 I'm Tech Sergeant Holly Roberts Davis and welcome to the Worldwide Troop Talk with Secretary of Defense Ash Carter We are gonna have an hour long with the Secretary of Defense today taking live questions from all around the world We're gonna be visiting Navy ships. We're gonna be going to Marine Corps bases. It's gonna be an action-packed show I definitely can feel that and of course you're probably watching now either on Facebook live or Defense.gov so keep right where you are and of course if you're watching overseas We thank you for joining us, but I will not keep everybody waiting any longer without further ado the Secretary of Defense Ash Carter Welcome Of course perfect. All right. Well, sir, you know, it's been about a year since the last time you were here and You know, we just want to ask why is it so important that you come visit us and get able you're able to engage with the troops With this particular way of doing it, which I'm really grateful for lets me get to so many other people I mean you all on camera here You're what I wake up for every morning. This is what it's I mean, my mind is all the time on you guys You're you are what makes ours the finest fighting force the world has ever known. It's our people it starts with our people So that's my whole Day and all my attention basically centered on our folks now I travel around the world and I see our folks are deployed I see our folks that are all Posts and installations and so forth and you talk to as many of them as you can try to listen to what they're saying Pick up things that help us do a better job here of Supporting you because that's why we're in Washington here in the Pentagon where we work for you But here this one lets me I mean with the technology and so forth We're gonna be talking to folks all around the world and so it's a great opportunity for me to reach more people and to hear from more people Perfect. All right. Well, thank you. You know last time you it wasn't me But last time we had a worldwide troop talk you were only about six months in office So I'm sure a lot has happened since then. I know you recently made changes to the maternity Leave policy as well as transgender policy. So what else can you tell me about what's been going on since the last Well, I'll talk a little bit about some of our first of the future things But let me just jump ahead There's a whole lot that we do here and in addition to thinking about the future and taking care of our people of course, we are we are defeating our enemies and So in the last 18 months, we've also gotten a lot of results in what will be the certain Crushing of ISIL in Iraq and Syria and everywhere else in the world. We can come back to that. That's really important But you ask about people and things like maternity policy the I mean look at look at these folks here and I Need to make sure as secretary defense that not only do we take care of you But that there comes behind you a Generation that's as fine as you are now. I can't take that for granted Because the economy changes people's lives changes kids are different in every generation and they think differently and if I'm gonna if I'm gonna Reach out to them and make them feel the excitement of service and the nobility of doing what is the Finest thing you can do with your life, which is protect other people make a better world if I'm gonna attract them I got to keep thinking about what that's gonna be like likewise. I got people here. I want to keep you and So how do I keep people so you let's take? Maternity and just as an example we are a married force About 70% of our Commissioned officers are married and about half of our enlisted are married. That's high by national standards. It's good We have you know good family life stable Place for kids to grow up and all that's all that's great But it also means this that when a service member has been in for let's say 10 years and Reaches that decision point where I want them to stay Because they've been here that long there they've gotten really good at what they do and they've got a future ahead of them And I want to keep them. That's exactly the time in their lives, Holly when they are thinking about having a family frequently and I That has to be a priority for them But I want us to be also a priority and to the extent possible those two things not to clash So I can't do everything I got to deploy people where I got to deploy them I got to send them or I got to send them it kind of is what it is It's the profession of arms. You got to do what the nation needs But wherever we can afford to be Flexible we should be flexible. So in maternity leave for example, we doubled the length of that We looked at the readiness implications or and decided it was way worth it in terms of retention Compared to any impact it had on readiness did the same thing. It's smaller but for paternity leave also because dads matter As well and in all of these things that you see as the family programs and other things and reaching out to make sure that the entire Population females yes transgender. Yes Because we're all the volunteer force and so I got a it does not everybody gets in right we pick the best But I want to be able to pick from the widest pool and pick purely based on their Qualifications and their ability to contribute to service and not anything else that what matters is Can you meet the standards and are you the best? Thank you for that. Mr. Secretary You can even look at the audience and see the wide variety of people that are here today and it's across the board So we want to make sure it's got to be that way perfect. All right. Well, sir Thank you for all of that information. I'm sure that answered some questions for those watching at home But of course we have plenty more questions come in your way. So let's go ahead and get started We're gonna head out first to Baghdad, Iraq and now keep in mind. There may be a little bit of a delay This is live so Baghdad if you can hear me Staff Sergeant Rory Radke. Go ahead with your question for the Secretary of Defense Mr. Secretary once ISIL is defeated in Iraq will there be an enduring presence for the US much like there is in Korea Well, it's a good question. But first of all, let me I like the way you think once ISIL is defeated damn right. I said gonna be So that that that that part's right and then you're right. What comes after that? What's important and you know because of the way you're approaching this and working with the Iraqi forces Which can be frustrating but is the only way to do it because it's the only way to make victory stick What we can't run these places. We can't govern these countries So once we defeat ISIL, it's important that the people who live there regain their countries and And and and govern them in a way that doesn't let radicals get back in So that is why we're taking the approach to the war that you are right now and very successfully And Of course where we position forces or station forces is a decision that the governments of those countries Makes and that'll be something down the road that we work with the Iraqi government with what's obvious and very clear Is we're gonna be in that region for a long time because we're gonna be worldwide long We're in the Asia Pacific we're in Europe. We're gonna be the Middle East because Isles a big problem, but one we're gonna Take care of through defeat, but we have Iran Over there, I mean there are other issues in the Middle East and then we go to Europe We have the possibility of Russian Aggression as the kind we saw in Ukraine you go out to the Asia Pacific which is an important region That's that's generally peaceful, but it's only peaceful when peace is kept And so it's a big world out there and we're gonna be there and I you bet will be in your Region even after Isles defeating Isle will be defeated All right, thank you, mr. Secretary keep up the good work. I'll see in a little while by the way Tell you when Well that was a Staff Sergeant Rory Radke in Baghdad Iraq He is actually a combat engineer and he's part of the 101st Airborne Division so props to him out there You know mr. Secretary I was thinking about The show today and I was doing a little research and it's actually it was the Air Force birthday just a few days ago And of course it was the birthday of your job the office of the Secretary of Defense as well So bear with me a little bit and think back to maybe the first Secretary of Defense. That was 1947 I'm gonna say he didn't have a Twitter account He he didn't and Actually, I hate to say this but he had other issues as well and and actually committed suicide Oh, the job didn't get off to a great start And I don't I'm not sure anybody ever knows why but things have gone well after that And I will say we've been really blessed. I've I've Worked for Secretary's in defense here in this building since God helped me 1980. So I've known all of these People and we've been blessed with people have been real patriots who really cared, you know worked hard Rights to be in one of the reasons why we we have the the finest So I got good people in front of me and I got to make sure I leave to my successors and my successors Successor would I have been blessed to have which this is this magnificent military? Well, and it's great that you're able to sit here today with us and engage with our audience here in the Pentagon And of course on social media, so let's go now to Twitter and see what they have been asking you This is from 247 how have you applied what you learned as a medieval history major to your role? Obviously the wise guy answers is not so bad to know something about the dark ages when you're doing what we what we have to do But this this serious answer. I was actually Interested in history and I was interested in physics They say well those are two different things and they were kind of right-brain left-brain things And you guys probably had the same sort of variety of interests in yourselves history is good to know in what we do Because it's very good to know why it's one of the explanations for why things are the way they are and It helps you solve problems when you say now, what do I do about this and then you think back Well, what is like this that's happened in the past can I look back on history and understand? Physics is useful because it's very important to know how the world works for us It's important to know how our weapon systems work how our systems work and space cyber and If that's mysterious to you, it'll be harder to do what you need to do. So they've both been been Useful to me and it's a good reason why everybody why I Continuing to give you all training opportunities and educational opportunities is important You and I continue to grow and learn we all do I'm still learning and In today's world you don't stop learning when you're a kid You want to keep learning your whole life and we got to give people the opportunity to do that makes them better for us And it makes them More inclined to stick with us because they have their it's an opportunity to improve themselves Thank you for that mr. Secretary and it just shows that there's a variety of backgrounds that can be beneficial to what we do every day Great. Thank you. We're gonna go right now to someone who's doing a little learning themselves We're going out to the United States Military Academy at West Point in New York I was just out there a little while ago for the wounded warrior games and it's a beautiful campus out there So go ahead with your question for the Secretary of Defense Sir, good morning. I'm cadet Adam Cratch first class cadet at West Point. Thanks for taking my question So something we see a lot in the news recently is a state-sponsored cyber attack from nations like Russia China and North Korea How will the force of the future handle this challenge? And I may just add you're absolutely right Adam and by the way West Point does some important research and In this area, it's very helpful to us and let me just add to your problems that non-state actors As well, I mean they can be amateurs. They can be criminals Clever people anywhere with a keyboard and so it's a big problem for us and our and job one For us is the protection of our own networks Because you can't do what you need to do Unless you're connected. That's one of the ways that we dominate enemies And so I need to make sure that the soldiers and the sailors and the airmen and the Marines and the aircraft and the ships and Everything else are connected and in today's word. You have to defend that so we have service Cyber units we have a cyber command and the future That is an area where we're Making big investments and money really isn't the key people are the key Good people are the key so making sure folks up there at West Point just take one of our educational institutions Get a good training so I was up there a little while ago I missed the warrior games because of weather but I was up there for another Reason and went to one of your classes where you're doing cyber training and probably all of you have had some Training there, but it's a critical part of our military capability in the future The key is people therefore another part of the force of the future has to meet people who are not everybody But some people who are the best in the world at cyber and particularly cyber cyber defense It's a people problem much more than a money problem All right. Thank you mr. Secretary and Cadet Adam Cratch. Thank you. I believe Adam I believe he has another question for you though. So go ahead with your question So sir a big question right now that I have for you is who do you have winning this year army or Navy? You know you know Adam I can't answer that I can't do that. I Have to give you the the I hope for a great game answer, but I'll be there I'll be there. You can read my body language or more Probably read my wife my wife She's a huge football fan, and it's always a great game, but I can't say I'm a joint guy here You're rooting for purple. All right. Well speaking of purple We have a purple audience here with us live at the Pentagon So we're gonna go ahead and get a question from somebody in our audience So if you have a question for the Secretary of Defense, please stand up get a microphone introduce yourself and go ahead with your question Good morning, Mr. Secretary. I'm Ensign Mark Rockwell Pate. I'm a public affairs officer with Chimpo My question for you is with military budget cuts and a looming continuing resolution How does the department plan to address the services budgetary? You know needs and requirements particularly in the areas of the nuclear triad and oh how replacement class Very very good question. I will be Up tomorrow morning on Capitol Hill arguing exactly for that they the Let me sort of begin at the beginning here, which is We Need the resources that are necessary to defend the country and keep our force the finest and the only way that Budget stable budgets year and year, which is what we need when you budget we can't have this up down her key jerky Not certain whether we're gonna get a budget. You know, Jesus the 25th of September so the fiscal year ends in a few days We don't have a budget for next year again for the 8th consecutive year and So now I can't control that but I'm pleading with Congress and the only way to do this is to come together Bipartisan, but you know the only way anything gets done ultimately and get Gridlock behind and get behind a stable budget For us and also I should say, you know, I we I can't be indifferent as secretary defense to the budgets of the FBI and the intelligence community and the Department of Energy which helps us with nuclear weapons, which I'll get to in a in a moment and In the long run everything else like education and research and development that make our country strong So I can't speak for their budgets. I don't deal with their their issues, but everybody needs some measure of budget Stability and we know that it needs to be balanced and therefore all the parts need to come together And the only way to get that is for people to come together. It's been very frustrating not to have that nevertheless We And we may are managing as best we can risk under those Circumstances our top priority and chiefs were up on the hill last week talking about that and I'll be talking about it with the chairman Tomorrow is readiness. We never want anybody to go into harm's way who isn't fully trained for the mission They're going into that's got to be job one. That's our highest priority and as we try to balance the budget We balance it against Of the things that we'd also like to spend money on we think we make the best judgments in here about that So when we submit a budget to the president and to capital it reflects our best judgment We're real hard on this about what we need and how to balance these things And I I wish they were that respect would be shown for the judgment of our leadership here about what is the best Investments and we would get some budget Stability so that's my plea And you'll hear more on that tomorrow with respect to the nuclear triad I think you mentioned that we are committed to a safe secure and reliable nuclear triad Into the future as far as I can see That is a bedrock capability for the United States not in the news a lot I mean fortunately, you don't see us using it All right, and that's a good thing but the reason for that is that it's always there. It's in there in the background It's not in the headlines. It's in the background as a garing tour of our security and Of nuclear stability around the world We're going to make investments in that Because we need to Everything gets old and needs to be replaced so the Ohio class replacement is the Trident submarines which are going to be Replaced by new very good submarines also that has to happen. We're building a new bomber Not just for the nuclear mission, but a new stealthy bomber the B 21 bomber the air force But it will also have nuclear a capability on top of the other bombers that we already have to have nuclear capability and We're also going to recapitalize the Minuteman ICBM For us all of that and keep the nuclear umbrella over Countries in Europe and Asia which we have 3d commitments to all that we got to do and We've got to afford that and that's going to be a matter of balance I'm confident we will do that because it's so important that I'm confident that those who manage those programs as the years go by Will do so they'll spend as little as they can because we're always trying to be as efficient and economical as possible But I'm confident we'll keep all three legs of the trade going Have to Thank you. All right. Thank you, sir And hopefully that answered your question if you're watching at home on AFN or streaming live on Facebook You can always still submit a question to be considered during the show Just use that hashtag ask sec def in any of your social media posts or you can send us an email to ask sec def at mail Dot mail we are live here at the Pentagon. So hurry up and get those questions in so we can consider them right now though We're gonna go somewhere else. We've been to Baghdad already. We've been to West Point We're gonna go out to Quantico just down the road and speak to a brand new Cadet Well, he not a cadet, but he he just graduated his OCS school We're gonna speak to Second Lieutenant Travis Crane and then go ahead with your question for the Secretary of Defense Congratulations Travis Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Good morning, and thank you for this opportunity As Tech Sergeant said my name is second lieutenant Travis Crane and my question for you, sir Is as a future naval aviator for the Marine Corps? What will the Defense Department's priorities be an aviation over the next five to ten years when I will be a captain or a major? Well, I think for the Marine Corps The biggest priority right now in Marine Corps aviation is to restore the readiness of what you have One of the reasons and that's been a subject of budget stability and also the fact that we the op tempo Of the Marine Corps. So we we are in general Neller. I think it's probably spoken to you about this We have some readiness gaps to make up that we're trying to make up that'll take some time as well some money But we're gonna devote them To it but One of the reasons for that is that almost all of Marine Corps aviation. We're in the process of modernizing So what you're gonna see as a Marine entering there is a new generation of rotary craft continued V-22 Osprey very importantly the f-35 joint strike fighter will be entering the Marine Corps Inventory actually is entering the Marine Corps inventory right now And I think the Marine Corps in mission wise Is going to continue to have the it is the kind of ready-to-go? Force that is multi-capable that's its kind of Comparative advantage within our family of military System so the main thing you're gonna see is a brand new Family of airframes you're gonna be flying. Do you have a particular one you're interested in? Yes, sir, hopefully the f-35 You're gonna like the f-35 I was under secretary for acquisition technology and logistics once upon a time which by the way my kids used to say It was the most boring title They said nobody knows what that is why don't you be CIA director? All right, it's under secretary for acquisition technology and logistics I worked a lot on the f-35 and new programs particularly big ones like that are always have lots of issues as they go along But it's really coming along now. You're gonna like the f-35 All right, mr. Secretary. Thank you and lieutenant crane. Thank you for joining us here live We're at the Pentagon for the worldwide troop talk with the secretary of defense And you know, we've gone to these bases and they pretty much stay where they are West Point doesn't move You know Quantico doesn't move, but we're going right now somewhere that does move. We're going to a Navy ship We're going to the zoom Walt and we have them on the phone So please introduce yourself to the secretary and you know, maybe tell him a little bit about what it's like to live on a Ship or you know, if it's fun or not go ahead with your question. Good morning, mr. Secretary. I'm petty officer Empson I love being on the zone while she's definitely the most advanced and awesome ship in the fleet right now The question that I had though is You mentioned earlier that some people get out of the military to start a family or to help support it There's definitely some other reasons also Is there gonna be a an exit survey if you will to kind of figure out why people are getting out of the military and see if It can approve some processes or quality of life Ah men to that the question is about exit surveys and yes, we need to do them. That's it's one of the Aspects of the transition Programs that are now new and one of them is their principal purposes to help service members who are leaving to Find a future that is worthy of the excellence of the people we have and if I can just divert a little bit one of the things I'm I'm very proud of in our country is People love to hire veterans and that wasn't through believe me. I was back I I grew up in the Vietnam era and it was that was different and heart breaking just the attitudes towards us Then the attitudes are completely different now. They know how good you are That's nice because it means you get good jobs if you leave I don't always like it because it means good people leave and they're hiring away good people So it's good to send a two-edged sword to me But one of the things we do as people leave is say why and Try to learn from that now may seem silly that it's taken us so long to getting around to doing that But it's part of another part of the force of the future which is to apply modern personnel and talent management techniques To us. That's one of the things I'm trying to do We can't use everything that the outside world uses because we're not a business, right? We're the profession of arms But there are things that they do that make sense for us. So that is one Another one is giving recruiters feedback. How did your guys do? They used to get that they put them in the pipe and then they couldn't connect what they saw at the recruiting station To the ultimate result. Well, how do you know? How do you adjust your game if you don't have that kind of data? We're trying to do that linked in type Social media that allow You to look for opportunities in your service and your ones To look for good matches in the same way they do in the outside world rather than this paper system and you go in and you ask and you and We can do things better that way. We can make better use of you Get you to stick with us Or if you're leaving at least know why you're leaving Yes, sir. Thank you You know you mentioned earlier that we want these people to stay and you're putting programs in place But what if those aren't the programs they're looking for so it's good to have that information That's why it's important to hear hear hear from people you sit down with people you say will you tell me? What's important? I if I can just I was talking about recruiters. I was up talking to some recruiters up in the Northeast a little while ago I I learned so much. They just I'd say tell me what your issues are and I'll give you some examples They said well, you know, you really ought to take a look at the tattoo policy Thought about that. Well, you know kids just get tattoos and they show up the recruiting station Nothing wrong with them. Otherwise, they'd be great people, but they don't need our tattoo policy that kind of Well, I don't know what to do about that, but I'm looking into Into that There are I I continue to want to make sure that we're tapping into the entire Population we're not I talked about women for example, that's half of our population I'd be a fool not to be attract don't not to be looking for qualified people in half of the population Likewise Geography we're not in all geographies evenly It's just a fact of our country some Places contribute more kids to the military than other places even though these other places have perfectly qualified kids So why is that how can I change that dynamic? Well, you go into schools. You talk to principals And you try to get them anything and some some of them they didn't serve so they don't know and The kid doesn't have a father or an uncle or a mom or anything who serves So how are they to know what a cool thing this is to do with your life? You got to somehow Connect and it and I'm looking for every way we I want to be out there as a Prime opportunity for young people and then of course we get to pick which is a great great great thing We pick the best and we do All right, mr. Secretary. Thank you for that. I know when I joined I was kind of clueless on what the military was gonna have For me, so I think that's I'll be excited to see how that works out. No Somebody did a good job Thank you. Thank you sir. All right We are gonna go now to graph and veer Germany and earlier there is kind of a delay on here It's about seven seconds. So hopefully they'll be able to hear us and it won't be too long of a delay But specialist Adrian lia liaku. Go ahead with your question, please Hello, sir. My name is specialist Adrian Lachu. I'm with 44th expeditionary signal battalion in graph and veer Germany Thank you for this opportunity The army the army has been issued some budget cuts What is do a D doing to make sure that our readiness is not compromised? Good good question and graph and veer is a good place to ask it from because that's one of our premier readiness training Facilities in Europe. So good on you for for for being being there and helping make that place run That is the armies and general millies and my top priority for the army is readiness He said that ice. I've said that for the general reason I gave before But also because in addition the fact that it's just it's our our fundamental commitment to you for the army especially The challenge of readiness is this For 15 years we were in major counterinsurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan And we devoted the entirety of army and strength to those missions Now we are pivoting Strategically to a wider spectrum of threats and the need for full-spectrum training And so Queen training by itself won't do that We need to do with so-called high-end training as well That takes time and one of the places. It's done as graffin beer another place that it's done is out at Nellis And they only have so many slots per year right you're going to take the units through so what general millie and I are doing is We're putting all the money that we can but it takes some time to get everybody through the training pipeline For the army so that but that is the army's biggest challenges this strategic transition From the last 15 years to the future and it's not helped by all this budget instability Which is one of the reasons why I I'm pleading For Washington in in gridlock in that area all the services have different issues with readiness the Marine Corps We talked about Marine Corps aviation. That's that's general Nellers and my biggest party for the Marine Corps and so forth I go through all the services. They're all different, but you've hit it exactly Adrian on the head For the army, but what you're doing there is an important part of fixing it All right, thank you so much for that and specialist Liaku hopefully that answered your question as well if you still have a question for the secretary of defense We are live here at the Pentagon. So hopefully we can squeeze it in just use that hashtag Ask sec def to make sure that it gets considered for the rest of the show right now though We are gonna take a social media question. They've been using those hashtags out there So we've got plenty of them. This one is from Erica Slayton King I'm hoping you'll speak on the force of the future initiatives aimed at retaining the best and brightest Specifically to retaining dual military couples. What specific policies do you hope to establish dody wide to improve the lives and retention of dual Couples good good question. I told you earlier our forces a married force It is also a married to one another force to you know to a very high Level compared to the rest of society, which is great. However It creates the obvious problem, which is the you go here and you go there problem And then what but then there's a kid in the picture as well. So how does this this work out? And that was indeed one of the things Erica that I've already Announced as part of the force of the future, but there'll be more but let me just recap That I have given the services the flexibility to take into account The fact of married couple in onward assignments There's there's a quick pro quo for that though, which is they that they get to ask you To do more in return for that flexibility. I think that's a good deal I think that's a deal that the Will the services trying to manage their people and and deploy people where they need to Can work with that and that'll give dual military families The opportunity for stability for particularly in those key years when you've got little kids And it's hard to move around and you know some people will have somebody a grandparent and you're lucky if that's the case but if you don't have a grandparent around or something and you're just stuck and We don't want you stuck because that's a two-fold win for us It's a two-for-for us if we get to keep a couple, but we got to work at it And that's one of those ways we've got to be flexible. All right. Thank you, mr. Secretary I know there's probably a lot of people watching right now who are concerned with the answer to that question Yeah, well, I mean It's it's it's a great thing about our force. I think it's a great strength but it's a problem when it comes to for deployment time and We got to be we got to be flexible on so I've given people the authority to work work with them And not just say you go there you go there. That's the rule too bad. You don't like it quit We're gonna be a quit Thank you for that and my husband's active duty. He's probably watching right now. So hi, but and they don't have to be both Military, I mean people work so spouse works or they want to work and they say oh geez I just got my degree or my Certification to work in this place or I just got a job. I really like it and now they're sending you somewhere else and We got a We got to deal with this real-world situations. We want really good people. All right. Thank you, mr. Secretary that was a great question and we will hope to get some more questions for you for the rest of the show But right now we're gonna go to Kabul we went to Baghdad earlier We're gonna go out to Kabul Afghanistan The beautiful dusty Kabul Afghanistan with senior airman solely loop key go ahead with your question for the Secretary of Defense Secretary Carter Recapitalization of the Afghan Air Force has been a big top of interest for train advice assist command air What do you think the recapitalization of the Afghan Air Force will look like if it happens? I don't think it's any if it's gonna happen. It's got to happen And so we have a plan for it and good on you for being there in Kabul. I've been there Many many times my side is a beautiful City, but we have spent a long time there and a lot of talent like you see up there on the screen Trying to get the Afghans to be able to be in a position to secure their own country so it never again becomes a place from which attacks on America are launched and That's been our project for a long time. It's the project that Sully is Working on over there one of the things that we do lots of things we train them Their ground forces we give them vehicles we give them weapons and artillery And so and we continue to help them advise and assist them But we're trying to make them more and more self-sufficient one of the things they have to be able to do is Close your support for themselves for a long time. We provided all that close your support as we Lessened our involvement and get them to do more they need to do more of their own close air support That is both rotary wing and fixed wing and yeah, we have a plan for road for rotary wing which is based upon the H60 and For fixed wing, which is based on the a 29 Both of those programs are going forward and Afghans are trained actually flying a 29s to sometimes we're flying alongside of them just to help them and prove their Proficiency and in addition we work with them on lift and One thing Sully probably knows but just say you say you all know because you're all so used to something that we take so Deadly seriously, which is that if you're ever hurt we're on you fast and get you to the best medical attention fast Not everybody can promise their armed forces that and the Afghans des you know that they really want that So when you talk about not just close air support, but lift rotary wing lift fixed wing lift Bringing someone to a medical facility Returning the fall into their homes. These are big deals for anybody and they are for the Afghans as well So it's one of the ways we're we're helping them and as time goes on we'll be doing less and they'll be doing more to the point where they'll have Be able to secure their own country and I said that's good for us because we don't want it to become a place for mission America is attacked Thank You mr. Secretary and thank you Airman loop key for joining us on the live Worldwide troop talk with the Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and we've still got a little bit more time So if you want to try to get that question in there use that hashtag ask sec death And hopefully we can get it considered for the rest of the show We do have a few more questions left for you one of them. We're going out to Anderson Air Force Base in Guam It's very beautiful out there They weren't able to be live on the show today, so they sent in their question ahead of time So it is a recorded question, so we'll go ahead and play that for you Send a maternity leave party new family policies. What are some other family benefits? We could look forward to and when can we expect them to come into effect? I'll give you They're all going into effect immediately basically it's a matter of just making the crank turn That's pretty fast so the maternity leave I discussed already Paternity leave is another one. I'll just name a few others another one is child care hours again for families We found that the child care Hours didn't really match the work hours, so they make a lot of sense So you have this awkward situation where you're supposed to be at work at the very moment That the daycare center just opening up So how are you supposed to get so fast from there and here and and so extending on both ends In accordance with the workday and giving some flexibility there Another one is nursing rooms don't seem like a big deal, but is a big deal if you're nursing and So finding a place that people can have a privacy to do that and it's understood and and and so forth These are the ways that We're constantly trying to listen to what the real-world situation of our people is and tune into it and Make sure that we don't have yesterday's policies or yesterday's practices and we just haven't paid any attention to it and I find everywhere in the force of the the future that in that effort that It it's it's so easy to find things right that If you just listen They make perfect sense. They're not hard for us to do and they're gonna make a big difference in our service members Lives so I'm committed to keeping that going and I'm sure that it'll keep going in the future As well because everybody in this department including my successors and my successors successors will know That our people is what make us the the finest and we all have a commitment to the future and not just the president All right. Thank you, mr. Secretary and hopefully that answered the question from step sergeant dole. Yeah, there's a lot more There's education training dual Military families and on and on and on and on there's a there's a whole lot of stuff here basically all aspects of the lives of service members at any potential stage of their their Their service with us right up through transition And the life after military service. All right. Thank you And hopefully that answered a few questions that are on everybody's mind But if anybody in the audience has a question, we're gonna go ahead and take one So please stand up and get a microphone and introduce yourself to the secretary of defense Mr. Secretary my name is specialist Stevens. I'm with HHC in this calm I'm a human resource specialist at Fort Belvoir And my question for you is with the current budget cuts and as you said the issue with the budget not being finalized yet What are your plans for modernizing cyber defenses amongst the various services? Good question and It's not gonna be so much a matter of money actually it's more a matter of finding the right people and this is true in all of the services we are We're not short of resources. It's not a huge part of the budget. It's a high high priority for us So it is not really being As affected as other parts of the budget by by the instability we've seen gridlock It's really a people thing and I'll tell you this and this is something that we're working on here Which is what do we think the right force structure is in cyber in the future? It's the right way to do this We have made a start in each of the services and in cybercom and I think we're doing a great job but if you if you look down the road you say what mix of military civilian Contractor is going to be the right mix for cyber. We need Military people because they're the only ones that can do a intrinsically military tasks So we need them who are good, but we won't necessarily Get all the talent access to all the talent so there's their companies out there That are doing interesting things in cyber They're not in the Defense Department, but we want to have access to them and to their talent So we want to be able to do that as well. So we're thinking through what the force structure should be It's going to have a military core like everything else we do But we're trying to decide what's the best human resources strategy since that's what you do For the cyber force writ large and that's something the chairman Dunford and I are working on Thank you. Good question. Yes. Thank you for the question from the audience. We are live here at the Pentagon Keep with us. We've got a few more minutes left with the secretary right now We did talk about military aviation earlier. We heard from the Marines. So we're going to hear from the Marines again We're going to go out to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. So go ahead with your question for the Secretary of Defense Secretary Carter, good morning captain hitting out here in Miramar Given the growing complexity of communications weapons systems cyber warfare You anticipate a need to lengthen the standard enlistment for service members to allow for lengthening classroom time skills development MOS progression Once they're in the operating forces and if we do so How can we incentivize these highly trained personnel to remain in the armed forces? well Yes, and we have to the yes part is that we we are I'm just very high priority for me. It gets back to the need in our world For our people to be kept up to date in the course of their careers because the strategic and landscape changes Technology changes best practices change and we need to be at the forefront of all that throughout the service members career and One of the things quite frankly that I don't think we do a very good job of is waiting Education and training as a contributor to a career too often. It's viewed as sort of a side You know, oh you got to go to school, you know lucky you got out of the operating force for a year I hope you had a good time now get back to work and That's not the right attitude to have towards we need to have the attitude that a Service member continues to progress throughout their career. Their training is never over Their advancements never over and it's not a break to Go to Something that is professional education whether it's either within our walls or we send you outside our walls It's good for us and it's part of and our personnel managers need to start looking at it that way And I footstomp that because sometimes it is regarded as At Maybe a vacation, but at worst a dead end to go to school. That's ridiculous Thank you, and hopefully that answered your question out at Miramar So we did get a few more questions from people using that hashtag ask sector So we're gonna go to Twitter right now to see what they have for us This is from J. Myer 1016 now that the NFL is in full swing. Who's your favorite football team hashtag? Please say bangles. I My wife's fantasy football team is the only answer I Can tell when things are going well I can tell when things aren't going well. That's I got a route for it to go Well, you should give my husband some questions. Yeah, we're a house divided. Okay Steph is Hugely not much more knowledgeable than I am All right Well, thank you for that and I hopefully that answered his question Lightened up the mood a little bit. We are gonna head out now. This is a pre-recorded question from Yokosuka, Japan So take a look, please Hi, sir. My name is Rp2. I'm your mother's coming to you from Yokosuka, Japan Recently there's been a lot of talk about bearing suicide In my work and working with chaplains. I see that suicide is a real thing in our active-duty component Our Navy continues to undergo main power cuts and our sailors are having to do more with less I think we might have him repeat that they might play it back for you so that you can hear the rest of it Hi, sir. My name is Rp2. I'm your mother's coming to you from Yokosuka, Japan Recently there's been a lot of talk about bearing suicide in my work and working with chaplains I see that suicide is a real thing in our active-duty component Our Navy continues to undergo main power cuts and our sailors are having to do more with less Shouldn't we look again on how doing more with less is affecting our people? Well, yes, we and and suicide prevention is a really big deal Uh To me The rates are not acceptable No, not one is acceptable the other thing that's To get to your question is suicide is preventable All the doctors will tell you that all the experts will say that all the chaplains will tell you that Uh, we this is something we can prevent and we and we have but the only way you can prevent it Is by working together in the health care system. First of all, we have Recognized and we've spent a we've very much increased the funding for mental health treatment Because we you know, we had a tradition of not really recognizing mental health issues as their real health issues And they deserve treatment just like anything else Should be no stigma associated with getting yourself Treated and we should have enough treatment Specialists and facilities To do it. So that's thing one Thing two in prevention is and all the experts will tell you this by the way it is suicide prevention month so bear bear that in mind and and um And this is a reminder to all of you of what your responsibility is if you're not a health care Provider we all got to watch out for each other And that's true of any conduct issue at all. We owe it to our brothers and sisters in arms to uh, watch out for them And you can tell You know, look look at somebody if it if things don't look right You gotta don't stand there and then later say damn it. I thought there was something wrong And I didn't do anything and look what happened. You know, it's not doesn't take a big risk to say to somebody Hey, you okay? You know, I see you're I'm looking at your Social media and you're saying a lot of really sad stuff here. Are you okay? And help them pull it together Uh, it's it's loneliness and isolation which continues to lead them down that path To destroy themselves and it doesn't have to happen But it's you really can play a role just put your antennas up and help out people if they're in trouble All right. Thank you. Mr. Secretary for that very important topic and you needed to be addressed So thank you for that question Right now. We're gonna hopefully lighten the mood up just a little bit We have a very special question for you and this was kind of a surprise So please take a look at the mark. It's super important. Super important. So take a look at the monitor Uh, my question for uh defense secretary at carter it would be Do you like the movie Rambo as much as I do? Because the answer is Nobody likes the movie Rambo as much as I do Half of the answer the other part is nobody likes Rocky like I do I'm a filly boy. I grew up on Rocky. Watch it again and again and again Did you ever go up the stairs? The stairs of the art museum and turn around and go Can't fill the top but uh, you know in our gray sweatpants and And uh, great great movie great city too by the way you fill it up here Okay, you don't have to be from Philadelphia to live rockin but it helped Thank you, mr. Secretary and of course, thank you to chris pratt for taking the time to report that message during his uso tour Right now. We do have time for one more question. This is an email question that came in using that hashtag So this is from phillip hosstaffel as a phd student in germany at the german aerospace center I want to know if and where there are opportunities in the dod for highly Qualified non u.s citizens to contribute to the force of the future. That's a good question. That is a good question There are opportunities We have long had a tradition of having people who Become u.s citizens or another ways able to serve With us. It's another way that we attract talent And so we're open to anybody Now of course you have to meet our standards and you have to meet our rules and so forth But there that does not automatically exclude you And of course, we have lots and lots of people who are first generation Americans and service a lot of people who work with our bases and installations and There's a bigger point in in in all in all of this one of the things i'm really proud of It about you all of you is everywhere I go around the world Foreign leaders say you know what we really like your people Our military loves working with americans It's it's not just that they're good at what they do It's that they're decent and that they stand for good values and that they conduct themselves In a very decent way you have a reputation for that that makes me incredibly proud And it's the reason why we have a lot of friends around the world And if you look at our enemies, they don't have any friends United states does And we have allies and partners all over the world and everything we're doing. Why is that? It's not just because we're good It's also because of what we stand for And we stand for things that other people Want to stand for with us And so when I hear somebody who wants to serve us And isn't And I hear that all the time now and then let some aren't asking to join us Some of them are just asking to be our allies and partners, but it's a great strength of our country that We have all these friends and allies and it's it's it leads to just that kind of spirit I'd like to work with you because You know look Giving getting up every morning like you all do And Being part of protecting Our people And so our citizens can get up in the morning. They take their kids to school They go to work guys that they live their lives. They dream their dreams. Why do they get to do that? They can only do that if they're safe And we provide that safety that allows people to live their lives is no More important or or noble mission than the one you have and there are a lot of Of good people around the world Who want to be part of that goodness that provides security and so it's and yet another reason why i'm so proud of y'all And the question just signifies that All right, mr. Secretary. Thank you so much for being here today That is all the time that we have with the secretary of defense today We heard a lot of great questions from all over the world including a navy ship and a marine core base And we just went everywhere. So I just want to thank everybody Who's watching in our audience here live at the pentagon and who's watching on defense.gov and on afn overseas Thank you for joining us and ladies and gentlemen Can I just say one more thing? I like first of all, thank you I'll leave. I'll leave well I just want to say to everybody who's watching this now or you know this in in in in the the future I We sit here every day and I can speak for General dunford chairman my partner in this and everybody in this building so proud of you It it gives me just enormous pride myself to Lead an institution as fine as this and and it's the people who make it so Uh, so when you go home tonight and you're talking to your family or something like that You just double down on the fact that this country is incredibly lucky to have you And we are so proud of you. I think about you all day every day you're everything to me and uh, I Couldn't be associated with a better group of people in our folks in uniform Thank you, mr. Secretary. Thank you for those kind words and again Thank you to everybody here watching and those watching on afn and around the world And on behalf of the defense media activity I'm tech sergeant holly roberts davis and the 25th secretary of defense ash carter. Thank you