MUSIC (00:14):
(music)
MUSIC (00:14):
(music)
Sabrina Singh (16:02):
All right. Hi. Okay. Hello, everyone. Good afternoon. Okay.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Good afternoon.
Sabrina Singh (16:06):
Afternoon. Just a few things at the top, and then happy to take your questions. Today, the Department released its Annual Report on Suicide in the Military for calendar year 2023. The report found that 2023 Active Component rate is higher than in 2022. I'd like to reiterate the Department's ongoing and unwavering commitment to taking care of our people. Since his first day in office, the health, safety, and well-being of our military community has been one of Secretary Austin's top priorities. As you've heard him say many times before, we owe it to our service members and our military families to provide the best possible care to identify risk factors and spot warning signs, and to eliminate stigmas around seeking help. And when it comes to suicide, one loss to suicide is one too many.
(16:59)
The Department remains focused on long-term sustained initiatives to prevent suicide. In 2023, Secretary Austin approved a comprehensive campaign plan with five lines of effort and enabling tasks to guide and strengthen the Department's suicide prevention strategy. The plan includes 83 key enabling actions adopted and modified from the approved Suicide Prevention Response and Independent Review Committee, or the SPIRC, recommendations.
(17:27)
Subsequently, the Department has been urgently focused on implementing all 83 recommendations and these key reforms. In 2024, the Department completed 20 of the SPIRC recommendations. And in fiscal year 2025, with the support of Congress, the Department will make an unprecedented investment in suicide prevention. While some progress has been made, Secretary Austin has been clear that there is still much work to do, and he won't let up. The Annual Report will be available at DSPO.mil, and a statement from the Secretary is available on Defense.gov.
(18:02)
Separately, today, the Department also delivered its fiscal year 2024 Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAP, to Congress. The Department has briefed relevant congressional staff on the report's filings. As of today, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, has received over 1600 UAP reports, 757 of which came to AARO during the period covered by this report. AARO has successfully resolved hundreds of cases in its holdings to commonplace objects such as balloons, birds, drones, satellites, and aircraft. Over 900 reports lack sufficient data for analysis, and AARO retains these cases in an active archive, and they may be reopened and resolved should additional information emerge to support analysis.
(18:52)
I want to emphasize that only a very small percentage of reports to AARO are potentially anomalous, but these are the cases that require significant time, resources, and focused scientific inquiry by AARO and its partners. It is also important to underscore that to date, the Department has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology. None of the cases resolved by AARO have pointed to advanced capabilities or breakthrough technologies, either.
(19:22)
Switching gears, let me turn to now the Secretary's schedule. Today, Secretary Austin is hosting senior civilian and military leaders from across the Department for the DOD Senior Leaders Conference. This Senior Leaders Conference meets semi-annually to address broad cross-cutting issues affecting the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the military departments, the combatant commands, and interagency efforts in order to provide advice and assistance to the Secretary on the strategic direction of the Department.
(19:52)
And finally, tomorrow, Secretary Austin will depart to the Indo-Pacific for his 12th trip to the region as Secretary of Defense. The Secretary will visit Australia, the Philippines, Laos, and Fiji for a series of meetings and official engagements with regional counterparts. Each stop on this trip will highlight the Department's historic efforts to work alongside our partners and allies to deliver on shared vision, regional visions of peace, stability, and prosperity.
(20:20)
As mentioned, this is the Secretary's 12th visit to the region and continues the long tradition of the Secretary's representation at the ADMM-Plus. In addition, this will be the Secretary's fourth visit to the Philippines, which is the most visits ever by a US Secretary of Defense, and signals the incredible progress the US has made in deepening that critical alliance. And finally, this will also be the first-ever visit by a US Secretary of Defense to Fiji, demonstrating growing security cooperation between the US and Pacific Islands countries. So more to follow in the coming days.
(20:55)
But with that, I'd be glad to take your questions. Tara?
Tara (20:58):
Thanks, Sabrina. So a couple of questions on the Defense Secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth. He said that in 2021, he was part of the DC National Guard and was supposed to be helping provide protection to the inauguration, but was removed from that duty potentially because of a questionable tattoo, his words. So has the Department looked into his removal from that detail? And following up on that, so far, we have not received a full military record of his service from the Army. And so just asking if that could be released publicly.
Sabrina Singh (21:34):
So I'd refer you to the National Guard and Army for more details on his record. I don't have that. But they do release just the broad outline of dates of service, and just the standard information that we would release for any individual. So I'd refer you to Army for more.
(21:54)
In terms of the comments that you're referencing, I don't have more to provide on that. I'm aware of the comments that were made. It's not something that, to my knowledge, that we're looking into. So I have to refer you to his team more to speak to that.
Tara (22:12):
I guess I would ask that the Department does look into it, and whether he was one of the members. I remember at the time that the Department actually announced that some had been removed. There were 26,000 that were assigned to provide protection to Biden's inauguration. So if we could get back from the Department why those members were removed at the time, and confirmation of whether Hegseth was one of them.
Sabrina Singh (22:33):
That'd be something that I think the National Guard or the Army could speak to. So I'd refer you them to speak to more to that.
Tara (22:38):
Okay. Totally separate topic-
Sabrina Singh (22:39):
Sure.
Tara (22:40):
… Ukraine aid. The President has said he's committed to getting about $7.1 billion in PDA to Ukraine before his administration ends. How do you get $7.1 billion off the shelf of Pentagon stockpiles in such a short time?
Sabrina Singh (22:58):
It is a short time, but it's also just under 70 days. This Department can do incredible work in that amount of time. The President made clear that he wants to spend down the authority that Congress has allocated and authorized before he leaves office. So we're going to work very hard to make sure that happens. You've seen us roll out very large packages from the beginning. And you've seen us roll out, actually, I'd say a range of packages on a pretty frequent basis, almost weekly. So I expect that for the next coming months of this administration, you're going to continue to see those packages draw down from what's available in our stockpiles.
(23:48)
Again, we're committed to ensuring that Ukraine has what it needs to be successful in the battlefield. Secretary Austin recently had a call with Minister Umerov. They discussed the capabilities that Ukraine needs to continue to push the Russians back to continue to be successful in their strategic battle plans. And that's something that this administration is committed to. So you'll see us continue to draw those down over time.
Tara (24:15):
Thank you.
Sabrina Singh (24:16):
Jen?
Jen (24:17):
Hi. Can you talk a little more about the unidentified aerial phenomena, and one of the accusations, it's not in the report, but that the Department has within storage the remains of aliens or signs of life from elsewhere? Can you settle that once and for all? Do you or don't you have such remains?
Sabrina Singh (24:36):
Yeah, so I'm not aware of any remains that the Department has of any signs of extraterrestrial beings or activity or technology. And I'm sorry, what was your first question?
Jen (24:51):
Well, it's really about that. Then also, what the top-line finding in this report.
Sabrina Singh (24:56):
So the report, again, was briefed to members of Congress, and from what I read out at the top, I really don't have more to provide. But the relevant staff and committee members were notified about the report. Part of this Annual Report submitted to Congress is accountability, and to ensure that we continue to keep members updated through our AARO office. Go ahead.
Jen (25:22):
But have you found any evidence of foreign involvement in any of these unidentified aerial phenomena?
Sabrina Singh (25:29):
To date, the Department has not discovered any verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology, nor verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding possession or reverse engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or currently exist.
Jen (25:51):
Okay. And in terms of the strikes on the Houthis in the past week, why were the F-35Cs used in those strikes?
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Is it symbolic? Was it needed? And yet the Houthis keep firing.
Sabrina Singh (26:05):
I mean, why we use certain capabilities is also what's available in the AOR. The F-35s are part of the aid carrier strike group. Why they're used, they bring different capabilities than some of the other aircraft in the region, but that's really at the discretion of the commander. Can't get into more of the operational details on that, but it really depends on the mission, the operation, and what's available and what we need to accomplish. And different aircraft are used at different times. Yeah. Austin.
Austin (26:41):
Thank you. I have a follow-up one on Tara asked about assistance to Ukraine. So does the Pentagon-
Sabrina Singh (26:47):
I thought you were going to ask me about UAPs.
Austin (26:49):
Yes. Maybe later.
Sabrina Singh (26:50):
Okay.
Austin (26:50):
So does the Pentagon still plan to use the entire amount that is left by the end of the administration and do you have enough capabilities on your shelves for that?
Sabrina Singh (26:59):
Yeah, so don't have much more to vary off of the points that I made to Tara, but as you've heard the president give his commitment that he intends to use the authority that Congress allocated to continue to draw down from our stockpiles and continue to send PDA packages out to Ukraine. That's a commitment that the president has made and therefore the department continues to honor that commitment by the packages that we send to Ukraine on a pretty weekly basis. And I'm sorry, your second question.
Austin (27:34):
Yeah. Did you have enough capabilities for this on your shelf?
Sabrina Singh (27:37):
We're constantly refilling our shelves and our stockpiles. The secretary is not going to allow the department to dip below readiness levels that he doesn't feel comfortable with. So as we continue to refill our own shelves, you're going to see equipment capabilities continue to flow out.
Austin (27:54):
And are those capabilities expected to be delivered to Ukraine by the end of January 20th or it might take longer?
Sabrina Singh (28:01):
Look, it's going to range. Some equipment and some systems can get to Ukraine very quickly and you've seen that happen within days or weeks. Sometimes it does take longer for what's available to get to Ukraine, and that could be longer than weeks. That could be months. You also have to remember we have those USAI packages that we have announced. Some of those things take years to deliver. So I think the long and short of it is is that some equipment does get to Ukraine exceptionally quickly, but then there are some that takes longer. Constantine.
Constantine (28:42):
Thanks Sabrina. There's been reporting over the last several days that the incoming Trump administration plans to stand up a sort of warrior board, I think they're calling it, to rid the military of what they feel are woke generals. Yesterday, Reuters reported that there's a list going around of generals connected to General Milley that are slated to be fired. Does the Pentagon have a reaction either to these reports of the incoming administration looking to remove a large amount of its senior officers?
Sabrina Singh (29:13):
So I'm certainly not going to speak for the incoming administration or speak to any hypotheticals on what they will and won't do. I've seen those reports as well, but I'm just not going to speak to that. What I can tell you, and Constantine, I think you know this very well, is there are people here that work in this building incredibly hard, have dedicated their life to public service, whether it be in uniform or career civil servants. It's been amazing to meet them over my time here at the department. They are focused on the mission. They're going to continue to see that mission through. And certainly on our part, from this administration, we are going to do everything that we can to ensure that there is an orderly, calm transition. And so when the incoming secretary's team is ready to make that transition, we want to ensure that they are set up for success.
Constantine (30:10):
I mean, and so fair enough. Just to sort of take the hypothetical out of it, are you able to say very broadly, for example, if there would be operational impacts if a large number of general officers were suddenly no longer part of the Department of Defense?
Sabrina Singh (30:22):
So removing the hypothetical, you remember the time when we had a significant amount of holds on our general and flag officers. Removing, holding officers from moving up or not having people in place and therefore having other people fill a job, that maybe they're doing two jobs, maybe they're doing three jobs, yes, that's going to have an impact to operations. That's going to have an impact to morale, and that is going to have an impact on the department. Again, I'm not going to speak to the hypothetical of what you're referencing, but whenever you have or put a strain on the system where there are not enough people in a position or not enough people sharing the burden of work, of course it's going to strain the system. Joseph.
Joseph (31:11):
Thanks. To follow up on Jen's, on a question on the Houthis, you mentioned the capabilities that are … She asked why they used the F-35Cs in these particular strikes, and you said what's available in that AOR, but a couple of weeks or last month you used B-2 bombers that were not in that AOR, that were sent from here. So why the discrepancy there?
Sabrina Singh (31:35):
Yeah, no, there's not a discrepancy. It has to do with the type of mission and the type of targets and what would be most effective. And for the mission set that used the bombers, it was one that required their capabilities. Again, the Abe carrier strike group has different aircraft on board. One is the F-35. It has been used in the most recent mission, but you've seen us do strikes with whether it be F-15s, F-16s. So it's really at the commander's discretion.
Joseph (32:08):
So just on that, we've seen now new capabilities introduced to this now, I guess, year long campaign to deter the Houthis. They're not deterred. So what's the department looking to do differently to stop that, at least in these last 70 days that you're here?
Sabrina Singh (32:25):
Well, so to push back on that though, we continue to take capabilities off the map for them. So while we continue to see aggression from the Houthis and the targeting of innocent mariners and commercial ships that are just transiting the BAM or the Red Sea, we continue to take capabilities away. Yes, they do have large stockpiles of those, but I think you have to also look at what we're being able to do to impact their operations as well. And that is important. And if we weren't doing what we were doing, you wouldn't see those commercial ships coming through. It would have a larger impact to the economy, to a larger impact to world markets. And one of the things that the secretary did was set up Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure that we can have a safe transit and to really uphold the international rules-based order of freedom of navigation. Very proud of the work that we're continuing to do there on holding the Houthis responsible. But every single time that we engage, we're taking capabilities away as well.
Joseph (33:34):
Just one more on Gaza. It's been over 30 days since that letter was sent by Secretaries, Blinken and Austin. We heard from the State Department the other day that they're not prepared to do anything basically, to follow through on that letter because the aid the US considers is still far short of what it's asking for or what needs to be getting into Gaza. Does this department share that assessment? And if not enough aid is getting in, but you guys are also not going to do anything as a consequence or whatever you want to call it, what message does that send to other allies and partners in the world that either messages we're sending, we're not following through on what we say we're going to do, or otherwise?
Sabrina Singh (34:18):
Well, I don't think … I kind of disagree with some of the premise there. And the president has been clear that we're going to continue to support Israel in their self-defense. They're continuing to get attacked on all sides by terrorist group like Hamas or Lebanese Hezbollah in the north. And then not to mention, of course, the unprecedented attacks that we've seen from Iran. So they do have a tough fight, but we've been very clear that not enough has been done in Gaza. And because of the pressure that the United States has put on Israel, we have seen crossings open. We have seen the Erez crossing open. We've seen others. We're seeing more truckloads get in. We're seeing the Jordan Armed Forces corridor open up.
(35:09)
So I don't think it's fair to say that our pressure isn't working, it is. But can more be done? Yeah, absolutely. And over the summer when we did have that maritime corridor put in place, that did help open up the Ashdod crossing, which was something that didn't exist before the JALOTS mission was there. So every single day we know how dire the humanitarian situation is in Gaza. And that's why every single day, not just here at this department, but the interagency continues to work with our Israeli partners to get more aid in because we know not enough is getting in. Phil.
Phil (35:49):
The President-elect Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary has alleged that he was sidelined from the service because of what he said was being labeled as extremist. He was labeled as extremist, he says. I realize that you'd like us to speak to the Army and the National Guard, but I think we've all been trying to get a concrete answer for them. And as a representative from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, I would just hope that you could perhaps help us determine whether or not that assertion that he was sidelined for being an extremist could be verified-
Sabrina Singh (36:22):
I'd have to take a look and certainly can look into that with the Army National Guard. But I am aware of the reports. But again, this is something that the services would really handle. So I'd have to direct you to them to speak more to his record and also some of the reporting that I've seen out there.
Tara (36:39):
But just to follow on that though, I mean we were all here at the time and we were having briefings about the number of guard troops that were moving in to protect the capitol, that there was additional vetting going on. And then we were told that some members were removed. So this was centralized, this wasn't pushed down to the Army. This was very much a Department of Defense effort.
Sabrina Singh (37:04):
So as you know, I was not here during that time. And were going through our own transition as the incoming Biden administration. So look, like I said, happy to work and try and get you more information. This is really something that the services would handle. But I understand that at the time you were asking about this in January 2021, so we will do our due diligence and then try and get back to you.
Tara (37:32):
[inaudible 00:37:33] prompted a larger extremism review in the department looking at service members. So if we could just revisit what was being looked at and where that review now stands. I realize there was some [inaudible 00:37:45] that was released like that.
Sabrina Singh (37:46):
Yeah, there was released. So I'd refer you to what we released. I don't have the exact dates in front of me, but that's available online. And I think we did briefings on it at that time. But I'd refer you to what we had put out at that time. Yes, in the back.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
Thank you Sabrina. Today, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that last 24 hours, 78 civilians have been killed and 122 have been wounded. So the total now categorized to 3,365. This is being killed, and more than 14,000 have been wounded. And that's come despite what Secretary Austin said on October 19 when he was in Italy, that "This number are far too high. I would like to see Israel scale back on some of the strikes it's taken, especially in and around Beirut." So how concerned, first of all, about these numbers, the civilian casualties in Lebanon, and how do you contact with the Israeli to tell them their message? And do you believe they are hearing, what are you saying to them about the civilians?
Sabrina Singh (38:53):
So something that the secretary has been saying from the beginning is that
Sabrina Singh (39:00):
The number of civilians killed as a result, whether it be in Gaza or what's happening on the northern border, certainly the number is too high. That's ultimately why we keep pushing for a ceasefire to be put in place, because we want to see, and Israel wants to see their citizens returned home to that northern border area. The only way that's going to happen is if a ceasefire is put into place. That's what you're seeing us push for. We had representatives from the U.S. government in the region just this past week, or last week.
(39:40)
We might have less than 70 days left of this administration, but that doesn't mean that we're giving up. We're going to keep pushing, and we're going to keep doing the work. That means continuing to urge for a ceasefire, continuing to urge for more humanitarian aid to get into Gaza, and doing the work with our Israeli partners, and continuing to push that they move those civilians out of the battle space, because that is a grave concern for the United States. I'm going to go to the phones, and then happy to come back in the room. Jeff Schogol, Task & Purpose.
Jeff Schogol (40:11):
Thank you. CENTCOM announced earlier this week, there was an attack on a patrol base in Syria, and there were follow-up airstrikes. I just wanted to see, have there been any subsequent attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria? Have there been any follow-up airstrikes? Have there been any more airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi targets, and have the Houthis fired any missiles against U.S. ships?
Sabrina Singh (40:38):
Thanks, Jeff, for the question. In terms of activity in the CENTCOM AOR, I'm not tracking anything additional from what General Ryder had provided at the briefing on Tuesday. You mentioned some of the attacks that had happened, or were directed at U.S. forces, that was over the weekend, not tracking anything additional as of today. Occasionally, there are things that are launched in the vicinity of our forces or our bases in the region that U.S. forces do engage and shoot down, but those aren't necessarily attacks on U.S. forces. Again, not tracking anything new from what General Ryder provided at the briefing on Tuesday. Go to the last one here, Jared Szuba.
Jared Szuba (41:23):
Hi Sabrina, my question has been asked. Thank you.
Sabrina Singh (41:28):
Thank you, happy to come back in the room. Yes, Brad.
Brad (41:31):
Thank you. Just one question. Human Rights Watch released a report today saying that Israel is carrying out war crimes by forcibly displacing the Palestinian people. Do you have a response to that at all?
Sabrina Singh (41:43):
I haven't read the report, so I don't.
Brad (41:46):
Okay.
Sabrina Singh (41:46):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (41:47):
Thank you, thanks so much. The President-elect previously said that some people who were involved in Afghanistan's evacuation here at the Pentagon need to be fired as soon as he gets to the White House. Is there any ongoing investigation here at the Pentagon regarding Afghanistan's evacuation?
Sabrina Singh (42:07):
There is not, and as you know or maybe you don't, we have done an investigation, and CENTCOM earlier this year did an additional review of the evacuation, and also, what happened at Abbey Gate. I'm not aware of any other investigations or reviews happening at the department at this time. We were very thorough. We had folks testify on the Hill as well. Congress also did its own review on the withdrawal of Afghanistan. While I'm not going to comment on the President-elect's comments, we've certainly done a very thorough review process in this building.
Speaker 4 (42:49):
Quick follow up on that. Also, the incoming secretary of Defense said that the United States left a bunch of weapons in Afghanistan that the Taliban are using right now. May I ask, what is the overall value of those weapons that were left in Afghanistan, from the Pentagon's point of view?
Sabrina Singh (43:15):
We did a thorough review, I'd encourage you to look online and also go back and look at the testimony that members of this administration did on the Hill. I don't have a dollar figure in front of me right now. I'm going to go over here.
Speaker 5 (43:29):
Sabrina, since the secretary will be in the region, going in the region, and also, ASEAN and G20 other meetings and summits are going on, how are the military to military relations with China today, or how much China's threat to the nations around in Asia-Pacific that are also in the China Sea? Those nations are depending on the United States. What message do you think the secretary will have for them as far as China's threat in the region?
Sabrina Singh (44:07):
I think it sends an incredibly powerful message, that the secretary is going to the Indo-Pacific for the 12th time. He's going to the Philippines for his fourth time. That is a partnership that has expanded with more EDCA sites, a deepening relationship, and I think it shows that the secretary and this building is still guided by the National Defense Strategy which identifies China as our pacing challenge. We're not shying away from that. What's important is that we continue to have mil-to-mil relationships with the PRC and our counterparts. That's something that President Biden committed to working with President XI, when they had their meeting in California, something that we're going to continue to push for in these short 70 days.Yes?
Speaker 6 (45:02):
Thank you very much, Sabrina. My last two questions in this administration.
Sabrina Singh (45:08):
You're not coming back for 70 days?
Speaker 6 (45:10):
No.
Sabrina Singh (45:10):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (45:12):
But I do want to thank you, Sabrina. Nobody has given the comment you made off the record about encouragement of journalists. I have never heard such a beautiful comment you made a few weeks ago about journalism. I do want to come back to both of my colleagues' question, the Abbey Gate. I have shared my with your colleagues pictures of last the three decades of my personal news media and family relations in Afghanistan, and I do want to say that while the U.S. troops were there in Afghanistan, I did launch Emirates Airlines, did work for Nestle, Moneygram, lots of multinational and top advertising agencies in the world. With Abbey Gate, with the last day of withdrawal, when I came out from the hospital, the first question I had asked you was that. Now, today I want to offer from my side, from the Frontier Post and for my teachers who were in the military, 100,000 investigation inquiries that anybody from the Pentagon or at here this podium can support from my side, knowing that region so well. I want to contribute 100,000, just U.S. former military officials there and Pakistani, to investigate that last day of the withdrawal. Is that a big demand from a journalist?
Sabrina Singh (46:32):
Look, I think you are incredibly entitled to do your own investigative work. What I can tell you, and what I can point you to is what this administration has done, the time, the money, the resources it took to doing very in-depth investigative work, an additional review by Central Command, and not to mention, multiple testimonies on the Hill, answering questions from lawmakers. We certainly understand that there are still questions around the withdrawal, but from a department standpoint, we've done the work to answer those questions, and that's really all I have to offer.
Speaker 6 (47:10):
My colleagues ask for the military generals', especially General Milley's resignation, where journalists like me raise questions who are from that region, why are you not asking for investigation, or resignation or whatever, of people like Zalmay Khalilzad? Why no State Department officials? Nobody talks about them, but the military, I feel like you guys are taking the burden on yourself, and blame on yourself, and the diplomatic wing were responsible for a big chunk of that withdrawal.
Sabrina Singh (47:40):
I don't have anything more to add.
Speaker 6 (47:41):
Just one last-
Sabrina Singh (47:42):
I'm going to go to Jen.
Jen (47:42):
I have a question. Has the transition landing team started here, or landed?
Sabrina Singh (47:48):
They have not.
Jen (47:49):
They have not. What's the hold up?
Sabrina Singh (47:54):
Look, I believe that there's still a process that needs to be agreed to and signed. I think it doesn't preclude us from having, of course, conversations. We want to make sure that there is an orderly transition that can work with this building, and we want to make sure that the incoming team has what they need to be successful. The actual formal paperwork has not been officially signed yet. When that does, we're committed to an orderly transition process.
Jen (48:21):
Have you started those conversations, or not?
Sabrina Singh (48:23):
No, not yet. All right. Thanks, everyone.