Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell Holds Press Briefing

View Online Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell Holds Press Briefing March 17, 2025 CHIEF PENTAGON SPOKESMAN SEAN PARNELL: Good afternoon. I hope everybody had a really great weekend. I wanted to say welcome to the new Pentagon Press Briefing Room. In line with the secretary's vision to make this the most transparent Department of Defense in history, I gave you my personal commitment to make these briefings more routine. So today is the first of many. And considering the significant US military operations as directed by the president this weekend now seemed as appropriate time as any to fulfill that obligation to all of you. Additionally, I'm glad to be joined by Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich, affectionately known as Grinch. Now despite his callsign, he's actually a very pleasant and delightful human being and we're glad to have him here at this podium. He's the director of Operations of the Joint Staff. He's going to be able to provide a much richer context on the ongoing series US military operations against the Iranian backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen. So thank you for joining me, general. AIR FORCE LT. GEN. ALEXUS G. GRYNKEWICH DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FOR THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Thank you, sir. MR. PARNELL: As many of you all know, we had an election back in November. And as a result of that election, an overwhelming mandate from the American people. There's a new president in the White House and that of course is our president, President Donald Trump, who has immediately gotten to work on his America First Agenda for the Department of Defense. Among those are four top line points that I think are very important for those in this room to understand. Those are protecting the US homeland, deterring China, maintaining the ability to strike America's enemies anywhere in the world and then also asking our allies to do more. We all know that this is a tall task to be sure. So President Trump knew he needed a certain type of leader to bring the department into the 21st century. And he found that leader in Secretary Pete Hegseth. So in less than two months, Secretary Hegseth has taken monumental steps to return the Department of Defense to its core mission, which is warfighting, lethality, meritocracy. In a very, very short amount of time, Secretary Hegseth has restored the warrior ethos. He's declared DEI dead at the DOD. He's made the sovereignty of our borders a matter of national security. And we are refocused on training, fitness and high standards across the board here in the Department of Defense. So before we get into our updates today, I just wanted to take this opportunity to say that this Department of Defense is committed to achieving our mission of maintaining the greatest fighting force the world has ever known. And returning the Department of Defense back to the American warfighter and making it more transparent to the American taxpayer. So starting out, as I'm sure you've all seen over the weekend, US Central Command forces initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran backed Houthi targets across Yemen to restore freedom of navigation and reestablish American deterrence. For years, the Houthis have targeted US military ships and aircraft. They've hit commercial ships as well including US flagged vessels. And they threaten our personnel overseas. Houthi terrorists have launched missiles and one way attack drones at US warships over 170 times and at commercial vessels 145 times since 2023. I know what it's like to be in a situation when you're under fire by the enemy. Your life is at risk. The life of your friends and your battle buddies is at risk. And you're prohibited from returning fire. That's a hellish situation that I wouldn't wish on my worst adversary. It's a tough position that we put America's sons and daughters in. Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth's leadership, we will defend our sons and daughters. If you shoot at American troops, there will be consequences. As President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made clear, these actions by the Houthis will not be tolerated. In his first two days back at the White House, President Trump signed an order laying out a process to redesignate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization after the previous administration revoked their designation within weeks of taking office. Under the previous administration, America's enemies were emboldened and billions in frozen funds were unlocked for Iran. With President Trump and Secretary Hegseth's leadership, an era of peace through strength is back. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective. With that said, and this is a very important point, this is also not an endless offensive. This is not about regime change in the Middle East. This is about putting American interests first. As I said over the weekend, there is a very clear end state to this operation. And that begins the moment that the Houthis pledge to stop attacking our ships and putting American lives at risk. Shifting focus to Africa. At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, US Africa Command forces conducted collective self-defense airstrikes against al-Shabab on March 15th. The airstrikes occurred about 150 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu, Somalia. And AFRICOM's initial assessment is that enemy combatants were killed and that no civilians were injured or killed. And so US forces will continue to partner with Somali armed forces to take the fight to these terrorists and degrade their ability to plan and conduct attacks that threaten the US homeland, our forces and civilians abroad. Now on to homeland defense. President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have been very, very clear that border security is national security. We spent decades defending foreign nation's borders while our own US border has been invaded by criminal, illegal aliens, human smugglers, drug traffickers and transnational gangs. The Department of Defense is proud to defend our homeland and the territorial sovereignty of the United States. Although we've seen a 93 percent decrease in illegal border crossings, we will not stop until we have 100 percent operational control of our southern border. And over the weekend, Joint Task Force Southern Border assumed the mission from Joint Task Force North and reached initial operating capacity. Additionally, US Northern Command announced on Saturday that the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer, the USS Gravely departed Naval Weapons Station Yorktown for a scheduled deployment to the Gulf of America. And we're actually making some history from the podium today. It's the first time we've recognized the Gulf of America in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room, which is kind of cool. So it's not only vital for the United States to have control of our border via land. It's equally important to control our territorial waters. And this deployment directly supports US Northern Command's mission to protect our sovereignty. And lastly, Secretary Hegseth spoke with Qatari Minister of State for Defense Affairs His Excellency Sheikh Saud Al-Thani to discuss operations to eliminate the Houthi threat to American commerce and restore American freedom of navigation. The secretary acknowledged Qatar's strong partnership in addressing shared security challenges across the region, including Syria and the Red Sea. And with that, I'll turn it over to my counterpart Grinch for some more opening comments on CENTCOM strikes. General, the floor is yours. AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for the opportunity to provide you a brief operational update on our operations against the Houthis. On Saturday, the 15th of March, shortly after 1 pm eastern time, at the direction of the president, US Central Command began precision strike operations against the Houthis to restore freedom of navigation and American deterrence. The initial wave of strikes hit over 30 targets at multiple locations degrading a variety of Houthi capabilities. These included terrorist training sites, unmanned aerial vehicle infrastructure, weapons manufacturing capabilities and weapons storage facilities. It also included a number of command and control centers, including a terrorist compound where we know several senior Houthi unmanned aerial vehicle experts were located. On Sunday, strike operations continued against additional headquarters locations, weapons storage facilities as well as detection capabilities that have been used to threaten maritime shipping in the past. Today the operation continues. And it will continue in the coming days until we achieve the president's objectives. I look forward to your questions. MR. PARNELL: And with that in this very crowded briefing room, I'll take some of your questions. And the first, I'll go to Logan from Newsmax. Q: Sean, thank you for taking my question. This really is for both of you. A question about the Behshad, that's the Iran spy ship that has been directing the Houthis throughout this conflict. Is it still operating in support of the Houthis? If so, do you know where it is? MR. PARNELL: General, turn it over to you to address that. AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Sure, we know that the Iranians have provided a variety of assistance to the Houthis over the years, including some suspected intelligence. We do know that some had previously come from the Behshad. The Behshad is not currently being used for those operations, but we do know that other vessels are contemplated for those sorts of operations. So, we're watching very closely to see if they return to the AO. MR. PARNELL: I would also say that, when you look at how the previous administration conducted business with Iran, they really empowered Iran to fund and export terror all around the world, whether it was with Hezbollah, Hamas, specifically with the Houthis. I mean, I think President Trump has made it very clear that he's put Iran on notice. I mean, I'm sure that you saw his tweet today essentially saying, and I'm paraphrasing, that any shot fired at US forces by the Houthis would be considered a shot from Iran. And this is the president showcasing leadership from the Oval Office and, frankly, bringing moral clarity back to the United States of America. We know who the enemies of this country are, and the enemies of a free world are, and President Trump has put them on notice, as you saw with Iran this morning. But okay, Gabby. Q: Thank you for taking my question. I wanted to run back to TDA and MS-13 deportations to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement center. Do we anticipate to renew that partnership as it will conclude after one year? If yes, what does that look like from a cost perspective? And how is Guantanamo Bay factored into dealing with criminal aliens and terrorists considering this new Pentagon is more focused on securing the border? MR. PARNELL: Well, that's a great question. So, I think part of your question about El Salvador should be referred to the State Department. But I'll say that the Department of Defense is proud to defend our homeland and our sovereignty in helping to deport transnational criminal organizations like Tren de Aragua, we're proud to support that mission. I don't know, General, do you have anything to offer about Guantanamo Bay and our force posture there? AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Sure, I just had a couple of things for you, Gabby. We do continue to have a substantial presence at Guantanamo Bay to ensure that we're ready to receive any illegal aliens that the Department of Homeland Security would like to send there. We're monitoring their requirements closely and we're in daily contact with them to make sure that we can meet them to the best of our ability. MR. PARNELL: Tom. Q: Sean, if the Iranian ships are operational, start helping the Houthis, will they be targeted? And for the General, any sense of number of military casualties so far and any civilian casualties in Yemen? MR. PARNELL: Well, that's a great question. General, if you'll permit me to answer it. AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Sure, go ahead. MR. PARNELL: So, I think that I certainly don't want to get out in front of the commander in chief and the secretary as it pertains to clearance of strikes and who will be targeted. But I think the president has made very clear that all options are on the table. AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Yeah, Tom, just on your question of casualties – military casualties, we have some initial estimates. I hesitate to say what they are because they're very much estimates at this point. But think in terms of dozens might be a safe overall characterization. Yeah, dozens of military casualties so far, but I really can't characterize it much better than that at this point. We'll learn more as we go. On the civilian casualty side. No indications of any civilian casualties. We of course have seen some of the accusations by the Houthis. We look at those closely when they do come in, but we have no credible indications of any civilian casualties. MR. PARNELL: I'd like to add to what General Grynkewich said. Any time you're close to an operation like this, having been in enemy combat enemy before – the fog of war is a real thing. So, before we announce something here from the podium, we're going to make sure that we get it right. And I think part of that is just taking the time to evaluate and doing proper battle damage – BDA, battle damage assessment, sensitive site exploitation. And frankly, that stuff just takes time. And so, before we make any sort of those announcements, we're going to do a real hard look and make sure that we get it right before we announce it to you. Charlie from CBS. Q: Yes, thank you, Sean. Changing the subject slightly – is the DOD considering rescheduling the performance of young musicians and the Marine band that was canceled because of the anti-DEI executive order? And in a broader sense, is there a concern that anti-DEI initiatives may have a negative impact on recruitment? MR. PARNELL: Well, I think the president and the secretary have been very clear on this, that anybody that says – in the Department of Defense that diversity is our strength is frankly incorrect. Our shared purpose and unity are our strength, and I say this as somebody who led a combat platoon in Afghanistan that was probably the most diverse platoon that you could possibly imagine. I mean, we had blacks serving next to whites, Christians serving next to atheists, Northerners next to Southerners and, yes, democrats and republicans in the very same foxhole. But the reason why we were so lethal in Afghanistan – and again, my platoon took an 85 percent casualty rate over 485 days. But part of the reason why we were able to accomplish the mission and the commander's intent was because we put aside our many differences as Americans. There were no hyphenated Americans with us in that isolated hilltop on the border region of Afghanistan. We were all just Americans. And really, when you talk about America's greatest strength, yes, we've got – I'm sure the general can attest, yes, we've got lots of cool, sexy equipment and lots of exceptional military training. I think it helps set us apart from everybody else. But what makes us exceptional fighters on the battlefield is our ability to put aside our many differences and unite under a common banner as Americans. I mean, for goodness' sake, when we put aside our many differences as Americans, we went to the moon with less technology than many of you all have in your pockets and your cell phones right now. We're talking about a force that stormed the beaches of Normandy, scaled the cliffs at Pointe Du Hoc, fought through hedgerows and beat back the Nazi war machine and saved the world when we put aside our many differences as Americans. And I know President Trump understands that our focus on unity and shared purpose is what makes us lethal and so does Secretary Hegseth. So, their guidance has been clear on this and we're going to continue to focus on that guidance. Q: In terms of the concert, are you thinking about rescheduling that? MR. PARNELL: I don't think – I'll have to take that question for you. I don't have an answer for you, but we'll get back to you on that. Oh, let's go to the phones. I'm getting a signal we should go to the phones. OK, let's – we've got JJ Green on the line from WTOP. Q: Hey, Sean, thank you for doing this. A question about Ukraine. Can you assess how the US military – assess the status of US military aid to Ukraine and the intelligence sharing, how that's going since it was disrupted a few – maybe a week or so ago and then restarted? What's being shared, what's being given? What's happening with that? MR. PARNELL: Well, I can tell you that US military aid to Ukraine has been turned back on as well as intelligence sharing with our Ukrainian partners. But I'll tell you this, the president has been very clear since his time on the campaign trail that his focus with the war in Ukraine is bringing about peace and putting a distinct focus on peace and really to stop the dying. And so, President Trump, along with his national security team, have been heavily involved in – along with Secretary Hegseth as well, heavily involved with Ukraine and Russia to try to broker that peace, understanding that there will likely be difficult conversations to be had on both sides when you're talking about the release of hostages, when you're talking about potential cease fire agreements, when you're talking about territory. As someone who's negotiated with some tough people on the battlefield, I can tell you it's a tough, imperfect, nuanced and complicated process. And President Trump and Secretary Hegseth certainly understand that with, on the forefront of their mind, peace as their first and foremost priority. General, do you have anything to add? AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: No, I would just echo what you said, sir, which is, yeah, the status of US military aid, it has been turned back on. We've got confirmed reports that it is continuing or is flowing back into Ukraine and, of course, daily reports on the outcome of the intelligence sharing and those efforts. So, all of that is as it was previously. MR. PARNELL: So, I'm going to stick with the phones here just a second. I've got Kristina from Breitbart on the phones. Do I understand that? Q: Yes, thanks so much for doing this, Sean. Two questions. After US strikes against the Houthis on Saturday, the Houthis fired drones and missiles at the Truman. Will there be a response to those attacks? And secondly, the Pentagon has deployed the USS Gravely, can you tell us a little bit about what it will be doing there, exactly what its mission will be? MR. PARNELL: So I guess I'll address the first part of your question first, Christina and then, general, I'll let you chime in. The question of the Houthis, I mean, can – what was – remind me what the first part of your question was, Christina? AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Q: Will there be a response to the Houthi attacks on the – on the Truman? MR. PARNELL: It was that. I got you. So first of all, we did get reports of the Houthis firing ballistic missiles and some one way attack drones against US forces in the region. Those attacks were largely ineffective and didn't come anywhere near US forces in the region. Again, the commanders in command of those vessels were – I mean, they were completely on point with regards to defending. They were not effective attacks. And so I would also say the second part – the answer to the second part of that question is that the response is ongoing. I mean, this isn't – there's going to be, as I mentioned, a very clear end state to this. And I think a lot of that has to do with how the Houthis respond. Firing at US military personnel in the region and shooting at our ships and shooting at our drones and putting American lives at risk is not a good way to end this conflict. The Houthis could stop this tomorrow if they said we're going to stop shooting at your people. But they've clearly chosen not to do that. And so this campaign will be relentless to degrade their capability and to open up shipping lanes in the region and to defend our homeland. But general, go ahead. AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Yeah, thanks, Sean. The only thing I would add is, you know the Houthis claim to have tried to attack the Harry S Truman. Quite frankly, it's hard to tell. Because while we're executing precision strikes, they missed by over 100 miles. So I would just tell you their effectiveness, I would question anything that they claim in the press that they're doing or not doing. It's very hard to tell what they are just based on their level of incompetence that they've demonstrated so far. Q: Sorry the missile missed by hundred miles? AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Yes, that's correct. There's also been a number of other attempts to interdict vessels in the – in the Red Sea using UAVs and some cruise missiles as well. All of those have been easily defeated by our fighter aircraft that are there. MR. PARNELL: General Grinch throwing shade at the Houthis from the podium. I love it. AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: I had – meant – some the folks in here know that my previous job I dealt with the Houthis quite a bit. I'm – MR. PARNELL: Yes, you did. Yes, you did. AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: I'm happy to throw shade at them. On the question about the USS Gravely that you had, Kristina. So she's deploying under General Guillot the commander of US Northern Command authorities for maritime homeland defense missions. She'll go down, as Sean mentioned, into the Gulf of America and surrounding areas and be involved in the interdiction mission for any of the drugs and whatnot that are heading in. It'll be partnered very closely with the United States Coast Guard. So we won't share, of course, her actual schema maneuver here, but know that that's a mission that she's going down there for. And we look forward to seeing what she can do. MR. PARNELL: And on that point about the USS Gravely, I think it's really important that, you know, the president and the secretary made very clear hundred percent operational control of our southern border. I mean, we've got probably close to 10,000 troops on our southern border. We're surging a Stryker brigade combat team down there to reinforce the land border as well. But there's a sea component to this as well. And that's part of the mission of the USS Gravely is to secure those – the water routes and in defense of our – of our southern border. And so, Erin, Daily Caller? Q: Thank you, Sean. Will the Department of Defense commit to firing or otherwise disciplining any remaining leadership that were directly involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal? MR. PARNELL: So we're in the process of figuring out what that investigation will look like. But I'll tell you as somebody who served in Afghanistan and watched that unfold, I mean I was – I was horrified, in a lot of ways. You know, you think about how much time and blood and treasure and American life that was lost in Afghanistan over 20 years. You think about that for a second. You know, I'm 43 years old. This country was at war in Afghanistan for 20 years. So almost half of my life this country was at war in Afghanistan. And I personally watched, you know, the men in my platoon, but also my larger brigade combat team, which was a part of the 10th Mountain Division Third Brigade. We bled the ground red in Afghanistan. And I watched my men do extraordinary things in support of a grateful nation and in support of the mission there. And to watch Afghanistan be surrendered in the way that it was, was extremely difficult. And I think something that President Trump and Secretary Hegseth really understand is that when America makes a decision to get involved in – in any conflict, we have a moral obligation to have a clear cut end state to what that operation looks like. A clear exit strategy to what that operation looks like. And to make sure that victory is clearly defined. And I think in Iraq and certainly in Afghanistan over the last 20 some years, I think maybe, you know, we've struggled a little bit with those finer points. But I'll say that President Trump and Secretary Hegseth they understand that when America gets involved in a fight, it's our job to also end that fight as fast as humanly possible because we have a moral obligation to win and win decisively. Otherwise, you're going to have an entire generation of American warriors wondering what the hell it was all for. And I know, listen, I know that every day I wake up and I draw breath, I think about the men who I served with who were my friends, who never came home from that fight. I've lost 30 friends in – in – in my support of the Afghan war. 30. And you ask yourself, you look yourself in the mirror, you ask yourself what do we have to show for it? Not a whole lot. And so to your question of – of will those – what – will people be held accountable? I think we have an obligation both to the American people and to the American warfighters who fought in Afghanistan to hold the leadership accountable in some way. Now we don't know what that looks like right now, but to hold the leadership that was in charge of the Afghan withdrawal accountable. Because look, if you have a private that loses a sensitive item that loses night vision goggles, that loses a weapon, you can bet that that private is going to be held accountable. The same and equal standards must apply to senior military leaders, so. Q: You're just giving – I just want to follow up on what you just said. MR. PARNELL: Sure. Q: You said that, you know, there needs to be a clear end state. And I know that goal is to have the Houthis stop their attacks. But what is the end state? What happens if the Houthis don't stop their attacks or don't agree to say they'll stop their attacks? It doesn't seem like there is a clear end state that this could just go on and on. MR. PARNELL: Well, in fairness, – and mean, it's a great question, but in fairness, the operation has only been going on for 48 hours. And the president and secretary have been very clear on this that the Houthis can determine when this ends. And until then, the campaign will be unrelenting until we, one, protect our homeland and two, open up the shipping lanes there. So make sure that we have freedom of maneuver in that area. But I – general, do you have something to add? AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Well, I mean, what I might add is while we won't talk about it publicly. Just know that there is a design to the operation. There are specific effects that we're trying to achieve. And there are specific targets that have been selected and approaches that we're taking in order to achieve the president's end state. So it isn't that we're just striking capabilities, there's an intent behind every strike and every target that we go after. Q: To that point, what is – you mentioned that this is not like it was before. So what are – what is different about the targeting that you're doing this time that wasn't true under the Biden administration? AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Yeah, I'll give the short answer to that. And again, without going into too many operational details for security reasons, but it's a much broader set of targets that we've been able to – to action in this case. And the other key differences are the delegation of authorities from the president through Secretary Hegseth down to the operational commander. So that allows us to achieve a tempo of operations where we can react to opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put pressure on the Houthis. Q: Thank you very much. Will this operation include sending ground troops into Yemen? If so, how do you achieve your objective of making them say enough without sending ground troops? MR. PARNELL: Well, I'll tell you, it's very difficult, if not impossible for us to talk about force posture from this podium. Because as a commander who's been on the battlefield, it's very, very important to keep the enemy guessing. Keep your adversaries guessing. Now, that's not to say that we've got ground troops in – in Yemen. That's not to say that we're sending ground troops in. But it's difficult to talk about that stuff for operational security reasons from the podium. But general, do you have anything to add? AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: No, nothing to add to that. I think that's exactly right. Q: Sean, can I follow up on that? You said that – that one of the things that you were waiting to do for the BDA was sensitive site exploitation. Does that include US boots on the ground or any kind of American personnel on the ground to do that? MR. PARNELL: I can't talk about that stuff from the podium. But we have – we have ways of conducting sensitive site exploitations without ground troops on the ground. AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Yeah, it doesn't – does not always require boots on the ground and I'll just leave it at that. Q: So can I also ask you about if there's any US military assessment? I know that you said the BDA is ongoing, but is there any military assessment about how much of the Houthis capabilities were degraded by these first couple of rounds? And can you say anything, the President's Truth Social mentioned going after leaders, which seems to be one of the things that's different here, can you say anything about any of the leaders that were targeted here? AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: Yeah, on the second part of the question, I'll just go to my opening statement where I mentioned that there was a unmanned aerial vehicle facility that was struck with several key leaders. Those were key individuals who led their unmanned aerial vehicle enterprise and were some of the technical experts in there. So I think those types of individuals – We might be targeting as part of the command and control. MR. PARNELL: And so, we have destroyed command and control facilities, weapons manufacturing facilities and advanced weapons storage locations. But again, this campaign is ongoing. It's difficult to talk about all this stuff from the podium, and we're not going to say anything from the podium until we're 100 percent sure that we have it right. I've got time for one more question. Q: You mentioned the president's Truth Social. Is the US military considering a military option for Iran? MR. PARNELL: I don't want to get out in front of the president or the secretary, but clearly – I mean, I think the president's Truth Social was pretty clear, and I think the meaning is right there for everybody. I think everybody understands what he means. I don't want to get out in front of the president, but all options are on the table at this time. And that's all I've got. Q: One clarification for the General. You said 30 targets, is that over all three days? AIR FORCE LT. GEN. GRYNKEWICH: No, that was on the first day, and it was over 30 targets. So, not a specific number for you, but over 30 targets, multiple locations and then additional targets today and additional targets – I'm sorry, additional targets yesterday on Sunday and additional targets today that obviously I won't go into because they're executing now. MR. PARNELL: So, thank you, everybody. Listen, we're done. There'll be more of these I promise, but thank you, it was a great first press briefing. Really appreciate you all and your commitment to telling the story of the warfighters. But thank you. We'll see you next time.

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