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All right , good afternoon , everyone 

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afternoon . So just a few things at the 

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top and then happy to dive in and take 

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your questions . This morning , 

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Secretary Austin departed for Hawaii as 

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the United States continues to deliver 

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on our shared regional vision for a 

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free and open Indo Pacific working 

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together with our partners and allies 

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in the region . Secretary Austin will 

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preside over the US Indo Pacific change 

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of command between Admiral John 

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Aquilino and Admiral Sam Pao . I will 

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leave the full accolades to Secretary 

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Austin tomorrow that he will deliver in 

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his remarks . But the department is 

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very grateful to Admiral Aquilino for 

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his decades of service to the US Navy 

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and to the United States also in Hawaii . 

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Secretary Austin will meet bilaterally 

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with Australian Deputy Prime Minister 

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and Minister for Defense Morals and 

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Japanese Minister of Defense Khara , 

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the three leaders will also convene 

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together for a trilateral defense 

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ministerial meeting . And finally , 

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Philippine Secretary of National 

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Defense Teodoro will join for the 

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second ever multilateral meeting of 

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defense Ministers from Australia , 

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Japan , the Philippines and the United 

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States . Each meeting will cover a 

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range of important topics on deepening 

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defense and security ties among our 

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nations . And of course , Secretary 

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Austin will meet with service members 

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supporting the Indo Pacific Theater . 

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We will have more on all of these 

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meetings in the days ahead , switching 

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theaters . This year marks the 20th 

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anniversary of us Africa Command's 

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premier and largest annual exercise , 

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African Lion 27 nations alongside NATO 

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will contribute more than 8000 

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personnel to participate in African 

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Lion 2024 which takes place in Ghana , 

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Morocco , Senegal and Tunisia from 

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April 29th through May 31st . African 

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Lion provides an opportunity to conduct 

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realistic dynamic and collaborative 

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readiness training in austere 

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environments . African Lion increases 

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interoperability and strengthens shared 

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defense capabilities and cooper 

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operation to counter transnational 

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threats and violent extremist 

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organizations . The exercise is a 

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testament to the dedication , 

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participants have to enhancing security 

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and collaboration across the continent 

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and staying in the A Aor US Naval 

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Forces , Africa , us Marine Corps 

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Forces , Africa and the Ghana Navy are 

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leading the African Maritime Forces 

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Summit and Naval Infantry leadership 

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symposium , Africa this week in Accra , 

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Ghana military chiefs and governmental 

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leaders from more than 40 countries 

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including 30 African nations are 

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participating in a series of panels and 

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focused discussions concerning maritime 

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security and collaboration . These 

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discussions and connections will 

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improve interoperability across domains 

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and continents , strengthening 

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strategic level relationships to help 

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facilitate better regional cooper 

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operation when dealing with maritime 

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threats . And with that , I'd be happy 

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to take your questions . I'm gonna go 

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to the phones first because we have 

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Lita Baldor joining us virtually and 

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then we'll come in the room . So , Lita , 

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thanks Sabrina . Um Can you bring us up 

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to date on the construction and uh 

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ongoing process involving the pier um 

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off Gaza ? And can you give us any 

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sense when they might start 

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any movement of humanitarian aid to the 

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pier or at least through the inspection 

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process ? Yep . Thanks Lida for the 

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question . So , um in terms of an 

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update on J Lots . Um so as of 

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today , uh we are over 50% complete on 

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setting up the pier . The floating pier , 

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you , you'll remember there are a few 

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different components to this pier and 

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the J Lots um operation , the floating 

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pier has been um completely constructed 

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and set up the causeway is in progress . 

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Um So in terms of uh date of delivery , 

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we've said from the beginning uh early 

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May , um we still believe that we're on 

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track to meet that , but I don't have 

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an exact date for you on when 

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humanitarian aid , when we're gonna see 

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those first trucks going into Gaza . Um 

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But as soon as I have that date for you , 

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um we are of course going to keep you 

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updated on that . All right . Come in 

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the room to um along the lines of the 

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pier . Uh Do we have any sense of which 

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country would be driving the trucks 

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along the causeway to the beach ? And 

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once the trucks get to the beach . Is 

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that the World Food Program ? It'll be 

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distributing the aid . Uh Thanks Tom 

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for the question . So , in terms of um 

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distribution on the ground , uh it will 

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be the UN that is distributing the aid . 

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Um But for more on that , for more on 

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that , I would direct you more to the 

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UN to speak to that . Um Again , 

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they'll be the ones on the ground doing 

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that , that work . Um , in terms of the 

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drivers , as we've said , it will be a 

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third party . Um , some parties don't 

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necessarily want to be named publicly . 

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I'd let others speak to that . Um , but 

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right now , I can just tell you that it 

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was , it will be a third party and not , 

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um , us forces driving those trucks off 

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the pier and hi . So , uh , 

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clarification on that , who's gonna 

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provide the security for the World Food 

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Program workers ? Are , is that 

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clarified yet ? Is that gonna be the 

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Israeli Defense Force ? And then also 

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the , um , the Israelis , have they 

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given you any assurance on if they've 

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changed their rules of engagement on , 

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uh , to prevent another strike on aid 

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workers ? Are there any assurances that 

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that's not gonna happen again ? What 

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happened a month ago ? So in terms of , 

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I think you're referring to what 

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happened to the world's central kitchen 

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workers . Um You know , we have seen 

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the ID F take some steps um , to 

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prevent something like that from 

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happening . We have also their 

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investigation that we are reviewing 

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ourselves . Um And that is an 

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interagency effort . So I don't have uh 

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more to share with you on where we are 

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and you know , reading out our um sort 

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of assessment of that investigation , 

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but the ID F has shown that they are , 

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they are taking steps to , to mitigate 

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that from happening again . Um As you 

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know , we've also set up a 

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deconfliction cell . Um So that is very 

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important to ensure that aid workers 

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are given the protective security that 

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they need to move within Gaza to 

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distribute that aid . Um US forces will 

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not be on the ground . So that is um 

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the ID F will be leading the security 

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efforts on the ground when it also 

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comes to that distribution great or at 

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this point for the US assets involved 

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in the construction . Are us force 

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protection measures in place ? Are they 

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en route or or where does that process ? 

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So as you can appreciate , we of course , 

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are , as the secretary has said many 

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times before he force protection very 

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seriously . So , uh while I won't get 

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into our own force protection , um our 

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assets are en route , they are going to 

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be ready to set up . Um and , and stab 

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that Gaza coastline when , when that 

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causeway is fully uh constructed . 

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Um but I just won't get into those 

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specific force protection measures that 

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we are taking right now . And as you 

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know that the Id F has given us our 

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their assurances that they will be 

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providing security for our forces once 

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that pier and Causeway are operational , 

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you said our assets are en route . 

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Obviously , some are there . Can you 

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detail what is still en route ? I would 

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direct you to Centcom to speak more to 

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the assets that are , that are moving . 

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Again , this is involving two different 

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uh co coms between U com and central 

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command as well as Transcom is 

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providing the assets . So , um I would 

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direct you to Centcom for more specific 

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details on on the where ships are . Um 

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I'm gonna go to the phones and then 

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come back in the room . Uh JJ Green WTO 

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P 

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so , ok , if not , uh Dan la Moth 

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Washington Post . Hi , Sabrina . Thanks 

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for your time . Sorry about that . 

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Back to you . We'll go to JJ first . 

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That's fine . I'm sorry . Um 

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Russia is trying to take advantage of 

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the gap between approval of the weapons 

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package that's intended for Ukraine and 

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the actual delivery of these weapons . 

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We've seen a number of different 

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attacks in places that are very 

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vulnerable right now and we've also 

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heard from the Ukrainian military that 

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they know that these weapons are going 

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to make a difference and Russia knows 

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it . So can you give us an update on 

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the delivery of weapons and , and , and , 

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and items that this package would make 

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it available for them ? Thanks JJ for 

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the question . Um , as soon as we were 

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able to announce that $1 billion PD A , 

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um , you've heard the secretary and the 

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president speak to this . Um , we had 

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prepositioned some , uh , weapons and 

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capabilities . Um , so we were ready to 

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support Ukraine almost immediately when 

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that PD A was announced . So , uh , 

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whether it was air defenses , artillery 

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ammunition that continues to flow to 

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Ukraine , but it is , was almost pretty 

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immediate on getting into Ukraine in 

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terms of getting to the front lines , 

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um getting to the units that need them 

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the most . That's really something that 

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Ukraine can speak to . More so direct 

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you to the Ukrainian uh forces to , to 

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really speak to that . But , um , 

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you've seen us flow PD a packages , um 

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getting materials into Ukraine 

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sometimes within hours if not a day or 

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two . And so that's what we were ready 

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for and while we did wait for the 

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supplemental and that did take months 

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to get across the finish line . Um , we 

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were certainly able to uh surge that 

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aid uh when the president signed out 

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that presidential drawdown package . 

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And , um , just last week , we 

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announced another longer term 

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commitment to Ukraine , um uh to the 

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tune of $6 billion in USA . I uh that 

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will take longer to reach Ukraine . But , 

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um , again , that's for the long term 

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commitment to them . Um , as we have 

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shown time and time again that we are 

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invested in Ukraine short term and long 

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term future . And with that , I will go 

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to Dan LA Moth uh Washington Post . Uh 

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Thank you , uh , two loose ends . Uh , 

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looking to see if there's any update 

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with the situation in and the talks 

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that were ongoing . And then , uh 

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secondly , looking for any kind of 

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update on whether there's been any kind 

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of uh additional attack or threat , 

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either on uh pier and causeway assets 

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or on the staging uh facility on the 

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beach . Thanks , thanks Dan . Uh In 

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terms of any additional attacks , I'm 

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not tracking any at this moment . Um I 

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would direct you to the ID F to speak 

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to that in terms of uh within the 

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vicinity of where the pier uh will be 

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set up . But I , at this time , I'm 

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just not um tracking anything 

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additional um in terms of uh 

281
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sort of in the same place that we were 

282
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last week . Um The State Department , a 

283
00:10:42,789 --> 00:10:45,239
representative from us Africom did hold 

284
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meetings . Um We are waiting to send 

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our another delegation to um that 

286
00:10:51,900 --> 00:10:53,900
delegation has not left um but they 

287
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were , they should be scheduled 

288
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hopefully to leave this week . Um And 

289
00:10:57,789 --> 00:10:59,900
that will be to continue to , to have 

290
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those conversations about withdrawing 

291
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us forces , but um no major updates 

292
00:11:04,650 --> 00:11:07,020
right now . Uh When there are updates , 

293
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of course , we will provide those . 

294
00:11:09,539 --> 00:11:11,650
Yeah , Jeanie , thank you , Sabrina . 

295
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The defense secretary Austin said that 

296
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the congressional hearing that North 

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Korea has gained the confidence due to 

298
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its close relationship with the Russian 

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President Putin and is concerned about 

300
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its solidarity with China . Russia and 

301
00:11:32,315 --> 00:11:35,395
Iran . What measures will the United 

302
00:11:35,405 --> 00:11:39,145
States take to prevent military cooper 

303
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operation from these countries ? Yeah , 

304
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Jamie , I don't have much more to add 

305
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to what the secretary said in front of 

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Congress yesterday . I think he spoke 

307
00:11:49,468 --> 00:11:51,357
quite well to this is that we are 

308
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concerned , we're certainly concerned 

309
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about the deepening relationship that 

310
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the D Pr K and Russia have that , uh , 

311
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together with Iran that , that is 

312
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fueling , um , Russia on the 

313
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battlefield in Ukraine as they continue 

314
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to wage this illegal war , um , and 

315
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kill many innocent Ukrainian civilians . 

316
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Um So in terms of what we are doing as 

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the United States , we continue to 

318
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monitor um , the Department of Defense , 

319
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of course , you've seen us strengthen 

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our own relationships with the rock 

321
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within the region . Um We continue to 

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arm Ukraine with the weapons it needs 

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on the battlefield and then across the 

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interagency you've seen from the 

325
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Treasury Department announcing more 

326
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sanctions on , uh , whether it be 

327
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Russia D pr K , um , and others . So we 

328
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certainly take this seriously . Um , 

329
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and we're continuing to monitor as a 

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department . Do you have any 

331
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information about Russia , North 

332
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Korea and mercenary for war with 

333
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Ukraine ? I don't have any information 

334
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on that . I haven't seen any , uh , uh , 

335
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reports on that , but that being said , 

336
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we certainly know that the D Pr K is 

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willing to support Russia in um in its 

338
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fight against Ukraine . Um And that is 

339
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one country supporting Russia along 

340
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with Iran . Uh you have over 50 

341
00:13:12,619 --> 00:13:14,799
countries and partners supporting 

342
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Ukraine in its fight . Um And that's , 

343
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you know , what you saw last week with 

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the Ukraine defense contact group , the 

345
00:13:21,608 --> 00:13:23,497
secretary um announced additional 

346
00:13:23,497 --> 00:13:25,663
commitments there . Um And so while we 

347
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see the D pr K uh supporting Russia's 

348
00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,510
efforts , um the United States is uh 

349
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always proud to stand tall with Ukraine . 

350
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So Chinese Coast Guard have fired water 

351
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cannon at two Philippine vessels and 

352
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which is in South China Sea . And 

353
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tomorrow secretary a will meet Japan 

354
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and the European Defense Minister in 

355
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Hawaii to strengthen their com to the 

356
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region . But what does the P General 

357
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expect Japan to do to maintain security 

358
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in this region ? Well , look , I'm not 

359
00:13:59,830 --> 00:14:01,608
going to speak on behalf of the 

360
00:14:01,608 --> 00:14:03,830
Japanese government . I would refer you 

361
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to them to speak to any actions that 

362
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they're taking . Um what you're seeing 

363
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though tomorrow with the secretary's 

364
00:14:08,369 --> 00:14:10,258
meeting between the Philippines , 

365
00:14:10,258 --> 00:14:12,313
Australia , Japan . Um It's a second 

366
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meeting of this type that's being held . 

367
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So what you're seeing is a deepening of 

368
00:14:16,813 --> 00:14:18,980
cooper and uh security ties and that's 

369
00:14:18,980 --> 00:14:21,299
incredibly important in the region . Um 

370
00:14:21,460 --> 00:14:23,627
in terms to what you're referring to , 

371
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I mean , we have and will continue to 

372
00:14:25,969 --> 00:14:28,539
be clear with Beijing um that these 

373
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actions by the Pr C put uh Filipino 

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crews in danger . Uh They've caused 

375
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injuries , they've caused damage . 

376
00:14:35,553 --> 00:14:37,387
There are complete disregard and 

377
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violation of international law . And so 

378
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we stand firm with our Philippine um 

379
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with the Philippines and our commitment 

380
00:14:45,112 --> 00:14:47,223
to the Mutual defense Treaty . Um And 

381
00:14:47,223 --> 00:14:49,001
we're , and we really are doing 

382
00:14:49,001 --> 00:14:51,057
historic work with Manila . Um We're 

383
00:14:51,057 --> 00:14:53,390
supporting their military modernization . 

384
00:14:53,390 --> 00:14:55,390
We're , we're coordinating at every 

385
00:14:55,390 --> 00:14:55,309
level of government . And so that's 

386
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,542
something that you're going to see with 

387
00:14:57,542 --> 00:14:59,764
Secretary Austin tomorrow . Yet again , 

388
00:14:59,764 --> 00:15:01,820
another conversation building on the 

389
00:15:01,820 --> 00:15:03,931
relationship um , from the past , you 

390
00:15:03,931 --> 00:15:06,264
know , over the last four years . Great . 

391
00:15:06,264 --> 00:15:08,320
I'm gonna go to the phones here . We 

392
00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,376
have a few more here . Uh Jeff Shole 

393
00:15:10,376 --> 00:15:12,542
task and purpose . Thank you . Uh Mali 

394
00:15:12,542 --> 00:15:15,549
claims that it has killed Abu Hua , an 

395
00:15:15,559 --> 00:15:17,615
Isis leader who played a role in the 

396
00:15:17,615 --> 00:15:20,919
October 27th ambush . I'm wondering , 

397
00:15:20,929 --> 00:15:23,280
has Mali provided the defense 

398
00:15:23,289 --> 00:15:25,400
department any information to confirm 

399
00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:27,820
this or has the defense department been 

400
00:15:27,830 --> 00:15:30,880
able to independently confirm that this 

401
00:15:30,890 --> 00:15:34,640
uh ISIS leader is killed ? And do you 

402
00:15:34,650 --> 00:15:36,872
have any information about what exactly 

403
00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:38,869
the role he played in the ambush ? 

404
00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:40,769
Thank you . Thanks , Jeff for the 

405
00:15:40,769 --> 00:15:42,936
question . Um I'm , I'm sorry , I just 

406
00:15:42,936 --> 00:15:45,047
don't have any information for you on 

407
00:15:45,047 --> 00:15:47,989
this . Um You know , II I , I've seen , 

408
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,000
I've seen some of the reports but I 

409
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,278
just don't have anything to provide on , 

410
00:15:52,278 --> 00:15:54,444
on this at this time . Uh Sam Lrn us , 

411
00:15:54,444 --> 00:15:58,080
N I , hey , Sabrina , um 

412
00:15:58,250 --> 00:16:00,200
over the last uh week or so we're 

413
00:16:00,210 --> 00:16:04,119
seeing , um pretty much a daily attacks 

414
00:16:04,130 --> 00:16:06,352
from the houthis expanding as far out , 

415
00:16:06,669 --> 00:16:09,080
uh , as the Indian Ocean , uh , in 

416
00:16:09,090 --> 00:16:12,080
particular , the suspected attack on MC 

417
00:16:12,849 --> 00:16:15,049
looks like it's , it's pretty , uh , 

418
00:16:15,059 --> 00:16:17,260
far away from kind of the traditional 

419
00:16:17,270 --> 00:16:21,229
Red Sea . Um , areas of attack . Are , 

420
00:16:21,239 --> 00:16:23,239
are you all looking to , you know , 

421
00:16:23,239 --> 00:16:25,517
sort of expand the scope of prosperity , 

422
00:16:25,517 --> 00:16:27,572
Guardian or any of the other sort of 

423
00:16:27,572 --> 00:16:29,906
deterrent patrols or protection patrols , 

424
00:16:29,906 --> 00:16:31,906
um , beyond kind of the Red Sea and 

425
00:16:31,906 --> 00:16:34,239
cultivate and get into the Indian Ocean . 

426
00:16:34,239 --> 00:16:36,461
Thanks . Yeah , thanks Sam . Uh for the 

427
00:16:36,461 --> 00:16:38,628
question . So I've seen the reports on 

428
00:16:38,628 --> 00:16:40,683
um an attack in the Indian Ocean . I 

429
00:16:40,683 --> 00:16:43,200
just can't confirm those . Um As of 

430
00:16:43,210 --> 00:16:45,043
right now , operation Prosperity 

431
00:16:45,043 --> 00:16:47,099
Guardian is focused on the Red Sea , 

432
00:16:47,099 --> 00:16:50,590
the Gulf of Aden , uh the BM um and 

433
00:16:50,599 --> 00:16:52,650
working very effectively and 

434
00:16:52,659 --> 00:16:56,289
efficiently with um over 20 different 

435
00:16:56,500 --> 00:16:59,330
uh countries . So , um right now the 

436
00:16:59,340 --> 00:17:02,109
mission remains the same . Uh should 

437
00:17:02,119 --> 00:17:04,119
the mission change ? Of course , we 

438
00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:06,640
would update you on that . Um But since 

439
00:17:06,650 --> 00:17:08,706
you gave me the opportunity , I will 

440
00:17:08,706 --> 00:17:12,099
take it that um the Houthis continue to 

441
00:17:12,500 --> 00:17:14,719
endanger commercial shipping that goes 

442
00:17:14,729 --> 00:17:16,896
through that region continue to put at 

443
00:17:16,896 --> 00:17:20,089
risk . Um us forces other countries 

444
00:17:20,099 --> 00:17:22,250
forces in the region who want to see 

445
00:17:22,260 --> 00:17:24,959
commerce continue to flow in a very 

446
00:17:24,969 --> 00:17:27,390
crucial area um in the Middle East . 

447
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:31,199
And so um our , our teams uh in , in 

448
00:17:31,209 --> 00:17:33,369
the Centcom area of responsibility 

449
00:17:33,380 --> 00:17:35,547
continue to work around the clock . Uh 

450
00:17:36,189 --> 00:17:38,133
Defending commercial shipping , uh 

451
00:17:38,133 --> 00:17:41,880
protecting our , our , our forces and 

452
00:17:41,890 --> 00:17:43,946
um I'll say about that . Yeah , come 

453
00:17:43,946 --> 00:17:46,829
back in the room . Ok , great short 

454
00:17:46,839 --> 00:17:48,520
briefing today . Thanks everyone .