Pentagon Holds Briefing as UK’s Sunak Makes White House Visit to Discuss Ukraine Transcript

Needless to say, there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. So I know I speak for many here at OSD Public Affairs when I say how grateful we are for their efforts. I’d also like to thank our Pentagon Press Corps for your patience and flexibility, and we understand all the logistical challenges that this renovation presented, and so we appreciate your understanding throughout the process. And finally, a huge thanks to the Department of the Air Force for allowing us to use the Airman’s Hall as our temporary briefing space.

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Turning to today’s briefing, I do have quite a few items to pass along on the top. So once again, I will ask for your patience while I kick things off, and then I’ll be happy to take your questions. First at the direction of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Dr. Kathleen Hicks, the DODs Internal Review team on racial disparities in the investigative and military justice systems, or IRT, has completed and delivered its report to the Deputy Secretary. The IRT was charged with addressing root causes of racial disparities in the investigative and military justice systems and providing actionable recommendations to improve department policies, processes, and resources to address such disparities. The IRTs report details a total of 17 recommendations based on three lines of effort, which include training and education, service member protections, oversight, and transparency. The IRT also found that additional data and research are warranted to identify and address root causes, mitigate bias and eliminate disparities.

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The Department of Defense is taking a deliberate approach to the implementation of the IRTs recommendations with the launch of a 120 day assessment that will be led by the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Taking care of our military community is a top priority for the department, and we remain determined to eliminate racial disparities throughout our armed forces. DOD will continue to work to identify the causes of any racial, ethnic, or gender disparities in the military justice system.

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And the IRT memo and report will be available later today on defense.gov. Separately. Earlier this week, secretary Austin concluded a successful trip to the Indo-Pacific region and to Europe, during which he made stops in Japan, Singapore, India and France. Each stop afforded the opportunity to meet with counterparts to discuss our continued focus and shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, at a time of real momentum in our key relationships. As highlighted in his speech at the Shangri-La dialogue, more and more the countries of the Indo-Pacific have come together around this shared vision of the future in which all nations are free to thrive on their own terms without coercion, or intimidation or bullying. To quote Secretary Austin, “It’s a vision of a free and open and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights. And that vision is anchored in some key principles to include respect for sovereignty, adherence to international law, transparency and openness, the free flow of commerce and ideas, human rights and human dignity, equal rights for all states large and small, and resolving disputes through peaceful dialogue and not coercion or conquest.”

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Of note on the heels of Secretary Austin’s travel to the Indo-Pacific Undersecretary of Defense for policy. Dr. Colin call will depart this weekend for a series of engagements in Hawaii, Korea, and Japan. During the visit, he’ll meet with senior Indo-Pa [inaudible 00:03:31] military leaders, and conduct various counterpart visits in Japan and Korea that will further strengthen our ironclad alliances and partnerships in the region. Readouts from the Undersecretary’s engagements will be posted on the DOD website.

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In other travel news Secretary Austin will travel again next week to Brussels, where he and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley will host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense contact Group on June 15, followed by the NATO defense minister’s meeting on June 16th will provide additional details regarding the trip in the near future.

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Shifting gears, in the Middle East region, this week marks the second week for US participation and Exercise Eagle Resolve 23. For the first time, this multi-domain exercise focused primarily on integrated air and missile defense and maritime interdiction is being hosted in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and includes participation from all six Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Separately, nearly a half dozen part nation Air Forces from across the US Central Command area of responsibility came together today, in support of a B1 bomber-led US strategic command bomber Task Force mission that culminated a pair of live fire events on ranges in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Taking together these activities reinforced the US commitment to contributing to the security and stability of the Middle East region, and demonstrate the increasing complexity , deepening military interoperability and strength of our shared defense capabilities, and I would refer you to US Central Command for additional details.

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Meanwhile, in the European region, the 52nd iteration of Baltic operations, also known as BaltOps, began this week with 19 NATO allies, one NATO partner Nation 50 ships and more than 45 aircraft, and approximately 6,000 personnel participating through June 16th. This annual maritime focused exercise provides a unique training opportunity to strengthen the combined response capability critical to preserving freedom of navigation and security in the Baltic Sea. Participating nations will exercise a myriad of capabilities demonstrating the flexibility of maritime forces. For more information, please visit the US Naval Forces, Europe, Africa, and US Six Fleet website and social media platforms for the latest on the exercise.

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And finally, on Monday morning, June 12th, Secretary Austin and Deputy Secretary Hicks will lead a Pentagon ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Women’s Armed Forces Integration Act of 1948, to celebrate the enormous contributions that women have made to US national security over the last seven and a half decades. The Pentagon Courtyard ceremony begins at 10 30 and will be broadcast on defense.gov. And with that, and we’ll take your questions. All right, [inaudible 00:06:19], let’s go to Associated Press.

Kicking it off of a bang there, aren’t ya?

That’s right. Welcome back to the [inaudible 00:06:25].

It’s good to be back. I wanted to start off with Ukraine, particularly the dam break and the catastrophic flooding that’s going on. Typically, in humanitarian disasters of this size, there’s a role for DOD to play, whether it’s flying in humanitarian aid, assisting with evacuations. Does the ongoing conflict make that impossible?

Sure. So as it pertains to aid, right now, I don’t have anything to announce in terms of what DOD is providing. As you well know, our current focus is on security assistance. I would highlight that you may have heard the White House talk today about USAID working with local agencies and international agencies that are on the ground to provide some humanitarian assistance, which includes things like transportation for people away from the flooding, distributing water purification equipment, water pumps, boat motors, other rescue gear. So I would refer you to USAID to talk about those particular efforts. But when it comes to DOD right now, I don’t have anything to note.

Just a quick follow up on and then so that sometimes DOD aircraft are used to fly in that aid too. Can that not even be-

It’s not something that we’re currently looking at. Again, if that changes, we’ll be sure to let you know.

And then secondly, there’s a lot of reporting right now that the counter offensive has begun, based on activity you’re seeing on the banks of the river in [inaudible 00:07:59], what can you say about that?

Yeah, so we’re certainly monitoring reports, increased fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces at various locations across the front lines in Ukraine. But when it comes to characterizing those particular operations or talking about those operations, that’s really something that’s best left to the Ukrainians. Okay. Jennifer.

Have you assessed who’s responsible for blowing up the dam?

We have not at this time. We’re still continuing to look at that.

And there are two reports today suggesting that the Chinese have a new agreement with Cuba to set up a listening post in Cuba. Are those reports accurate? What is the extent, is there a new listening post in Cuba that affects the United States?

Yeah, so I’ve seen that reporting. I can tell you based on the information that we have, that that is not accurate, that we are not aware of China and Cuba developing any type of spy station. Separately, I would say that the relationship that those two countries share is something that we continuously monitor. I would say that, as you’ve heard us say many times, China’s activities both in our hemisphere and around the world, any concerning activities are something that we will continue to watch closely. But in terms of that particular report, no, it’s not accurate.

Have you seen China set up any military base in Cuba, or is there any plans afoot we’ve seen elsewhere in the region that they have?

Yeah, none that I’m aware of at this time. Yep.

Getting back to Ukraine, you can’t talk about what Ukraine’s doing, what about what Russia is doing? Are you seeing any movements of troops, shifts of troops, additional forces coming in along the front line?

Yeah, Tom, so I appreciate the question. What I’m not going to do today is provide an operational update on ongoing developments on the battlefield. Clearly, Russia for some time has been building its defenses in Ukraine, and in anticipation of a Ukrainian counter offensive. And so, that’s about as far as I’ll go.

[inaudible 00:10:10] Can you at least say you, you’re seeing some-

Beyond what we’ve seen in terms of replacement forces. I’m not aware of any significant large number of additional Russian forces coming in, but of course that’s something we’ll continue to keep an eye on. Okay. Yes, ma’am.

Thank you so much, sir. First for you, there has been some reporting that DOD and DTIC are experimenting with open AI, and so I wanted to hear a little bit more about how they’re experimenting with those large language models and how they’re managing their risks that we continue to hear about those emerging capabilities?

Yeah, sure. So I don’t have anything specific to provide on that, so let me take that question and we’ll come back to you.

Or you can tell your CDAO to respond, that would be great. Okay. Second line of question, the bulk typhoon China linked cyber attack that we’ve been hearing a lot about, how is DOD responding, if at all? And at this point, is it your assessment that it was contained to Guam?

Yeah, when it comes to those kinds of activities, as a matter of policy and for operation security, we’re just not going to talk about what actions we may or may not be taking. Obviously, we take cybersecurity very seriously, but I’m just not going to go into details. Yes, ma’am.

Thank you and very happy to be back here. I just wanted to follow up on your response to Jen’s question. So you said it’s not accurate. The China and Cuba are developing spying base here. Are you aware of discussions about this or are those reports completely just not accurate?

Again, based on the information that we have, the report is inaccurate. Certainly, we know that China and Cuba maintain a relationship of sorts, but when it comes to the specific activities outlined in the press reporting, again based on the information we have that is not accurate.

And then one question just on the F-16 training, I’m just wondering if you have any update on which countries are going to be providing support for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s. And there was some reporting that F-18s may be involved as well. Is there any two truth to that and can you kind of give us an update?

Yeah, in terms of any additional types of aircraft, nothing to announce on that front as far as F-16 pilot training goes. No new updates to provide today. As we’ve talked about in the past, the Netherlands and Denmark have agreed to take the lead in terms of developing a training plan for Ukrainian pilots and maintainers. We do have several other allies who have said that they are interested in participating in that training. And so, I think the last time we talked, from the briefing room, that was a topic of discussion, or excuse me, actually that was before. So at the last Ukraine Defense Contact Group, that was a topic of discussion. We’ve got a contact group next week, I expect it will be discussed there as well. And so, we should have more details in the relatively near future in terms of when, where, how. But at this time, nothing new to provide.

Have any countries requested that they be able to transfer F-16s to Ukraine?

Again, much more to follow in the future. Thanks. We’ll go over here to Dan.

Thank you. There’s a new letter, a new push, bipartisan on the hill, kind of circling back to the Pentagon, asking about attack [inaudible 00:13:37] trying to expedite Abrams moves, trying to expedite F-16 moves, any reaction to that in general? And then separately, we’re all watching, obviously the wildfire affect a good portion of the East Coast at this point, Senate Majority Leader Schumer raise the point of having additional American firefighting capabilities assist Canada if they ask for it. Do you see a role for DOD in that particularly possibly with the guard that already does that on a state level?

Yeah, thanks Dan. So last question first, I’m not aware of any specific requests at this time. Obviously, firefighting is a capability that some of our forces, as you highlight, the guard have provided support for in the past, but I’m not aware of any specific asks at this time.

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In terms of congressional requests for or highlighting additional capabilities for Ukraine, I’m not going to get into specific conversations or requests between the Hill and the Pentagon, and will respond appropriately to Congress, when and as those requests come in. But more broadly speaking, what I would tell you is nothing new to announce today in that regard. As we have been from the very beginning, we’ll continue to talk very closely with our Ukrainian partners, with our allies on what Ukrainian’s most pressing needs are. And so, as we’ve talked about many times, we’re committed to supporting them both in the near term and in the long term, and we’ll continue to keep you updated as there are new developments on that front. Thank you. Yes, sir.

Thanks, Liam Cosgrove with The Grayzone. Quick question on the Kakhovka Dam explosion. So several European politicians have come out, and were quick to blame Russia saying this is an example of Russian terrorism. But if you look at the context, the dam was in Russian occupied territory. The Ukrainian Ecological League said this could leave Crimea without water for over a decade. And there were reports in the Washington Post last year that Ukrainian soldiers were explicitly looking at targeting this dam dam as part of a strategy to flood the region and prevent further Russian advancements. And they even fired a couple Highmark missiles into it to test that theory. So can the DOD share any evidence as to who might have done this, and are you entertaining the possibility that it might have been Ukraine?

Yeah, well, as you heard us say, I mean, we’re continuing to assess how this could have happened. So all great questions, but at this point, it’s all speculation, and so, I’m not going to get into hypotheticals or speculate. I think it’s very clear, however, the reason we’re in this situation is because Russia invaded Ukraine, and so it’s obviously a terrible humanitarian tragedy, and you heard me talk here a little bit ago about how the US government is attempting to assist the Ukrainians on the humanitarian front, but in terms of how this dam could have been destroyed, again, it’s something that we’re continuing to look into.

Thanks. And then more broadly, we have seen before where Ukraine avoids culpability and is quick to blame Russia. Like that missile that went into Poland that they said was Russia, turned out it was actually Ukraine by accident. So is there a concern that they’re not being totally transparent with us and that efforts like this with the dam, putting the dam aside because we don’t know who did it, but that an effort like that with the miss and Poland, and perhaps the dam are attempting to draw us deeper into the conflict by blaming Russia when we don’t know yet.

So you know, you started your question with more broadly speaking, so I’ll do the same; I’ll talk more broadly here. I mean, as we say in the Air Force from 10,000 feet, again, why are we in this situation? In February of 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and attempted to eliminate it as a country. So the Ukrainians, naturally have a right to defend themselves and we have a right to be able to support them to defend themselves. I’m not going to speak for the Ukrainians in terms of their various activities when it comes to the things that you highlight other than to say it’s very clear that on a daily basis there are Russian forces attempting to kill innocent Ukrainians, and so, we, the United States government are going to work with the international community to do everything we can to help them defend their country and take back sovereign territory. So let me go to [inaudible 00:18:19] behind you there.

Okay, thank you very much, General.. On NATO, NATO is considering a new office in Tokyo, Japan to show its alignment with the in Pacific region, but the France is opposing this initiative. Does the Pentagon support a new NATO office in Tokyo?

[inaudible 00:18:37], what I would tell you is that we certainly welcome the increasing cooperation between NATO and our Asian allies. Japan is a cornerstone of our security in the Indo-Pacific region. Our shared vision for a free and open, and we certainly welcome them as a NATO global partner. But when it comes to whether or not NATO is going to open an office in Japan, that’s really a question for NATO, and Japan and France in this case, to address.

Follow up; when the Secretary was in France this week, did the Secretary have a chance to discuss this issue with his French counterpart?

This particular issue did not come up. Okay. Yes ma’am.

Thank you. My name is Arianna from TPA Angola. So can you tell us what could be the consequences if China and Cuba indeed building a more stronger relationship other than the one that you are aware of?

Well, without getting into hypothetical situations, I think broadly speaking, as I mentioned before, any type of activity, coercive activity or belligerent activity within our hemisphere is something that we’re watching very closely when it comes to China. It’s something that we’ve been concerned about for a while. It’s something that we continue to work with our allies and partners to counter in the hemisphere. And so, again, without getting into hypothetical situations, it’s something that we’ll continue to take very seriously.

In the beginning, you mentioned a few successful trip made by Secretary, is any upcoming visit of the Secretary to Africa?

I don’t have anything to announce on that front. Obviously, Africa continues to play a very important role when it comes to our partnerships and our national security interests. We have a lot of very valued partners throughout the African continent, and so, when the opportunity presents itself, the secretary certainly will look forward to that, but I don’t have anything to announce right now. Thank you very much. Tony?

While you were traveling last week, the nation came together on a debt ceiling agreement. Afterwards, Mr. McCarthy, the House Speaker threw cold water on the idea of defense supplemental to overcome the $886 billion national security cap. He became the latest politician to invoke the fact that the Pentagon has failed five audits in a row. His point was, “They failed five audits in a row, you don’t think there’s waste?” This has become a recurring theme among members. He’s the highest ranking to bring it up again. How do you respond to that? The Pentagon, they fail five audits, is there a correlation between the failure of the audits and effectively spending appropriated dollars from Congress? Should I be concerned if I don’t live in Washington, you fail five audits, and you’re wasting my money and you’re getting more money every year?

Yeah. Thanks Tony. So a couple things. So first of all, when it comes to audits, I would tell you that the department welcomes the scrutiny and the transparency that audits provide. These audits are part of a long-term effort to transform and modernize the DOD, and help us transform in terms of providing the kinds of capabilities that the country expects. Any entity as large as the department, there’s going to be challenges in terms of when you conduct these types of audits, and it’s going to take time and it’s going to take investment. While we currently fall short of having a clean audit of our financial statements, we do receive favorable audit opinions on a significant amount of our resources. And there are controls in place to help ensure that taxpayer resources are being spent as intended by Congress. So this is something that we’re going to continue to take very seriously. We understand what we’ve been charged with as a department in terms of national security and the appropriate use of taxpayer resources, and so, we’ll continue to stay after it.

You hear correctly, there’s not a real correlation between failed audits and effectively spending obligating dollars Congress authorizes and appropriates every year. There are two different entities, two different mechanisms.

I mean, again, when it comes to managing the resources of the department, again, we’re going to do everything we can to effectively manage and spend those dollars. When it comes to the audit, again, that’s something that we’re going to continue to work very hard in terms of ensuring that we can track where those dollars are being spent and how they’re being spent.

Let me ask you one transparency question to a couple. About a week and a half ago, the department disclosed that SpaceX received a contract for Starlink terminals. Your body refused to even allow how much the contract was worth. Can you go back and revisit that? These are white systems, it’s not classified, and I think the public’s got a right to know roughly how much money is being spent by on these Starlink terminals for Ukraine.

Yeah, I’ll take your question. As you’ve heard us talk about for reasons of operational security and due to the critical nature of satellite communication systems, it’s just something that we’re just not able to get into details at this time.

But dollars are different than technologies, and how many and where they’re being placed. That’s all I want to know.

Yep. Nope, understand. Thank you. Okay, time for a few more. Let me go to Tom.

Thanks. Welcome, back from your trip. Two follow up questions please. Putting on your Air Force hat, again, as you said, from 10,000 feet, follow up on Laura’s question regarding F-18s. From a Air Force point of view, what would they bring to a conflict like Ukraine?

I appreciate the question, Tom, but I don’t want to get into hypothetical discussions about capabilities that-

[inaudible 00:24:47].

Yeah, no, I understand. Just, by me answering that question though, implies that we’re now going to go down a fictional road where… Yeah, no, I understand. Yeah.

So, my second follow up was to Brandy’s question about the attack on Guam, and one of the parts you didn’t respond to was whether it was beyond Guam, the cyber attack. Could you address that?

Again, I’m not going to talk about whether or not there are particular attacks or vulnerabilities that that’s our policy when it comes to any type of cyber activities and yep, thanks very much. Yes, sir.

Hello [inaudible 00:25:20], I’m with the Christian Science Monitor. Thank you. President Zelensky said earlier in an interview that humanitarian rescue workers were being shot at by Russians. They try to do work in the flooded area in the south of the country. You can confirm that and offer any more details if so?

Unfortunately can’t. I just don’t have that level of detail. Thank you very much. Okay, go to the last two questions.

Thank. Quick question on North Korean so-called space launch, what is the current deal, this analysis assessment on how soon North Korea is prepared for conduct a next launch? I mean, does DOD assess that it’s technically possible for them to launch the next launch very soon?

Yeah, so I’m not going to get into any discussion of intelligence that we may or may not have on that front. I mean, as you know, the North Koreans have stated their intent to do that. You heard multiple US and international leaders to include Secretary Austin from Singapore condemn North Korea’s recent launch. It’s destabilizing. It is in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. And so again, we’ll continue to stay in close consultation with our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies as well as other allies and partners throughout the region to continue to discuss this situation and continue to work together to deter potential aggression. Yes, sir. Last question.

Thanks. So last week the Pentagon rolled out a policy, that was aimed at banning drag shows on military installations. What message does the Secretary hope service members take away from this policy change, especially in light of the fact that it came at the start of Pride Month?

Yeah, so first let me just iterate, reiterate upfront that DOD recognizes June as LGBTQI+ Pride Month and that we are very grateful for and acknowledged the many contributions of service members and DOD civilian employees from the LGBTQI+ community who serve our country. And as you well know, those of you who’ve covered DOD, we conduct special observance months to recognize the continuous achievements of all Americans and to American culture for increased awareness, mutual respect and understanding to include Pride Month.

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When it comes to drag shows, however, I would take exception. This has been a longstanding policy in terms of activities like this that DOD will not host drag events at US military installations or facilities. We became aware of the drag events during an April congressional hearing, that there were a drag events scheduled to take place at DOD installations at facilities. And so again, the Secretary advised that the department will not host such events.

And just as a quick follow up drawing on my own Navy background, I know crossing the line ceremonies, for example, feature one of the elements is oftentimes male sailors dressing in female garb. Does the policy go so far as to address activities like that at the unit level?

So again, what we’re talking about here is using DOD installations and facilities to host these type of events. And so per DD joint ethics regulations, certain criteria must be met for persons or for organizations acting in a non-federal capacity to use DOD facilities and equipment. So hosting these types of events and federally funded facilities, inconsistent with regulations regarding the use of DOD resources. Okay. Thank you very much everybody. Appreciate it.