Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds Press Briefing

View Online Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds Press Briefing Jan. 13, 2025 PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  All right. Good afternoon, everyone. A few things at the top and we'll get right to your questions. As the situation with the devastating California wildfires continues to evolve, Secretary Austin remains closely engaged and committed to supporting the response efforts. As part of our ongoing support to California, over 1,800 California National Guardsmen have been activated to assist with the firefighting efforts, including hand crews, rotary wing aircraft and military police that are working in support of local law enforcement. Additionally, eight C-130s equipped with the Modular Airborne Firefighting System, or MAFs, are currently on station at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station to support aerial firefighting efforts. Six MAF missions were flown over the weekend, dropping over 16,000 gallons of fire suppressant and additional MAF's missions are anticipated for today. Additional assets to include the 10 Navy helicopters with water delivery buckets and 500 active duty Marines from Camp Pendleton are ready to provide support if requested by the lead response agencies. The Department remains committed to providing assistance and support to those affected by the wildfires and we'll continue to work closely with our federal, state and local partners to respond to this disaster. As we enter the final days of the current administration, let me turn now to Secretary Austin's schedule this week. Later today, Secretary Austin will attend President Biden's foreign policy address at the State Department. Later in the week, on Thursday, Secretary Austin will host the Armed Forces farewell tribute in honor of President Biden, in which the Secretary will join senior department leaders, colleagues, from across the administration and other dignitaries in saluting President Biden for his distinguished public service career and tenure as our Commander in Chief and 46th president of the United States. Then on Friday, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General CQ Brown Jr. will host an Armed Forces, farewell tribute in honor of Secretary Austin. Both farewell tributes will take place at Carnegie Hall at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall and will be available to stream on defense.gov. And with that, be happy to take your questions. Associated Press, Lita. Q:  Thanks, Pat. Can you clarify, just so these 10 helicopters in the 500 active duty troops are still on standby. They've not been used at all, right? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Correct. Q:  Is there something else that California is asking for? Are people looking ahead to reconstruction? I mean, it seemed pretty odd that they've been struggling to fight these fires and they haven't used these additional assets. PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Yeah. Well, I won't speak for the state of California. I mean, as you heard me say, they've increased the number of National Guardsmen that have been activated, upwards of 1,800 now. And of course, as Sabrina highlighted on Friday; we are doing everything we can to lean as far forward as we can to be prepared to support the needs of the lead federal agencies. And so, as I'm sure you can appreciate, there are capabilities that California and FEMA are already employing. So, these assets are available to be introduced into that mix should they be needed and when they're needed. But you've got to do this in a choreographed way that synchronizes capabilities instead of introduces problems to an already complex situation on the ground. So again, we're going to continue to closely monitor and as soon as and if those assets are requested, they'll of course be available. The only other thing I'd say too is that, especially with aircraft, being cognizant of wind conditions. And so, that also can be a factor that's taken into account. But again, I won't speak for California or FEMA. Q:  And then one other quick thing. Can you update us on the transition meetings, etc., that are going on in the building? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Let's see here. So, still continue to see scheduled meetings with department leaders. There have been upwards of 100 -- approximately 160 meetings so far, with transition team meeting -- transition team officials. We've also responded to over 105 requests for information from the transition team. And so, everything right now continues to go smoothly by all accounts, and we are confident that we'll be ready for a smooth transition into next week. Thanks. Carla. Q:  Thank you, Pat. First, can you confirm if talks are taking place on -- with US and French troops on whether or not they could secure a border zone up in northern Syria as part -- as an effort to defuse kind of the tensions between Turkey and the Kurds? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Yeah, I mean I've seen the press reporting on it, Carla. What I would tell you is that US forces in Syria right now remain focused on the defeat ISIS mission. I'm not aware of any potential change in mission at this time. Of course, as it relates to the SDF and Turkey, we continue to encourage de-escalation that will lead to a complete cessation of hostilities for all the reasons that we've talked about before. We don't want to see a resurgence of ISIS and we don't want to see a situation in which the detainment facilities that are holding ISIS members are somehow impacted and enabling them to either escape or, again, resurge. Q:  And then a completely different topic -- can you give us an update on the Ukrainian battlefield? Does Putin indeed have the upper hand right now? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Well, what we're seeing on the battlefield is that, especially in the East, Russia has made some incremental gains. Of course, it's very tough fighting, as well as in the Kursk region as well. But when you talk about the upper hand, of course, tactically, again other than those incremental gains, what you're seeing strategically is that again Russia has not achieved any of Its strategic objectives that it set for itself almost three years ago. Q:  And finally, since you didn't -- I didn't hear this at the topper -- have there been any additions to security for inauguration or does everything that was announced last week -- does that still stand? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Yeah, I don't have any updates on that. I would refer you to the Joint Task Force that's managing that. Go to Idris. Q:  Just on Ukraine, really quick. Are there any more PDAs expected over the next week or are you pretty much done with PDAs? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  I don't have anything to announce from the podium. Q:  And then just more broadly, given that it's his last week in office, has the Secretary had time to reflect on sort of the past four years? And what does he believe his legacy is in this job that he's had for four years? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Yeah, thanks, Idris. I mean, as you heard the Secretary talk about when he was out at the Reagan National Defense Forum, both this Nation and the Department have faced some major national security challenges over the last four years. I mean, you've had the coercion and the bullying from the People's Republic of China. You've seen Russia's invasion of Ukraine and malign activities from Iran, North Korea and terrorist groups. But in those same remarks, you heard Secretary Austin also talk about the fact that that this country and the international community have stood up to President Putin. We've stood up to North Korea and to Iran and to Hamas and Hezbollah. And so, during his tenure, Secretary Austin has been guided by his three priorities of defending the nation, taking care of our people, and succeeding through teamwork. And employing those priorities as the North Star as well as the National Defense Strategy has really helped the Department stay focused on the right things when it comes to addressing the challenges that we have faced. And as you've heard the Secretary say in his last several engagements, he could not be more proud of the service members and the DoD civilians who are protecting our nation every day. Q:  What's his biggest regret? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  I think the Secretary again feels that we have confronted many of the challenges that I just laid out, and that we have been able to make the country both safer and our alliance is stronger. I'll just leave it there. Let me go to Chris and I'll come to you, Joseph. Q:  Thanks, Pat. A few questions regarding Ukraine. What is the current estimate of North Korean killed in action and wounded in action in Ukraine? And are there high-ranking officers among them? And relatedly, has the US had access to the North Korean soldiers captured by the Ukrainians? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  On your latter question, I don't have anything on that, Chris. As you saw President Zelenskyy talk about, they have captured some North Korean soldiers. So, I'll just leave it there. In terms of the casualty figures, I don't have a specific casualty number to provide you, other than we are aware that more than 1,000 casualties on the battlefield. To my knowledge, that does include a wide range of ranks to include some senior officers. But I don't have any more specifics than that. Q:  Just a big picture question. Why wasn't the DoD able to spend all the PDA authorization for Ukraine? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Well, again, these are authorities, and you're going to look at balancing readiness, replenishment, but these are authorities not necessarily the funds, right. So, those -- that authority will get passed to the next administration and it will be their call on whether they will choose to expend -- or employ that authority to expend those funds. Thank you. Joseph. Q:  Thanks. One on Yemen, another on Iraq. Also going forward, what's the Secretary going to recommend to the incoming administration in terms of the campaign to deter the Houthis? It's been about I think a year since the US stood up this coalition to get the Houthis to stop these attacks. But they haven't stopped the attacks, they're continuously attacking Israel as well. So, what -- I mean, does he think the next -- the incoming administration should do more of the same that you guys are doing, do more, do less? I mean, what's his recommendation? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Yeah, I won't get into any advice or conversations the Secretary may or may not have with the incoming administration. I mean, clearly, we've been focused on degrading and disrupting their capability. You highlight the fact that they have continued to conduct strikes, but I would also highlight the fact that their capability has been significantly diminished. And so, US forces will continue to work with the international community to address this challenge in the Red Sea and the broader region when it comes to freedom of navigation and protecting the safety of mariners there that are transiting that area. Q:  Just one on Iraq. Can you confirm or provide any information on or any updates on conversations or requests made from the Iraqi side for US troops to potentially stay longer than the previously agreed upon timeline? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Yeah, thanks, Joseph. I don't have any updates, as you know, what was previously announced and that the timelines were announced, but I don't have any updates beyond that at this time. Go to Noah and then I'll go to the phone. Q:  As I understand, the last package of $500 million to Ukraine that we're talking about here was done without money to replenish it. Can you talk about why this step was taken when it was resisted last year to preserve American readiness? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Well, I won't get into specifics in terms of readiness levels other than to say, I mean, throughout this process we're always looking at what capabilities we have, what we can provide, evaluating our own readiness, as well as looking at what the defense industrial base can provide when it comes to supporting Ukraine. Thanks. All right. Let me go to the phone real quick. Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg. Q:  Hi, Pat. Can you hear me? Thanks. I have a Ukraine question. There's a running narrative among critics of the Biden administration's Ukraine policy that it waited too long to provide F-16s, anti-personnel munitions and longer munitions such as ATACMS, plus allowing them to be fired more deeply into Russia. Now I'm realizing this is largely a White House policy question, but from a strictly military standpoint, Pat, did a consensus emerge in the DOD kind of JS -- Joint Staff debates you sat in on that providing those weapons sooner could have possibly shifted the conflict in Ukraine's favor? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Yeah, thanks, Tony. I think it's important to remember how we got here in the first place, and if you go back to February 2022, President Putin's strategic objective was to eliminate Ukraine as a country and that's still clearly his objective. But nearly three years later, the fact is that he has failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives. Ukraine is still a free country and importantly, it is still a country. NATO is of course bigger now and stronger. And Russia, when it comes to a lot of the strategic variables to include the manpower that it is committed to this fight and many of the other factors, including its defense industrial base, have all been weakened. And so, since the very beginning of this conflict, the United States and in particular the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, have worked very, very hard to help Ukraine win this war. Last week, as Secretary Austin met with some 50 different leaders from nations around the world, he highlighted what we have done to support Ukraine. And if you just allow me to recount here, more than 200 million artillery rounds, more than 20,000 rockets. We've provided Ukraine with air defense systems and missiles to defend its skies, its cities and its citizens. We've been working to support Ukraine's drone industry and we've surged other critical capabilities to include HIMARS, ground combat vehicles, Javelins and more. Part of this process has been to ensure that we're in daily contact with the Ukrainians to understand what their needs are and we have rushed security assistance at historic speeds. And as the battlefield has evolved, that support has evolved. And if you think about the kinds of capabilities that we're providing, and you mentioned F-16s, the high-tech nature of that capability and the sustainment and maintenance required makes it an imperative to ensure that we're not just paying lip service and providing that equipment and that capability, but also the training, support and sustainment that goes with it so that they can actually use it on the battlefield. And so, the last thing I'd say on this is Secretary Austin has said many times that there is no silver bullet. It's how you combine all these capabilities together in order to be effective on the battlefield. And I'll just conclude with saying again, Ukraine is still standing, they're still fighting and Russia has not achieved the objective that it set out to accomplish three years ago. Thank you. Jennifer. Q:  General Ryder, I'd like to get your assessment of the new ODNI assessment of the Havana syndrome cases that was released Friday. Back in September, there were DoD members who were affected by what they believed was a Havana syndrome style attack. There have been whistleblowers from the DIA. Does the Secretary think that there needs to be more investigation into whether a foreign adversary is behind these attacks in light of the new evidence that two intelligence agencies have presented, that a foreign adversary may have developed a weapon that could be responsible for this kind of injury? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Yeah, Jennifer, I don't have anything specific to pass along other than I know that this is under close review and will continue to be so, but I don't have anything to provide from the podium here. Oren? Q:  Two questions. First question, has there been a conversation between Defense Secretary Austin and Pete Hegseth or are there any such plans for a conversation over the course of the next seven days? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  No conversations to date and I don't have anything to announce from here. Q:  And then a question on Lebanon. Israel carried out strikes yesterday in Lebanon saying they had raised issues of Hezbollah violating the ceasefire agreement to the monitoring mechanism, but those were not addressed. Does the US believe that--first, was the US, were you aware of issues that Israel had raised with the cease fire monitoring mechanism? And second is it fully operational? Do you believe there are issues with the ceasefire monitoring? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  So what I would say, Oren, is that from our perspective, the ceasefire continues. I don't have anything, nor will I speak for Israel in terms of their operations. I do know that Major General Jeffers and the team that is implementing the mechanism, along with the State Department and other countries, are working hard to ensure that that ceasefire holds. They're working hard to ensure that we understand what the Lebanese Armed Forces needs are as they take over security and implement that ceasefire. And so I'm confident that they are staying in close communication with the Israelis as well as others in the region to do that work. And I'll just leave it there. Q:  Is it your understanding that it will continue, the ceasefire monitoring mechanism with General Jeffers will continue operating after January 20th? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  That's my understanding, correct. Janne. Q:  Thank you, General. I have a few questions on South and North Korea and Ukraine. Last weekend, the US and South Korea Nuclear Conservative group meeting was held here. The next meeting will be held in South Korea, but it is still unclear. What can you say about the existence of the NCC in the incoming administration? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  I really can't speak for the incoming administration, Janne, so I have to refer you to them for any questions on that. Q:  Do you think that only the US extended deterrence can prevent North Korea's nuclear provocation, or can United States consider the possibility of allowing tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea as another way to challenge to North Korean nuclear threat? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Well, our policy hasn't changed when it comes to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Q:  Ukraine. Ukraine President Zelenskyy has proposed to North Koreans, Kim Jong Un, a prisoner exchange for captured North Korean soldiers and Ukrainian soldiers detained in Russia. What is the United States view on this? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  I mean, that's really a question for President Zelenskyy. So I would refer you to him for any questions about potential prisoner exchanges. Yes, sir, and then I'll go back to the phone. Q:  Thank you, sir. Regarding the active duty assets currently on standby to potentially assist with the California wildfire situation, do you have a sense of how long DoD is willing to wait on standby, waiting for that potential call to come? And should the call never come, do you know who the authority would be to say, you know what, this probably ain't happening, time to fold it up, pack it in and get back to our regular battle rhythm? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Yeah. I mean, I think we're going to be ready as long as we need to be ready to support that. And US Northern Command working very closely with the interagency and FEMA, they're making that hour-by-hour, day-by-day determination in terms of what those requirements may be. So I don't want to speculate about what the future could look like, other than to say, again, we understand the significance and the devastation of these fires and the Department of Defense is going to do everything we can to support all those who are battling these fires, to include having this capability available should it be requested. Let me go to the phone. Howard Altman. Q:  Hey. Thanks, Pat. A couple questions on different subjects. One, what is the assessment, the US assessment of the capability of the North Korean troops that are fighting in Kursk? Are they capable? Are they well-equipped? And the other question is how dangerous is the ongoing battle between Turkey and Turkish backed forces in the SDF to US objectives of stopping and fighting ISIS? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  On your first question, Howard, I won't go into specific intelligence other than to say, all indications are that these are relatively well-disciplined, competent forces, the DPRK forces. Primarily infantry focused, and so again, by all accounts, they are capable. And what we're seeing on the battlefield is that they obviously do present a threat. The Ukrainians are doing a good job of holding the line, although it, again, it is very tough fighting and we have seen the Russians make some incremental gains. As far as the SDF and Turkey or Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria, again, as I highlighted earlier, we do continue to see the ceasefire hold. We do want to see a de-escalation of hostilities because what we don't want to see is a resurgence of ISIS or the conditions that could enable the resurgence of ISIS in Syria. Thank you. Come back to the room here. Yes, sir. Q:  I have a follow-on question about North Korea troops in Russia. It is reported that Russia reclaimed 40 to 50 percent of the Kursk region. So do you think that North Korea is helpful for Russia to retake in such a place? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Well, I mean, as evidenced by the fact that Russia was able to introduce 12,000 DPRK forces onto the battlefield, I mean, that's certainly a significant number. It certainly makes it much harder fighting for the Ukrainians. But again, as I highlighted, the Ukrainians are continuing to fight and they're continuing to do everything they can to hold that line. Our focus here continues to be on working with the international community to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs in order to defend itself all along the forward line of battle. Q:  Do you have indication that North Korea sent more troops from North Korea? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  I don't have anything. I'm not aware of anything at this time. Obviously, something that we continue to monitor closely. Q:  Just building on Idress question earlier, is Secretary Austin satisfied with the manner in which Israel has -- wait for the chimes. Is Secretary Austin satisfied with the manner in which Israel has prosecuted its war in Gaza? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  I'm not going to make a values judgment up here. I think Secretary Austin recognizes the tough fight that Israel has been since Hamas conducted its attack on October 7th. We've been very clear in terms of our commitment, our ironclad commitment to support Israel's ability to defend itself. That's not going to change. Clearly when it comes to prosecution of this campaign, he's also been very clear about the importance of protecting civilians on the battlefield and that continues to remain his view. Thank you. Q:  Thank you. About concerns about protecting civilians, is he satisfied? PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER:  Again, I think I've been pretty clear. OK, that is all the questions we have. I just want to conclude. Before we do, I would like to just take a minute to flag that today is my last press briefing as the Pentagon press secretary. It has been an honor to serve as the DoD spokesperson from this podium and to help tell the story of our amazing service members and DoD civilians who serve our nation every day around the world. I want to say thank you to Secretary Austin for affording me this opportunity and for having the trust and confidence in me to do the job. I also want to thank Secretary of the Air Force Kendall, the Chairman and former Chief of staff of the Air Force, General C.Q. Brown, and the current Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Allvin, for their support and enabling me to serve in this role. For the last two and a half years that I've been in this position, I have been blessed to serve alongside an incredible team here at the office of the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. I would like to extend my deepest thanks and gratitude to -- and I've got like 25 people here, so just bear with me -- the assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Chris Meagher; Carlie Waibel; Deb Richardson; Colonel Roger Cabiness; Colonel Chris Devine; Mr. Chris Garver; the entire defense press operations team; our strategy, plans and assessment team; our strategic engagements team; and the Joint Staff public affairs team for all of your support. I know how hard you all work every day, and on the weekends, and in the nights. So, I'm grateful for your dedicated efforts to ensure that Sabrina and I are prepared to step to this podium. And I also want to thank the Press Briefing Room team, Tom Akeem, Keston and Adrian for their support and their magic in maintaining this press briefing room and making these briefings possible. A special shout out to Jennifer Min, Josh Schroeder for all their assistance and to my teammate Sabrina Singh for her partnership as the Department's deputy spokesperson. I also want to say thank you to my media colleagues in the Pentagon press corps for what you do every day to report on the Department of Defense, tell the story of those who serve and protect our country. I strongly believe that our Republic and our military are well served by the depth of knowledge, skill and experience resident within this press corps, and the independent reporting you do to keep the public informed. I have greatly appreciated working with you and learning from you not only while serving in this position, but over the last 25 years in the various assignments I've held in and outside of the Pentagon. Thank you very much again and that is all I have. Thank you.

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