Category: Defence

Source: United States Department of Defense

Thank you very much to Mike [Gruss] for that great introduction, and good afternoon to all of you who are here today. I hope you enjoy your meal. I’m your lunchtime speaker.  
Last week I gave a speech, you all may know, about our need to innovate with urgency in this enduring age of strategic competition with the PRC. And there I described, in some detail, much of what we have been doing to enable and unleash the potential of U.S. and partner innovators.
I don’t want to repeat all of that — for one thing, this is the Defense News conference, so I’m assuming you would probably like to hear something new. And so I’m going to talk a little bit in a minute about our DoD Replicator initiative, which I announced in that speech, that I know you’ve heard a little bit about from speakers today. 
But because it’s important for the context of that, to understand our approach to innovating for warfighter advantage, I wanted to reiterate some of the things that I mentioned from last week. 
***
So, top of the list, from day one, Secretary Austin and I have been focused on the urgency to innovate. And over the past two-and-a-half years, we’ve taken a comprehensive, iterative, warfighter-centric approach — recognizing that we face an accumulation of challenges. There is no silver bullet when it comes to innovation. 
Along the way, we’ve never wavered from our ultimate objective, which is delivering safe and reliable, combat-credible capabilities at speed and scale to America’s warfighters — so that they can deter aggression, and win if they are called to fight.
And we’ve been doing quite a lot: Mapping and debugging DoD’s innovation ecosystem. Rapidly iterating and investing to be a data-driven and AI-empowered military now. Incentivizing more joint experimentation and concept development. Extending bridges and express lanes over the so-called valley of death; of course, there are many valleys of death. Accelerating software acquisition and procurement of innovative technologies. And so much more. 
Why the urgency? Because our main strategic competitor today, the PRC, has spent the last 20 years building a modern military carefully crafted to blunt the operational advantages we’ve enjoyed for decades.
But the one advantage that they can never blunt, steal, or copy — because it’s embedded in our people — is American ingenuity: our ability to innovate, change the game, and in the military sphere, to imagine, create, and master the future character of warfare. 
We have a stronger starting position, as a free and open society of imaginative inventors, doers, and problem-solvers. 
We don’t seek to crush or control innovation, or make it toe the party line. Instead our goal is to seed, spark, and stoke the flames of innovation — and, in DoD, better adopt innovations wherever they can add the most military value. 
Our ability to deliver innovation at scale is not a pipe dream. For those wondering, “how is this possible?” — it’s possible because we’ve done it before. And the Secretary and I know we can do it again. 
In World War II, captains of commercial industry helped out-build the Axis powers.
In the Cold War, we offset the Soviets’ numerical advantages in Europe by pioneering and integrating technologies to strike targets with pinpoint accuracy. 
In the Gulf War, we used stealth aircraft and GPS to breathtaking effect.
In the post-9/11 wars, we sprinted to counter the scourge of roadside bombs with Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicles, blast gauges, and more.
For Afghanistan alone, we fielded 8,000 all-terrain MRAPs in 16 months, with procurement, production, and process innovations. 
All those innovations, past and present, happened because the right ingredients came together at the right moment: An operational need. Technology ripe enough to scale in time to matter for the warfighter. An atmosphere where you can take a chance on something big. And leaders at all levels relentlessly focused on results. 
We have one of those moments right now, and we’re going to seize it.
***
Last week, I announced our Replicator initiative — the latest effort to overcome the production valley of death, beginning with accelerating the scaling of all-domain attritable autonomous systems.
First, let’s be crystal clear: Replicator is not a new program of record. We’re not creating a new bureaucracy. And we will not be asking for new money in FY24. Not all problems need new money; we are problem-solvers, and we intend to self-solve.
So, Replicator will use existing funding, existing programming lines, and existing authorities to accelerate production and delivery at scale — by exerting leadership focus and attention on a singular operational challenge and maturing solutions, because that’s what ultimately delivers. 
This is about driving culture change just as much as technology change — and about replicating best practice just as much as products, so we can gain military advantage faster.
With Replicator, we’re beginning with all-domain, attritable autonomy, or ADA2, to help us overcome the PRC’s advantage in mass: more ships, more missiles, more forces.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine again last February, they had that advantage too. Yet we’ve seen in Ukraine what low-cost, attritable systems can do — not to mention other commercial technologies. 
They can help a determined defender stop a larger aggressor from achieving its objectives, put fewer people in the line of fire, and be made, fielded, and upgraded at the speed warfighters need, without long maintenance tails.
At DoD, we’ve already been investing in attritable autonomous systems — across the military services, DIU, the Strategic Capabilities Office, and the combatant commands themselves — and in multiple domains: self-piloting ships, uncrewed aircraft, and more. 
Now is the time to scale, with systems that are harder to plan for, harder to hit, and harder to beat than those of potential competitors.
And we’ll do so while remaining steadfast to our responsible and ethical approach to AI and autonomous systems, where DoD has been a world leader for over a decade. 
Since we need to break through barriers and catalyze change with urgency, we’ve set a big goal for Replicator: to field attritable autonomous systems at a scale of multiple thousands, in multiple domains, within the next 18-to-24 months. 
And as I said last week, the ‘replication’ isn’t just about production. We’ll also aim to replicate and inculcate how we will achieve that goal, so we can scale whatever’s most efficient, effective, and relevant in the future, again and again.
Easier said than done? Absolutely. But we’re going to do it. 
All-domain, attritable autonomous systems will help overcome the PRC challenge of anti-access, area-denial systems. Our ADA2 to thwart their A2AD.
Of course, we still need the full complement of U.S. capabilities that we’ve invested in to remain combat-credible today and into the future. But Replicator will galvanize progress in the too-slow shift of U.S. military innovation to leverage platforms that are small, smart, cheap, and many. 
***
Now, since we’ve announced Replicator, we’ve heard some questions. You’ve probably heard some today. So I came today with some answers.
Question #1: “Does 18-to-24 months reflect new intelligence about the PRC’s timelines?” 
The answer: Not at all. We set this timeline because we have an opportunity now, for a game-changing shift that we have long pursued. 
We’ve said before that conflict with the PRC is neither imminent nor inevitable; that remains our assessment. Deterrence, including across the Taiwan Strait, is real and strong, and we’re doing more than ever to keep it that way. 
Next question, #2: Some have asked, “how will DoD accomplish its goals for Replicator? If you’re not asking for new money, how are you paying for it?”
As I said last week, we will leverage the Deputy’s Innovation Steering Group — brand new — which the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I co-chair. Every key DoD stakeholder will have a seat at the table: combatant commanders; military departments, service secretaries and service chiefs; and OSD component heads.
And for the next 18 months, we’ll be laser-focused on achieving this singular goal for ADA2 systems — plus, determining our next 18-month goal after that — again, to replicate the process with another operational challenge.
This doesn’t require a joint program office, or reshuffling deck chairs in any other way. Because the military services and other parts of DoD have already been leading in the development of ADA2 systems. Many such innovations emerged organically. And several were funded in our most recent defense budget.
Our task through this initiative is bringing leadership across the department around that DISG table to help ensure those ripe enough to scale actually do get scaled, by elevating and accelerating what we do and cutting red tape, so they’re delivered to warfighters in 18-to-24 months. And DIU’s Doug Beck will directly assist me and the Vice Chairman in driving forward progress, helping to catalyze that whole DoD innovation ecosystem.
And let me give a particular shout-out to two leaders who’ve helped us lead the way: Under Secretary Heidi Shyu, who helped move us down the path through the original Innovation Steering Group. And Under Secretary Bill LaPlante, who has been leading our Competitive Advantage Pathfinders work that has, well, been a pathfinder for this effort.
OK, question #3: “What types of platforms and missions will you look at?”
Our selection process will be driven by what warfighters need now, what is ready enough to scale, and where our attention and authorities — especially mine and the Vice Chairman’s — can get the job done. 
Let me give you a window into the possibilities of all-domain, attritable autonomy.
Imagine distributed pods of self-propelled ADA2 systems afloat, powered by the sun and other virtually-limitless resources, packed with sensors aplenty, enough to give us new, reliable sources of information in near-real-time.
Imagine fleets of ground-based ADA2 systems delivering novel logistics support, scouting ahead to keep troops safe, or securing DoD infrastructure.
Imagine constellations of ADA2 systems on orbit, flung into space scores at a time, numbering so many that it becomes impossible to eliminate or degrade them all. 
Imagine flocks of ADA2 systems, flying at all sorts of altitudes, doing a range of missions, building on what we’ve seen in Ukraine. They could be deployed by larger aircraft, launched by troops on land or sea, or take off themselves.
Bigger-picture, ADA2 systems let us think and act differently in doing things we’ve always done. Recall in Ukraine, a Patriot battery intercepted a Russian hypersonic missile; that’s how traditional platforms do missile defense — and it’s an incredible accomplishment, underscoring why we need them. 
Elsewhere, ADA2 systems might counter missiles differently — perhaps like active protection systems on a tank, or other types of countermeasures. 
And those are just a handful of the use cases for ADA2 systems. 
Here’s what might really surprise some of you — you don’t need much imagination for what I just described, because in several instances, we’ve already seen the adoption of systems that are small, smart, cheap, and many.
We’re seeing it in CENTCOM, where Task Force 59 has been operating a range of uncrewed vehicles — Saildrones, Wave Gliders, and so on — for experimentation and more.
We’re seeing it in INDOPACOM, where work is furiously ongoing with a variety of capabilities recently tested in Northern Edge and other exercises. And we’re seeing it in space, hundreds of miles above our heads. 
For a long time, you could count our space capabilities by the handful. Satellites the size of school buses, that took decades to build and to buy, years to launch. 
But now that’s not all we use. More and more, we’re also leveraging proliferated constellations of smaller, resilient, lower-cost satellites. Some are launched almost weekly, with dozens of payloads deployed each time.
America’s dynamic commercial space companies made this possible. They’re also why, since 2018, the United States has outpaced the PRC’s growth in space launches and satellites by 2-to-12 times. So the space race is now a space chase. And as DoD invests even more, America’s lead will only grow.
We’re now approaching a future where the web of satellites we can draw upon is so great, that attacking or disrupting them would be futile — a wasted effort, and a highly escalatory one at that. Not even worth contemplating, let alone trying.
That’s what ‘small, smart, cheap, and many’ can do. And Replicator will help us accelerate the scaling of ADA2 systems in even more domains.
As for more details, we will be deliberate about what we share publicly — though we will be working with industry, Congress, and allies and partners in everything that we do. And some things, we will only reveal at a time and place and manner of our choosing. 
I know that isn’t easy. Engineers want to take pride in their work. CEOs want to share good news with investors. People in government want credit for their good ideas. And all that will come in time if we succeed. But not today. 
Remember, these aren’t ships or aircraft that we’ll be using for the next 30-to-50 years. ADA2 systems are things we might use for 3-to-5 years, before we move on to the next thing — as we must, given a dynamic, fast-moving adversary and the pace of innovation. We can never take our military superiority for granted. 
Now, I know some people are wondering if ADA2 means weapon systems. 
That’s a serious question, to be sure. They are not synonymous. There are many applications for ADA2 systems beyond delivering weapons effects.
But don’t forget that integrating autonomy into weapon systems is nothing new for DoD. We know how to do it responsibly. In fact, we’ve done it so far for decades, from AEGIS destroyers to ship- and ground-based Phalanx defense systems. And we’ve continually gotten better at it.
Our policy for autonomy in weapon systems is clear and well-established: there is always a human responsible for the use of force. Full stop. Anything we do through this initiative, or any other, must and will adhere to that policy. 
Make no mistake: Replicator signals from the top that we are embarking on audacious change — fast — using the means we have. We face an urgent challenge, and we intend to meet it with the courage to bet big.
That’s the paradox of military innovation: to deliver on our no-fail mission in defending the nation, we must be willing to take risks, to try things that might not succeed as we’d hoped. But that’s what leadership is: it’s saying “follow me,” and holding yourself accountable to get there.
***
Now as I said last week, you won’t see the Secretary or me rolling out a “mission accomplished” banner when it comes to innovation. Not because we’re afraid of succeeding, but because we know that America is in a persistent, generational challenge for advantage with our pacing challenger.
I also said that we’re measuring success on our ability to deliver outcomes. And so we don’t expect history to judge us by the speeches we make, or the dollars in our budget. 
Instead, we’ll be judged by whether we achieve the goal we’ve set: delivering capabilities to warfighters at speed and scale. Because that’s what really matters.
Our goal always is to deter, because competition does not mean conflict. We must ensure the PRC leadership wakes up every day, considers the risks of aggression, and concludes, “today is not the day” — and not just today, but every day, now and for the foreseeable future. 
But we also must be ready if aggression comes. And that readiness focus and energy extends not just to the force, but also to all of us. We never want to find ourselves in a situation where, in the words of Secretary Bob Gates, “the troops are at war, but the Pentagon is not.” 
So from the Pentagon, to Congress, to industry and beyond — we must be bold, we must be determined, and we must move with urgency and unity of purpose, to ensure we can maintain the peace and have our troops ready for whatever may come.
Because that’s what’s required in this era of strategic competition with the PRC.
Replicator aside, if we can achieve that — then the risk will have been worth it.
Thank you very much.

Source: United States Department of Defense

Good morning, everyone. 
Secretary Wormuth, General George, thank you for your moving words. And thank you for what you do each and every day to take care of our soldiers and their families. 
And let me add my thanks to our distinguished guests, including the family, and friends, and battle buddies of Captain Larry Taylor. 
Yesterday, President Biden presented Captain Taylor with our nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. And today, I am deeply honored to be here with you all as we add his name to our Hall of Heroes. 
As you heard earlier, on the night of June 18, 1968, then-Lieutenant Taylor was at Phu Loi Base Camp when he heard the horn go off. And he knew what that sound meant. It meant that somewhere, American soldiers were in trouble. And he had two minutes to get his Cobra attack helicopter in the air and fly toward them.
So he got moving, along with his copilot and another helicopter team.
Now, Lieutenant Taylor had a radio frequency. And he knew the general direction of where he was headed. But that was it.  
He didn’t know the exact coordinates of the soldiers who were in danger. Or what he would encounter once he got there. Or that later that night, he would pull off a feat that had never been done before.
He just heard the horn. And he took off flying. 
Now, as you heard General George say, earlier that evening, a Long-Range Patrol team of four soldiers had been on a reconnaissance mission. 
They walked into a rice paddy about the size of a football field and soon realized that they were in the middle of a staging ground for opposing forces. 
And suddenly, they were surrounded by at least 80 enemy troops. 
Now these soldiers, these four American soldiers were trained in “Escape and Evasion.” But in this case, they had nowhere to escape to. 
What they did have was a radio. And that was their lifeline. Because on the other end of that radio was Lieutenant Larry Taylor. 
Lieutenant Taylor flew over the rice paddy. But he couldn’t see his comrades on the ground from his helicopter. He later recalled that it was so dark it was like looking down into an inkwell. 
But four soldiers’ lives were in grave danger. So he daringly dipped to low altitudes to find them. And once he spotted their position, he directed his firepower to attack the encroaching enemy.  
And over the next 45 minutes, the American pilots in the air and the soldiers on the ground fought with everything that they had. 
In return, the enemy was firing RPGs and bullets at them from every point on the compass.
Now, even with the blasts and the tremors of rockets and rifles, Lieutenant Taylor and his wingman, Warrant Officer James Ratliff, fearlessly made “treetop” attacks on the opposing force. 
And when they ran low on firepower, Larry Taylor made “fake” runs to draw enemy fire toward his helicopter to spare the men on the ground.
Soon, Lieutenant Taylor had fired every single rocket and nearly every round that he had. And he was running low on gas. 
Now, usually, that meant that he would fly back to base and refuel and rearm. But the four men on the ground were down to their last magazine of ammunition. Lieutenant Taylor estimated that they were still outnumbered at least 15 to 1. And no evacuation Huey helicopter was on the way. 
And so leaving them behind would mean certain death.
It was now or never. 
So Lieutenant Taylor quickly came up with a plan. In a clear and calm voice, he directed the soldiers where to point their last claymore mines. 
When Lieutenant Taylor gave the signal, they detonated the mines. Now that cleared a path. And the men ran as fast as they could through the clearing. 
A few moments later, the four men could feel the downward blast coming from the Cobra’s blades. In Lieutenant Taylor’s words, they “all arrived at the same hole in the mud.”
Now as many of you know, the Cobra was only designed to carry a pilot, a co-pilot, and ammunition. The cockpit was just 36 inches wide. And Larry, I still don’t know how you fit in that cockpit, but you did it somehow.  But Lieutenant Taylor remembers that it was so small that you couldn’t even open a paper map and have the map be useful to you. So there was no use in even opening the map.
So evacuating soldiers with this kind of helicopter was absolutely unheard of. 
And most would never even think to try it. 
But after making it through an intense firefight and miraculously meeting up with the patrol team on the ground, Lieutenant Taylor was willing to improvise. 
So over the radio, he told the men to hang on to the outside of his helicopter, wherever they could. 
Sergeant David Hill and Specialist Bill Cohn climbed onto the rocket pods. Specialist Gerald Patty and Private Bob Elsner held on tight to the skids. 
Within 10 seconds, they were off. 
Lieutenant Taylor climbed to 1500 feet in the air before turning on his navigation lights. 
Moments before, the patrol team had feared for their lives. And the next 10-minute flight was the ride of their lives.
Lieutenant Taylor touched down at a secure location. And the four soldiers ran out in front of the helicopter, ducking under the blades. 
And they turned back to look, to catch a glimpse of the pilot who had just risked everything to rescue them. 
They could hardly see Lieutenant Taylor’s helmet through the haze. But they gave him a salute and a grateful thumbs up. 
The valor that Lieutenant Taylor displayed that night was extraordinary. But to Lieutenant Taylor, it was simple: He would not leave a man behind. Now or ever. 
Since leaving military service, Captain Taylor has gotten Christmas cards from the families of those he protected in Vietnam.  
And at reunions, he’s met many of their descendants. Because when Captain Taylor saved four lives that night, he secured the future of new generations of Americans.
I’m happy to say that there’s a new addition to that legacy. David Hill, one of the men who rode on the Cobra’s rocket pod, is here with us today—along with his four-month-old grandson.
Let’s give them all a round of applause.
[Applause]
Captain Taylor, on that battlefield some 55 years ago, it was now or never. And our Hall of Heroes will honor you, now and forever. 
May we all draw inspiration from the resolve and the courage of this American hero. 
May God bless Captain Larry Taylor, and his family, and all those who step up to serve the country that we love.  
And may God continue to bless the United States of America. 
Thank you.

Source: United States Department of Defense

Department of Defense Spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following statement:
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) held the first virtual meeting of the India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) Senior Advisory Group today. 
Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Director Doug Beck and Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey Ford co-chaired the meeting alongside Mr. Anurag Bajpai, Joint Secretary (Defence Industries Promotion) of the Indian MoD. Participants discussed ongoing initiatives to drive innovation and equip both countries’ armed forces with the capabilities they need to defend a free and open Indo-Pacific.
DIU and iDEX announced topics for the first two joint challenges, focused on undersea communication and maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Aligned with the Roadmap for U.S.-India Defense Industrial Cooperation, the challenges provide for start-ups in both countries to develop technological solutions for shared defense challenges, culminating in financial awards for the most promising technology along with potential procurement opportunities. DIU and iDEX will open the challenges to start-ups later this month. 
The Senior Advisory Group welcomed initiatives by non-governmental stakeholders to implement the INDUS-X collaboration agenda. On August 25, Hacking4Allies and IIT Hyderabad hosted a program for 50 Indian start-ups to equip them to commercialize, recruit talent, and expand. And on August 29, Pennsylvania State University and IIT Kanpur convened a virtual group of U.S. and Indian academics, government officials, and industry representatives to advance discussions on developing innovation ecosystems in emerging domains like AI, space, and cyber. The Group also noted efforts by private investors to generate capital for U.S. and Indian defense and dual-use technology start-ups, and committed to facilitating greater two-way flow of capital to support innovation and integration between their respective private defense sectors.

Source: United States Department of Defense

The Defense Media Activity (DMA) and the American Forces Network (AFN) invites its overseas audiences to enjoy the National Football League’s 2023 football season.  AFN will provide live game coverage through the playoffs and Super Bowl LVIII. 
With the generous support of the National Football League (NFL), AFN will air full coverage of the NFL’s regular and post-season games across its military network from Europe to the Pacific.
“The NFL has been an outstanding partner and is tremendously supportive of our U.S. troops and their families,” said Mr. Hal Pittman, DMA Director.  “NFL games are among our most highly watched programs, and it is a privilege to work with the NFL to bring the excitement to our military audiences worldwide.”
The 2023 NFL regular season kicks off Thursday, Sept. 7, at 8:20 p.m., ET.  Each NFL season begins with a Thursday night matchup that features the previous year’s Super Bowl champion.  The Kansas City Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl LVII champions and will host the Detroit Lions.  AFN will broadcast the game both live and through video-on-demand on the AFN Now mobile app.
Week 1 of the NFL schedule will also see the San Francisco 49ers play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Sept. 10.  The week concludes with a Monday, Sept. 11 matchup between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.
The NFL’s 18-week, 272-game regular-season concludes on Sunday, January 7.  AFN will provide live coverage of the season’s playoff and championship games.
AFN is also excited to broadcast the 154th season of NCAA football.  The regular college football season began August 26, and ends December 9.  AFN will carry much of the college football action live and as video-on-demand. 
In addition to NFL and NCAA football, this fall AFN will also offer overseas military audiences a wide range of sports programming, to include top-ranked Boxing, WWE, and the US Open tennis championships, along with many other premium sporting events.  U.S. servicemembers continue to be deeply appreciative of AFN’s industry partners for their generous support.
This fall AFN provides even more viewing options with its video-on-demand television streaming service, AFN Now.  The new streaming service has proven highly popular with military personnel and families for its flexibility and convenience.  Many stateside sporting events air live overseas in the middle of the night, and AFN Now enables the troops overseas to stream sporting events on their schedule. 
“Our new mobile app, AFN Now, has been a real game-changer,” said Pittman. “The majority of the NFL games on AFN will also be streamed on AFN Now.  This makes them available in video-on-demand form for those who may have missed the live broadcast due to work schedules or other commitments.”
Viewers are encouraged to download the AFN Now app from the Google Play or Apple App store and register before the season to enjoy the games from kick off to the final score. The AFN Now app is available to service members, families, and retirees living overseas.  It is available on Google and Apple devices, Amazon Fire, Roku, and select smart TVs with app functionality. 
The AFN Now app is free to download and provides audiences convenient access to their favorite AFN entertainment, news, and sports programming.  The app is easy to download, and users can register at https://afn-now.myafn.mil/.  The AFN Now Help Desk is manned around the clock to provide support. They can be reached at DMA.AFNnow.Help@mail.mil.
For a full listing of all NFL games airing on AFN, go to https://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/ or contact the American Forces Network at dma.march.afn.list.affrel@mail.mil.

Source: United States Department of Defense

Pentagon Spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone with France’s Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu today to discuss the security environment in Niger in light of recent developments in West Africa.
The Secretary and Minister shared their desire for a diplomatic resolution to the situation in Niger and emphasized the need for continued engagement with the Nigeriens and regional African partners.  
Secretary Austin and Minister Lecornu affirmed their commitment to continued cooperation, enabled by the longstanding U.S.-France defense and security relationship.

Source: United States Department of Defense

On September 1, 2023, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone with Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica, who also serves as Jamaica’s Minister of Defence.  Secretary Austin expressed his appreciation to Prime Minister Holness for Jamaica’s leadership in the Caribbean, including the recent pledge by Jamaica to deploy personnel to Haiti for a potential multinational security support mission.  Secretary Austin also thanked Jamaica for co-hosting the Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC) in June 2023 with U.S. Southern Command.  The two leaders affirmed their desire to ensure a secure and prosperous future for the Caribbean, including through bilateral cooperation on maritime security, cyber security, and climate resilience.  Secretary Austin and Prime Minister Holness agreed that the United States and Jamaica will maintain a robust and vital partnership in the areas of security and defense.

Source: United States Department of Defense

 LT. COL. DEVIN ROBINSON:  OK, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  My name is Lieutenant Colonel Devin Robinson and I am your Moderator for our briefing today.  Before we get started, I want to quickly run over a few of the ground rules.
 We’re really grateful that Major General Hara was able to make time for us today, and out of respect for his busy schedule and the important mission that he and his team are engaged in, we’re — we’re going to have a limited amount of time for your questions.
 We have identified some reporters that would like to ask questions ahead of time, so I will call on reporters in turn as we work through the list.  Because of time constraints, I’d ask that you limit your question to just one question and then one or two quick follow-ups.
 Given the audio challenges of operating in the Zoom environment, we’d also like to ask that you mute your phone until you’re called upon.  I would like to also re-stress that Major General Hara is here to discuss the ongoing state and federal response to the wildfires in Maui, so please limit your questions to that topic.  Again, today’s briefing is on the record. 
 And without further ado, I’d like to introduce the Adjutant General for the state of Hawaii, the Lahaina Wildfire Incident Commander and the Director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Army National Guard Major General Kenneth Hara.  Sir?
 MAJOR GENERAL KENNETH HARA:  Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Robinson.  Again, so I’m — I’m Major General Kenneth Hara, the Adjutant General for the state of Hawaii.  In that position, I have three primary roles — Commander of the Hawaii National Guard, I am the Director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, and also the Director of the state’s Office of Homeland Security.
 When this wildfire disaster hit us on August 8th, the Lieutenant Governor, who was the acting Governor at the time, and with the approval of Governor Josh Green — so Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke had appointed me as the state’s overall Incident Commander for the disaster response.
 Before I go on, I do want to thank the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense for all of the federal support provided to the state of Hawaii and the county of Maui.  Just tremendous amount of support and resources here that obviously the state would not have been able to do with — without the massive federal support.
 What — when I go through my remarks, I’ll — I’ll talk a little bit about what we’ve done and then the way ahead so you can understand the next phases and what’s next.  But before I go through there, I wanted to first highlight that, in accordance with the Hawaii Revised Statutes’ Chapter 127A and the National Response Framework, the county of Maui’s is the lead for disaster response and all of the state, federal capabilities and resources are in support of that — that county’s response.  So I — I wanted to make sure that was clear upfront.
 So on day one, when I — when I talked to the team, I told them our center of gravity is responsiveness, and to be able to do that, I told them we need to anticipate needs, and then once we know what those needs are, to organize ourself and resource ourselves to meet those needs once the ask comes. 
 And then also told them we need to move at the pace of unprecedented crisis, and what I meant with that is we need to look at ways to expedite and streamline our ability to provide timely response to — to the county and for the people of Maui and throughout the state.
 I felt that my — the best location for me to be able to respond to the needs of — of Mayor Bissen and the Maui Emergency Management Agency was to actually operate from Maui.  So I moved to Maui and brought about 30 people, a mix of National Guard and Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employees.
 We’re calling it HI-EMA Forward and we’ve been operating just across the street from the — the county building and the Mayor’s Office and the Maui Emergency Management Agency, or MEMA, their emergency operations center.
 So what — what have we done to date, the past, you know, 20-plus days?  The first priority we had was — was life and safety.  So the state and especially the National Guard supported with search and rescue efforts and then aerial fire suppression, and then soon, the county asked us to help them with access control and security, primarily so they could get a main road into some of the isolated portions, vicinity of Lahaina.
 We established the Hawaiian National Guard Joint Task Force of — rather immediately, and that was purely National Guard.  And then through — Governor Green had submitted to the Secretary of Defense the establishment of the Dual Status Commander, Brigadier General Steve Logan. 
 And then once we got that approval, we stood up what we call Joint Task Force 5-0, a dual status command so General Logan has the ability to command and control National Guard and active duty units and personnel.  He currently has about 460 personnel under his command at this time.  Together though, there are — there are over 700 Hawaii National Guard and active component service members supporting the response and recovery. 
 Now, I wanted to point out that from day one Admiral Aquilino and — who is the Commander of the U.S. Army Indo-Pacific Command, and General Flynn, who’s the Commander of U.S. Army Pacific and later designated as the Theater Joint Forces Land Component Commander, or — or they call it TJFLIC, he — General Flynn is the supported commander.  So all of the active duty resources would flow through him and then now additional resources provided from the active duty to the Dual Status Commander. 
 But both of them called me from day one and said, whatever you need, whatever you request, the entire Department of Defense and especially all of the capabilities and resources within USINDOPACOM would be there to support the state of Hawaii and the county of Maui, and — and that was refreshing. 
 What — what helped us during the planning phases is they provided us a — kind of a menu, a list of capabilities that we may not have known existed, and we took them up on some of that that I’ll talk a little bit about later.
 So as we transition from the life safety to the next — actually, sorry, I — part of life safety, we — we did aerial fire suppression missions and we utilized two Hawaii National Guard CH-47 Chinook aircraft.  And to date, they’ve made a total of 149 water bucket drops.  Now, that — that equates to about 270,000 gallons of water.  And then the crews flew 44.4 hours doing that — water bucket operations.
 After the life safety, we transitioned to fatality search and recovery operations.  Members of the Hawaii National Guard Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, Emergency Force Package, what we call CERFP, C-E-R-F-P, supported county and federal recovery operations.
 The current count from Maui County as of this morning still stands at 115 deceased and then it’s still at 388 unaccounted for, but we do expect the county of Maui, the Maui Police Department, and the FBI to make an adjustment and update to those numbers this Friday.
 After the land and search — land search and recovery was completed, some EPA started doing household hazardous waste removal — so that’s going on right now — and they want to make sure that they complete the clearance of those — those hazardous wastes so that it’s safe for the Lahaina residents, family members, and businesses to go in and recover valuables.  And some of that could be sentimental value, important paperwork.  That next phase — I believe they’re calling it Return to Lahaina Phase — will be planned, coordinated, and controlled by the county of Maui.
 I’m not sure if I mentioned it but I get — to be clear, the household hazardous removal, that is being led by the EPA.  When they do the — allowing the people from Lahaina to go back in to recover their valuables, from what I’ve been told thus far, is they plan to have different zones and then different grids within the zone so that we don’t have to wait for the entire household hazardous waste mission to be completed before they start the phasing in, to allow these family members and businesses to go retrieve their belongings, anything worth of value.  And as I mentioned, could be sentimental value.
 After that’s completed, the next step would be the complex debris clearance phase.  That operation has been contracted to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and that … won’t begin until after the — the family members have been able to retrieve their valuables.
 Currently, the state is also supporting disaster recovery and family assistance centers.  They’re looking at long-term transitional housing for the survivors.  We’re still doing water distribution missions.  And then for the long-term future, looking at the disaster mitigation measures that the state can do to help mitigate risks from fire and other hazards.  And then the last phase is rebuilding of Lahaina.
 So I’ll stop there and then turn it back over to the Moderator for any questions.  Thank you.
 LT. COL. ROBINSON:  Thank you, sir.  Appreciate those opening comments and that detail.  Our first question this evening is from Jennifer Hlad from Defense One.  Jennifer?
 Q:  Hi, sir.  I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the water distribution mission that JTF 5-0 is doing.  I noticed — or I heard the other day that a couple of Hippo trucks and a couple of soldiers from Oahu flew over there to help with that, but I was wondering if you could talk about just how the water’s being distributed, to whom?  Are more troops expected to join that mission or is the Guard helping with that mission?  And also, why it just seems to have recently started this week versus right after the actual fire?  Thank you, sir. 
 MAJOR GENERAL HARA:  OK, yeah, thank you.  I’m going to throw out the numbers.  My numbers are effective three days ago, when I went around the island.  So this may not be totally accurate, but three days ago, they had three 400-gallon water trailers of vicinity of Kula and then I think they had another 300-gallon water trailer of vicinity of Lahaina.  And then that’s when it was already on ground.  There is two Hippos, that — 2,000-gallon storage — storage and distribution trailers that were going to be repositioned.
 So the — to your point in the question, why not sooner, is, as I mentioned, we were in support of county.  So we’re asking the county’s Department of Water Supply, you know, “military has this capability, we can bring it in, where do you want it?”  And it wasn’t until they came up with a plan, coordinated with JTF 5-0, that we started putting resources at these locations.
 Q:  OK, sure, thank you. And then do you anticipate any more troops or even National Guard members might be involved in that mission going forward or — or any more trucks or anything like that?
 MAJOR GENERAL HARA:  I don’t believe so for the water distribution.  I think I just saw a report recently that the Department of Water Supply got some of the test results and they believe that they may be able to — to open and — and provide water through the normal county system.  So if that’s the case, then the demand would go down significantly.
 And what I’ve heard also is that whatever we’re providing now is what was needed, cause once the military capability came in, that Department of Water Supply was able to reposition their eight trailers that was in the vicinity of Lahaina and in support of up-country Kula.
 Q:  OK, thank you.  And just one clarification — you said that it — you’re calling it HI-EMA Forward, as in Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Forward?  You’re …
 MAJOR GENERAL HARA:  Yes — yes, correct.
 Q:  … OK, I just wanted to make sure I was …
 MAJOR GENERAL HARA:  Yeah, sorry about that.
 Q:  No, that’s fine.  Thank you.
 LT. COL. ROBINSON:  Thank you, ma’am.  Our next question is over to Zamone Perez from Military Times.
 Q:  Hi, Major General.  Thank you for doing this.  I’ve spoken with a few vets and a Guardsman who’ve told me they’d either lost businesses or homes in the fire that, you know, swept through Lahaina.  I just wanted to know if the Hawaii National Guard had any specific numbers on how many of their — their service members that they know of had been impacted by the fire at Lahaina, whether it was their homes or businesses or they had close relatives impacted by that?
 MAJOR GENERAL HARA:  So for National Guardsmen, we had 10 that had direct impacts, either losing homes or one was a business, and then an additional six that had, like, family members that were impacted.  But that — that — that was just the Hawaii National Guard numbers.
 Q:  Great.  Thank you so much.
 LT. COL. ROBINSON:  Thank you, sir, for that question.  Our final question is for Ben Kesling from Wall Street Journal.  Ben?
 Q:  Thank you.  General, do you feel that the Department of Defense resources, whether it’s Guard, Reserve, Active Duty, et cetera, do you feel like that they were properly leveraged by the authorities in Hawaii over this time?  In other words, were Department of Defense resources used to their fullest extent?
 And finally, right now, do you feel like there’s more that the Department of Defense could be doing if it were asked to do so?
 MAJOR GENERAL HARA:  To answer the first part, I do believe that the — the adequate capabilities were leveraged.  You know, we talked about water, I talked about the life safety measures and the security that we provided that really allowed the Maui Police Department to open up the road and get to those isolated areas.
 And then one big capability was being able to use the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency — their anthropologists.  I just met with them yesterday at the morgue, and all of the people there, all of that task force that’s supporting the recovery and the identification, they’re doing just amazing, amazing work. 
 And then, you know, the Navy reaching out and providing their salvage divers to assist with the recovery efforts as well in the water also, you know, increased the county and the urban search and rescue teams to rapidly finish up that recovery operations.
 I spoke to the police chief this morning.  He believes, if everything keeps going the way it is, the dive portion of the search and recovery will end in about two days.  And as we transition, it’s really now — I’ve tasked General Logan, in his role as the — the JTF Commander of JTF 5-0 — is looking at what resources will be needed for these future phases that I had mentioned earlier.
 For the household hazardous waste removal, he believes he has enough personnel to escort the EPA folks in there and access control.  So that’s not going to be an issue.  We may need additional Guard soldiers to assist with the families as they go in — into the zones that have been cleared so they can recover their valuables and the items of sentimental value. 
 And then what I’m not sure is — because the Army Corps of Engineer has the lead, is what role, if any, would the active duty and/or National Guard have during the complex debris clearance operations.  That’s still being planned out.  Over.
 Q:  Thank you, General.  And just to follow up on that, when do you think that there’ll be some — some forward guidance on the use of — of active duty personnel, whether it’s Army, Navy, Marine Corps, et cetera?  Do you — do you foresee that being — being something that — that you’ll know in the next couple of days, next couple of weeks?
 MAJOR GENERAL HARA:  I would say weeks instead of days.
 Q:  Thank you.
 LT. COL. ROBINSON:  OK, thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for those questions.  Sir, those are all the questions that we had collected ahead of time, so I will turn it over to you for your closing remarks.
 MAJOR GENERAL HARA:  First off, I really appreciate the opportunity.  The more we can share with the public of what’s going on and all the great things that the — not just the military but the state, county, federal, and most importantly, the — the — the community have done to help the people of — of Lahaina and also, you know, Kula has just been tremendous.
 My executive officer and I just came from a meeting that the Lieutenant Governor was running, in coordination with all of the community organizations and non-profits, for how they do the donation management, from receipt, storing, transportation, distribution — is just — it’s amazing how they’re able to stand this — something so complex up in — in a few days with — with a lot of public sector support.
 So you guys have an important job to provide accurate information to the public, so I really, really appreciate all that you do.
 LT. COL. ROBINSON:  Thank you, General.  That will conclude our briefing for today. 

Source: United States Department of Defense

Today the department launched a website on the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office to provide the public with information concerning AARO and its efforts to understand and resolve unidentified anomalous phenomena. 
This website will provide information, including photos and videos, on resolved UAP cases as they are declassified and approved for public release.  The website’s other content includes reporting trends and a frequently asked questions section as well as links to official reports, transcripts, press releases, and other resources that the public may find useful, such as applicable statutes and aircraft, balloon and satellite tracking sites.  
This fall, consistent with Section 1673 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, AARO will launch a secure reporting tool on the website to enable current and former U.S. government employees, service members, or contractors with direct knowledge of U.S. government programs or activities to contact AARO directly to make a report.  The department is conducting its final reviews to ensure the reporting mechanism complies with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Whistleblower Protections Enhancement Act of 2012, the Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act), and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.  In the interim, current U.S. service members, U.S. government employees, and civil aviators are encouraged to continue to use the existing reporting mechanisms available to them through their organizations.  A mechanism for members of the general public to make reports will be announced in coming months.
The department is committed to transparency with the American people on AARO’s work on UAP.  This website will serve as a one-stop shop for all publicly available information related to AARO and UAP, and AARO will regularly update the website with its most recent activities and findings as new information is cleared for public release.
You can see AARO’s new website at https://www.aaro.mil.

Source: United States Department of Defense

As we mark two years since the conclusion of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, we salute the valor, patriotism, and selflessness of the American service members and civilians who fought and served there over the course of 20 years.
Throughout America’s longest war, our troops showed great courage and compassion. My thoughts today are with all of the brave Americans who answered the call to duty after al-Qaeda’s terrorists attacked America—including the Pentagon itself—on September 11, 2001. We bow our heads today in memory of the 2,461 U.S. service members who never made it home, including the 13 courageous troops taken from us in the attack at Abbey Gate in the final hours of the war. We also remember the hundreds of service members from allied and partner countries who lost their lives during this 20-year war. And we honor the more than 20,000 Americans who were injured waging war in Afghanistan, including many who still bear wounds that are not visible.
In the war’s final days, the United States, along with our allies and partners, safely evacuated more than 124,000 civilians from Afghanistan, in the midst of the pandemic and in the teeth of danger. In recognition of teams that operated and excelled under these difficult and dangerous conditions, I am proud to announce the approval of the Presidential Unit Citation for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command, and Joint Task Force 82 of the 82nd Airborne Division and its supporting units.
We remain deeply committed to supporting the Afghan allies who fought by our sides and to helping those who are now building new lives outside their troubled homeland. We will continue to push to help resettle our Afghan allies, and I am proud that we have welcomed more than 115,000 Afghans who stood by our side to the United States over the past two years.
Today, our hearts and our prayers are with the brave Americans who volunteered to keep our country safe, with the Gold Star families whose loved ones fell in Afghanistan, with the military families who endured so much over those two decades, and with the veterans who still carry the memories and the scars of war. The war in Afghanistan is over, but our gratitude to the Americans who fought it is unending.