Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh Holds a Press Briefing

View Online Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh Holds a Press Briefing Nov. 14, 2024 DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: All right. Hi. Okay. Hello, everyone. Good afternoon. Okay. Afternoon. Just a few things at the top and then happy to take your questions. Today, the department released its annual report on suicide in the military for calendar year 2023. The report found that the 2023 active component rate is higher than in 2022. I'd like to reiterate the department's ongoing and unwavering commitment to taking care of our people. Since his first day in office, the health, safety and well-being of our military community has been one of Secretary Austin's top priorities. As you've heard him say many times before, we owe it to our service members and our military families to provide the best possible care to identify risk factors and spot warning signs and to eliminate stigmas around seeking help. And when it comes to suicide, one loss to suicide is one too many. The department remains focused on long-term sustained initiatives to prevent suicide. In 2023, Secretary Austin approved a comprehensive campaign plan with five lines of effort and enabling tasks to guide and strengthen the department's suicide prevention strategy. The plan includes 83 key enabling actions adopted and modified from the approved Suicide Prevention Response and Independent Review Committee, or the SPRIRC, recommendations. Subsequently, the department has been urgently focused on implementing all 83 recommendations and these key reforms. In 2024, The department completed 20 of the SPRIRC recommendations, and in fiscal year 2025, with the support of congress, the department will make an unprecedented investment in suicide prevention. While some progress has been made, Secretary Austin has been clear that there is still much work to do, and he won't let up. The annual report will be available at DSPO.mil and a statement from the secretary is available on defense.gov. Separately, today, the department also delivered its Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAP, to congress. The department has briefed relevant congressional staff on the report's filings. As of today, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, has received over 1,600 UAP reports, 757 of which came to AARO during the period covered by this report. AARO has successfully resolved hundreds of cases in its holdings to commonplace objects such as balloons, birds, drones, satellites and aircraft. Over 900 reports lack sufficient data for analysis, and AARO retains these cases in an active archive, and they may be reopened and resolved should additional information emerge to support analysis. I want to emphasize that only a very small percentage of reports to AARO are potentially anomalous. But these are the cases that require significant time, resources and focused scientific inquiry by AARO and its partners. It is also important to underscore that to date, the department has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology. None of the cases resolved by AARO have pointed to advanced capabilities or breakthrough technologies either. Switching gears, let me turn to now the secretary's schedule. Today, Secretary Austin is hosting senior civilian and military leaders from across the department for the DOD Senior Leaders Conference. This Senior Leaders Conference meets semiannually to address broad cross-cutting issues affecting the office of the Secretary of Defense, the Military Departments, the combatant commands and interagency efforts in order to provide advice and assistance to the secretary on the strategic direction of the department. And finally, tomorrow, Secretary Austin will depart to the Indo-Pacific for his 12th trip to the region as Secretary of Defense. The secretary will visit Australia, the Philippines, Laos and Fiji for a series of meetings and official engagements with regional counterparts. Each stop on this trip will highlight the department's historic efforts to work alongside our partners and allies to deliver on shared vision, regional — regional visions of peace, stability and prosperity. As mentioned, this is the secretary's 12th visit to the region and continues the long tradition of the secretary's representation at the ADMM-Plus. In addition, this will be the secretary's fourth visit to the Philippines, which is the most visits ever by a US Secretary of Defense and signals the incredible progress the US has made in deepening that critical alliance. And finally, this will also be the first ever visit by a US Secretary of Defense to Fiji, demonstrating growing security cooperation between the US and Pacific Islands countries. So, more to follow in the coming days, but with that I'd be glad to take your questions. Tara? Q: Thanks, Sabrina. So, a couple of questions on the defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth. He said that in 2021 he was part of the DC National Guard and was supposed to be helping provide protection to the inauguration but was removed from that duty, potentially because of a questionable tattoo. Those are his words. So, has the department looked into his removal from that detail? And kind of following up on that — so far, we have not received a full military record of his service from the Army, and so just asking if that could be released publicly. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: So, I'd refer you to the National Guard and Army for more details on his record. I don't have that. But they do release just kind of the broad outline of dates of service and just—kind of like the standard information that we would release for any individual. So I'd refer you to Army for more. In terms of the comments that you're referencing, you know, I don't have more to provide on that. I'm aware of the comments that were made. It's not something that we're to my knowledge that we're looking into. So I you know, have to refer you to his team more to more to speak to that. Q: I guess I would ask that the department does look into it and whether he was one of the members. I remember at the time the department actually announced that, you know, some had been removed. There were like 26,000 that were assigned to provide protection to Biden's inauguration. So if we could get back from the department, why those members were removed at the time and confirmation of whether Hegseth was one of them. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: That'd be something that I think the National Guard or the Army could speak to, so I'd refer you them to speak to more to that. Q: Okay. Totally separate topic, sure. Ukraine aid the President has said he's committed to getting about $7.1 billion in PDA to Ukraine before his administration ends. How do you get $7.1 billion off the shelf of the Pentagon's stockpiles in such a short time? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: It is a short time, but it's also, you know, just under 70 days. This department can do incredible work in that amount of time. The president made clear that, you know, he wants to spend every, you know, spend down the authority that Congress has allocated and authorized before he leaves office. So we're going to work very hard to make sure that happens. You've seen us roll out very large packages, you know, from the beginning and you've seen, you know, us roll out actually I'd say a range of packages on a pretty frequent basis almost, you know, almost weekly. So, I expect that for the next coming months of this administration you're going to continue to see those packages draw down from what's available in our stockpiles, Again, we're committed to ensuring that Ukraine has what it needs to be successful on the battlefield. Secretary Austin recently had a, you know, a call with Minister Umarov. They discussed, you know, the capabilities that Ukraine needs to continue to push the Russians back, to continue to be successful in their strategic battle plans. And that's something that this administration is committed to. So you'll see us continue to roll the draw those down over time. Janne . Q: Hi, can you talk a little more about the unidentified aerial phenomena and one of the accusations, it's not in the report but that the department has with in storage the remains of aliens or signs of life from elsewhere. Can you settle that once and for all? Do you or don't you have such remains? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Yeah, so I'm not aware of any remains that the department has of, you know, any signs of extraterrestrial beings or activity or technology. And I'm sorry, what was your second question or your first question? Q: Well, it's really about that and then also what the top line finding in this report. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: So the report again was briefed to members of Congress and from what I read out at the top, I really don't have more to provide, but the relevant staff and committee members were notified about the report. You know, part of this annual report submitted to Congress is accountability and to ensure that we continue to keep members updated through our AARO office. Go ahead. Q: But have you found any evidence of foreign involvement in any of these unidentified aerial phenomena? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Yeah, to date the department has not discovered any verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology and or nor verifiable information to substantiate claims that, you know, any programs regarding possession or reverse engineering of extraterrestrial terrestrial materials have existed in the past or currently exist. Q: And in terms of the strikes on the Houthis in the past week, why were the F-35Cs used in those strikes? Is it symbolic? Was it needed? And yet the Houthis keep firing? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: I mean, why we use certain capabilities is also what's available in the AOR. The F-35s are, you know, on are part of the Abe Carrier Strike Group. Why they're used, you know they bring different capabilities than, you know, some of the other aircraft in the region, but that's at really at the discretion of the commander. I can't get into more of the operational details on that, but, you know, it really depends on the mission, the operation and the what's available and what we need to accomplish. And, you know, different aircraft are used at different times. Yeah, Austin. Q: Thank you. I have a follow up on Tara asked about Ukrainian assistance to Ukraine. So does the Pentagon — DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: — I thought you were going to ask me about UAPs. Q: Yes, maybe later. Okay. So, does the Pentagon still plan to use the entire amount that is left by the end of the administration. And, do you have enough capabilities on your shelves for that? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Yes, so, I don't have much more to vary off of the points that I made to Tara. But as you know, you've heard the president give his commitment that he intends to use the authority that Congress allocated to continue to draw down from our stockpiles and continue to send PDA packages out to Ukraine. That's a commitment that the president has made and therefore the department continues to honor that commitment by the packages that we send to Ukraine on a pretty weekly basis. And I'm sorry, your second question? Q: Yeah, did you have enough capabilities for this on your shelves? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: We're constantly refilling our shelves and our stockpiles. The secretary is not going to allow the department to dip below readiness levels that he doesn't feel comfortable with. So as we continue to refill our own shelves, you're going to see equipment capabilities continue to flow out. Q: And are those capabilities expected to be delivered to Ukraine by January 20th or it might take longer? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Look, it's going to range, as you know, keep some equipment and some systems can get to Ukraine very quickly and you've seen that happen within days or weeks. Sometimes it does take longer for, you know, what's available to, to get to Ukraine and that that could be longer than weeks that could be months. You also have to remember we have those USAID packages that we have announced. Some of those things are, you know, take years to deliver. So, I think the long and short of it is, is that some equipment does get to Ukraine exceptionally quickly. But then there are some that takes longer. Okay. Constantine. Q: Thanks, Sabrina. There's been reporting over the last several days that the incoming Trump administration plans to stand up a sort of warrior board, I think they're calling it to rid the military of what they feel are woke generals. Yesterday, Reuters reported that there's a list going around of generals connected to General Milley that are slated to be fired. Does the Pentagon have a reaction to either to these reports of the incoming administration looking to remove a large amount of its senior officers? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: So I'm certainly not going to speak for the incoming administration or speak to any hypotheticals on what they will and won't do. I've seen those reports as well, but I'm just not going to speak to that. What I can tell you and, Constantine, I think you know this very well is, there are people here that have that work in this building incredibly hard have dedicated their life to public service, whether it be in uniform or career civil servants. It's been amazing to meet them over my time here at the department. They are focused on the mission. They're going to continue to, you know, see that mission through and certainly on our part from you know this administration, we are going to do everything that we can to ensure that there is an orderly, calm transition. And so when the incoming secretary's team is ready to make that transition, we want to ensure that they are set up for success. Q: I mean, and so fair enough, just to sort of take the hypothetical out of it, are you able to say very broadly, for example, if there would be operational impacts if a large number of general officers were suddenly no longer part of the Department of Defense? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: So removing the hypothetical, you will remember the time when we had a significant amount of holds on our general and flag officers, removing holding officers from moving up or not having people in place. And therefore having other people fill a job that — you know, maybe they're doing two jobs, maybe they're doing three jobs. Yes, that's going to have an impact to operations that's going to have an impact to morale and that is going to have an impact on the department. Again, I'm not going to speak to the hypothetical of what you're referencing, but you know when whenever you have or put a strain on the system where there are not enough people in a position or not enough people sharing the burden of work, of course, it's going to strain the system. Joseph? Q: Thanks. To follow up on Jen's on a question on the Houthis, you mentioned the capabilities. She asked why they use the F-35Cs in these particular strikes and you said what's available in that AOR. But a couple of weeks last month you used B-2 bombers that were not in that AOR that were sent from here. So how do you, you know, why the discrepancy there? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Yeah, no, there's not a discrepancy. It has to do with the type of mission and the type of targets and what would be most effective and for the mission set that used the bombers — it was one that required their capabilities. Again, the Abe carrier strike group has different aircraft on board. One is the F-35. It has been used in the most recent mission. But you've seen us do strikes with whether it be F-15s, F-16s. So, it's really at the commander's discretion. Q: So, just on that, we've seen now new capabilities introduced to this now I guess year-long campaign to deter the Houthis, they're not deterred. So, I mean, what's the department looking to do differently to stop that, at least in these last 70 days that you're here? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Well, so to push back on that though, we continue to take capabilities off the map for them. So, while we continue to see aggression from the Houthis and the targeting of innocent mariners and commercial ships that are just transiting the BAM or the Red Sea, we continue to take capabilities away. Yes, they do have large stockpiles of those, but I think it's — I think you have to also look at what we're being able to do to impact their operations as well. And that is important. And if we weren't doing what we were doing, you wouldn't see those commercial ships coming through. It would have a larger impact to the economy to — a larger impact to world markets. And one of the things that the secretary did was set up Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure that we can have a safe transit of — and to really uphold the international rules-based order and freedom of navigation. So, very proud of the work that we're continuing to do there on holding the Houthis responsible, but every single time that we engage, we're taking capabilities away as well. Q: Just one more on Gaza. The — it's been over 30 days since that letter was sent by secretaries Blinken and Austin. We heard from the State Department the other day that they're not — or they're not prepared to do anything basically to follow through on that letter because the aid the US considers is still far short of what it's asking for or what needs to be getting into Gaza. Does this department share that assessment? And if not enough aid is getting in, but you guys are also not going to do anything as a consequence or whatever you want to call it. What message does that send to other allies and partners in the world that either messages we're sending we're not following through on what we say we're going to do or otherwise? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Well, I don't think — I kind of disagree with some of the premise there. We are — and the president has been clear that we're going to continue to support Israel in their self-defense. They're continuing to get attacked on all sides by terrorist groups like Hamas or Lebanese Hezbollah in the north, and then not to mention, of course, the unprecedented attacks that we've seen from Iran. So, they do have a tough fight, but we've been very clear that not enough has been done in Gaza. And we — because of the pressure that the United States has put on Israel, we have seen crossings open, we have seen the Erez crossing open. We've seen others, we're seeing more truckloads get in. We're seeing the Jordan Armed Forces corridor open up. So, I don't think it's fair to say that our pressure isn't working. It is. But can more be done? Yeah, absolutely. And over the summer when we did have that maritime corridor put in place, that did help open up the Ashdod crossing, which was something that didn't exist before the JLOT's mission was there. So, every single day, we know how dire the humanitarian situation is in Gaza. And that's why every single day, not just here at this department, but the interagency continues to work with our Israeli partners to get more aid in, because we know not enough is getting in. Phil. Q: President-elect Trump's nominee for defense secretary has alleged that he was sidelined from the service because of what he said was being labeled as extremist. He was labeled as extremist, he says. I realize that you'd like us to speak to the Army and the National Guard, but I think we've all been trying to get a concrete answer from them. And as a representative from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, I would just hope that you could perhaps help us determine whether or not that assertion that he was sidelined for being an extremist could be verified — DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: —I'd have to take a look and certainly can look into that with the Army National Guard. But I just — I'm aware of the reports, but again, this is something that the services would really handle. So, I have to direct you to them to speak more to his record and also some of the reporting that I've seen out there. Q: Just to follow up on that though, I mean, we were all here at the time and we were having briefings about the number of guard troops that were moving in to protect the capital, that there was additional vetting going on. And then we were told that some members were removed, so this was centralized. This wasn't down — pushed down to the Army. This was very much a Department of Defense effort. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: So, as you know, I was not here — was not here during that time. And we were going through our own transition as the incoming Biden administration. So, look, I like I said, happy to work and try and get you more information. This is really something that the services would handle. But I understand that at the time you were asking about this in January 2021. So, we'll do our due diligence and try and get back to you. Q: like a larger extremism review in the department looking at service members, so if we could just revisit what was being looked at and where that review now stands. I realize it was — there was some that was released. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Yeah, that was released, so I'd refer you to what we released. I don't have the exact dates in front of me, but that's available online. And I think we did briefings on it at that time. But I'd refer you to what we had put out at that time. Yes, in the back. Q: Thank you, Sabrina. Today the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that in the last 24 hours, 78 civilians have been killed and 122 have been wounded. So, the total now categorized to 3,365. This is the — being killed, more than 14,000 have been wounded. So, and that's come despite what Secretary Austin said on October 19 when he was in Italy, that these numbers are far too high. I would like to see Israel scale back on some of the strikes it's taken especially in and around Beirut. So, what do you — how concerned, first of all, about these numbers, the civilian casualties in Lebanon? And how do you contact with the Israelis to tell them their message? And do you believe they are hearing what are you saying to them about the civilians? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: So, something that the secretary has been saying from the beginning is that the number of civilians killed as a result — whether it be in Gaza or what's happening on the northern border. Certainly, the number is too high. That's ultimately why we keep pushing for a ceasefire to be put in place, because we want to see and Israel wants to see their citizens returned home to that northern border area. The only way that that's going to happen is if a ceasefire is put into place. So, that's what you're seeing us push for. We had representatives from the US government in the region just this past week or last week. We might have less than 70 days left of this administration, but that doesn't mean that we're giving up — we're going to keep pushing and we're going to keep doing the work. And so that means continuing to urge for a ceasefire, continuing to urge for more humanitarian aid to get into Gaza, and doing the work with our Israeli partners, and continuing to push that they move those civilians out of the battle space because that is a grave concern for the United States. I'm going to go to the phones and then happy to come back in the room. Jeff Schogol, Task & Purpose. Q: Thank you. CENTCOM announced earlier this week there was an attack on a patrol base in Syria and there were follow-up airstrikes. I just wanted to see, have there been any subsequent attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria? Have there been any follow-up airstrikes? And have there been any more airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi targets? And have the Houthis fired any missiles against US ships? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Thanks, Jeff, for the question. So, in terms of activity in the CENTCOM AOR, I'm not tracking anything additional from what General Ryder had provided at the briefing on Tuesday. You mentioned some of the attacks that had happened or were directed at US forces, that was over the weekend — not tracking anything additional as of today. Occasionally there are things that are launched in the vicinity of our forces or our bases in the region that US forces do engage and shoot down. But those aren't necessarily attacks on US forces. But again, not tracking anything new from what General Ryder provided at the briefing on Tuesday. Go to the last one here, Jared Szuba. Q: Hi Sabrina, my question has been asked. Thank you. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Happy to come back in the room. Yes, Brad. Q: Thank you. Just one question. Human Rights Watch released a report today saying that Israel is carrying out war crimes by forcibly displacing the Palestinian people. Do you have a response to that at all? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: I haven't read the report, so I don't. Okay. Yep. Q: Yeah, thank you. Thanks so much. President-elect previously said that some people who were involved in Afghanistan's evacuation here at the Pentagon need to be fired as soon as he gets to the White House. Is there any ongoing investigation here at the Pentagon regarding Afghanistan's evacuation? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: There is not and as you know or maybe you don't, but we have done an investigation and CENTCOM earlier this year did an additional review of, you know the evacuation and also what happened at Abbey Gate. I'm not aware of any other investigations or reviews happening at the department at this time and we were very thorough. We had folks testify on the Hill as well. Congress also did its own review on the withdrawal of Afghanistan. And while I'm not going to comment on the president-elect's comments, you know, we've certainly — we've certainly done a very thorough review process in this building. Q: Quick follow up on that. So also the incoming secretary of Defense said that the United States left a bunch of weapons in Afghanistan that Taliban are using right now. And may I ask what is the overall value of the — those weapons that were left in Afghanistan from the Pentagon's point of view? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: So we did a thorough review, I'd encourage you to look online and also go back and look at the testimony that, you know, members of this administration did on the Hill. I don't have a dollar figure in front of me right now. I'm going to go to, yep, over here. Q: Sabrina, since the secretary will be in the region going in the region and also ASEAN and G20 other meetings and summits are going on and how the military to military relations with China today or how much China threat to the nations around in Asia-Pacific that are also in the China Sea? So those nations are depending or depending on the United States and what you think the future or what message you think secretary will have for them as far as China's threat in the region? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: So I think it sends an incredibly powerful message that the secretary is going to the Indo-Pacific for the 12th time. He's going to the Philippines for his fourth time. That is a partnership that has expanded with, you know, more EDCA sites, a deepening relationship, and I think it shows that the secretary and this building is still guided by the National Defense Strategy which identifies China as our pacing challenge. So we're not shying away from that. What's important is that we continue to have mil-to-mil relationships with the PRC and our counterparts. That's something that President Biden committed to working with President XI when, you know, they had their meeting in California. Something that you know we're going to continue to push for in these short 70 days. Yes? Q: Thank you very much, Sabrina. My last two questions in this administration. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: You're not coming back for 70 days? Q: No. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Okay. Q: But I do want to thank you, Sabrina. Nobody has given the comment you made off the record about encouragement of journalists. I have never heard such a beautiful comment you made a few weeks ago about journalism. So I do want to come back to both of my colleagues question the Abbey Gate. So I have shared my with your colleagues pictures of last three decades of my personal news media and family relations in Afghanistan. And I do want to say that while the US troops were there in Afghanistan, I did launch Emirates Airlines, did work for Nestle, Moneygram, lots of multinational and top advertising agencies in the world. With Abbey Gate with the last day of withdrawal. You know, when I came out from the hospital, the first question I had asked you was that now today I want to offer from my side, from the frontier post and for my teachers who were in the military, 100,000 investigation inquiry that anybody from Pentagon or here this podium can support from my side knowing that region so well, I want to contribute 100,000, just us former military officials there and Pakistani to investigate that last day of the withdrawal. Is that a big demand from a journalist? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: So look, I think you are incredibly entitled to do your own investigative work. What I can tell you and what I can point you to is what this administration has done, the time, the money, the resources it took to doing very in-depth investigative work, additional review by Central Command and not to mention multiple testimonies on the Hill answering questions from lawmakers. So, you know, we certainly understand that there are still questions around the withdrawal, but from a department standpoint we've done, you know, the work to answer those questions and that's really all I have to offer. Q: My colleagues, as for the military generals, like especially General Milley resignation where journalists like me raise questions who are from that region, why are you not asking for investigation or resignation or whatever of people like Zalmay Khalilzad? You know, like why no State Department officials, you know, like nobody talks about them, but the military? I feel like you guys are taking the burden on yourself and blame on yourself and the diplomatic wing who were responsible for a big chunk of that withdrawal. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: Yeah. So I don't have anything more to add. I'm going to go to Jen. Q: I have a question. Has the transition landing team started here or landed. DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: They have not. Q: They have not. What's the hold up? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: I look, I believe that there's still a process that needs to be agreed to and signed. I think, you know, it doesn't preclude us from having of course conversations. We want to make sure that there is an orderly transition that can work with this building and we want to make sure that the incoming team has what they need to be successful. But the — the actual formal paperwork has not, you know, been officially signed yet. When that does, we're committed to an orderly transition process. Q: Have you started those conversations or not? DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SINGH: No, not yet. Yeah. All right. Thanks, everyone. Q: Thank you so much.

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