1 00:00:00,270 --> 00:00:02,381 Gaspard . I'm the secretary defense . 2 00:00:02,381 --> 00:00:04,214 Welcome to today's Department of 3 00:00:04,214 --> 00:00:06,210 Defense . Virtual Town Hall . I'm 4 00:00:06,210 --> 00:00:08,321 joined today by the Chairman of Joint 5 00:00:08,321 --> 00:00:10,432 Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley , 6 00:00:10,432 --> 00:00:12,654 and by the senior listed advisor to the 7 00:00:12,654 --> 00:00:15,390 Chairman , uh , Cologne Lopez . I want 8 00:00:15,390 --> 00:00:18,190 to begin by thanking the 50,000 plus 9 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,290 service members . We're on the front 10 00:00:20,290 --> 00:00:22,530 lines today fighting the fight against 11 00:00:22,530 --> 00:00:24,641 the Corona virus . You've made us all 12 00:00:24,641 --> 00:00:27,710 very proud and very impressed by your 13 00:00:27,710 --> 00:00:29,830 service , your skill and your 14 00:00:29,830 --> 00:00:32,620 selflessness . The accomplishes that 15 00:00:32,620 --> 00:00:34,570 you're making in states and cities 16 00:00:34,570 --> 00:00:36,792 around the country are remarkable , and 17 00:00:36,792 --> 00:00:38,903 the American people appreciate it . I 18 00:00:38,903 --> 00:00:41,014 know I deeply appreciate it as well . 19 00:00:41,014 --> 00:00:43,126 For many of you , you're risking your 20 00:00:43,126 --> 00:00:45,403 own health and welfare welfare as well , 21 00:00:45,403 --> 00:00:47,514 and so you'll have our highest regard 22 00:00:47,514 --> 00:00:49,737 and respect with regard to those forces 23 00:00:49,737 --> 00:00:51,848 out there . As many of you know , the 24 00:00:51,848 --> 00:00:54,070 department defense has been all in from 25 00:00:54,070 --> 00:00:56,237 day 1/2 plus months . Now , going back 26 00:00:56,237 --> 00:00:58,790 to January , we have over 28,000 27 00:00:58,790 --> 00:01:00,901 National Guardsmen activated in every 28 00:01:00,901 --> 00:01:03,620 state in the territories . We have 29 00:01:03,630 --> 00:01:05,519 thousands of active component and 30 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:07,686 reserve component soldiers , sailors , 31 00:01:07,686 --> 00:01:09,408 airmen and marines enlisting , 32 00:01:09,408 --> 00:01:11,352 enlisting their support around the 33 00:01:11,352 --> 00:01:13,990 country we have 15,000 Army Corps of 34 00:01:13,990 --> 00:01:16,930 Engineers personnel in 1700 deployed 35 00:01:17,140 --> 00:01:19,307 around the company , a country helping 36 00:01:19,307 --> 00:01:21,640 create an expand hospital capacity in 37 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:23,700 several states . In fact , today to 38 00:01:23,700 --> 00:01:26,210 date , they've they have conducted over 39 00:01:26,220 --> 00:01:28,850 800 site surveys around the country . 40 00:01:29,500 --> 00:01:31,667 We also have deployed a number of Army 41 00:01:31,667 --> 00:01:33,833 field hospitals and Navy expeditionary 42 00:01:33,833 --> 00:01:35,833 medical units . We have eight urban 43 00:01:35,833 --> 00:01:38,056 medical tasks force deploying . They're 44 00:01:38,056 --> 00:01:40,000 going to cities such as New York , 45 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,000 where they're most employed were in 46 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,222 Seattle , Chicago . We will be going to 47 00:01:44,222 --> 00:01:46,167 Detroit , New Orleans , Dallas and 48 00:01:46,167 --> 00:01:48,500 elsewhere . So those doctors and nurses , 49 00:01:48,500 --> 00:01:50,611 other medical professionals and other 50 00:01:50,611 --> 00:01:52,833 service members are doing Yeoman's work 51 00:01:52,833 --> 00:01:55,000 out on the front lines . The mercy and 52 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,000 comfort , as many of you know , are 53 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,333 also docked in Los Angeles and New York , 54 00:01:59,333 --> 00:02:01,556 providing critical support and prepared 55 00:02:01,556 --> 00:02:03,833 to address overflow capacity as needed . 56 00:02:03,833 --> 00:02:05,870 On top of that , we've provided a 57 00:02:05,870 --> 00:02:07,814 number of medical equipment to our 58 00:02:07,814 --> 00:02:09,700 colleagues and HHS and FEMA . We 59 00:02:09,700 --> 00:02:13,050 provided 10 million masks we provided 60 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,410 in transported millions of swabs from 61 00:02:15,410 --> 00:02:18,060 abroad , test swabs . We've also 62 00:02:18,060 --> 00:02:20,171 provided ventilators and other pieces 63 00:02:20,171 --> 00:02:22,393 of personal protective equipment to our 64 00:02:22,393 --> 00:02:24,060 colleagues at FEMA and HHS to 65 00:02:24,060 --> 00:02:26,227 distribute around the country . On top 66 00:02:26,227 --> 00:02:28,200 of that , our top tier research 67 00:02:28,210 --> 00:02:30,266 scientists and medical professionals 68 00:02:30,266 --> 00:02:32,154 are helping work with the private 69 00:02:32,154 --> 00:02:34,099 sector to come up with a vaccine . 70 00:02:34,099 --> 00:02:35,877 They're also working to develop 71 00:02:35,877 --> 00:02:38,099 therapeutics . Help us get through this 72 00:02:38,099 --> 00:02:40,360 crisis as quickly as possible . And on 73 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,570 top of that , we continue to maintain 74 00:02:43,570 --> 00:02:45,792 our top mission that is making sure the 75 00:02:45,792 --> 00:02:48,014 United States remains safe and secure . 76 00:02:48,014 --> 00:02:50,014 As many of you know , I've outlined 77 00:02:50,014 --> 00:02:52,237 three priorities from day one . First , 78 00:02:52,237 --> 00:02:54,348 protect our people , take care of our 79 00:02:54,348 --> 00:02:56,459 soldiers , sailors , airmen , Marines 80 00:02:56,459 --> 00:02:58,681 are civilians and their families number 81 00:02:58,681 --> 00:03:00,403 to ensure that we preserve our 82 00:03:00,403 --> 00:03:02,459 essential mission capabilities so we 83 00:03:02,459 --> 00:03:04,459 can continue defending the American 84 00:03:04,459 --> 00:03:06,570 people , the United States of America 85 00:03:06,570 --> 00:03:08,681 and our interests abroad and priority 86 00:03:08,681 --> 00:03:10,737 number three provide full support to 87 00:03:10,737 --> 00:03:12,792 the whole of government whole nation 88 00:03:12,792 --> 00:03:15,014 response that we're orchestrating right 89 00:03:15,014 --> 00:03:17,070 now . As you know , everyone must do 90 00:03:17,070 --> 00:03:19,237 their part to reduce the spread of the 91 00:03:19,237 --> 00:03:21,459 virus . We see some light at the end of 92 00:03:21,459 --> 00:03:23,570 the tunnel , but we're far from being 93 00:03:23,570 --> 00:03:25,792 out of the woods at this point . Time I 94 00:03:25,792 --> 00:03:25,570 encourage you urge you to follow . The 95 00:03:25,570 --> 00:03:27,626 president of the United States is 30 96 00:03:27,626 --> 00:03:29,690 day plan and CDC guidance to help 97 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,110 reduce the spread of the virus . As you 98 00:03:33,110 --> 00:03:35,210 know , the CDC recently outlined 99 00:03:35,210 --> 00:03:37,210 guidance , additional guidance with 100 00:03:37,210 --> 00:03:38,877 regard to face coverings . We 101 00:03:38,877 --> 00:03:41,043 immediately also put out our policy on 102 00:03:41,043 --> 00:03:42,920 face coverings as well that face 103 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,142 covering says , where social distancing 104 00:03:45,142 --> 00:03:47,309 is not possible , where you cannot get 105 00:03:47,309 --> 00:03:49,420 outside of six feet . Then you should 106 00:03:49,420 --> 00:03:51,642 wear a face covering if your office off 107 00:03:51,642 --> 00:03:53,864 the d . O D installation . If you're on 108 00:03:53,864 --> 00:03:55,920 a deal , the installation or bass or 109 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,031 facility it is required . Many of our 110 00:03:58,031 --> 00:04:00,198 adversaries , as you know , are trying 111 00:04:00,198 --> 00:04:02,031 to exploit this crisis . So it's 112 00:04:02,031 --> 00:04:04,198 important that we maintain readiness . 113 00:04:04,198 --> 00:04:06,420 I have full faith and confidence in our 114 00:04:06,420 --> 00:04:08,531 commanders and our senior and CEOs to 115 00:04:08,531 --> 00:04:10,698 balance mission requirements and force 116 00:04:10,698 --> 00:04:12,698 health protection . It's absolutely 117 00:04:12,698 --> 00:04:14,809 critical that we do so . Lastly , I'd 118 00:04:14,809 --> 00:04:16,864 like to say that we will ensure four 119 00:04:16,864 --> 00:04:18,864 deployed troops receive the support 120 00:04:18,864 --> 00:04:20,864 Resource is they need to accomplish 121 00:04:20,864 --> 00:04:22,976 their very critical national security 122 00:04:22,976 --> 00:04:25,142 missions . With that , I'll wrap up by 123 00:04:25,142 --> 00:04:27,253 saying , I'm very , very proud of all 124 00:04:27,253 --> 00:04:29,476 of our service members , whether you're 125 00:04:29,476 --> 00:04:29,410 deployed on the front lines of this 126 00:04:29,410 --> 00:04:31,577 fight or not , whether you're deployed 127 00:04:31,577 --> 00:04:33,466 abroad , conducting your national 128 00:04:33,466 --> 00:04:35,799 security mission or not , and of course , 129 00:04:35,799 --> 00:04:37,854 our families . It's been tough times 130 00:04:37,854 --> 00:04:37,410 here in the United States , and many 131 00:04:37,410 --> 00:04:39,521 view of again put your own health and 132 00:04:39,521 --> 00:04:41,632 wherefore on the line to help protect 133 00:04:41,632 --> 00:04:43,799 your fellow Americans . So you have my 134 00:04:43,799 --> 00:04:45,743 highest regard , my respect and my 135 00:04:45,743 --> 00:04:47,966 pride , and I want to thank you for all 136 00:04:47,966 --> 00:04:50,450 that . These are difficult times , but 137 00:04:50,450 --> 00:04:52,617 I'm confident we will get through this 138 00:04:52,617 --> 00:04:54,839 together and we'll be stronger and more 139 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:57,061 resilient on the back end . With that , 140 00:04:57,061 --> 00:04:59,228 I'd like to turn over the stage to the 141 00:04:59,228 --> 00:05:01,228 chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff , 142 00:05:01,228 --> 00:05:03,061 General Mark Milley . Transected 143 00:05:03,061 --> 00:05:05,172 Appreciate that . Um , good morning , 144 00:05:05,172 --> 00:05:07,380 everyone . That's out there . I wantto 145 00:05:07,390 --> 00:05:09,557 just highlight a couple of things that 146 00:05:09,557 --> 00:05:11,779 the secretary just mentioned . What you 147 00:05:11,779 --> 00:05:13,460 heard was a wide variety of 148 00:05:13,460 --> 00:05:15,940 capabilities and supplies and hospitals , 149 00:05:16,350 --> 00:05:19,050 troops , 50,000 troops , 19 hospitals 150 00:05:19,050 --> 00:05:21,272 just out of the army , seven out of the 151 00:05:21,272 --> 00:05:23,328 out of the Navy , two out of the Air 152 00:05:23,328 --> 00:05:25,217 Force operating in five different 153 00:05:25,217 --> 00:05:25,200 cities , taking care of patients all 154 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,780 over the place on what you see . In 155 00:05:27,780 --> 00:05:30,090 addition to the comfort , the mercy is 156 00:05:30,090 --> 00:05:32,530 a significant level of effort by your 157 00:05:32,530 --> 00:05:34,800 military on all of you . Each one of 158 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:36,467 you , whether you're directly 159 00:05:36,467 --> 00:05:38,578 contributing to the cove it fight and 160 00:05:38,578 --> 00:05:41,070 one of the 50,000 or whether you're in 161 00:05:41,070 --> 00:05:43,790 the remainder of the 2.3 million that 162 00:05:43,790 --> 00:05:46,012 are in uniform , every one of you makes 163 00:05:46,012 --> 00:05:48,234 us proud . Every one of you is making a 164 00:05:48,234 --> 00:05:50,401 contribution , and we will continue to 165 00:05:50,401 --> 00:05:52,290 do that . We're gonna continue to 166 00:05:52,290 --> 00:05:54,510 defend our country . We're going to 167 00:05:54,510 --> 00:05:56,288 continue to provide the mission 168 00:05:56,288 --> 00:05:58,630 assurance around the world . We're also 169 00:05:58,630 --> 00:06:00,463 going to continue to protect the 170 00:06:00,463 --> 00:06:02,463 American people from the ravages of 171 00:06:02,463 --> 00:06:04,660 Cove in 19 . And we will continue to 172 00:06:04,660 --> 00:06:06,438 take care of our troops and our 173 00:06:06,438 --> 00:06:08,327 families . Eso all of you . We're 174 00:06:08,327 --> 00:06:10,382 making a significant contribution of 175 00:06:10,382 --> 00:06:12,438 the defensive United States that you 176 00:06:12,438 --> 00:06:14,493 make all of us proud . We just ask a 177 00:06:14,493 --> 00:06:16,660 couple of things . One , as you do pay 178 00:06:16,660 --> 00:06:18,771 attention to the guidance that's been 179 00:06:18,771 --> 00:06:20,993 put out by the CDC and the president to 180 00:06:20,993 --> 00:06:23,160 is that you use the chain of command . 181 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:25,271 We think that information flow up and 182 00:06:25,271 --> 00:06:27,216 down The chain of command has been 183 00:06:27,216 --> 00:06:29,549 significant over the last several weeks . 184 00:06:29,549 --> 00:06:31,549 We encourage you to continue to use 185 00:06:31,549 --> 00:06:33,660 that , and third is take care of each 186 00:06:33,660 --> 00:06:35,660 other on def . You see something or 187 00:06:35,660 --> 00:06:38,580 someone that is challenged with cove it 188 00:06:38,580 --> 00:06:41,210 19 . Please speak up . Help him out and 189 00:06:41,210 --> 00:06:43,432 get him to the right medical facility . 190 00:06:43,432 --> 00:06:45,488 Thank you , and I'll turn it over to 191 00:06:45,488 --> 00:06:47,599 see it . Thank you , Chairman . Thank 192 00:06:47,599 --> 00:06:49,599 you , Mr Secretary . So again , our 193 00:06:49,599 --> 00:06:51,710 purpose for doing this town holds two 194 00:06:51,710 --> 00:06:53,710 fold . Number one is to continue to 195 00:06:53,710 --> 00:06:53,420 argue with the facts of what we need to 196 00:06:53,420 --> 00:06:55,940 do to get past this pandemic . And 197 00:06:55,940 --> 00:06:58,107 number two is to continue to cover our 198 00:06:58,107 --> 00:07:00,273 blind spots The things that we haven't 199 00:07:00,273 --> 00:07:02,329 considered yet in order to best help 200 00:07:02,329 --> 00:07:04,551 you because it is the feedback from the 201 00:07:04,551 --> 00:07:06,607 field that it's gonna really help us 202 00:07:06,607 --> 00:07:08,496 get to the root cause of a lot of 203 00:07:08,496 --> 00:07:10,718 problems and generate solutions . So it 204 00:07:10,718 --> 00:07:12,940 would continue to navigate through this 205 00:07:12,940 --> 00:07:14,996 minefield . I want to make sure that 206 00:07:14,996 --> 00:07:14,790 you all know that we appreciate your 207 00:07:14,790 --> 00:07:17,420 candor , your expedient feedback , but 208 00:07:17,420 --> 00:07:19,587 most importantly , your support to one 209 00:07:19,587 --> 00:07:21,753 another . We're here to learn from you 210 00:07:21,753 --> 00:07:23,920 another to tailor our guidance to best 211 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,031 careful you and your families . And I 212 00:07:26,031 --> 00:07:28,142 will tell you that both the secretary 213 00:07:28,142 --> 00:07:30,309 and the chairman have both been really 214 00:07:30,309 --> 00:07:32,531 receptive to the feedback from you . So 215 00:07:32,531 --> 00:07:34,642 help us continue making it better for 216 00:07:34,642 --> 00:07:36,864 everyone . So with that said , let's go 217 00:07:36,864 --> 00:07:38,920 ahead and take questions . The first 218 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,087 question is from an anonymous Facebook 219 00:07:41,087 --> 00:07:43,253 user who are , who's asking , Is there 220 00:07:43,253 --> 00:07:45,253 going to be a stop loss declaration 221 00:07:45,253 --> 00:07:47,476 coming ? I posed out to the secretary . 222 00:07:47,476 --> 00:07:50,120 I doubt it . I think it's very unlikely 223 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:52,400 it would be a measure of last resort 224 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,567 and would be very surgically focused . 225 00:07:54,567 --> 00:07:56,844 But again , I think it's very unlikely . 226 00:07:56,844 --> 00:07:58,733 It's fair to say , As I said , my 227 00:07:58,733 --> 00:08:00,678 opening remarks so we can see some 228 00:08:00,678 --> 00:08:03,060 light out there a CZ We , as we see the 229 00:08:03,060 --> 00:08:05,470 Corona virus flatten in areas where we 230 00:08:05,470 --> 00:08:07,526 sea . City cities say they no longer 231 00:08:07,526 --> 00:08:09,748 need our support , but we're not out of 232 00:08:09,748 --> 00:08:11,914 the woods yet , but to me again , it's 233 00:08:11,914 --> 00:08:13,914 a last resort , but very unlikely . 234 00:08:13,914 --> 00:08:15,748 Great into the secretary and the 235 00:08:15,748 --> 00:08:17,859 chairman . We have a question from an 236 00:08:17,859 --> 00:08:20,081 Army wife based in D . C . I understand 237 00:08:20,081 --> 00:08:22,303 the Cove in 19 situation is uncertain , 238 00:08:22,303 --> 00:08:24,192 but soon we'll be approaching the 239 00:08:24,192 --> 00:08:26,359 summer PCs season . How will this play 240 00:08:26,359 --> 00:08:28,303 out if they're still widespread or 241 00:08:28,303 --> 00:08:30,414 localized ? Covert outbreaks ? Well , 242 00:08:30,414 --> 00:08:32,414 the service members still PCs Who's 243 00:08:32,414 --> 00:08:34,414 coordinating these decisions ? It's 244 00:08:34,414 --> 00:08:34,390 it's a very good question . I'll take 245 00:08:34,390 --> 00:08:36,279 first stab at it and then let the 246 00:08:36,279 --> 00:08:38,446 chairman respond . It's something that 247 00:08:38,446 --> 00:08:40,612 we've discussed a number of times . We 248 00:08:40,612 --> 00:08:40,310 will be having another meeting today on 249 00:08:40,310 --> 00:08:42,421 this matter . Obviously , we're gonna 250 00:08:42,421 --> 00:08:44,588 take guidance from the CDC with regard 251 00:08:44,588 --> 00:08:46,810 to when things might be able to open up 252 00:08:46,810 --> 00:08:48,921 what we're trying to figure out now . 253 00:08:48,921 --> 00:08:48,880 What are the key dates by by which we 254 00:08:48,890 --> 00:08:51,057 have to consider opening up the system 255 00:08:51,057 --> 00:08:53,168 again for PCs , moves and some of the 256 00:08:53,168 --> 00:08:55,279 primaries that we're focused on her ? 257 00:08:55,279 --> 00:08:57,334 Probably first , those families with 258 00:08:57,334 --> 00:08:57,000 school age kids . We know that you need 259 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,167 to get to your next assignment and get 260 00:08:59,167 --> 00:09:01,111 the kids in school . I know it's a 261 00:09:01,111 --> 00:09:03,056 particular concern , says we think 262 00:09:03,056 --> 00:09:05,000 through these issues were thinking 263 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,889 through who are the most affected 264 00:09:06,889 --> 00:09:08,889 parties . And then what the ways by 265 00:09:08,889 --> 00:09:11,056 which we prioritize it is it by school 266 00:09:11,056 --> 00:09:13,111 age kids . Maybe it's by location by 267 00:09:13,111 --> 00:09:15,333 which we can release people either from 268 00:09:15,333 --> 00:09:17,333 or to the next assignment . It will 269 00:09:17,333 --> 00:09:19,389 involve movers , availability . It's 270 00:09:19,389 --> 00:09:18,640 movers and packers . What is there 271 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,130 Bilbo to do that ? And if we suspect 272 00:09:21,130 --> 00:09:23,297 there may be some lingering effects of 273 00:09:23,297 --> 00:09:25,241 Corona virus , what is the medical 274 00:09:25,241 --> 00:09:27,408 capability on the other end . So we're 275 00:09:27,408 --> 00:09:29,463 trying to consider all those factors 276 00:09:29,463 --> 00:09:31,686 involves the service is the joint staff 277 00:09:31,686 --> 00:09:31,300 and , of course , Transportation 278 00:09:31,300 --> 00:09:33,467 Command because Transportation Command 279 00:09:33,467 --> 00:09:35,740 orchestrates the Packers movers . So 280 00:09:35,740 --> 00:09:37,907 we're trying to take a very deliberate 281 00:09:37,907 --> 00:09:40,018 approach . We know there's a date out 282 00:09:40,018 --> 00:09:41,907 there by which we must decide and 283 00:09:41,907 --> 00:09:41,870 determine if we're gonna help people 284 00:09:41,870 --> 00:09:43,981 either get their kids in school , get 285 00:09:43,981 --> 00:09:46,092 to the next assignment , get the next 286 00:09:46,092 --> 00:09:46,050 professional schooling , whatever the 287 00:09:46,050 --> 00:09:48,050 case may be . But we know that is a 288 00:09:48,050 --> 00:09:49,939 major milestone on working pretty 289 00:09:49,939 --> 00:09:52,590 aggressively on it . I would add that 290 00:09:53,100 --> 00:09:55,322 the first is probably too early to tell 291 00:09:55,322 --> 00:09:57,544 with any sort of definitive guidance is 292 00:09:57,544 --> 00:09:59,711 to what the summer will bring . We are 293 00:09:59,711 --> 00:10:01,656 clearly from a policy standpoint , 294 00:10:01,656 --> 00:10:03,767 looking Thio try to open things up in 295 00:10:03,767 --> 00:10:05,544 the summer . But the very first 296 00:10:05,544 --> 00:10:08,750 priority is the health of the soldier 297 00:10:08,750 --> 00:10:10,917 sailor , airman , marine of the family 298 00:10:10,917 --> 00:10:13,140 member of the child . Except it's so we 299 00:10:13,140 --> 00:10:15,307 don't want to do anything . That place 300 00:10:15,307 --> 00:10:18,000 is the health of our force at risk . So 301 00:10:18,190 --> 00:10:20,301 if that means for the delay , then it 302 00:10:20,301 --> 00:10:22,412 means for the delay . We will we will 303 00:10:22,412 --> 00:10:24,523 work through . That , though , is the 304 00:10:24,523 --> 00:10:26,579 summer months come We're very , very 305 00:10:26,579 --> 00:10:28,690 sensitive . Secretary just set school 306 00:10:28,690 --> 00:10:30,746 aged Children , and we know that the 307 00:10:30,746 --> 00:10:32,857 summer surge is there . There's a lot 308 00:10:32,857 --> 00:10:32,230 of factors that go into it , but the 309 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,296 very first priority is the health of 310 00:10:34,296 --> 00:10:36,073 the troops and their families . 311 00:10:36,073 --> 00:10:38,018 Excellent . And I'll pose the next 312 00:10:38,018 --> 00:10:40,129 question to the chairman . This comes 313 00:10:40,129 --> 00:10:42,240 from Alison Richardson from Fort Fort 314 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,407 Bragg . When is a decision going to be 315 00:10:44,407 --> 00:10:46,740 made about the 82nd Airborne CZ one B C . 316 00:10:46,740 --> 00:10:48,962 T . Extension going to be made ? Yeah . 317 00:10:48,962 --> 00:10:51,184 The secretary and I are monitoring that 318 00:10:51,184 --> 00:10:53,129 along with the CentCom commander , 319 00:10:53,129 --> 00:10:55,296 you're talking about the first Brigade 320 00:10:55,296 --> 00:10:57,407 the second that sitting in the Middle 321 00:10:57,407 --> 00:10:59,407 East right now , they were deployed 322 00:10:59,407 --> 00:11:01,360 back in January , a ZEY measure in 323 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,090 order to deter any further aggression 324 00:11:04,090 --> 00:11:07,550 by Iran and incidents , uh , 325 00:11:07,820 --> 00:11:10,042 surrounding the embassy or elsewhere in 326 00:11:10,042 --> 00:11:11,987 Iraq . And right now they're still 327 00:11:11,987 --> 00:11:14,670 there . The cove in crisis came upon us 328 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:16,890 mid stream . We redeployed one of the 329 00:11:16,890 --> 00:11:18,723 battalions , one of the maneuver 330 00:11:18,723 --> 00:11:20,834 battalions . But the remainder of the 331 00:11:20,834 --> 00:11:22,834 brigade task for the Brigade Combat 332 00:11:22,834 --> 00:11:24,946 Team has stayed there in part because 333 00:11:24,946 --> 00:11:27,168 of the cove a crisis , but also in part 334 00:11:27,168 --> 00:11:29,168 because the situation with the Shia 335 00:11:29,168 --> 00:11:31,001 militia groups and Iran , except 336 00:11:31,001 --> 00:11:33,223 there's no 100% settled down . So we're 337 00:11:33,223 --> 00:11:35,390 gonna do what we need to do in orderto 338 00:11:35,390 --> 00:11:35,160 protect our force , protect our 339 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:37,438 embassies , protect our troops in Iraq , 340 00:11:37,438 --> 00:11:39,549 but we have a mission to accomplish . 341 00:11:39,549 --> 00:11:41,882 On the 82nd is America's guard of honor , 342 00:11:41,882 --> 00:11:43,938 and they will continue their mission 343 00:11:43,938 --> 00:11:46,104 until such time as we think the threat 344 00:11:46,104 --> 00:11:48,216 has subsided . What we are monitoring 345 00:11:48,216 --> 00:11:50,271 almost daily , actually to determine 346 00:11:50,271 --> 00:11:52,382 exactly when to bring them home . The 347 00:11:52,382 --> 00:11:54,604 secretary is very keen on bringing them 348 00:11:54,604 --> 00:11:56,549 home , but it's dependent upon the 349 00:11:56,549 --> 00:11:59,260 overall security situation between Iraq 350 00:11:59,260 --> 00:12:01,620 and ran . Thank you . The next 351 00:12:01,620 --> 00:12:03,731 question's for the SEAQ , and this is 352 00:12:03,731 --> 00:12:05,787 from Tim Galloway of the Air Force . 353 00:12:05,787 --> 00:12:08,009 Why are we letting the Air Force cadets 354 00:12:08,009 --> 00:12:09,953 graduate ? Basic military training 355 00:12:09,953 --> 00:12:12,064 continue and waivers for TD Y's . But 356 00:12:12,064 --> 00:12:14,176 deployed members are unable to rotate 357 00:12:14,176 --> 00:12:16,231 home that that is a great question , 358 00:12:16,231 --> 00:12:18,287 something that keeps popping . We're 359 00:12:18,287 --> 00:12:20,509 getting a lot of questions with regards 360 00:12:20,509 --> 00:12:22,620 when our our our deploy forces coming 361 00:12:22,620 --> 00:12:24,731 home . But the one point that I would 362 00:12:24,731 --> 00:12:26,509 like to make is that we have to 363 00:12:26,509 --> 00:12:28,731 maintain a balance between the locality 364 00:12:28,731 --> 00:12:30,953 of our force and readiness and also the 365 00:12:30,953 --> 00:12:33,120 safety of our people . We have decided 366 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,231 to go ahead and provide the secretary 367 00:12:35,231 --> 00:12:37,490 Best Military Advice memo in which the 368 00:12:37,490 --> 00:12:39,601 service secretaries ended up agreeing 369 00:12:39,601 --> 00:12:41,379 to go ahead and take a pause in 370 00:12:41,379 --> 00:12:43,490 training to go ahead and reassess the 371 00:12:43,490 --> 00:12:45,434 safest way to continue to feed the 372 00:12:45,434 --> 00:12:47,379 machine off the service is also in 373 00:12:47,379 --> 00:12:49,720 addition to that . We have to keep in 374 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:51,880 mind that each case is gonna be 375 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,590 different from location to location in 376 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:56,490 basic entry requirements , two 377 00:12:56,490 --> 00:12:59,140 deployments to TD y's Everything is 378 00:12:59,140 --> 00:13:01,362 gonna be conditioned , spaced and again 379 00:13:01,362 --> 00:13:03,584 every decision that is going to be made 380 00:13:03,584 --> 00:13:05,696 to approve those waivers . It's gotta 381 00:13:05,696 --> 00:13:07,862 be safety driven to ensure we keep our 382 00:13:07,862 --> 00:13:09,640 people safe if I could just add 383 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:11,751 something on that because it's a very 384 00:13:11,751 --> 00:13:13,973 good point that the SEAQ made . But the 385 00:13:13,973 --> 00:13:15,751 current curtailment of deployed 386 00:13:15,751 --> 00:13:17,807 personnel is critical to the current 387 00:13:17,807 --> 00:13:19,918 readiness of the force and the health 388 00:13:19,918 --> 00:13:21,696 of those persons . It's vitally 389 00:13:21,696 --> 00:13:23,751 important that we continue to excess 390 00:13:23,751 --> 00:13:25,973 folks into the armed service is whether 391 00:13:25,973 --> 00:13:28,029 they are officers coming through the 392 00:13:28,029 --> 00:13:30,251 Air Force Academy or enlisted personnel 393 00:13:30,251 --> 00:13:29,810 coming into any of the service's basic 394 00:13:29,810 --> 00:13:31,643 military training . The infusion 395 00:13:31,643 --> 00:13:33,643 continued infusion of those persons 396 00:13:33,643 --> 00:13:35,532 into the force is critical to the 397 00:13:35,532 --> 00:13:37,643 future greatness of the United States 398 00:13:37,643 --> 00:13:39,866 military . And I know the service's air 399 00:13:39,866 --> 00:13:39,680 taking all practical measures to 400 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,660 exercise social distancing to test 401 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,613 young Americans coming into the service , 402 00:13:45,620 --> 00:13:47,842 taking considerable effort to make sure 403 00:13:47,842 --> 00:13:49,620 we get that right . But we must 404 00:13:49,620 --> 00:13:51,509 continue . Maintain that pipeline 405 00:13:51,509 --> 00:13:53,453 coming into United States Motor in 406 00:13:53,453 --> 00:13:55,850 another question on P . C s ing one 407 00:13:55,850 --> 00:13:58,017 will consideration be made for service 408 00:13:58,017 --> 00:14:00,310 members who who PCs overseas on a 409 00:14:00,310 --> 00:14:02,800 dependent restricted tour . My tour is 410 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,856 up . Yeah , I've been extended along 411 00:14:04,856 --> 00:14:07,022 with many others . And this comes from 412 00:14:07,022 --> 00:14:09,189 Chief Warrant Officer Benjamin Ride in 413 00:14:09,189 --> 00:14:11,890 Howard , who's based in Kuwait again . 414 00:14:11,900 --> 00:14:14,780 Same same answer , really as before . 415 00:14:14,790 --> 00:14:17,890 The first priority is the health and 416 00:14:17,890 --> 00:14:20,550 welfare of the of the troops . So we 417 00:14:20,550 --> 00:14:22,760 don't want to be P . C s ing or moving 418 00:14:22,770 --> 00:14:25,390 anyone anywhere unless we feel very 419 00:14:25,390 --> 00:14:27,112 confident that all appropriate 420 00:14:27,112 --> 00:14:29,334 mitigation measures are in place . That 421 00:14:29,334 --> 00:14:31,334 individual we're hopeful that we're 422 00:14:31,334 --> 00:14:33,400 gonna open up here shortly . I don't 423 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:35,344 wanna put a date on it , get false 424 00:14:35,344 --> 00:14:37,456 expectations raised out there , but I 425 00:14:37,456 --> 00:14:39,678 think we're probably looking at opening 426 00:14:39,678 --> 00:14:41,567 it up sometime this summer from a 427 00:14:41,567 --> 00:14:43,750 matter of policy And yes , there is 428 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,360 sacrifice . If you're on a company tour 429 00:14:47,740 --> 00:14:50,018 or in a company tour , for that matter , 430 00:14:50,018 --> 00:14:52,073 if you're if you're being extended , 431 00:14:52,073 --> 00:14:54,296 there's a degree of sacrifice to that . 432 00:14:54,296 --> 00:14:56,518 But it's all being done with the intent 433 00:14:56,518 --> 00:14:58,796 of keeping you and your family safe on . 434 00:14:58,796 --> 00:15:00,796 That's why we put the stop move and 435 00:15:01,290 --> 00:15:03,570 rules into effect , and hopefully 436 00:15:03,570 --> 00:15:05,848 they'll loosen up here shortly . Great . 437 00:15:05,848 --> 00:15:07,959 And I would pose the next question to 438 00:15:07,959 --> 00:15:10,070 the secretary and the SEAQ . If you'd 439 00:15:10,070 --> 00:15:12,181 like to weigh in . What measures will 440 00:15:12,181 --> 00:15:14,126 be set in place for Transportation 441 00:15:14,126 --> 00:15:14,120 Office is to ensure our packers and 442 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,480 movers are cove it free . Sure , that 443 00:15:16,490 --> 00:15:18,546 will be part of the discussion we're 444 00:15:18,546 --> 00:15:20,712 having today in subsequent discussions 445 00:15:20,712 --> 00:15:22,823 how we make sure that our packers and 446 00:15:22,823 --> 00:15:25,046 movers are protected and our people are 447 00:15:25,046 --> 00:15:27,212 properly protected . So some of things 448 00:15:27,212 --> 00:15:29,101 we will consider , of course , is 449 00:15:29,101 --> 00:15:30,990 should there be medical screening 450 00:15:30,990 --> 00:15:33,212 before they come upon our bases or come 451 00:15:33,212 --> 00:15:35,490 to people's homes or apartments ? Also , 452 00:15:35,490 --> 00:15:37,379 they would be bound to follow our 453 00:15:37,379 --> 00:15:39,434 policy if it still is in effect with 454 00:15:39,434 --> 00:15:41,657 regard to face coverings . So all those 455 00:15:41,657 --> 00:15:43,823 things we want to take into account to 456 00:15:43,823 --> 00:15:43,580 again in short priority Number one has 457 00:15:43,580 --> 00:15:45,747 met protecting our service members and 458 00:15:45,747 --> 00:15:47,913 their families . Yeah , and also , you 459 00:15:47,913 --> 00:15:50,420 know , with the access toe people's 460 00:15:50,420 --> 00:15:52,531 belongings and also their quarter and 461 00:15:52,531 --> 00:15:54,587 effect that it's going to be created 462 00:15:54,587 --> 00:15:56,642 because of the delay moves . We also 463 00:15:56,642 --> 00:15:58,587 have to prioritize , you know , So 464 00:15:58,587 --> 00:15:58,160 there's gonna be certain delays that 465 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,382 one people to be aware that we're gonna 466 00:16:00,382 --> 00:16:02,604 be dealing with . But in the meantime , 467 00:16:02,604 --> 00:16:04,882 safety again , it's gonna be paramount . 468 00:16:04,882 --> 00:16:07,040 Excellent . Now , if Cove in 19 469 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,207 significantly threatens our people and 470 00:16:09,207 --> 00:16:11,318 readiness , shouldn't service members 471 00:16:11,318 --> 00:16:12,929 and their families be issued 472 00:16:12,929 --> 00:16:15,262 appropriate masks to protect themselves ? 473 00:16:15,262 --> 00:16:17,262 Is this something that delay or G s 474 00:16:17,262 --> 00:16:19,096 sake unfilled through the supply 475 00:16:19,096 --> 00:16:20,873 channels ? This is an anonymous 476 00:16:20,873 --> 00:16:23,040 question . Sure , I'll take first stab 477 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,040 death . What ? We are following CDC 478 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,520 guidance and what CDC guidance 479 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,590 basically tells us is that the masks 480 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:31,910 should be on . This is a combination of 481 00:16:31,910 --> 00:16:33,854 D . O D . Guidance is well , masks 482 00:16:33,854 --> 00:16:35,620 should be reserved for medical 483 00:16:35,620 --> 00:16:37,850 personnel for personnel in contact with 484 00:16:38,210 --> 00:16:40,880 either ah infected persons or possibly 485 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:43,158 infected persons . As many of you know , 486 00:16:43,158 --> 00:16:45,102 at this point time , we've put out 487 00:16:45,102 --> 00:16:47,213 guidance that says with regard to our 488 00:16:47,260 --> 00:16:50,600 our own status off post off duty 489 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,200 strongly encouraged that you use a face 490 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,600 covering on post required to use a face 491 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,440 covering if you cannot abide by the 492 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:01,607 social distancing rules that have been 493 00:17:01,607 --> 00:17:03,940 set forth . So at this point time the 494 00:17:03,950 --> 00:17:06,760 provision of face masks by D . L . A . 495 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,900 Eyes , uh , thio is a is prioritize 496 00:17:10,900 --> 00:17:13,790 based on health care workers , a 497 00:17:13,790 --> 00:17:15,846 service members who are engaged with 498 00:17:15,846 --> 00:17:17,901 the health work workers or effective 499 00:17:17,901 --> 00:17:19,790 persons or on a critical security 500 00:17:19,790 --> 00:17:21,901 mission as they need it . Otherwise , 501 00:17:21,901 --> 00:17:23,846 we continue urge folks to use face 502 00:17:23,846 --> 00:17:25,568 coverings , and those could be 503 00:17:25,568 --> 00:17:27,679 purchased . Those could be made their 504 00:17:27,679 --> 00:17:29,623 right of ways to get them . And to 505 00:17:29,623 --> 00:17:31,679 ensure you can add a double layer of 506 00:17:31,679 --> 00:17:31,550 protection what you're personally doing , 507 00:17:32,410 --> 00:17:36,140 let me add one comment here on you said 508 00:17:36,150 --> 00:17:40,050 The question said , Significant impact 509 00:17:40,150 --> 00:17:43,780 on overall readiness . I just want to 510 00:17:43,780 --> 00:17:46,330 remind not only our troops and our 511 00:17:46,330 --> 00:17:48,163 families , but also our allies , 512 00:17:48,163 --> 00:17:50,330 partners in our adversaries , that the 513 00:17:50,330 --> 00:17:52,663 U . S . Military is a very , very large , 514 00:17:52,663 --> 00:17:55,780 capable force in all domains in space 515 00:17:55,780 --> 00:17:57,669 and sideburns and the traditional 516 00:17:57,669 --> 00:18:00,380 domains of land , sea and air . And our 517 00:18:00,380 --> 00:18:03,570 readiness is still very high on . No 518 00:18:03,570 --> 00:18:07,460 one should doubt the readiness of the U . 519 00:18:07,460 --> 00:18:09,690 S . Military to respond and defend the 520 00:18:09,690 --> 00:18:12,630 American people if required . We've got 521 00:18:12,630 --> 00:18:14,574 forces and we've taken appropriate 522 00:18:14,574 --> 00:18:18,480 mitigations . For example , our nuclear 523 00:18:18,900 --> 00:18:22,900 strategic forces . They are being 524 00:18:23,100 --> 00:18:25,750 medicated against cove it other types 525 00:18:25,750 --> 00:18:28,540 of forces . Reaction force is high end 526 00:18:28,540 --> 00:18:30,429 soft force . Except it s so we're 527 00:18:30,429 --> 00:18:32,429 taking all appropriate measures for 528 00:18:32,429 --> 00:18:34,651 that on . I don't want anyone out there 529 00:18:34,651 --> 00:18:36,818 in the world to think that somehow the 530 00:18:36,818 --> 00:18:38,484 U . S military's readiness is 531 00:18:38,484 --> 00:18:40,707 significantly degraded . It is not . Of 532 00:18:40,707 --> 00:18:42,929 course . The headline news is the Teddy 533 00:18:42,929 --> 00:18:44,707 Roosevelt on that That has been 534 00:18:44,707 --> 00:18:47,490 significant Azan individual ship . But 535 00:18:47,490 --> 00:18:49,546 the Teddy Roosevelt in and of itself 536 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:53,020 has got about 400 positive tested Kobe 537 00:18:53,020 --> 00:18:55,590 positive test results so far out of a 538 00:18:55,590 --> 00:18:57,690 crew of 5000 . And although that is 539 00:18:57,690 --> 00:18:59,857 significant for that particular ship , 540 00:19:00,100 --> 00:19:02,500 we think our assessment both the pay 541 00:19:02,500 --> 00:19:04,389 come commander joint staff myself 542 00:19:04,389 --> 00:19:06,800 except her is that if required in time 543 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,660 of contention planning , the TR would 544 00:19:09,660 --> 00:19:11,771 be ready . We can put that right back 545 00:19:11,771 --> 00:19:13,938 out to sea if if needed on . There's a 546 00:19:13,938 --> 00:19:16,049 lot of other capabilities out there . 547 00:19:16,049 --> 00:19:17,993 We are committing a secretary said 548 00:19:17,993 --> 00:19:20,216 50,000 troops and medical assets and so 549 00:19:20,216 --> 00:19:22,382 on . All that's important . But if you 550 00:19:22,382 --> 00:19:24,382 look at supplies were the secretary 551 00:19:24,382 --> 00:19:26,216 committed 10 million masks , for 552 00:19:26,216 --> 00:19:28,382 example , we had a 20% over a generous 553 00:19:28,382 --> 00:19:30,549 dockage . That's what those 10 million 554 00:19:30,549 --> 00:19:32,271 mass came from . So we are not 555 00:19:32,271 --> 00:19:34,271 depleting our readiness to anything 556 00:19:34,271 --> 00:19:36,382 that would jeopardize the nation from 557 00:19:36,382 --> 00:19:38,382 other types of threats . And I just 558 00:19:38,382 --> 00:19:40,271 want to clarify that because that 559 00:19:40,271 --> 00:19:42,493 narrative is a bit out there and I want 560 00:19:42,493 --> 00:19:41,870 to make sure everyone clearly 561 00:19:41,870 --> 00:19:44,148 understands the readiness of the U . S . 562 00:19:44,148 --> 00:19:46,314 Military is still strong . We're still 563 00:19:46,314 --> 00:19:48,259 capable and we're still ready , no 564 00:19:48,259 --> 00:19:50,314 matter what the threat . Thank you . 565 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:52,662 And then the next question I would pose 566 00:19:52,662 --> 00:19:54,607 to the SEAQ will . The mat on this 567 00:19:54,607 --> 00:19:56,884 comes from Lieutenant Colonel Kristina . 568 00:19:56,884 --> 00:19:58,884 Hog it at Peterson Air Force Base . 569 00:19:58,884 --> 00:20:00,940 Will the maximum amount of user lose 570 00:20:00,940 --> 00:20:02,773 leave allowed to be carried over 571 00:20:02,773 --> 00:20:05,320 because of Cove in 19 ? Yeah , and this 572 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:07,487 is something that work early working , 573 00:20:07,487 --> 00:20:09,653 and the three of us here , we're fully 574 00:20:09,653 --> 00:20:11,653 supportive off this initiative . We 575 00:20:11,653 --> 00:20:13,876 have to go ahead and make sure that our 576 00:20:13,876 --> 00:20:15,764 people are taking care off and we 577 00:20:15,764 --> 00:20:17,876 realize the hardships spring break to 578 00:20:17,876 --> 00:20:20,098 begin with , and now depending how long 579 00:20:20,098 --> 00:20:22,264 this goes , people are gonna have some 580 00:20:22,264 --> 00:20:24,320 use or luvlee leave . And we want to 581 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:26,431 make sure that our service members up 582 00:20:26,431 --> 00:20:28,764 there do not lose that entitlement . So , 583 00:20:28,764 --> 00:20:30,987 Chairman , anything else to add a man ? 584 00:20:30,987 --> 00:20:30,890 You know , I think I see X sum that up 585 00:20:30,890 --> 00:20:32,940 Very well . Thank you . Great . The 586 00:20:32,940 --> 00:20:35,460 next question Prior DeKoven 19 . Some 587 00:20:35,460 --> 00:20:37,460 medical treatment facilities lacked 588 00:20:37,460 --> 00:20:39,793 staffing to handle routine appointments . 589 00:20:39,793 --> 00:20:42,016 Is there any consideration to sending a 590 00:20:42,016 --> 00:20:44,127 d o d wide recall now to increase the 591 00:20:44,127 --> 00:20:46,127 medical staffs capacity in order to 592 00:20:46,127 --> 00:20:48,182 help provide timely care after we're 593 00:20:48,182 --> 00:20:50,404 beyond Cove in 19 and I pose out to the 594 00:20:50,404 --> 00:20:52,349 secretary ? Well , first , I'd say 595 00:20:52,349 --> 00:20:54,238 we're recently given presidential 596 00:20:54,238 --> 00:20:56,349 authority to a call up . The reserves 597 00:20:56,349 --> 00:20:58,293 exercised authority . So we're now 598 00:20:58,293 --> 00:21:00,182 reaching deep into our reserves . 599 00:21:00,182 --> 00:21:02,071 Across all the service is to find 600 00:21:02,071 --> 00:21:04,016 doctors , nurses and other medical 601 00:21:04,016 --> 00:21:06,127 professionals that we can call up and 602 00:21:06,127 --> 00:21:07,960 are calling up or have called up 603 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,127 already . Too deep deployed two cities 604 00:21:10,127 --> 00:21:11,904 hardest hit by the Corona virus 605 00:21:11,904 --> 00:21:14,016 pandemic . So obviously New York City 606 00:21:14,016 --> 00:21:16,071 is the epicenter , and we've already 607 00:21:16,071 --> 00:21:18,293 deployed hundreds of doctors there . In 608 00:21:18,293 --> 00:21:20,516 fact , we have well over 2000 right now 609 00:21:20,516 --> 00:21:22,627 deployed of various components of the 610 00:21:22,627 --> 00:21:22,620 armed service is at the same time . 611 00:21:22,620 --> 00:21:24,676 We're also looking to tap into those 612 00:21:24,676 --> 00:21:27,950 reserves to backfill into our our 613 00:21:27,950 --> 00:21:29,894 medical treatment facilities those 614 00:21:29,894 --> 00:21:31,839 doctors , nurses and other medical 615 00:21:31,839 --> 00:21:34,061 professionals who were deployed as part 616 00:21:34,061 --> 00:21:36,117 of that response in support of local 617 00:21:36,117 --> 00:21:38,061 and state authorities . So we will 618 00:21:38,061 --> 00:21:40,283 continue to do that . The privatization 619 00:21:40,283 --> 00:21:42,228 will be thio cities and localities 620 00:21:42,228 --> 00:21:44,394 affected , followed by filling gaps in 621 00:21:44,394 --> 00:21:46,506 our own empty EFS . I can't guarantee 622 00:21:46,506 --> 00:21:48,561 that folks will be called up to deal 623 00:21:48,561 --> 00:21:50,783 with routine appointments , obviously , 624 00:21:50,783 --> 00:21:52,839 right now where the privatization is 625 00:21:52,839 --> 00:21:55,006 infected personnel acute patients with 626 00:21:55,006 --> 00:21:57,550 some type of a cute , uh , trauma or 627 00:21:57,550 --> 00:21:59,717 disease or the case ? Maybe , But that 628 00:21:59,717 --> 00:22:01,661 can't promise that we will call up 629 00:22:01,661 --> 00:22:03,606 additional folks . Just a handle . 630 00:22:03,606 --> 00:22:05,494 Routine appointments . One of the 631 00:22:05,494 --> 00:22:07,383 challenges we face is because the 632 00:22:07,383 --> 00:22:07,370 reserves , that is , that many cases 633 00:22:07,370 --> 00:22:10,080 they are during their civilian world , 634 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,302 their lives . They are civilian doctors 635 00:22:12,302 --> 00:22:13,969 and nurses in their own local 636 00:22:13,969 --> 00:22:16,330 facilities and hospitals . So we've got 637 00:22:16,330 --> 00:22:18,552 to be careful that we don't call people 638 00:22:18,552 --> 00:22:20,663 up and take them away from the urgent 639 00:22:20,663 --> 00:22:22,510 task of supporting their local 640 00:22:22,510 --> 00:22:24,870 community as in their civilian role . 641 00:22:25,140 --> 00:22:27,300 It particularly pertains the Corona 642 00:22:27,300 --> 00:22:29,522 virus pandemic . So we're measuring all 643 00:22:29,522 --> 00:22:31,820 that , taking a careful assessment , 644 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:33,698 and we are calling people up as 645 00:22:33,698 --> 00:22:36,130 appropriate . Great . The next question , 646 00:22:36,130 --> 00:22:38,297 as opposed to the SEAQ . What is D o . 647 00:22:38,297 --> 00:22:40,297 D's in tennis ? Faras treatment and 648 00:22:40,297 --> 00:22:42,463 after service care for service members 649 00:22:42,463 --> 00:22:44,770 who contracted covert 19 . And this is 650 00:22:44,770 --> 00:22:47,370 from J . W . Reed of the Air Force ? No , 651 00:22:47,370 --> 00:22:50,140 thank you . Uh , just like every other 652 00:22:50,140 --> 00:22:52,251 treatment that we provide our service 653 00:22:52,251 --> 00:22:54,473 member number one . It will be a matter 654 00:22:54,473 --> 00:22:57,340 of record . Number two will continue to 655 00:22:57,340 --> 00:22:59,507 go ahead and treat us . We develop the 656 00:22:59,507 --> 00:23:01,729 solutions for Kobe , 19 will be able to 657 00:23:01,729 --> 00:23:04,790 treat and upon exit of service , expect 658 00:23:04,790 --> 00:23:06,790 another screening before you depart 659 00:23:06,790 --> 00:23:08,930 again to make it a matter of record . 660 00:23:08,940 --> 00:23:11,370 But this is no different than any other 661 00:23:11,370 --> 00:23:13,426 element that our service members are 662 00:23:13,426 --> 00:23:16,600 exposed to . Thank you . And then I 663 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:18,322 would put this question to the 664 00:23:18,322 --> 00:23:20,433 secretary . What is the Department of 665 00:23:20,433 --> 00:23:22,544 Defense doing to reassure and support 666 00:23:22,544 --> 00:23:24,544 our allies and partners during this 667 00:23:24,544 --> 00:23:26,711 pandemic ? Gets a great question , and 668 00:23:26,711 --> 00:23:28,933 it's important that we continue to help 669 00:23:28,933 --> 00:23:31,100 our allies and partners and friends as 670 00:23:31,100 --> 00:23:30,990 we work our way through this pandemic . 671 00:23:30,990 --> 00:23:32,934 It's a it's a global crisis and it 672 00:23:32,934 --> 00:23:35,046 requires a global response and we try 673 00:23:35,046 --> 00:23:37,268 and cooperate and coordinate as much as 674 00:23:37,268 --> 00:23:39,323 possible . I will tell you that I've 675 00:23:39,323 --> 00:23:41,490 been on the phone several times with a 676 00:23:41,490 --> 00:23:43,823 number of our my colleagues , ministers , 677 00:23:43,823 --> 00:23:43,050 defense and other countries , whether 678 00:23:43,050 --> 00:23:46,450 it's been , uh , the Ukraine , 679 00:23:46,460 --> 00:23:48,950 Italy , Canada , a number of other 680 00:23:48,950 --> 00:23:51,117 countries that I've been able to reach 681 00:23:51,117 --> 00:23:52,894 out to . And I'll give you some 682 00:23:52,894 --> 00:23:55,061 anecdotes , if I may , in terms of how 683 00:23:55,061 --> 00:23:57,228 we've helped a system . So we provided 684 00:23:57,228 --> 00:23:58,950 critical medical equipment and 685 00:23:58,950 --> 00:24:01,061 humanitarian cargo in the last couple 686 00:24:01,061 --> 00:24:03,283 months . Toe allies such as Romania and 687 00:24:03,283 --> 00:24:05,061 Italy . We continue through our 688 00:24:05,061 --> 00:24:07,310 combatant commanders to provide health 689 00:24:07,310 --> 00:24:09,410 and basic education projects to 22 690 00:24:09,410 --> 00:24:11,466 partner nations . There are overseas 691 00:24:11,500 --> 00:24:13,222 humanitarian aid and does this 692 00:24:13,222 --> 00:24:15,222 humanitarian disaster and civic aid 693 00:24:15,222 --> 00:24:17,940 program . Our duty laboratories are are 694 00:24:17,940 --> 00:24:19,910 working hard to to provide by the 695 00:24:19,910 --> 00:24:21,966 surveillance and number of countries 696 00:24:21,966 --> 00:24:24,077 defensively . Threat Reduction Agency 697 00:24:24,077 --> 00:24:25,910 has provided a lot of support in 698 00:24:25,910 --> 00:24:28,021 laboratory and diagnostic supplies to 699 00:24:28,021 --> 00:24:30,510 over 28 partner nations across four 700 00:24:30,510 --> 00:24:32,420 continents . So we're doing a lot 701 00:24:32,430 --> 00:24:34,650 across D o D across the departing 702 00:24:34,650 --> 00:24:36,983 defense to help our partners and allies , 703 00:24:36,983 --> 00:24:39,094 and we will doom , or particularly as 704 00:24:39,094 --> 00:24:40,928 our own supply chains get up and 705 00:24:40,928 --> 00:24:43,039 running and begin producing a medical 706 00:24:43,039 --> 00:24:45,150 equipment of PEOPIE will be available 707 00:24:45,150 --> 00:24:46,928 to share that with our with our 708 00:24:46,928 --> 00:24:49,039 partners and allies as well . Great . 709 00:24:49,039 --> 00:24:50,817 And then the final question the 710 00:24:50,817 --> 00:24:53,150 chairman had a chance to allude to this , 711 00:24:53,150 --> 00:24:55,261 but I pose it to all of you . We have 712 00:24:55,261 --> 00:24:57,428 another question on readiness . Do you 713 00:24:57,428 --> 00:24:59,539 believe our forces are ready to fight 714 00:24:59,539 --> 00:25:01,706 and win in light of covert 19 ? I do . 715 00:25:01,706 --> 00:25:04,290 Um I mean , I think our military , as I 716 00:25:04,290 --> 00:25:07,330 stated before and I wouldn't want any 717 00:25:07,330 --> 00:25:09,820 mixed messages going out there , any 718 00:25:09,820 --> 00:25:11,876 adversaries that think they can take 719 00:25:11,876 --> 00:25:14,098 advantage of a non opportunity , if you 720 00:25:14,098 --> 00:25:16,209 will at a time of crisis , that would 721 00:25:16,209 --> 00:25:18,310 be a terrible and tragic mistake if 722 00:25:18,310 --> 00:25:20,477 they thought that the U . S . Military 723 00:25:20,477 --> 00:25:23,260 is very , very capable to conduct 724 00:25:23,270 --> 00:25:25,214 whatever operations a necessary to 725 00:25:25,214 --> 00:25:27,690 defend the American people and we are 726 00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:29,756 ready today will be ready tomorrow , 727 00:25:29,756 --> 00:25:33,250 and we will adapt ourselves to be able 728 00:25:33,250 --> 00:25:34,972 to operate with in a covert 19 729 00:25:34,972 --> 00:25:37,250 environment . We're already doing that , 730 00:25:37,250 --> 00:25:40,520 Um , and then across the entire uniform 731 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:43,930 military we've got about call it a 732 00:25:44,050 --> 00:25:46,680 little a little less in 2000 so far 733 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:48,569 cove it positive patients . It'll 734 00:25:48,569 --> 00:25:51,150 probably go up . But 2000 out of 2.3 735 00:25:51,150 --> 00:25:54,990 million is not huge in many 736 00:25:54,990 --> 00:25:57,430 yet in the 50,000 medical personnel on 737 00:25:57,430 --> 00:25:59,541 National Guardsmen , et cetera , that 738 00:25:59,541 --> 00:26:01,819 have committed to the states and so on . 739 00:26:01,819 --> 00:26:04,041 So we are dealing with Cove it 19 . But 740 00:26:04,041 --> 00:26:06,830 we're doing so to minimize the impact 741 00:26:06,830 --> 00:26:09,230 on operational readiness to be able to 742 00:26:09,230 --> 00:26:11,341 respond any contingency . So I'm very 743 00:26:11,341 --> 00:26:13,341 confident in the U . S . Military's 744 00:26:13,341 --> 00:26:15,230 ability to respond if necessary . 745 00:26:15,230 --> 00:26:17,341 Hopefully it won't be necessary , but 746 00:26:17,341 --> 00:26:19,920 we can and will if necessary . Yes , 747 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:21,920 I'm absolutely confident that we're 748 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,031 very ready to handle any mission that 749 00:26:24,031 --> 00:26:25,920 comes our way . And why is that ? 750 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,142 Because our commanders and in CEOs have 751 00:26:28,142 --> 00:26:30,364 taken great care to protect their units 752 00:26:30,364 --> 00:26:32,370 to ensure mission readiness . We've 753 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,711 taken a number of measures across the 754 00:26:34,711 --> 00:26:36,878 board , whether they deployed overseas 755 00:26:36,878 --> 00:26:39,044 or here at home , some confident , are 756 00:26:39,044 --> 00:26:41,267 taking every possible measure to ensure 757 00:26:41,267 --> 00:26:43,544 that redness exist again . As you know , 758 00:26:43,544 --> 00:26:45,711 my top priorities have been number one 759 00:26:45,711 --> 00:26:45,700 taking care of our people . That's 760 00:26:45,700 --> 00:26:47,700 critical if you're gonna accomplish 761 00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:49,533 mission to which is ensuring our 762 00:26:49,533 --> 00:26:51,256 national mission readiness and 763 00:26:51,256 --> 00:26:53,422 depending on the type of units you are 764 00:26:53,422 --> 00:26:55,533 and where you're located . How you do 765 00:26:55,533 --> 00:26:57,533 that is very different . But as the 766 00:26:57,533 --> 00:26:59,644 chairman said to at this point time , 767 00:26:59,644 --> 00:27:01,811 we have fewer than 2000 of our service 768 00:27:01,811 --> 00:27:03,811 members infected by the virus , and 769 00:27:03,811 --> 00:27:06,560 most of them are mild to moderate . Um , 770 00:27:06,570 --> 00:27:08,900 we have a far , far , far smaller 771 00:27:08,900 --> 00:27:11,011 number of hospitalizations . But when 772 00:27:11,011 --> 00:27:13,178 you look at that number , it's less in 773 00:27:13,178 --> 00:27:15,233 2000 . It's much lower in terms of a 774 00:27:15,233 --> 00:27:17,344 rate of infection than you see in our 775 00:27:17,344 --> 00:27:19,178 civilian counterpart tonight . I 776 00:27:19,178 --> 00:27:21,344 attribute that to the measures we took 777 00:27:21,344 --> 00:27:21,180 very early . Want on going all the way 778 00:27:21,180 --> 00:27:23,550 back to , I think , 3 February , when 779 00:27:23,550 --> 00:27:25,550 we issued our first guidance to the 780 00:27:25,550 --> 00:27:27,772 filled with regard to health protection 781 00:27:27,772 --> 00:27:29,883 and we gave , I gave . Our commanders 782 00:27:29,883 --> 00:27:32,106 are forced . Our commanders are service 783 00:27:32,106 --> 00:27:34,328 secretaries are service chiefs . I gave 784 00:27:34,328 --> 00:27:34,120 them the authority to implement that 785 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:37,050 broad guidance as they saw best fit , 786 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:39,336 depending on the types of units they 787 00:27:39,336 --> 00:27:42,040 have , the locations , the people , the 788 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,151 readiness levels and all that they've 789 00:27:44,151 --> 00:27:46,373 done . They've done a very good job for 790 00:27:46,373 --> 00:27:48,429 the most part in terms of protecting 791 00:27:48,429 --> 00:27:50,318 our force , ensuring that mission 792 00:27:50,318 --> 00:27:52,373 readiness is there , and at the same 793 00:27:52,373 --> 00:27:52,150 time helping protect our fellow 794 00:27:52,150 --> 00:27:54,261 Americans . So I'm very proud of what 795 00:27:54,261 --> 00:27:56,483 our commanders and senior and CEOs have 796 00:27:56,483 --> 00:27:58,650 done . And I'm even justice proud , if 797 00:27:58,650 --> 00:28:00,761 not more proud of our service members 798 00:28:00,761 --> 00:28:02,872 what they're doing on the front lines 799 00:28:02,872 --> 00:28:02,580 here in the United States of America . 800 00:28:03,290 --> 00:28:05,512 Great . And that's a strong note to end 801 00:28:05,512 --> 00:28:07,568 on . But I would just ask if there's 802 00:28:07,568 --> 00:28:09,679 any final words . A CZ . We close out 803 00:28:09,679 --> 00:28:11,846 this this town hall just say thank you 804 00:28:11,846 --> 00:28:13,790 once again thio all of our service 805 00:28:13,790 --> 00:28:15,846 members and their family members and 806 00:28:15,846 --> 00:28:18,068 our civilians out there who are dealing 807 00:28:18,068 --> 00:28:20,179 with this crisis , just as we are . I 808 00:28:20,179 --> 00:28:22,401 really respect and have high regard for 809 00:28:22,401 --> 00:28:24,512 what you're doing and proud for those 810 00:28:24,512 --> 00:28:24,290 without serving on the front lines , 811 00:28:24,290 --> 00:28:26,401 whether it's abroad or here at home . 812 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:28,480 These are tough times , challenging 813 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,591 times , unique times . I haven't seen 814 00:28:30,591 --> 00:28:32,591 this in my lifetime , but I know we 815 00:28:32,591 --> 00:28:34,702 will get through this . We'll get the 816 00:28:34,702 --> 00:28:36,813 stronger than before . Please stay in 817 00:28:36,813 --> 00:28:39,036 touch with us to the chain of command . 818 00:28:39,036 --> 00:28:38,810 We will continue to do town halls like 819 00:28:38,810 --> 00:28:41,440 this every now and then , and we want 820 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:43,551 to hear your feedback . We want to be 821 00:28:43,551 --> 00:28:45,607 able to act on it . But keep in mind 822 00:28:45,607 --> 00:28:47,773 that we are taking your best interests 823 00:28:47,773 --> 00:28:47,260 in mind as we think ahead about 824 00:28:47,470 --> 00:28:49,192 everything from PCs . Moves to 825 00:28:49,192 --> 00:28:52,590 schooling . Ah , Thio medical issues of 826 00:28:52,590 --> 00:28:54,646 any type . So we're thinking through 827 00:28:54,646 --> 00:28:56,646 those problems , we look forward to 828 00:28:56,646 --> 00:28:58,812 your feedback . And keep in mind those 829 00:28:58,812 --> 00:29:00,868 three priorities . I've talked about 830 00:29:00,868 --> 00:29:00,770 protecting our service members , sir . 831 00:29:00,770 --> 00:29:02,937 Veins and families . That means taking 832 00:29:02,937 --> 00:29:04,826 care of yourself in one another , 833 00:29:04,826 --> 00:29:07,048 ensuring your already accomplished your 834 00:29:07,048 --> 00:29:09,270 mission and number three full support , 835 00:29:09,270 --> 00:29:11,270 uh , to our state local authorities 836 00:29:11,270 --> 00:29:13,270 when it comes to the whole nation . 837 00:29:13,270 --> 00:29:15,381 Whole government response print tough 838 00:29:15,381 --> 00:29:17,603 times ahead as we go through this . But 839 00:29:17,603 --> 00:29:19,826 I'm confident that there's light at the 840 00:29:19,826 --> 00:29:21,937 end of tunnel and we will come out of 841 00:29:21,937 --> 00:29:24,048 this stronger and more resilient than 842 00:29:24,048 --> 00:29:26,270 ever before . So thank you , Chairman . 843 00:29:26,270 --> 00:29:28,270 Yeah , we just , uh , just add very 844 00:29:28,270 --> 00:29:28,250 briefly that , you know , we're a 845 00:29:28,250 --> 00:29:30,417 resilient country . We've gone through 846 00:29:30,417 --> 00:29:32,472 very , very hard times over the last 847 00:29:32,472 --> 00:29:34,740 240 years . We're resilient military . 848 00:29:35,070 --> 00:29:37,237 Many times we have been , but we never 849 00:29:37,237 --> 00:29:39,580 break on . And that that will happen 850 00:29:39,590 --> 00:29:41,757 this time as well . And we will emerge 851 00:29:41,757 --> 00:29:43,979 on the other side of This is a stronger 852 00:29:43,979 --> 00:29:46,201 nation and a stronger military . And we 853 00:29:46,201 --> 00:29:48,423 are extraordinarily proud of everything 854 00:29:48,423 --> 00:29:50,590 that every soldier , sailor , airman , 855 00:29:50,590 --> 00:29:52,701 Marine coast guardsmen out there eyes 856 00:29:52,701 --> 00:29:54,800 doing to protect our nation and help 857 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,133 the people of America through this cove . 858 00:29:57,133 --> 00:29:59,900 It crisis ? Yes . Yes , Mr Secretary . 859 00:29:59,900 --> 00:30:02,650 So for the entire deal , deformed . 860 00:30:02,660 --> 00:30:04,950 They're listening to us today . We ask 861 00:30:04,950 --> 00:30:06,783 you to continue to be flexible , 862 00:30:06,970 --> 00:30:09,410 adaptable and versatile in the midst of 863 00:30:09,420 --> 00:30:11,550 this pandemic And what we promise you 864 00:30:11,550 --> 00:30:13,661 from our and it's that we're gonna be 865 00:30:13,661 --> 00:30:15,828 your sensors , your synchronize , er's 866 00:30:15,828 --> 00:30:17,661 and your integrators to find the 867 00:30:17,661 --> 00:30:19,661 solutions to this issue . But again 868 00:30:19,661 --> 00:30:21,772 Well , we'll fight . It will go ahead 869 00:30:21,772 --> 00:30:23,994 and win against it . And that time will 870 00:30:23,994 --> 00:30:26,217 come soon . Thank you . On once again . 871 00:30:26,217 --> 00:30:28,328 Take care of yourselves and take care 872 00:30:28,328 --> 00:30:28,980 of each other . Have a good day .