course , in space and um withholding 513 00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:02,800 any type of funds of course , would be 514 00:19:02,810 --> 00:19:05,510 detrimental to , to the , to the force , 515 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,353 but also the command in Colorado 516 00:19:07,353 --> 00:19:09,409 Springs . Um I haven't seen the full 517 00:19:09,409 --> 00:19:11,576 comments yet , so I , I don't wanna go 518 00:19:11,576 --> 00:19:13,298 any further than that , but um 519 00:19:13,298 --> 00:19:15,464 appreciate the question . Great . I'll 520 00:19:15,464 --> 00:19:17,520 come back in the room , Rio . Yeah . 521 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,520 Yeah , thank you . Uh Two questions 522 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,576 first that Taiwan unveiled its first 523 00:19:21,576 --> 00:19:23,798 domestically produced submarine today . 524 00:19:23,798 --> 00:19:25,964 How much does the Pentagon assess this 525 00:19:25,964 --> 00:19:28,589 new capability might complicate China's 526 00:19:29,135 --> 00:19:31,295 Beijing strategy or broad strategy 527 00:19:31,305 --> 00:19:33,574 moving forward ? Yeah , I , I've seen 528 00:19:33,584 --> 00:19:35,806 the reports on that . I would refer you 529 00:19:35,806 --> 00:19:37,806 to Taiwan to speak more to that . I 530 00:19:37,806 --> 00:19:39,862 don't have any further comment . The 531 00:19:39,862 --> 00:19:42,464 Pentagon had a talk with the Chinese on 532 00:19:42,474 --> 00:19:45,410 cyber issues last week . Uh Do you 533 00:19:45,420 --> 00:19:47,979 think the Chinese are now more open to 534 00:19:47,989 --> 00:19:50,849 military , to military talks ? And does 535 00:19:50,859 --> 00:19:53,099 the Pentagon focus more on the ware 536 00:19:53,250 --> 00:19:55,819 talk rather than the secretary talk as 537 00:19:55,829 --> 00:19:58,140 the Chinese Defense Minister is missing 538 00:19:58,150 --> 00:20:00,910 for months . Well , we always encourage 539 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,400 um communication at the highest levels 540 00:20:04,410 --> 00:20:07,469 uh with the PR C , um We're gonna 541 00:20:07,479 --> 00:20:09,701 continue to push for that . As you just 542 00:20:09,701 --> 00:20:11,923 mentioned , the secretary has not had a 543 00:20:11,923 --> 00:20:14,090 conversation with his counterpart . Um 544 00:20:14,090 --> 00:20:16,146 So we are gonna continue to urge for 545 00:20:16,146 --> 00:20:17,923 that . We believe open lines of 546 00:20:17,923 --> 00:20:17,910 communication is the best way to avert 547 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:20,880 any type of crisis . Um It is , it's 548 00:20:20,890 --> 00:20:23,540 obviously a good steps for that . Uh 549 00:20:23,550 --> 00:20:25,822 We've seen with engaging at other 550 00:20:25,833 --> 00:20:28,642 levels , but we still believe um at the 551 00:20:28,652 --> 00:20:30,819 highest levels , there needs to be mil 552 00:20:30,819 --> 00:20:32,874 to mill communication um between our 553 00:20:32,874 --> 00:20:35,072 two governments Constantine . Thanks 554 00:20:35,083 --> 00:20:37,782 Sabrina um on the suicide prevention 555 00:20:37,792 --> 00:20:41,723 front . Um So of the 100 plus 556 00:20:41,733 --> 00:20:43,682 recommendations that the committee 557 00:20:43,692 --> 00:20:46,152 reviewed , uh it's not enacting , I 558 00:20:46,162 --> 00:20:49,385 believe six seen including pretty much 559 00:20:49,395 --> 00:20:51,806 all of the gun control recommendations 560 00:20:51,816 --> 00:20:53,983 that the independent panel recommended 561 00:20:53,983 --> 00:20:56,176 and sort of intimated that was the the 562 00:20:56,186 --> 00:20:58,242 heart of their , you know , the main 563 00:20:58,245 --> 00:21:00,316 thrust of their recommendations . I 564 00:21:00,326 --> 00:21:03,015 mean , does that from , from the Os D's 565 00:21:03,026 --> 00:21:05,248 perspective does that not sort of blunt 566 00:21:05,248 --> 00:21:07,586 the impact of the recommendations that 567 00:21:07,595 --> 00:21:11,260 the panel was making ? Um And I thank 568 00:21:11,270 --> 00:21:13,270 you for the question . I just wanna 569 00:21:13,270 --> 00:21:15,603 make sure I was looking at the right um , 570 00:21:15,603 --> 00:21:17,659 document here . Um Again , there was 571 00:21:17,659 --> 00:21:19,714 thorough evaluations . We appreciate 572 00:21:19,714 --> 00:21:21,939 the Spurs Committee uh review and um 573 00:21:21,949 --> 00:21:24,709 the recommendations that they made . Um , 574 00:21:24,719 --> 00:21:27,510 that was something that , um , while we 575 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,464 didn't take up for this , it's not 576 00:21:29,464 --> 00:21:31,576 something that we wouldn't rule out . 577 00:21:31,576 --> 00:21:33,742 But it's something you know that we uh 578 00:21:33,742 --> 00:21:35,798 for this moment , we are focusing on 579 00:21:35,798 --> 00:21:37,909 the five lines of effort that we , we 580 00:21:37,909 --> 00:21:39,798 have under that we have different 581 00:21:39,798 --> 00:21:41,909 actions as a component . And just for 582 00:21:41,909 --> 00:21:43,964 awareness , the five lines of effort 583 00:21:43,964 --> 00:21:46,187 that are in that include enabling tasks 584 00:21:46,187 --> 00:21:48,187 um are aimed to foster a supportive 585 00:21:48,187 --> 00:21:50,298 environment , improve the delivery of 586 00:21:50,298 --> 00:21:52,520 mental health care , address stigma and 587 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:54,353 other barriers to care , reverse 588 00:21:54,353 --> 00:21:56,187 suicide , sorry , revise suicide 589 00:21:56,187 --> 00:21:58,187 prevention , training and promote a 590 00:21:58,187 --> 00:22:00,187 culture of lethal means safety . So 591 00:22:00,187 --> 00:21:59,900 again , it's not something that's off 592 00:21:59,910 --> 00:22:01,854 the table , but this is what we're 593 00:22:01,854 --> 00:22:03,966 focused on right now . Um And a quick 594 00:22:03,966 --> 00:22:05,688 follow up . So of the 100 plus 595 00:22:05,688 --> 00:22:08,290 recommendations , I believe 61 are 596 00:22:08,300 --> 00:22:10,467 subject to the availability of funds . 597 00:22:10,467 --> 00:22:12,522 So we're gonna do them if we get the 598 00:22:12,522 --> 00:22:14,633 money . Is there any concern that the 599 00:22:14,633 --> 00:22:16,633 funds will not be there ? Because I 600 00:22:16,633 --> 00:22:16,420 mean , we're the recommendations say 601 00:22:16,430 --> 00:22:18,949 that they're gonna be completed by 2030 . 602 00:22:18,959 --> 00:22:20,903 So we've got a good amount of time 603 00:22:20,903 --> 00:22:23,126 where the last of these comes into play 604 00:22:23,126 --> 00:22:25,348 any chance the money just doesn't , the 605 00:22:25,348 --> 00:22:27,348 money dries up . Well , I , I don't 606 00:22:27,348 --> 00:22:29,348 have a crystal ball . Uh , so I , I 607 00:22:29,348 --> 00:22:31,348 can't predict the future but , um , 608 00:22:31,348 --> 00:22:33,459 look , the issue of suicide , I think 609 00:22:33,459 --> 00:22:36,020 has received um uh attention and 610 00:22:36,030 --> 00:22:38,420 support or I should say addressing the 611 00:22:38,430 --> 00:22:40,541 issue of suicide amongst our military 612 00:22:40,541 --> 00:22:42,910 members has received support on both 613 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,253 sides of the aisle and in , uh you know , 614 00:22:45,253 --> 00:22:47,476 in in both chambers of congress . So uh 615 00:22:47,476 --> 00:22:49,420 we would certainly be hopeful that 616 00:22:49,420 --> 00:22:51,587 there would be that they would support 617 00:22:51,587 --> 00:22:51,400 our efforts and provide adequate 618 00:22:51,410 --> 00:22:53,140 funding uh for what we need to 619 00:22:53,150 --> 00:22:55,483 implement some of these recommendations . 620 00:22:55,483 --> 00:22:57,650 Um And again , I think on both sides , 621 00:22:57,650 --> 00:23:00,199 you're seeing um a want and a need uh 622 00:23:00,209 --> 00:23:02,265 to address these issues that we're , 623 00:23:02,265 --> 00:23:05,119 that we're facing . Yeah . Yeah . Yes . 624 00:23:05,260 --> 00:23:07,260 Uh I think all right , I meant to , 625 00:23:07,260 --> 00:23:09,482 I'll come back to you after . Yeah . So 626 00:23:09,482 --> 00:23:11,650 while the space force was in Japan the 627 00:23:11,660 --> 00:23:13,827 other day , they stated they have been 628 00:23:13,827 --> 00:23:15,660 internally exploring the idea of 629 00:23:15,660 --> 00:23:17,770 establishing a communication hotline 630 00:23:17,780 --> 00:23:21,310 between us . Space Force and China . Um 631 00:23:21,319 --> 00:23:23,569 has Salt General Saltzman tried to 632 00:23:23,579 --> 00:23:25,819 communicate with his counterpart or any 633 00:23:25,829 --> 00:23:28,550 Chinese officials since he's been in 634 00:23:29,010 --> 00:23:30,899 space , I would direct you to his 635 00:23:30,899 --> 00:23:33,121 office . I just don't have anything for 636 00:23:33,121 --> 00:23:35,288 you to read out here . Um Again , what 637 00:23:35,288 --> 00:23:37,399 I emphasized earlier is that we would 638 00:23:37,399 --> 00:23:39,121 of course encourage high level 639 00:23:39,121 --> 00:23:41,288 conversations and communications lines 640 00:23:41,288 --> 00:23:43,343 to be open between us and the PR C . 641 00:23:43,343 --> 00:23:45,343 But uh for more on General Salman's 642 00:23:45,343 --> 00:23:47,232 conversations , I would , I would 643 00:23:47,232 --> 00:23:49,288 direct you to his office in us Space 644 00:23:49,288 --> 00:23:51,232 Force . It's only , it's been four 645 00:23:51,232 --> 00:23:53,288 years that it has been established . 646 00:23:53,288 --> 00:23:55,510 Almost four years . Has anyone in Space 647 00:23:55,510 --> 00:23:57,454 force tried to uh communicate with 648 00:23:57,454 --> 00:23:59,677 China ? And that's a great question for 649 00:23:59,677 --> 00:24:01,732 the Space Force . Yeah . Yeah , very 650 00:24:01,732 --> 00:24:03,454 good here . I follow up on the 651 00:24:03,454 --> 00:24:05,677 Ukrainian pilot training . Uh So has it 652 00:24:05,677 --> 00:24:07,989 begun already ? How many pilots do you 653 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,250 guys have ? And how long will it take 654 00:24:11,260 --> 00:24:13,482 before they move to the actual training 655 00:24:13,482 --> 00:24:15,260 in their ? Sure . So um English 656 00:24:15,260 --> 00:24:17,260 language training has started for 657 00:24:17,270 --> 00:24:19,290 several pilots . Um I don't have 658 00:24:19,300 --> 00:24:21,770 specific numbers for you on that . Um 659 00:24:22,099 --> 00:24:24,400 The English language training will vary 660 00:24:24,410 --> 00:24:27,900 depending on um proficiency and skill . 661 00:24:27,910 --> 00:24:30,132 So again , don't have an exact timeline 662 00:24:30,132 --> 00:24:32,299 of when folks will then move from that 663 00:24:32,299 --> 00:24:34,680 training to start um uh pilot training . 664 00:24:34,709 --> 00:24:36,931 But yes , English language training has 665 00:24:36,931 --> 00:24:39,079 begun on Abrams tanks . So can you 666 00:24:39,089 --> 00:24:41,256 confirm the arrival in Ukraine and how 667 00:24:41,256 --> 00:24:43,311 many tanks were in the first tranche 668 00:24:43,311 --> 00:24:45,311 and when to expect the rest of them 669 00:24:45,311 --> 00:24:47,311 arriving in the battlefield ? So um 670 00:24:47,311 --> 00:24:49,311 exactly what you said , this is the 671 00:24:49,311 --> 00:24:51,256 first tranche of Abrams tanks that 672 00:24:51,256 --> 00:24:53,550 arrived . Um I believe the Ukrainians 673 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:55,560 uh issued a statement that they had 674 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,671 arrived . So I would refer you to the 675 00:24:57,671 --> 00:24:59,893 Ukrainians and what they said , but I , 676 00:24:59,893 --> 00:25:02,060 I'm not disputing that um not going to 677 00:25:02,060 --> 00:25:04,116 get into more specific numbers or uh 678 00:25:04,116 --> 00:25:06,204 any further details of how many and 679 00:25:06,214 --> 00:25:08,381 when they are arriving , that's really 680 00:25:08,381 --> 00:25:10,492 up to the Ukrainians to announce when 681 00:25:10,492 --> 00:25:12,714 they're ready . And um yeah , I'll just 682 00:25:12,714 --> 00:25:14,714 leave it at that . Ok . Ok . So the 683 00:25:14,714 --> 00:25:16,714 Russian police commander , so there 684 00:25:16,714 --> 00:25:18,770 were like reports that he might have 685 00:25:18,770 --> 00:25:20,603 been killed in a recent attack . 686 00:25:20,603 --> 00:25:22,547 Ukraine said he was dead . Russian 687 00:25:22,547 --> 00:25:24,381 denied it . So , do you have any 688 00:25:24,381 --> 00:25:26,603 confirmation of these reports with your 689 00:25:26,603 --> 00:25:28,658 assessment ? I , I don't have , uh , 690 00:25:28,658 --> 00:25:30,714 any confirmation . I , I were , uh , 691 00:25:30,714 --> 00:25:32,770 unfortunately , I just don't , I , I 692 00:25:32,770 --> 00:25:32,719 can't really confirm the con uh , I 693 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,093 cannot confirm the reports at this time . 694 00:25:35,093 --> 00:25:37,316 I've seen the reports but can't confirm 695 00:25:37,316 --> 00:25:39,482 anything . Yeah , in the back and then 696 00:25:39,482 --> 00:25:41,482 I'll come back over here . Thanks , 697 00:25:41,482 --> 00:25:43,427 ma'am . Kimberly from magazine , I 698 00:25:43,427 --> 00:25:45,204 wanted to ask about the suicide 699 00:25:45,204 --> 00:25:47,371 prevention campaign that you announced 700 00:25:47,371 --> 00:25:49,482 today in the five steps pertaining to 701 00:25:49,482 --> 00:25:48,479 one of the , one of the steps , the 702 00:25:48,489 --> 00:25:50,600 revised suicide prevention training . 703 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,089 Does the secretary have a specific 704 00:25:53,459 --> 00:25:55,900 milestone plan or a timeline that he'd 705 00:25:55,910 --> 00:25:59,359 like to see from the defense suicide 706 00:25:59,369 --> 00:26:01,239 prevention office as far as that 707 00:26:01,250 --> 00:26:03,550 revised curriculum ? Um , you know , I 708 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:05,782 would direct you to what's online right 709 00:26:05,782 --> 00:26:07,838 now . It's pretty extensive . Um I'm 710 00:26:07,838 --> 00:26:09,616 not gonna put like timelines on 711 00:26:09,616 --> 00:26:11,782 anything . I think what we want to see 712 00:26:11,782 --> 00:26:14,004 here at the department is , is progress 713 00:26:14,004 --> 00:26:16,171 being made to um reduce and ultimately 714 00:26:16,171 --> 00:26:18,560 end suicides . Um But again , I would 715 00:26:18,569 --> 00:26:20,791 direct you to defense dot gov for , for 716 00:26:20,791 --> 00:26:22,902 more information , there's , I mean , 717 00:26:22,902 --> 00:26:26,410 obviously the , that , um , office is 718 00:26:26,420 --> 00:26:28,587 gonna roll out the curriculum but kind 719 00:26:28,587 --> 00:26:31,119 of will that be brought into school 720 00:26:31,130 --> 00:26:33,650 houses across the department or how 721 00:26:33,660 --> 00:26:35,882 does that kind of curriculum get rolled 722 00:26:35,882 --> 00:26:38,430 out ? I guess I'm not gonna get ahead 723 00:26:38,439 --> 00:26:40,772 of , um , how it's gonna get rolled out . 724 00:26:40,772 --> 00:26:42,883 I will let the experts do that . Um , 725 00:26:42,883 --> 00:26:44,883 when I have more information I'd be 726 00:26:44,883 --> 00:26:46,883 happy to get back with you . But at 727 00:26:46,883 --> 00:26:48,828 this time , I just , we're excited 728 00:26:48,828 --> 00:26:51,050 about the , the recommendations and the 729 00:26:51,050 --> 00:26:50,530 rollout today , but I think those are 730 00:26:50,540 --> 00:26:52,651 great questions that we might be able 731 00:26:52,651 --> 00:26:54,929 to answer at a future date . Yeah . Hi , 732 00:26:54,929 --> 00:26:57,040 Sabrina . Um You mentioned at the top 733 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,262 of the uh call between Secretary Austin 734 00:26:59,262 --> 00:26:59,050 and his Bahraini counterpart uh 735 00:26:59,060 --> 00:27:01,116 following this a drone attack on the 736 00:27:01,116 --> 00:27:03,393 Saudi Yemen border area has , you know , 737 00:27:03,393 --> 00:27:06,910 apart from a phone call , um has the US 738 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:09,142 military taken any action to respond to 739 00:27:09,142 --> 00:27:11,309 this attack even in a deterrent manner 740 00:27:11,309 --> 00:27:13,420 or sort of defensive manner on behalf 741 00:27:13,420 --> 00:27:15,531 of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia ? No , we 742 00:27:15,531 --> 00:27:17,642 have not taken action again . We have 743 00:27:17,642 --> 00:27:20,469 urged for , for calm and of course , we 744 00:27:20,479 --> 00:27:22,535 are dedicated to promoting peace and 745 00:27:22,535 --> 00:27:24,368 stability in the region . That's 746 00:27:24,368 --> 00:27:26,590 something that we're continuing to push 747 00:27:26,590 --> 00:27:28,479 for . Um But , you know , again , 748 00:27:28,479 --> 00:27:30,701 that's something that the secretary was 749 00:27:30,701 --> 00:27:32,757 really calling to convey our deepest 750 00:27:32,757 --> 00:27:34,812 condolences and I'll leave it that , 751 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:37,660 yeah , I think Sabrina um so France a 752 00:27:37,670 --> 00:27:39,781 few days ago announced that they were 753 00:27:39,781 --> 00:27:42,079 pulling out 1500 troops in by the end 754 00:27:42,089 --> 00:27:44,256 of the year . Is that impacting any us 755 00:27:44,260 --> 00:27:46,959 considerations of also pulling out 756 00:27:46,969 --> 00:27:49,060 troops for , given the security 757 00:27:49,069 --> 00:27:51,069 environment in the country ? Yeah , 758 00:27:51,069 --> 00:27:53,180 right now we're focused on moving our 759 00:27:53,180 --> 00:27:54,902 personnel and our assets which 760 00:27:54,902 --> 00:27:57,013 continues to be ongoing from air base 761 00:27:57,013 --> 00:27:59,314 101 to air base 201 . So that's our 762 00:27:59,324 --> 00:28:02,454 real focus right now . Um Again , 763 00:28:02,545 --> 00:28:05,364 given the constraints of , of moving 764 00:28:05,375 --> 00:28:07,314 that . Um And we know the French 765 00:28:07,324 --> 00:28:10,295 military of , of course , um uh left , 766 00:28:10,305 --> 00:28:12,555 we're really focused on our own force 767 00:28:12,564 --> 00:28:15,005 protection um at this moment , but I 768 00:28:15,015 --> 00:28:17,182 don't have anything more to add . I'll 769 00:28:17,182 --> 00:28:19,293 take one more question and then we'll 770 00:28:19,293 --> 00:28:21,237 OK . And I'll come to you and then 771 00:28:21,237 --> 00:28:23,126 we'll wrap it up . Thank you . Um 772 00:28:23,126 --> 00:28:25,348 Regarding to the call between Secretary 773 00:28:25,348 --> 00:28:27,739 Austin and the crown Prince , Bahrain 774 00:28:27,750 --> 00:28:29,750 crown Prince , regarding to Yemen , 775 00:28:29,750 --> 00:28:32,239 what's happened on , on September 25th . 776 00:28:32,250 --> 00:28:34,979 So how much uh you have concerns about 777 00:28:34,989 --> 00:28:38,160 this kind of actions could impact that 778 00:28:38,250 --> 00:28:41,729 long ? Um The longest period of camp 779 00:28:41,739 --> 00:28:43,739 since the war in the Yemen ? Well , 780 00:28:43,739 --> 00:28:45,850 that's certainly what we're concerned 781 00:28:45,850 --> 00:28:48,989 about . Um Again , this was , you know , 782 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,089 a very long period of calm since the 783 00:28:51,099 --> 00:28:53,729 war in Yemen began . Um That's why we 784 00:28:53,739 --> 00:28:57,079 are urging that um calm 785 00:28:57,089 --> 00:29:00,180 and urge stability in the region . Um 786 00:29:00,189 --> 00:29:01,967 Really , you know , again , the 787 00:29:01,967 --> 00:29:03,745 secretary's call was to express 788 00:29:03,745 --> 00:29:06,569 condolences . Um We hope that we don't 789 00:29:06,579 --> 00:29:08,746 see an uptick in violence in any way . 790 00:29:08,746 --> 00:29:11,079 Uh Which is why he made that call today . 791 00:29:11,079 --> 00:29:13,301 All right , I'll take one last question 792 00:29:13,301 --> 00:29:13,040 and then we'll wrap it up . Thanks 793 00:29:13,050 --> 00:29:15,329 Sarina . So this is in regards to a 60 794 00:29:15,339 --> 00:29:17,395 minutes report from last week and it 795 00:29:17,395 --> 00:29:19,506 showed that the US funding in Ukraine 796 00:29:19,506 --> 00:29:21,561 has gone to things like buying seeds 797 00:29:21,561 --> 00:29:23,672 and fertilizer for farmers paying the 798 00:29:23,672 --> 00:29:26,339 salaries and pensions of over 50,000 of 799 00:29:26,439 --> 00:29:28,439 their government employees and even 800 00:29:28,439 --> 00:29:30,661 subsidizing small businesses . So , you 801 00:29:30,661 --> 00:29:32,550 know , I think many Americans can 802 00:29:32,550 --> 00:29:34,772 understand providing humanitarian aid , 803 00:29:34,772 --> 00:29:36,995 but a small business loan seems to take 804 00:29:36,995 --> 00:29:36,977 a step further than that . So I just 805 00:29:36,987 --> 00:29:39,116 wanted to ask you , why are we paying 806 00:29:39,126 --> 00:29:41,293 for such things ? So that's actually a 807 00:29:41,293 --> 00:29:43,070 question for other agencies and 808 00:29:43,070 --> 00:29:45,437 departments here . We we here at the 809 00:29:45,447 --> 00:29:47,276 department , focus on military 810 00:29:47,286 --> 00:29:49,508 assistance to Ukraine . There are other 811 00:29:49,508 --> 00:29:51,453 departments across the agency that 812 00:29:51,453 --> 00:29:54,156 focus on whether it's us aid . State 813 00:29:54,166 --> 00:29:57,697 department Energy that do provide 814 00:29:57,774 --> 00:30:00,543 assistance in different ways to Ukraine . 815 00:30:00,614 --> 00:30:02,670 I think you can understand that in a 816 00:30:02,670 --> 00:30:06,634 war , um your economy gets decimated . 817 00:30:06,874 --> 00:30:10,354 Um businesses get blown up um 818 00:30:10,364 --> 00:30:12,673 apartment buildings crumble . So of 819 00:30:12,683 --> 00:30:14,884 course , there's other ways to provide 820 00:30:14,894 --> 00:30:17,061 aid to Ukraine that's not just through 821 00:30:17,061 --> 00:30:19,005 military assistance , but on those 822 00:30:19,005 --> 00:30:21,227 specific questions , I would direct you 823 00:30:21,227 --> 00:30:23,338 to the agencies that fall under their 824 00:30:23,338 --> 00:30:25,850 purview . D funding goes to 825 00:30:25,860 --> 00:30:28,350 humanitarian aid . It's all um military 826 00:30:28,581 --> 00:30:30,711 duty funding are secure . I mean , 827 00:30:30,850 --> 00:30:33,017 you've been in this room , you've seen 828 00:30:33,017 --> 00:30:34,906 me announce presidential drawdown 829 00:30:34,906 --> 00:30:34,880 authorities . You've seen me announce 830 00:30:34,890 --> 00:30:37,171 usa I packages . Uh , we outline them 831 00:30:37,181 --> 00:30:39,380 as thoroughly as we can of what , um , 832 00:30:39,390 --> 00:30:41,279 is in those packages that include 833 00:30:41,279 --> 00:30:42,834 weapons systems , different 834 00:30:42,834 --> 00:30:45,770 capabilities , um , armor , winter 835 00:30:45,781 --> 00:30:48,540 coats , gloves . I don't know if you 836 00:30:48,550 --> 00:30:50,550 consider a winter coat humanitarian 837 00:30:50,550 --> 00:30:52,661 assistance , but , um , these are all 838 00:30:52,661 --> 00:30:54,328 things that are needed on the 839 00:30:54,328 --> 00:30:54,229 battlefield and that's what the 840 00:30:54,239 --> 00:30:56,572 department is focused on providing . Ok , 841 00:30:56,572 --> 00:30:58,628 great . I'm gonna wrap it up there . 842 00:30:58,628 --> 00:30:58,250 Thanks everyone .