Soldiers hold an operational rehearsal for an air assault mission during exercise Swift Response 21 at Bezmer Airfield, Bulgaria, May 8, 2021. The exercise is designed to strengthen U.S. European Command's ability to send high readiness forces into a designated area while advancing airborne interoperability among NATO allies.
May 19, 2021
PRESS SECRETARY JOHN F. KIRBY: All right just a couple things to top with then we'll get at it. Earlier today I think you saw our readout, the secretary spoke again with Israeli Minister of Defense Benjamin -- Benny Gantz. The secretary underscored his continued support for Israel's right to defend itself, reviewed assessments of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and urged de-escalation of the conflict.
Also today the secretary co-chaired the fourth North American Defense Ministerial Meeting hosted by Canadian Minister of National Defense Harjit Sajjan -- I'm sorry Sajjin. This ministerial meeting is the defense component of North American regional cooperation efforts along with his Mexican co-chair Secretary of National Defense Luis Cresencio Sandoval Gonzalez and the Secretary of the Navy Admiral Jose Rafael Ojeda Duran.
The secretary and Minister Sajjan noted the increasing importance in institutionalization of the trilateral defense framework especially in light of the challenges presented by COVID-19.
Lastly, as you may have already heard, the retired Army Colonel Ralph Puckett, Jr. will receive the Medal of Honor from President Biden at a White House ceremony on Friday.
President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea will join in this ceremony. Colonel Puckett will be awarded the Medal of Honor for his selfless and heroic combat actions with the 8th Army Ranger Company at Hill 205 Southeast of Onsong, Korea, on November 25 to 26, 1950. For his actions Puckett was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross on March 5, 1951. Now 70 years later that award is being upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
And with that I'll take questions.
It looks like, Bob you're on the phone.
Q: Yes, thanks John. Regarding the phone call between Secretary Austin and Minister Gantz, you said that Secretary Austin had urged de-escalation. Did he specifically urge a ceasefire? And also, given that he had just spoken to him the previous day was -- has there been some new development -- had there been some new development that caused him to call again? Thanks.
MR. KIRBY: That spurred the phone call, Bob?
Q: Yes.
MR. KIRBY: And I won't get into more detail than what I gave in the read-out. But clearly the secretary maintained again today that we want to see a de-escalation, we want to see the violence come to a close. That the secretary shares the sentiments that you saw expressed by the president and the read-out that the White House offered after the president's call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. And certainly the secretary expressed again our deep concerns over the loss of innocent lives.
Did you have a second question, Bob?
Q: Yes, well did the secretary come away with the idea that this -- there will be no immanent de-escalation?
MR. KIRBY: Again, I don't want to speculate or get ahead of things. That's really for the Israeli Defense Forces to speak to. But again, he reiterated our concern over these civilian lives lost and wounded. And urged a de-escalation of the tensions and the -- and the conflict as soon as possible.
MR. KIRBY: Yes. Here.
Q: Thank you. Does the secretary believe that Israel achieved its goals by degrading the rockets launcher of Hamas, hit enough tunnels, then there is a deterrence or at least a period of calm that's going to come, then we have to stop this?
MR. KIRBY: Yes. It's not our place to assess their military operations. That's really for the Israeli Defense Forces to speak to. The -- Minister Gantz did provide the Secretary his assessment but I'll leave it to Minister Gantz and his staff to -- to speak to details on that.
Q: In other words, if you don't mind, John. If -- if we assess that they achieved their goals, then calm is coming, then it's OK, but if we still believe that Hamas is -- still has rockets and still able to attack Israel, as -- as if we are saying that it's OK to live with this continuous danger?
MR. KIRBY: Nobody, Pierre, is saying it's OK, the -- to live with the -- to have -- to have, you know, the -- the violence continue, and I think, again, that was the message that the Secretary conveyed again today. We want to see the -- the conflict end.
Q: ... That’s why I called it threat, not only the violence.
MR. KIRBY: That's why you called it what?
Q: ... It’s a threat -- I mean, with Hamas having 15,000 rockets -- that's an estimate -- then at any time, this whole cycle is going to come back, if there is no solution.
MR. KIRBY: Well, certainly we don't believe that violent conflict there is in anybody's interests, and we've said -- to your point about Hamas and rockets, we said that -- and continue to say again today that we recognize Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens against these threats, which obviously are still persistent, but we also would like to see the violence come to an end, the tensions to de-escalate, and, you know, the loss of innocent life to -- to stop, OK?
Q: Thanks.
MR. KIRBY: I lost my list. John Ismay from New York Times?
Q: Yes, Mr. Kirby, does Secretary Austin believe that the Al-Jalaa office building in Gaza was a legitimate military target that was properly attacked by Israeli forces, in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict?
MR. KIRBY: John, I'm not going to get into an -- an -- an assessment of that kind in -- in this forum and I'm certainly not going to speak to intelligence matters, that’s something the Israelis will have to speak to, and I think I'll leave it at that.
Q: Well, do you expect that the Golden Sentry Program at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency will be investigating possible end use violations? That's certainly a DOD role and function.
MR. KIRBY: I’m not aware of any such investigation. Yeah, Richard?
Q: Yeah, Admiral, I was going to ask -- Senator Peters today sent a letter to Secretary Austin. It's about the bad paper discharge reviews, and talking about logjams and what's holding it up. I'm understanding you may not have received it yet but nevertheless, this goes to a -- a longstanding issue.
There was a law passed in 2017 that -- there was supposed to be reviews for those who could show that they were -- they were suffering from PTSD or TBI when they received other than honorable. There are class action suits on this.
The question, then, is -- you know, is Secretary Austin aware of this? Is he in contact with the -- the discharge review boards or the – of the various services to see where they stand? And Senator Peters is asking lots -- lots of nuts and bolts -- how many reviews have you received, how long are they taking, this sort of thing. So does -- is the Secretary aware of this?
MR. KIRBY: I'll have to take your question, Richard. Let me -- let me take it and see if I can get back to you on that. Jeff Schogol?
Q: Thank you. CBS recently ...
MR. KIRBY: Jeff, you still there?
Q: ... recently did a -- an episode (inaudible) aliens. Hello?
MR. KIRBY: Jeff, I -- I lost you at "aliens." Actually, I lost -- "aliens" is when you came back in, so you're going to have to -- if you could, repeat your question again.
Q: Sure. 60 Minutes did an episode of unexplained aerial phenomenon. I just wanted to make sure -- well, let's talk brass tacks. Are these things aliens?
(Laughter.)
MR. KIRBY: Jeff, I -- I think you know that -- you know, that we're -- we take reports of incursions, whether they're by known aircraft or unidentified aerial phenomenon, very seriously, and the safety and security of our personnel and of our operations that they remain paramount.
So to protect our people, maintain those operations and safeguard intelligence methods, we're -- we don't publicly discuss the details of these unexplained aerial phenomenon observations or the examinations of the UAP Task Force.
We did establish that task force to gain some knowledge and insight into the nature and origins of these incursions into our training ranges and designated airspaces but -- but we're not going to get into more detail than that.
(CROSSTALK)
Do you have a question, Mike?
Q: Yes, sir.
MR. KIRBY: Go ahead.
Q: On a less happy note, this -- I wanted to talk about this letter. (Inaudible) from Mike Rogers, the top -- top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee and a bunch of other Republicans who are saying they're concerned about this appearance of political bias within the Department of Defense.
I know you've said that there is no purge of conservatives within the military going on now but it -- I mean, if you look at some of these examples, like Colonel Lohmeyer for the Space Force and the chaplain who got this career-ending letter of reprimand -- I think Army Times wrote about it -- is -- are -- are subordinate commanders reading the tea leaves and knowing how the sort of -- the -- the -- the inclination of this administration and, you know, dropping the hammer on some of these people for things that would not have been, you know, questioned or, you know, been that controversial in the past?
MR. KIRBY: There's no tea leaves to read, Mike, and there's no effort by senior Defense Department leadership to -- to purge people from the service, based on their political or religious beliefs. So there's -- there's no tea leaves to read.
And the -- the Secretary leads the department, a -- a department that he grew up in and knows is, by its very nature, an apolitical institution, and he's -- he's making decisions based on his sound judgment and years of experience in the -- in the military and not through any kind of partisan or political lens.
Jeff Seldin, VOA.
Q: Hey John, thanks for doing this. Two questions, one Afghanistan, and one on Israel, let me ask the Israel one first. Is the Pentagon concerned at all by what you're seeing from Hamas and its capabilities, and what that might mean for Iranian involvements with Hamas and in the region? And then I'll ask the one on Afghanistan after.
MR. KIRBY: I mean, we -- separate and distinct from what you're seeing over the last days here in Gaza. I mean, we're mindful of the threat that Hamas continues to pose in the region, and of the support they've -- they get from other actors in the region and their capabilities, and -- and the potential there is -- is not insignificant, so we are -- we're certainly -- we're certainly mindful of the threat that that Hamas poses.
Q: Thanks, and then Afghanistan, with the updates we've been getting, it seems like every time the percentage in terms of the completion almost doubles. I'm wondering is that something you expect will be sustained and the pace will continue like that, or is the -- are you expecting that the withdrawal may be completing much sooner than September?
MR. KIRBY: It's a great question. So let me -- I'll break it down in a couple of ways. First of all, as I said yesterday and is true today is that the retrograde does continue apace. The president's orders were very clear that he wants the retrograde completed by early September. I won't get ahead of a process here. That's the mandate, and we know we have to achieve that.
So we're -- we're focused on making sure that we meet that deadline, at the -- at the very -- at the very least, and again, things are going at pace. So I can't -- I can't predict what next week's update from CENTCOM is going to look like that. You're right, I think they said they're up two -- , I think they gave a range, but it was up to 20 percent complete yesterday.
We'll see what -- what happens over the next five, six days and what they end up reporting next -- next Tuesday. I'd be careful to extrapolate, you know, one week to the next in terms of well they, you know, they went from 3 to 5, 3 to 6 percent from then to, you know, up to 20 percent and sort of, you know, trying to extrapolate that next week will be the same amount accomplished because obviously events are dynamic there.
And the retrograde plan itself, while it is timed out and fazed and deliberate, is affected not only by what's going on the ground but affected by weather and -- and all manner of other factors that -- that we have to figure into military planning, so I -- I don't know that it's a linear extrapolation going forward.
I -- I do think that as we get closer to the -- as we get closer to the end of the retrograde, you should expect that we're going to be even more circumspect than we already are about the kind of information we're to be able to provide because as the capabilities in Afghanistan dwindle, the kenetic capabilities that we have dwindle.
In order to maintain force protection, you know, we're going to have to be very mindful about preserving our freedom of -- of maneuver and freedom of operation. So I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that -- that I -- I can't predict that the kinds of updates you're going to be getting in out weeks is going to look exactly like what you're getting now.
So not only are the number's not linear, but the kinds of information that we will be able to provide you might change over time. And I think you can all understand that in the -- in the -- in the -- in the realm of operational security. That was a very long answer, but it was a very good question and I hope that I tackled it. Is was on the phone, right? Is anybody here?
Yes, Oren.
Q: We've seen -- back in the Middle East, we've seen some incidents on the Lebanese border and -- and I think one on the Syrian border as well. How great is the concern that the Israel Gaza fighting spreads wider in the region, and does that appear imminent?
MR. KIRBY: I won't -- I can't speculate about whether it appears imminent, but clearly we don't -- it's in nobody's interest. We don't want to see the conflict expand or -- or get more intense, either in and around Gaza or elsewhere in the region.
Q: Any request from Israel for more ammunition as there was in 2014?
MR. KIRBY: No. Okay, Sylvie?
Q: Hello. Hello, John. I have a -- I would like to go back to the call to the Israeli defense minister. The readout says that the secretary reviewed assessments of Israel military campaign, and you urge de-escalation. Does it mean that the secretary, after reviewing assessments, came to the conclusion that Israel has reached his military objective in Gaza and should now stop?
MR. KIRBY: As I said before, Sylvie, we'll let -- we'll let the Israeli defense forces speak to their assessments of their progress. We don't speak for other militaries. And yes, they're -- the readout said that, but what -- what we were trying to convey is that -- that Minister Gantz reviewed his assessments with -- with Secretary Austin.
Secretary Austin was in the receive mode of -- of what Mr. Gantz was saying about how -- how it was progressing and -- and getting his assessment of -- of how well they believe that they're meeting their objectives. And again, I won't speak to that. That's for them speak to.
Q: Okay, thank you.
MR. KIRBY: Thanks. Yes, Abraham.
Q: Okay. So looking ahead to the -- to the Moon Summit, Korea, Secretary Austin has already visited Korea, he's already expressed sort of his hopes to strengthen that alliance. I wonder if you could speak a little bit to -- if he's going to be participating in the summit as well, right.
So I wonder if you could speak a little bit to what are his hopes for training and readiness of U.S. forces in Korea and restoring full training to the level before the Trump administration change scaled down? And also what are his hopes for Korea acting to -- as other allies in the region to deter Chinese aggression?
MR. KIRBY: Two very different questions. So you heard him talk about this when we were in Seoul, the -- the -- the training and readiness of our forces there on the peninsula are always of paramount concern to the secretary. And he had terrific discussions not only with his South Korean counterparts about this but also with General Abrams, the U.S. Forces Korea commander.
The training events are constantly assessed and reviewed and modified as appropriate. And without getting into specifics, I can assure you that the secretary believes that we are maintaining the training and readiness of our forces and that they are, as we like to say, ready to fight tonight. But it is a -- it's a dynamic process. Whenever you look at training and readiness you're constantly assessing and -- and reviewing and making changes as appropriate.
Your second question was about the -- I think China.
Q: (OFF MIC)
MR. KIRBY: I think -- well, look, our main -- our main security commitments with the Republic of Korea are obviously tied to our treaty alliance of -- of self-defense. And our -- not self-defense but our -- our -- our treaty commitments to the Republic of Korea with respect to defending them and -- and our interests there on the peninsula. That was predominantly the realm of the discussions that we had in Seoul.
And one of the things that we talked about in Seoul, we talked about this in Tokyo is trying to explore better opportunities for better trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan, and South Korea, because there's a lot of potential there for better cooperation in -- in the security environment and because both countries also are mindful of the Chinese growing influence and power in the region.
But it wasn't so much about what they will do or what we think we can do together against China. It was about what together the -- the three of us can do just for the -- you know, for broader security commitments inside the region and for, you know, better interoperability, better cooperation in the -- on the security front.
Q: Can I ask you for clarification on the training answer where you said we are maintaining the training and readiness? Does that imply that there's no need to restore the full training that was prior to --
MR. KIRBY: No, I -- that wasn't making any such implication. I was saying that the training events with our Korean allies are something we constantly assess and review. It's a dynamic structure. You know, yes, as you've seen, I brief on Defender Europe all the time. There are -- there are some exercises that -- that occur on a frequent, recurring basis and some don't. And even the ones that recur on a frequent basis we change over time, they're not always the same.
I mean, one of the ways you preserve readiness and improve it is to constantly improve the way you train and change it. So we're constantly looking at the training regimen there on the -- on the peninsula to make sure that it's -- it's appropriate to the task and -- and to the threats.
And as the secretary came away from Seoul believing that -- that -- that the alliance is strong that -- and that General Abrams has terrific relationships with his counterparts there in -- in South Korea, and that -- that he's comfortable that -- that the -- the training we're doing is -- is appropriate to the task, and that we're not afraid to look at it all the time and modify it as appropriate.
Q: Thank you, John.
MR. KIRBY: Meghann?
Q: I want to follow-up on the DHS request to extend the border mission past September. How many troops is DHS asking for? Is it more or fewer than are there now? And can you confirm General Hokanson's statement that there's a discussion about whether to send active-duty troops instead of purely National Guard?
MR. KIRBY: So I won't -- I'm not going to get ahead of process here, Meghann. The request is -- we're aware of the request. We're assessing that request just like every other RFA we get here -- request for assistance that we get from outside the department.
And it's going through analysis and the assessment now, so I -- I won't speculate about what the answer to the request will be or how it will be sourced. I think as you know, the sourcing comes later in the process. We have to assess the validity of the request. So just got it, we're working it now. And as we get more answers about the degree to which it's going to be sourced or not and then how, we'll certainly keep you guys up to speed.
Q: But did they put a number level in the request or do you guys get to determine that --
MR. KIRBY: I would -- I think I'm going to let DHS speak to that. And as you know, we don't speak to the specifics of the requests we get. The requesting agency, we always refer to them.
Q: Right. And another thing, is there a ballpark for the figure or ballpark, like, timeline to get the figures back about how much money you guys think you might be able to recoup from cancelling border projects?
MR. KIRBY: I don't know. Let me take the question, Meghann. I'm not sure if there is a timeline on that. But it's a fair one and I'll ask.
I think I have Wafaa on the line.
Q: Hi, John. I know you said you won't speak for the Israeli military, but after reviewing the assessments and the so-called achievements -- achievements of this operation, did Secretary Austin have a sense about Israel's intentions regarding these operations?
Also, can you tell us what was Gantz's reaction or response to Secretary Austin's call for de-escalation, especially that the Israeli readout did not mention any call for de-escalation?
MR. KIRBY: The -- the two know each other quite well from the secretary's time in command of Central Command. So there's a -- there's a good personal relationship there. But I -- I won't speak for Minister Gantz and -- and how he might have taken the -- the -- the secretary's message. And I -- you -- you had another question upfront that just flew past me.
Q: I'm sorry. You didn't hear my question, the first one?
MR. KIRBY: I got the second part, I forgot the first part.
Q: It was about -- about -- about the sense that the minister -- Secretary Austin has after reviewing the assessments and achievements of this operation. Like, how is Israel will -- like, what are his -- its intentions regarding this operation?
MR. KIRBY: If you mean his intentions of Minister Gantz, again I'd let Minister Gantz speak to that.
The minister did provide an update and an assessment to the secretary. And again, I -- I won't go into greater detail than what I've already done, but I would reiterate that the secretary was -- was very clear that we want to see this -- these tensions de-escalate. We want to see the violence end.
And we certainly want to see no more loss of innocent civilian life and -- and again, that was in our readout. The secretary was -- was clear about that. Yes, Mosh.
Q: A quick one about National Guard. Do you have updated numbers on how many guard are still protecting the Capitol and is that mission still planning to end I believe this weekend?
MR. KIRBY: So there are, as of today, 2,149 guardsmen currently in the DC area for that -- for that mission. The operations are expected to wrap up on Sunday, May 23. And we have received no request to extend it. Yes, sir?
Q: Quickly on Israel and Palestine. Has the DOD seen any indication that other groups or actors besides Palestinian groups within the Gaza Strip are looking to exploit the conflicts to further their interest and has that raised any concern?
MR. KIRBY: I'm not aware of any reports of that nature. Lucas.
Q: John, Newsweek is claiming that the largest undercover force the world has ever known is created by The Pentagon over the past decades; some 60,000 people belong in this secret army. Can you describe more about this organization?
MR. KIRBY: I've seen the article, Lucas, but I don't have any additional detail or context to add on that one
Q Can you confirm this?
MR. KIRBY: I've seen the article, I can't go beyond that. I've -- I've
read the article, I don't have additional context to provide on it right
now.
Q: This is real or not real?
MR. KIRBY: I'm --- I'm not saying that, Lucas, I'm saying I don't have any context to provide you right now.
Q: And back to the border mission, why are soldiers more needed on the border?
MR. KIRBY: Yes, I think -- look, it's -- it's important to remember what -- what they're doing there in support of DHS and Customs and Border Patrol. They are providing enabling capabilities that allow Customs and Border Patrol agents to do their job.
They are not involved in law enforcement; they're not involved in -- in immigration processing. They're providing some logistical and engineering support, providing some command and control capabilities. The kinds of things that -- that need to get done but free up our -- the CBP officers to do their jobs.
Q: DHS wants them to stay longer? How longer?
MR. KIRBY: Well, again, to Meghann's question, there is a request end of the building for an extension. And I'm -- I'm just not at liberty to go into more detail right now about what -- the parameters of that.
We are evaluating it and assessing it and as soon as we can speak to it one way or another we will.
Q: So does that mean things are getting worse down there?
MR. KIRBY: I would let DHS speak to why they -- why they made the request. I mean clearly they're -- you know they're -- they believe there's still a need for these enabling capabilities. And again, how they came up with that I think is really for them to speak to. It's not unlike the request that we get and have received -- although we haven't received any recently from HHS about the -- the temporary housing of unaccompanied minors.
I mean the agency requesting it really is the right agency to speak to the need and the requirement and why they have it. Our job is to analyze that request. And then if we source it, to be able to you why and how we sourced it the way we did. OK. Yes?
Q: Thank you, sir. For the past four months we've been hearing a lot about the DOD is after to eradicate extremism and then military sexual harassment in the military. But I think just this week, maybe I missed it, there was something about initiative to tackle suicide among military personnel and veterans.
Is this a priority with the DOD because that's like the first time I heard about it. Maybe I missed it?
MR. KIRBY: I'm actually surprised that you -- that it's the first time you've heard that we're concerned about suicide prevention because it's sadly -- all too sadly it's a perennial issue that we've been dealing with for a long time.
Q: (Inaudible) counseling resources or?
MR. KIRBY: There's already a lot of effort that -- that we're -- that we're expending to try to get -- to try to get better at suicide prevention and getting more awareness of the indicators. And part of that and you heard the secretary, I think I -- I told you guys about the suicide prevention conference that we co-hosted this week with -- with the VA. And we posted the secretaries remarks.
I encourage you to go on defense.gov and look at them. You can also see the VA Secretary Denis McDonough's remarks as well. We're working closely with the VA to try to come up with better initiatives to get at this problem. But this is a -- again, sadly it's an issue that is not unfamiliar to us inside the department and we know we got to do better.
And part of that is -- and you heard the secretary speak to this, if you haven't seen his remarks that is really trying to get at the stigma associated with seeking help from mental health issues. And that's still a problem inside the military.
Q: (Inaudible).
MR. KIRBY: Well, there's a lot of reasons why. It's not just -- and it's not just men. The -- you know the kinds of stressors and the kinds of issues that -- that drive men and women to suicide are varied and complex. I won't -- I don't want to simplify that but it isn't just men that are affected by this stigma of seeking help and being willing to go find the help that you need, as the secretary said that seeking mental health assistance is a strength, not a weakness.
But we know we have more work to do in terms of making sure everybody can see it that way. But it is not -- not something new, and sadly not something (inaudible). OK. Thank you.
Navy Chief Petty Officer Jade Fitzwater accepts a rose during a ceremony at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, Va., May 18, 2021. The event honored servicewomen and women veterans for their courage and achievements, and women who have died in service to the United States.
A soldier completes a swim test at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, May 14, 2021, while practicing for an upcoming Jungle Operations Training Course.
Coordinated Congressional Travel in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Office of Legislative Liaison
Greenbelt, Maryland – Eddie Ray Johnson, Jr., age 60, of Brandywine, Maryland, pleaded guilty on May 14, 2021, to the federal charge of theft of government property, in connection with a scheme to use his government-issued travel credit card to obtain more than $1.1 million in cash advances.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Brigadier General Terry Bullard of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI); Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office.
“Eddie Johnson betrayed his position of trust for his personal gain,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner. “Corrupt public employees rip off the taxpayers and undermine everyone’s faith in the government.”
According to his plea agreement, from January 2003 to February 2018, Johnson was a civilian Air Force employee, most recently as a travel coordinator in the Secretary of the Air Force, Office of Legislative Liaison, where he planned congressional travel and reviewed and approved accounting packages submitted by trip escorts, among other duties. Johnson admitted that from March 2014 through September 2017, he used his government-issued travel credit card to obtain more than $1.1 million in cash advances, at least $774,000 of which he diverted to his own personal use.
As detailed in the plea agreement, Johnson frequently deposited the stolen funds into a non-interest bearing account opened in his name at a bank branch in the Pentagon. Employees in the Office of Legislative Liaison were instructed to open such accounts so that they could more easily deposit and withdraw government funds for official use without accruing interest. After depositing the stolen funds, Johnson wrote checks to himself, which he deposited into his personal bank accounts, and spent the money for his personal benefit, including on living expenses, a baby grand piano, loan payments for a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and family vacations. Johnson also admitted that he provided cash to his family members, including his spouse.
During execution of a search warrant at Johnson’s residence in Brandywine, Maryland on November 6, 2019, law enforcement recovered approximately $15,1740 in cash from Johnson’s residence. Johnson agrees that at least $4,000 of the funds seized were the proceeds of his offense.
In all, Johnson’s conduct caused a loss to the U.S. government of $1,157,540.69, which includes $26,506.02 in banking and service fees that the Air Force paid monthly in connection with the cash advances Johnson obtained. As part of his plea agreement, Johnson has agreed to the entry of a restitution order in the full amount of the victim’s losses.
Johnson faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for theft of government property. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for September 3, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the OSI, the DCIS, and the IRS-CI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana J. Brusca and Elizabeth Wright, who are prosecuting the case.
Two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft and two French Rafale aircraft break formation during flight over France, May 18, 2021, during Atlantic Trident 21. The multinational exercise involved service members from the U.S., France and the U.K., and sought to enhance integration, combat readiness and fighting capabilities through complex air operations in a contested joint force environment.
Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer Gabriel Potter practices golf during the 11th annual Marine Corps Trials at Fort Belvoir, Va., May 4, 2021.
Navy Lt. Jessica Lopez checks in a patient during a COVID-19 vaccination event at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, May 7, 2021.
Airmen perform static line and military free fall jumps from an Air Force KC-130J over Djibouti, May 17, 2021.
Marine Corps recruits conduct basic swimming qualification at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., May 19, 2021.
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Stan Franklin receives the traditional tacking-on of chief stripes from his children, Oliver and Olivia, during a promotion ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, May 15, 2021.
Sailors on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopter retrieve a Marine during a joint-service search and rescue exercise in the Atlantic Ocean, May 18, 2021. Marines, Coast Guardsmen, sailors and airmen participated in the rescue operation to test communication capabilities.
A Marine Corps landing craft deploys a tactical vehicle in Pinheiro Da Cruz, Portugal, May 9, 2021, during Contex-Phibex, a bilateral amphibious exercise.
Soldiers practice exiting CH-47 Chinook helicopters during Swift Response in Bulgaria, May 11, 2021. The exercise is designed to strengthen U.S. European Command's ability to send high readiness forces into a designated area while advancing airborne interoperability among NATO allies.
Navy Seamen Jonathan Arevalo, left, and Jorge Loli conduct search and rescue training aboard the USS Hershel “Woody” Williams in the Mediterranean Sea, May 16, 2021.
Sailors man the rails aboard the USS Ronald Reagan as it departs Yokosuka, Japan, May 19, 2021.
May 19, 2021 | , DOD News
Kirby spoke at a press "gaggle" and said the secretary underscored his support for Israel's right to defend itself. Gantz reviewed the military campaign in Gaza with Austin.
Hamas has launched thousands of rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israel replied to the attack. People on both sides of this conflict have been killed and wounded.
President Joe Biden has been in close contact with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu since the fighting started. He has continually urged the Israeli leader to de-escalate the situation. U.S. officials want to see the violence and loss of innocent lives ended.
"We want to see the violence come to a close. The secretary shares the sentiments … expressed by the President," Kirby said. "Certainly, the secretary expressed [to Gantz], again, our deep concerns over the loss of innocent lives. We don't believe that violent conflict there is in anybody's interest."
A Marine jumps from the deck of the Coast Guard cutter Richard Snyder into the Atlantic Ocean, May 18, 2021. Marines, Coast Guardsmen, sailors and airmen participated in a joint-service search and rescue operation to test communication capabilities.
May 19, 2021 | , DOD News
The Defense Department's top priorities are defending the nation, taking care of its people and succeeding through teamwork. Each of these topline priorities touch everything that personnel do at DOD's acquisition and sustainment office, said the official performing the duties of under secretary of defense for that organization.
Stacy A. Cummings provided keynote remarks today at the National Defense Industrial Association's virtual 2021 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference.
"We need to be able to keep pace with advanced and persistent threats in today's dynamic environment, and that depends on expanding the competitive space. For A&S, that means taking a hard look at our acquisition processes and portfolios to ensure we have the right balance and capabilities for the future," she said.
Cummings discussed A&S's adaptive acquisition framework in the context of the special operations mission.
"Often, the special ops forces require a much smaller procurement [quantity] of more nuanced and cutting-edge capability, and the ability for us to outpace our adversaries really is dependent upon agility in acquisition," she said.
The traditional DOD acquisition system wasn't set up for speed and agility to deliver capability to the warfighter, she noted.
A few years back, the department decided to transform acquisition policy from the ground up, she said. "Our goal was to deliver a defense acquisition system that provided flexibility for programs used to tailor their approaches, depending on the capability that they were tasked to acquire on behalf of the warfighter. We wanted to empower those program teams to think critically and apply common sense to decision making, something that I think that the Special Operations community acquisition community excels at.
"And then most importantly we wanted to accelerate delivery of timelines, so that we can get capability into the hands of the warfighter faster," Cummings added.
At its core, the comprehensive redesign of the view DOD 5000 series of acquisition policies took one very large policy document and divided it into six clear distinct, separate pathways, called the adaptive acquisition framework, or AAF, she said.
Those pathways simplify policy, enable a tailored approach, empower program managers, facilitate data-driven analytics and manage risk, she said.
Feedback from the special operations community was critical to formulating this new AAF approach, she said. That community really embraced the middle tier of acquisition, which focuses on speed of delivery.
The middle tier of acquisition pathway is used to rapidly develop fieldable prototypes within an acquisition program to demonstrate new capabilities and/or to rapidly field production quantities of systems with proven technologies that require minimal development.
One of the department's first middle tier pathway programs was the special operations forces combat diving program, she said. It is a free-diver heating and cooling system consisting of a mobile electric power system that uses high-efficiency heat pump technology to circulate heated or cooled water for the operators through a tube, suit or vest.
As a result, the operator gains the ability to sustain untethered long-duration exposure, she said. This was a great capability that the Special Operations community was looking to deploy, and the middle tier of acquisition pathway enabled the program team to develop and field prototypes within a month of the validated requirements.
In total there are 74 programs currently using the middle tier of acquisition, 59 of them are rapid prototyping and 15 are rapid building, she noted, adding that the department plans to expand it.
Cummings also noted that cyber secure software delivery at speed is high on the department's priorities because of the evolving threats and disruptive technologies. She said the goal is to deliver software in a matter of days or weeks, not months or years.
More about the set of acquisition pathways can be found at https://aaf.dau.edu/.
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class William Ford stands watch aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta in the Pacific Ocean, April 26, 2021.
Marines execute amphibious raid rehearsals in a combat rubber raiding craft at the Kin Blue training area, Okinawa, Japan, May 14, 2021. Marines conduct the training to test operational equipment and sustain proficiency in small boat handling fundamentals.
Navy Seabees carry steel to be used for building k-spans at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz., May 14, 2021. K-spans are pre-engineered metal structures.
Soldiers torque down and complete the setup of a Patriot launching station at a Croatian air force base in Zadar, Croatia, as part of Exercise Defender-Europe, May 18, 2021.
May 18, 2021
PRESS SECRETARY JOHN F. KIRBY: Just a couple of things at the top, and then we'll get at it. I think you saw that the secretary spoke again with his Israeli counterpart this morning, Benjamin Gantz. The secretary again reiterated our unwavering support for Israel's right to defend itself, and to protect Israeli citizens and civilians. And he of course lamented the loss of innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives.
He expressed his support for de-escalation of the conflict and for the restoration of calm. But, again, I think you guys already saw our -- our readout.
On to Defender Europe 21, the big exercise over in Europe. Over the weekend, Defender-linked Exercise Swift Response wrapped up in Romania with a joint air assault led by the Royal Netherlands Army. U.S. Chinook, Black Hawk and Apache pilots joined Romanian Pumas to transport equipment and Dutch forces across training bases.
Yesterday, Immediate Response – also part of Defender – began; Exercise Immediate Response. More than 5,000 troops from a dozen countries will conduct live-fire exercises across 31 training areas until the first of June.
The European Command commander, Gen. Wolters, will be traveling to Slovenia this week as well, to attend a distinguished visitor day to look more at the exercise.
Yesterday, U.S. Strategic Command led Operation Apex Charger, where six long-range strategic bombers conducted a global air power projection event to demonstrate our commitment to collective defense, and to integrate geographic combatant command operations and activities.
U.S. Air Force bombers operating from multiple locations around the globe integrated with NATO allies and partners in the Arctic, North America, Europe, and in the Indo-Pacific region. This mission demonstrates our ability to command and control bomber forces to support assigned missions anywhere at any time in support of our defense strategic objectives.
Beginning today – separate topic – beginning today, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veteran Affairs are hosting the 2021 DOD V.A. Suicide Prevention Conference, and we're doing this virtually. Both the secretary and Chairman Milley offered remarks, which will be available on Defense.gov if they aren't already.
The secretary expressed his regret, of course, in these remarks, over the tragic loss of brave men and women to suicide, and the grief that their families continue to suffer as a result. And he expressed his commitment to doing everything that he can – and we can as a department – to change the lingering stigma around asking for mental health support. That conference will take place, again, starting today through the 20th.
Over the next few weeks, in coordination with FEMA and state and local officials, several DOD-supported community vaccine centers will be mission-complete – in other words, done – and will begin reducing personnel as the – as the sites reassess the size of the vaccination support teams that are going to be needed.
And we're very proud and very grateful of the support that our service members, both active duty and National Guard, have provided to help combat the pandemic, including administering over one – I'm sorry – 15 – I’ve got to make sure I get my glasses; I can't tell if there's a decimal point in there – 15 million vaccines to the American public at over 900 sites.
As of today, we are providing support to 30 vaccine sites through 3,289 personnel, including 1,390 vaccinators. So we're still at 30 teams, but I think over the coming days and coming weeks, you'll start to see those teams reduce in size as more and more people are electing to get the vaccine.
On personnel-related issues, this week, we onboarded two other DASD-level individuals: Heather King, the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, and Integration and Defense Support of Civil Authorities checked on board, and Maynard Holliday, director of Defense Research and Engineering for Modernization is also here. We're glad to have them on the team. That would bring our total of appointees to 112.
Now, a COVID mask reminder. Last week, I think you saw the deputy secretary updated mask-wearing guidance for the Pentagon Reservation. DOD employees who are fully vaccinated do not have to wear masks. Now, that's fully vaccinated, means, you know, after your second shot, plus two weeks. However, those who are not fully vaccinated must continue wearing a mask to protect themselves and others.
All other force health protection guidance remains the same in terms of social distancing, hygiene, and certainly we'll keep you informed if any of that changes.
Finally, looking ahead, on Thursday of this week, you're going to notice an increase in helicopter activity around the Reservation and the National Capital Region. This is, again, due to a regularly scheduled exercise. I think you saw part of that exercise playing out yesterday. And again, we'll see another round of it on -- on Thursday.
And with that, Bob?
Q: Hi, got a question for you on Afghanistan. Zal Khalilzad’s testimony today on the Hill, he said that the withdrawal is proceeding without any significant interference from the Taliban and that he expects that to continue to be the case.
Now, I know, early on, at the beginning, you said you assumed there would be attempts by the Taliban to interfere. I'm wondering if you've changed your assessment?
MR. KIRBY: We would agree that thus far, the retrograde continues at pace, the withdrawal continues at pace with nothing more than some minor harassing attacks that have had no impact, so we agree with that assessment.
We -- we certainly hope that that remains the case, going forward. But, Bob, we're not going to take anything just on hope and face value. We have to assume and we have to plan for the potential that -- that it could be resisted, it could be opposed by the Taliban. So we're -- continuing to take all the right precautions, make sure that Gen. Miller has all the options at his disposal to be able to do this safely.
Abraham?
Q: Yeah, thanks. Could you shed some light on this reporting about a pilot program screening social media content for extremist material? And what Bishop Garrison's role might be on this?
MR. KIRBY: I think there's some misreporting on this, Abraham. Actually I don't think there's been misreporting, I know there's been misreporting. There's no pilot program ring run by Mr. Garrison or the extremist working group to -- to examine social media.
Mr. Garrison is leading the extremist working group on a number of efforts to try to help us come to grips with learning how -- what the scope and scale of the problem of extremist activity in the ranks really is, and helping us divine some potential solutions, going forward.
For instance, you know, how much and to what degree do we need to train future veterans about these groups as they try to recruit them, going forward. How do we get a better sense of the data collection possibilities here in terms of really understanding the true size of the issue. And doing a separate study on the -- on the degree to which extremism exists inside the ranks.
He's not rewriting policy. It's a working group, designed to tee up options and ideas and recommendations to the secretary, and that work continues. So there is no -- you know, there's no pilot program that I'm aware of, certainly none inside the extremist working group, to -- to champion some sort of new approach to look at social media.
I would remind you -- and I think you know this -- that we already take a look at the social media footprint when we are considering recruits as they come in. Many of the services do that -- in fact, I think all of them do that, which is just good common sense.
And we do have -- and there has – for a long time, well predates the extremist working group – an insider threat program here at the Pentagon that we're always looking to improve. And part of that insider threat program is to take a look at social media activity out there so that we're -- that we can be as informed as possible. But there's no pilot program.
Q: When you say, "look at social media activity," of active service members beyond the vetting stage?
MR. KIRBY: If there is -- again, the insider threat, right, is, you know, when there's a concern about the potential of a threat coming from inside, you know, one of the things you want to do is take a look at the social media footprint and see what's out there in the public space.
Q: So that is happening?
MR. KIRBY: That has been happening for a while. I mean, if you have cause to be concerned about an individual or a group of individuals and what -- and the threat that they might pose to the organization, it would be irresponsible not to take a look at what's out there in social media.
But it's not a -- but -- you know, just to be clear, OK? Because I want to make it very clear to you that we're not -- the extremist working group is not running a pilot program to look at social media.
Q: So then this purported document that's out there, could you release that document to...
(CROSSTALK)
MR. KIRBY: I haven't seen the document that's -- that's been written about.
Q: OK.
MR. KIRBY: So I can't comment on a document I haven't seen.
Q: If it exists you’ll let us see it?
MR. KIRBY: If it exists, we'll look at it and see if it's -- if it's something that's potentially worth public release or that we could. But I'm not going to make any promises at this point.
Q: Thank you, John.
(CROSSTALK)
MR. KIRBY: Yeah?
Q: Just to follow up, is there a private firm being employed to look at the social media accounts of service members?
MR. KIRBY: I -- I am not aware of such a contract with such a company. And certainly there is no such contract being led by the extremist working group or Mr. Garrison's organization.
Yeah?
Q: But all you're answering is that they're not doing it right now. I think the question at hand is, are you considering, is the department considering an option to engage in some different type of consistent, constant monitoring of service members' social media?
MR. KIRBY: I'm not aware of any such effort to do that now ...
(CROSSTALK)
Q: ... I'm not asking if you're doing it now.
MR. KIRBY: I -- I know, Barb, but, I mean, this -- this -- you know, a -- how much -- how much farther in the future do you want me to predict? There's no effort run by the extremist working group to set some sort of new social media monitoring policy.
We already look at the social media footprint of potential recruits and we already have, as I answered to Abraham, an insider threat program which does include the monitoring of social media activity, as we should, as we must. I'm ...
(CROSSTALK)
Q: ... are you looking at an option of extending, expanding, whatever verb you want to use, something different than what the department does now?
MR. KIRBY: I'm -- I'm not aware of any efforts to expand what we're doing right now, but -- but as I said at the outset, the extremist working group is certainly going to look at the degree to which the information environment impacts or is impacted by extremist activity. That would include the social media landscape.
But it's -- it -- it's -- it's putting the cart well -- well before the horse to say that we've -- that we've got some, you know, policy we're getting ready to roll out that would -- that would dramatically increase or expand social media monitoring.
Q: I have a quick follow up on a different subject. The secretary's readout today of his third phone call with Benny Gantz, for the first time, mentions the Palestinians. He has not done that in his two previous readouts.
So I have two questions on this -- why today did the department decide to suddenly start mention -- mentioning the Palestinians, and what has Secretary Austin learned about the Israeli bombing of the news -- of the building in Gaza where news organizations were housed?
MR. KIRBY: I'm not going to talk about intelligence issues. And as for mentioning the Palestinians, I mean, there's -- I -- I -- I -- it's not as if there was some sort of radical shift in the way the secretary's thinking about the conflict today. We have seen casualties on both sides -- he mentioned that in the readout -- and those casualties continue to mount, and that's of concern to him and that's why he -- he mentioned it on the call today and that's why it's mentioned in -- in the readout.
(CROSSTALK)
Hang -- hang on a second, guys. Wait, guys, just hang on. I have to get -- I know, but I haven't gotten to anybody on the phone, and if I don't get to anybody on the phone, then I get in trouble. Let's see -- John Ismay? And you're -- oh, no, you don't have a question. Idrees, from Reuters?
Q: Hey, John, can you hear me?
MR. KIRBY: Yeah.
Q: If I could just go back to the call Barbara was mentioning -- so you -- it -- it -- mentioned -- you know, it's quote-unquote "Israeli-Palestinian lives" -- so when that was brought up, what was the context and what did Secretary Austin say? Did he say "hey, stop killing so many civilians" or was it more of a "hey, just don't kill as many"? I mean, it's -- it's unclear what he actually meant. And -- and -- and I have a separate follow up.
MR. KIRBY: The secretary was clear that we don't want to see any additional innocent civilian lives lost on either side. Who was -- go ahead.
Q: Give us a little bit more on -- on the call, on the substance. Did he ask his counterpart in Israel what are the things that we should not be seeing done by the Israelis, what are the things that should be done, or they would like to see an immediate ceasefire?
I mean, give us a little bit of -- more substance on what they talked about.
MR. KIRBY: Well, I'm not going to provide a whole lot more context than was in the readout. I typically don't do that. But -- you want to get that, Jim? So I'm not going to go into more detail than was in the -- the readout.
I can tell you that the readout accurately reflected the tone, the tenor and the -- and the main gist of the phone conversation.
Q: A follow up -- is Israel receiving now any military support from the U.S. to continue its operation in Gaza?
MR. KIRBY: If you're asking me are they -- have they asked for any additional, specific support for these operations, the answer's no.
Q: I'm asking if they are receiving any support to continue their operations.
MR. KIRBY: They have not asked for any additional support. The -- we continue to stand by Israel's right to defend itself and it -- and its citizens. As you know, we have a strong bilateral military relationship with Israel and that has not changed as a result.
Jeff Schogol?
Q: Thank you. The -- the House Armed Services Committee issued a statement about this Intercept news story, saying that "the committee understands the Department of Defense is exploring a means of implementing social media screening in conjunction with background investigations. We anticipate that any social media screening would be intended only as an additional means of vetting cleared individuals or those seeking to obtain a security clearance, not as a tool for ongoing surveillance of all men and women in uniform."
Can you discuss this on -- the -- these ongoing efforts to use social media screenings for background investigations?
MR. KIRBY: Not -- not any more than I -- I -- I think I've already done, Jeff. I mean, we -- obviously we look at social media footprint when we're bringing somebody into the service and when you get -- go up for a security clearance -- and I've gone through several myself. I mean, they look at just about every aspect of your life, and clearly that includes getting online to seeing, you know, what -- what -- what kind of a footprint you have out there and what your activity is. That just makes good sense. And so yeah, that continues.
And as I said, we -- we have an insider threat program that, again, would be imprudent and irresponsible if it didn't also take a look at -- at potential social media activity as a way to glean motives and -- and intentions of individuals that might wish us harm.
The -- this is all above board, it's all transparent, it all makes common sense. There's -- there's no effort inside this extremist working group to somehow spy on every individual in the military or spend hours and hours just gleaning through social media activity, just for the sake of doing it. This isn't about some sort of surveillance program of our own people.
What we have -- what the -- what -- what we are interested in doing is seeing how the services are doing, and as they recruit, seeing if there's things that can be learned, things that can be improved in that regard, but there's -- there's -- there's not an ongoing, you know, surveillance program going on here tied to the extremist working group.
Tom?
Q: John, back to Afghanistan. Congressmen Meeks and McCaul have asked the Pentagon to do more to help State Department with the special immigrant visas, to help Afghans who work for the Americans.
Can you talk about that at all? Is that something the Pentagon's looking into? And what are you doing now to assist the State Department in pushing these visas, if anything?
MR. KIRBY: Yeah, Tom, it's really a State Department program, and it would -- it wouldn't be appropriate for the Defense Department to lean in in any tangible way. Obviously -- and you've heard the secretary talk about this -- you -- he -- he agrees with the president, that we want to do whatever we can to help those who helped us over the last 20 years. He's committed to that, having served in that conflict himself. But it is a State Department program and we're going to respect the State Department's equities and their initiatives inside that program in terms of making sure that it meets that need.
Q: Well, the chairman and the ranking member have suggested that DOD can do more. Are you saying that DOD shouldn't do more?
MR. KIRBY: I haven't see their -- I haven't seen their letter; I haven't seen what they're asking for DOD to do. Clearly DOD is in support for --
Q: -- (inaudible) employment verification that this particular person worked for --
MR. KIRBY: I won't get ahead of correspondence I haven't seen. But obviously this is a State Department led program. We are in support of it. We certainly support the effort to do what's right by these interpreters and other individuals that helped us throughout the last 20 years.
We'll take a look at it -- I've not seen the correspondence. Obviously we'll take a look at that and -- and we'll respond appropriately.
Sam Lagrone.
Q: Yeah, sorry, John. Looking for the mute button.
There's been some complaints on Capitol Hill that they're not going to have a whole lot of time to do posture hearings over the budget. Schedule is limited. I think for a good example is the Navy's posture hearing next Thursday is happening like four hours before the Navy briefing, or before anybody gets to see the actual releases on the budget.
What's the department doing to insure that the committees and Congress writ large have the opportunities to do the oversight on the spending bills? Thanks.
MR. KIRBY: Well, we don't control the timing of the release of the budget. Obviously that's up to OMB. So that's out of our hands. The secretary is absolutely committed to congressional oversight and he understands the responsibilities that members of Congress have, particularly on oversight of the budget.
And we will continue to work as closely and as aggressively as we can with the committees to make sure that they have -- that they have access to the department's leaders across the board to ask these very important questions and to provide proper scrutiny and oversight of the budget process.
So it's a work in process. Sam, we'll -- we'll stay latched up at our level with -- with our oversight committees to make sure that any concerns they have are being addressed as much as -- as best -- best that we can. Yes, in the back there.
Q: Gen. Mattis said that if the fighting between Israel and the Palestinians continues that there's a risk of broader destabilization. Does the secretary share this concern or this assessment? If yes, did he convey this message to his Israeli counterpart?
MR. KIRBY: I think that -- I think if you look at the readout from today you can see that that very much is his concern and we expressed that in the readout of the phone call that -- that we all want to see the -- the violence deescalate.
We don't want to see tensions get worse than they already are. And I think, you know, that the secretary made that -- made that plain and we tried to capture that in our readout of it.
Q: Did he ask for, like, immediate cease-fire?
MR. KIRBY: I won't get into any more detail than what's in the readout of the phone call. I can tell you that that readout accurately portrays the content of that phone call and the tone and the tenor that the secretary took.
Lara.
Q: Hey, John. So two separate questions. Just one following-up on Tom's question about the special immigrant visas. I understand this is a State Department-run program, but what can DOD do specifically to protect these people as we withdraw and then after we withdraw?
MR. KIRBY: Well, as for while we're there, I mean as you know, Gen. Miller has some capabilities to continue to support Afghan security forces and certainly there are still Afghans that are helping us specifically in our ability to try to help them.
And just like we have for the last 20 years, those that are involved in those kinds of operations and are assisting us, we do everything we can to help make sure that they're protected in the same way that our troops are, as we've talked about.
As the retrograde gets closer to completion, our ability to continue to support the Afghan national security forces on the ground in a kinetic way from inside Afghanistan will obviously change and our support will eventually migrate to one of over the horizon support.
And it'll be -- in terms of the ANSF and DSF, it'll be logistical support from over the horizon, as well as some financial support. But eventually -- I mean this is their country to fight for and it's their country to defend and it's their citizens to look after.
That doesn't mean that we aren't still going to support the State Department as they try to look for ways using the special immigrant visa program to get those people out of the country, that want to come, and here to the United States, we're going to continue to do that. But it is a State Department-run program.
Q: There are 15,000 applications in the pipeline. It takes 800 days on average to get one through. We have 116 days left. So are these people just going to be stranded?
MR. KIRBY: Lara, that's a question for our State Department colleagues, not for DOD to answer. We don't run that program, but I can assure you that the State Department shares the same concerns we have about taking care of these people who have risked and sacrificed so much to help us accomplish our mission over the last 20 years.
Q: Sorry, just a separate question. How do you enforce the mask mandate and not being able to remove your mask if you're not vaccinated, can you enforce that?
MR. KIRBY: The -- we -- we think that the best – the best tool of compliance is the integrity and character of our people and their willingness and ability to be honest about their vaccination status. There's not going to be an active policing on the -- in the Pentagon Reservation of one's vaccination records. We're going to rely, as we always do every day, on the integrity of our people.
Let's see, Kristina Anderson.
Q: Hi, thank you for taking my question. So in the topper you kind of covered what I was going to ask, which is about the operations, Defender Europe '21, and then if you wanted to say a little bit more about that or additionally the SOCOM cooperation with or in conjunction with NATO's forces; that would be terrific. Otherwise, I don't have a question because you covered it.
MR. KIRBY: Yes, I think I gave a pretty fulsome opening statement about the exercise. I don't really have more to give you outside of that. But we can certainly point you to European Command. You might have more -- additional information about the exercise.
Q: And that’s Swift Response as well?
MR. KIRBY: I'm sorry?
Q: That includes the exercise Swift Response as well?
MR. KIRBY: Yes, I'm sure -- I'm sure there's additional information we can give you. I don't really have anything additional to add from my opening statement.
Jen.
Q: John, Captain Lohmeier who's a Space Force commander, who's been removed while they're investigating some of his actions, he's saying that he was asked through military higher-ups to spread to the rest of Buckley Air Force Base videos that backed the 1619 Project, that talked about whites as evil. What is your response to that? And also, did he try to get permission to publish this book? And should he have gotten permission to publish the book that he’s (inaudible) right now --
MR. KIRBY: I'd refer you to the Air Force specifically about the review process and I think they've addressed this. There is -- anytime you're going to write a book based on your military experiences or about military matters and you're using your rank and title and you're service as a credentialing opportunity as an author you do have to get a policy review by the Department of Defense. And I think the Air Force has already addressed the issue that there was no policy review. But again, I'll let them speak to this.
On the video question, I -- I'm aware of the comments. I frankly don't -- I don't know enough to know what he's referring to. There were, as part of the extremism stand down, each of the military departments, and of course the secretary, did put some videos together as training resources.
It was not, at least from our level, and I can't speak for the services, but there was no requirement that anybody use the secretary's video. We posted it on the website, it's publicly accessible. There was no requirement that they show the secretary's video.
And at no time in the secretary's video, which I think you've all seen, does he address anything other than what we're trying to get after here, which is to make sure that we all understand the oath we took to the Constitution and that we all know that we have a responsibility to look out for one another and to watch out for these kinds of behaviors. So, I'm not really sure what he's referring to there.
I know of no deliberate effort by any of the services to push or require the watching of videos at all, and certainly none that espouse the sorts of ideas that he allegedly claimed they did.
Let's see, Peter Loewi.
Q: Hi John, thanks very much. We were wondering about the IDF’s elaborate deception which appears to have been an attempt to use independent foreign media for tactical purposes. Do you have any comments on that incident or more broadly does this department feel that such tactics are appropriate? Similarly, on the attacks on the building housing foreign press, can you confirm that the munitions used were not manufactured in the United States? Thanks.
MR. KIRBY: I do not have a comment on those press reports of deception. That's a question that only the Israeli Defense Forces can answer. That's not for me to speak to. And I don't -- I'm not going to comment on specific munitions.
Again, the Israeli Defense Forces, they're responsible for these operations. They should be responsible for speaking to them. And I think as you know, arm sales are handled by the State Department, not by the Defense Department.
Yes, in the back there?
Q: (Inaudible) in Syria a group close to YPG stoned U.S. convoy carrying State Department delegates and protesting the United States for being silent against Turkish operations in northern Iraq. I just wonder if the department still believes that PKK and YPG are two separate groups, irrelevant group, or (inaudible)?
MR. KIRBY: We've been long clear that we recognize the PKK as a terrorist group. There's been no change to that policy and we -- we are working on the ground with Syrian Democratic Forces who, again, are with the coalition. A raid against the operations that we're conducting with them are a raid against ISIS. There's no change to our policies.
Fahdi.
Q: Hey John, thank you very much. I have a question. I know you don't want to comment on U.S.-made weapons that are being used in Israel operations. However, my question is this, does the secretary or the department have any responsibility to make sure that when Israel uses these weapons in operations, noting that so far 217 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including 63 children.
U.S. media and international media outlets infrastructure have been targeted. Does the department have any responsibility to press Israel on the usage of these weapons and basically holding it up to the same standards that the U.S. military actually follow in its own operations?
MR. KIRBY: Again, Fahdi, questions better put to the State Department. They handle arm sales, not the Defense Department. There are, as you know, end user agreements for many arms sales. I won't get into that specifically because they're different for different countries and for different systems, but that's handled by the State Department. Your question is much better put to them.
Yes, Janne?
Q: Thank you John. I --
MR. KIRBY: But I will say -- just before -- the only thing I'd add is, and again, it was evident in the readout today of the phone call, we certainly continue to express our concerns about the tragic loss of innocent life on both sides.
Janne.
Q: Thank you John. I have a question about the U.S. in South Korea, Japan. Defense Minister talk, Ministers talks (inaudible) the trilateral meeting of the (inaudible) security and diplomatic and intelligence have already been heard. Do you have anything for the trilateral defense minister talks? If so, are the time and the places decided?
MR. KIRBY: I don't have any meetings to read out today, Janne. But I'll -- we'll ask our experts in the policy realm if they have anything to update you on that. I don't have anything on the schedule to speak to.
Broadly speaking, as you know, we want to encourage the deeper trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea. We think that's good for the region, it's good for all of us individually.
Q: Because last week the U.S. in South Korea agreed to hold an early defense minister -- trilateral defense minister talks. I think that you have a plan already, something, but you didn't say.
MR. KIRBY: You might know more than me. I don't -- I don't know. So, I'll take the question. We'll ask our experts in the policy shop if they have something afoot there, but I'm not aware – I’m ...
Q: (Inaudible) this is very important there because accept to defense minister talks that they already got, you know, security, and diplomatic, intelligence – so, why isn't it helping?
MR. KIRBY: I can't -- I can't answer for why. I don't have an answer to your question. We'll take a look and see if there's something being planned. I just don't have a meeting to announce to speak to today.
I would remind that the secretary's first overseas trip was to both Japan and South Korea and he had a chance to speak with his defense minister counterparts in each country for a matter of a couple days in each case. So it was the first trip he took, again, with Secretary Blinken, and we thought it was a very positive first step for us to take.
Q: But you have a plan, right?
MR. KIRBY: A plan for …?
Q: A plan for the trilateral?
MR. KIRBY: Again, Janne, --
Q: (Inaudible).
MR. KIRBY: I -- I -- I did -- I did -- I -- I -- I took it -- I already took it -- I took it twice.
Q: Thank you very much.
MR. KIRBY: We'll get back to you. Yeah?
Q: Hi. The Chief of the National Guard today told Congress that DHS has asked for an extension of the troops at the border beyond this fiscal year. Can you give us an update on that status? Would that -- is the DOD working to source that, and what would that deployment look like?
MR. KIRBY: You know, I'm going to have to get back to you on that one, too. I wasn't tracking those comments, but it's a fair question. We'll -- we'll -- we'll try to get you a better answer. Yeah?
Q: Thank you. The South Korea President Moon Jae-in will visit Washington later this week. What does the Pentagon expect from the U.S.-South Korea summit later this week -- do you think that South Korea should join Quad -- Quad in order to enhance the maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region?
MR. KIRBY: That question -- the second question about the Quad is for South Korean officials to answer, not for the U.S. Department of Defense. The secretary looks forward to participating in President Moon's visit later this week, but it is -- but the agenda and the outcomes and the results, all that is -- is better put to the White House and my colleagues at the White House to speak to, since the visit is at that level, but the secretary will be participating, as appropriate, in -- in events.
Q: (Inaudible) Secretary Austin ...
MR. KIRBY: Did I say the president? I meant the secretary -- the secretary will be participating in events as appropriate.
Q: Secretary Austin met with President Moon Jae-in separately or is that -- the meeting -- summit talks ...
MR. KIRBY: I -- I -- I don't have a -- a -- specifics of -- of how it's all going to lay out that day. I -- I don't anticipate a separate meeting between the secretary and -- and President Moon, but the secretary will participate, as appropriate, in events associated with President Moon's visit.
Q: Actually I have a follow-up question about the South Korean and U.S. summit, because yesterday -- so my first question is, ever since the former U.S. president (inaudible) the U.S.-ROK joint military exercise, the joint exercise has -- remains in a gray area between the two countries, partially because of COVID-19, partially because of the, like, complicated diplomacy, but do you expect the summit -- this, like, summit will bring this exercise or -- to where it was before -- so, I mean, to restore its condition or just make some clarity about the importance of a joint military exercise? And that is my first question. So do you expect something from the joint leaders' statement?
And my second question is yesterday, President Biden announced that the -- send 20 million doses of -- of coronavirus -- COVID vaccines to overseas, and two days ago, U.S. first -- South Korea, they offered South Korean troops to provide some J&J vaccines.
So is it a part of a bigger plan for DOD to distribute or supplying U.S.-made COVID vaccines to overseas, and do you think the allies and partners will have -- on -- on the priority?
MR. KIRBY: So on the -- on the summit, again, I'm -- I'm -- I'm going to refer you to my White House colleagues to talk -- to talk to the agenda and what they're looking for. That's really not appropriate, coming from the Department of Defense.
I won't talk about specific training events one way or the other, other than to reiterate that -- that we take seriously our security commitments and our treaty requirements with the Republic of Korea, and that includes making sure that our forces are trained and ready -- as we like to say, ready to fight tonight, if need be, and nothing's changed about our focus on that.
On the vaccines, I -- I'll let, again, the -- the president speak for the degree to which the administration is going to accelerate delivery of vaccines overseas. That's really, again, not a -- a DOD equity. And so I can't speak to the degree to which the Defense Department would be involved in distribution. I -- I just -- I -- I'm not aware of any specific, overt plans for us to do that. That's really something, again, for the White House to speak to. OK?
Yeah, Nancy?
Q: I have two follow up questions to Barbara's question, please. On the statement on -- in reference to the Palestinians for the first time that you put out today, does the secretary believe that the Israeli use of force has been proportionate up until this point, as the inclusion of the Palestinians in that statement suggests that he has changed his opinion in the course of this conflict?
And on the -- on the call between the two, the Israelis have said that they shared intelligence with Secretary Austin about this strike on the building housing AP and Al Jazeera, and given the serious of the -- seriousness of the allegations and the expectation that by releasing that information to the U.S., that that – adds credence to their decision to launch those strikes, I wonder if you'd at least confirm that you have that information, that it's been conveyed? I'm not asking for specific intelligence, but that it was conveyed.
And if -- and what -- what happens from this point -- this is something the U.S. has asked for, I imagine in -- in an effort to get credibility and transparency for it about the strike, and I think one way to advance that would be at least to acknowledge that it happens and that the U.S. is doing ...
MR. KIRBY: I won't speak to intelligence matters or intelligence shared one way or the other between Israel and the United States. In -- I can assure you that the secretary, as we indicated today, laments the loss of all innocent life, Israeli and Palestinian, and he expressed that concern today in the phone call.
And I'm ...
Q: Can you say whether he's -- he feels that strike -- that use of force has been proportionate?
MR. KIRBY: He would like to see the situation de-escalate and he would -- and he -- and -- as we've made very clear, does -- does not desire to see any more innocent lives affected or lost as a result of this conflict. We've got one more.
Q: Hi, I've got a quick question on the Israel-Palestine issue again. So a few days after the fighting broke out last week, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl met with Israeli counterpart -- his Israeli counterpart here at the Pentagon.
The readout from the call seems to suggest an openness on the part of the department to continuing to support Israel, potentially materially, as requests potentially come in. Just wondering what the latest messaging from the department on that is. Is -- has that messaging changed? I know the Israelis haven't requested anything yet, but does -- does the department's openness to assisting the Israelis with -- with ...
MR. KIRBY: Yeah, I'm not -- I'm not sure I -- I -- I came away from that conversation with the same impression that you did, but obviously we have a longstanding, bilateral security relationship with Israel and that relationship continues, and we want to continue to see it improve over time.
There are no additional requests by the Israelis for support, with respect to these operations, and I don't -- I know there's -- that there's no change to that situation, and again, what -- what we want to make clear is, again, Israel has a right to defend itself and its citizens from these rocket attacks and we support that right of self-defense.
We also would like to see the tensions de-escalate and -- and for no more innocent lives to be lost, OK? All right, thank you, everybody.
Q: Thank you.
Q: Thank you.
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