 what did I miss go on does someone want to show me a phone and pictures and photos of trees okay all right well we'll save it for after or if you want to come up and you know answer some questions okay so we'll get started and then we'll go back to that later so good afternoon happy Thursday so just a few items at the top and then I'll be happy to take your questions so sadly as many of you know a United States Air Force CV 22B Osprey from the from Yokota Air Base Japan assigned to the 353rd special operations wing was involved in an aircraft mishap Tuesday Tuesday Eastern while performing a routine training mission off the shore of Yakushima Island Japan emergency personnel remain on scene conducting search and rescue operations the cause of this incident is currently under investigation our thoughts are with the unit and their families and we'd like to thank the government of Japan and the Japanese Coast Guard for all their assistance as a reminder Secretary Austin will travel this week to California December 1st and 2nd on Friday he will host the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles and the UK Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shaps at Moffitt Field to discuss the Australia UK US Security Partnership or as you all know it AUKUS and this is on the campus of the DoD's Defense Innovation Unit and then later that day he will travel to see me valley to deliver a keynote address on Saturday at the 2023 Reagan National Defense Forum and shifting to the Middle East the United States remains encouraged by the humanitarian pauses that we're seeing in Gaza and we remain in close contact with our Israeli partners as you know on Tuesday the US airlifted 54,000 pounds of humanitarian assistance which included medical supplies warm clothing food and nutrition assistance to the people of Gaza we expect more aircraft carrying humanitarian assistance to come in the coming days and lastly tomorrow approximately 180 US Army soldiers from the 5th Corps 2nd Cavalry Regiment will join exercise brave partner in North Macedonia concluding on December 10th this US Army and Africa led exercise tests the regiment readiness on short notice enhancing interoperability and strengthening our NATO alliance the exercise also demonstrates our commitment to the Western Balkans aspirations for European integration emphasizing that no nation can face today's challenges alone and with that I'd be happy to take your questions Lita. Sabrina Japan has suspended its Osprey flights and has asked that the US also suspend some Osprey Osprey flights is there any move or any decision yet by the department to suspend pause or otherwise even slow down in that area flights of the Osprey until after even until after recovery operations are finished and has the department received an official request from Japan to do some sort of standout so I'm not tracking an official request receive here at the department we I've seen some of the comments that that you just referenced right now the Ospreys are still operating in Japan but at the time right now our focus on in terms of what just happened this earlier this week remains on search and rescue efforts so that's the priority of course and you know we're great we're of course eternally grateful for the government of Japan and their Coast Guard for helping in our search and recovery efforts. So is there no concern within the department that there are possibly problems within the Osprey that should be looked at before there's continued flow? I mean I would say as a department and of course the secretary values there's a true commitment to safety when it comes to any of our airmen operating any aircraft again I'm not going to get ahead of the investigation it's currently under investigation to see exactly what happened and so until that concludes if there are any if the investigation concludes that there need to be additional steps taken we'll make we'll certainly do that but at this time the investigation is underway on on what happened. There were eight personnel on board you know how many have been recovered versus how many are believed to have died. I don't have an update for you on recovery efforts just yet again we know that there are eight missing the search and recovery efforts are ongoing I hope that we will have more to share soon but at this moment I just I just don't. Do you have any updates on the five Somali attackers who were on the carney of the weekend and have you been able to find any link between the Somalis and the Yemeni Houthis? Do you mean the Mason? Sorry the Mason. That's okay. So in terms of connection let me take the second part of your question first so in terms of connection again we're still doing our assessments we're not we're not seeing one right now but if there is one we'd certainly of course you know let you know but at this time these five armed individuals that the Mason was able to interject as they were trying to flee from the Central Park remain in US custody. Yeah Laura can you tell us have there been any additional attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria since Thanksgiving the last we were tracking was 73 I believe? Yes let me see here I just want to make sure yes so there was so we do have an update there was an attack on Tuesday so that was earlier this week so that brings the total attacks up to 74 attacks from October 17th until now we did not see as you just mentioned over the period of Thanksgiving and then over the last two days we did not observe any additional attacks on our troops. And where was the attack on Tuesday? That wasn't Syria? Were there any injuries? No injuries no damage to infrastructure if there are any injuries and again I know that we provide those updates I don't have any more updates to provide on additional non-series injuries but I'm not tracking that there were any injuries from that attack on Tuesday that happened. Drones, rockets? I would have to get back to you on that I just don't have that information in front of me. The drone that was shot down I think was it yesterday what type of drone was it I think it was an Iranian drone can you say what type of drone? It was an Iranian manufactured drone I believe that I believe that also there's more information that I think CENTCOM did put out on the drone but it was a drone that we know was headed in the general direction of the Carney and was engaged and because the commander of the ship obviously felt that it was a threat and so they did take it down but I think there's more information available online in terms of the type of drone that it was. Konstantin. On that topic can you say what the Carney used to down the drone missiles or guns? I would refer you to CENTCOM for more information I just don't have that. One other question can you say whether the Mason fired any weapons as part of its engagement with the ballistic missile on the are you I'm sorry are you talking about the event when from Wednesday or Tuesday no I'm not aware that the Mason did fire any weapons in regards to the ballistic missile again that that ballistic missile we know landed far away from from the ship I believe is at least 10 nautical miles away so I don't believe there was any need to to use any weapons yeah real thank you following up from the Osprey mishap in Japan so are you saying the Japanese government should not be worried about the safety of other other Osprey aircraft deployed to Japan? Well I'm not gonna speak for the Japanese government but what I can tell you as the US government and this department of course safety is our number one priority and of course we're concerned when any when there was any mishap which is why we have launched an investigation into what exactly happened to try and figure out more of the facts here at the in the immediate our focus is on search and recovery or search and rescue efforts for for our eight missing airmen but in terms of you know the comfort of the Japanese government I would refer you to them to speak to speak to that. So does the US military continue to operate Osprey Osprey as you did before this crash happened? Again as of right now we are still continuing to operate the Osprey aircraft we have a commitment to safety there is an investigation that is currently determining and looking into what exactly happened with this aircraft and the mishap should that investigation yield in results that require the department to change anything about the Osprey or to take additional steps we will certainly do that but at this time I'm not gonna get ahead of that investigation and its process. Yeah Fadi. Just have one clarification about this extra attack in in Syria. Did it happen this Tuesday or Tuesday last week? There was it was an attack this past Tuesday. Okay and then on the incident with the drone yesterday with the Karni the statement from Sancom mentioned one of the ships that the Karni was escorting was carrying what equipment military equipment to the region my understanding that this is not a government ship but are you able to say whether that shipment was going to Israel or somewhere else and maybe try to understand what actually happened in that incident? Sure all I know that is it's not a military ship it's a commercial vessel in terms of where it was going I don't have more information for you on that I would direct you to the Sancom team to answer more of those questions but yes the the Karni was escorting that ship as a matter of safety and to ensure you know international passageways obviously remain open but in terms of where that ship was bound for the Central Park I think that oh I'm sorry I'm getting I'm getting my own my own incidents confused here in terms of where that the Karni was escorting that commercial ship I just don't have more for you on where it was going and then lastly in terms of rules of engagement with with some of the UAV activity what is the threshold I mean obviously these incidents happening in international waters do you have information on how far out was the drone before it was shut down by the Karni? I don't have the exact measurements of how far it was from the Karni but of course a commander of a ship if he if he or she assesses that the drone or missile is a threat to that to that ship and the personnel in that ship they have the authority to shoot it down so I don't know that there's a threshold that needs to be met so much so is that the commander of that ship feels that it is under threat and therefore they must take action and respond in in in whatever is coming its way. The USS Karni shot down a drone that was quote heading towards it according to the statement we got yesterday in the Red Sea and then on Sunday the USS Mason at least one ballistic missile was heading towards it but these are not deemed the targets of these Houthi missiles so my question is if what makes these not considered targets what is the target why are these not being considered attacks like the attacks in Syria and Iraq because the Iranian proxies are missing there too? Well I don't know that we wouldn't say that these aren't attacks I mean they I mean we are of course taking action if we feel that they are a threat to us but in terms of intended target our initial assessments when it came to what the Mason took down and what the Karni took down our initial assessment is that the ships were not the intended target but they came close enough where at least the Karni felt the need that it had to engage the drone that was coming its way or headed toward in the general direction and I'm sorry I forgot you had another question in there that I'm I guess just to pinpoint it a little bit more if it's not the intended target then is it an attack or not an attack? Well again I refer you to the to the people who are launching these drones or missiles what their intended target is we can't really speak to that what we can speak to is the fact that our initial assessment and if that changes we would let you know but our initial assessment right now is that these ships are not the intended target if that changes and if we continue to go through our assessments and say you know we did another analysis and it did look like they were targeting the Karni we would of course let you know and adjust how we're talking about these but again it is up to the commanders of these ships if they feel that they are under attack or they're feel like their personnel are threatened to be able to respond and take action. A separate topic so President Biden met with Chinese President Xi earlier this month in San Francisco and they said that military to military communication would continue or would restart has Secretary Austin or anyone in the U.S. military been in contact with their Chinese counterparts since that meeting. I don't have anything to read out today we certainly welcome the conversation and that was something that you saw the president announce in San Francisco that mill to mill communications would start back up again but again until the PRC appoints the secretary's counterpart the secretary doesn't have someone to necessarily engage with just yet but of course we welcome mill to mill communications at the very high levels from the secretary to our lower levels and of course in the Indo-Pacific as well I'm gonna go to Ali. General Van Herk opened an investigation into alcohol consumption at North is secretary Austin aware of that investigation and is the Pentagon confident that drinking in the workplace has it not impacted national security. Yeah the secretary is aware of the investigation and I think it shows just how seriously the commander is taking this by immediately launching one and of course we are aware of the of the reports of allegations of alcohol being in the workplace again NORAD Northcom they continue their mission uninterrupted I'm not gonna get ahead of the investigation as it's ongoing now but we're certainly tracking it here. What is the DOD policy on alcohol consumption on duty? I would have to get back to you but I think you would probably guess that we're not supportive of alcohol consumption on duty while performing certain tasks but you know I'd have to get back to you on the exact policy yeah Tom. Do a quick follow-up please and you said earlier that the people are not tracking an official request from the Japanese government regarding last week if such a request does that come from to the Department of Defense or does that come through State Department such a request would you do you know? I don't know I think it could come through varying levels so. And my second follow-up thank you Annette my second follow-up is regarding the drill in North Macedonia is just the first time U.S. troops will be participating in NATO exercise in North Macedonia. Certainly not first time U.S. troops are participating in a NATO exercise I in North Macedonia I don't know I'd have to I can take that question okay great I'm gonna go to the phones and then we'll come back into the room. Howard Altman. Thanks is the Pentagon tracking an attack on a Houthi base in Yemen and if so do you know who might be behind it? I've seen the reports of an attack within Yemen I can tell you that it was not a U.S. military that conducted that. Do you know who might have been behind it? Jeff Schogel task and purpose. Thank you can the Defense Department confirm that one of the crew members from the missing from the Osprey the crashed has been recovered and pronounced dead and are the efforts right now still search and rescue or have they transitioned to recovery? Thanks Jeff for the question so I I've seen the reports I can't confirm what's being reported about a death what I can tell you is this is still a search and recovery search and I'm sorry sorry search and rescue mission for the eight that were on board that aircraft when we have more to share we certainly will do but again this is still a search and rescue mission. And last question from the phones Heather US and I. Thank you so much so this is the first time that CENCOM has actually or CENCOM or the DOD has said that the drones are Iranian made and I was just wondering what that tells the DOD about what the Houthis have in terms of drones and weapons that we've been seeing launched at near the US ships. Thanks Heather for the question so again when it comes to drones or other equipment I mean we have been very clear from the beginning that Iran equips funds supports trains various IRGC militia groups has supported the Houthis has supported Hezbollah so I think what you saw is us directly calling that out in a statement yesterday we have not shied away from doing that we've certainly done that again when we have taken our own defensive self-defensive strikes within Syria and Iraq we have said that we know that these are Iranian used IRGC used facilities that fund and support many of these militia groups so that was just us doing that again. All right I'm going to come back in the room yes. Two questions quick one on India another one on the Middle East as far as the US-India relations are concerned military to military now in the midst of two wars Ukraine Russia and Ukraine and also of course Israel and Hamas anybody or secretary or anybody in touch with the Indian Defense Minister or anybody in in connection of these two wars. As you know the secretary was just in the region it feels like three months ago but it was literally just I think three weeks ago the secretary was in India engaging with his counterparts of course world events came up and we put out detailed readouts of those meetings so he is you know of course regularly engaged with his Indian counterparts as recently as you know last month. And second as far as Israel's war against Hamas Hamas has been designated as the International Terrorist Organization but they have a political office in Doha and so did maybe even still today Taliban's so if anybody is talking to the Qataris or Doha people that why they still have the political office there and they are running this terrorist organization against innocent people around the globe including India or US or Israel among others and Qatar they are friends of our friends US friends India friends Israeli friends among others so and they the actors in this area still have not condemned these terrorist organizations. I think the actors in the region have certainly condemned the actions that Hamas took on October 7th and what you're seeing with Qatar is engagement and them working and and with the Egyptian government as well as of course with this administration to free hostages and to continue this enduring humanitarian pause that is happening right now. I don't have anything further to say about where they're located but I think we've been very definitive on the grotesque and disgusting actions that were taken on October 7th and I'll just say that yeah. Thank you. Nice of you magazine this morning reported that the IDF has been hitting what it describes as quote power targets in Gaza that includes high-rise complexes civilian homes in some cases without prior warning in order to quote according to their sources lead civilians to put pressure on Hamas not to collate locate with combatant with non-combatants excuse me because the department aware that the IDF has been using this tactic and has this issue come up in conversations between department officials and their counterparts in Israel. I'm not I'm sorry I'm not aware of this report that you mentioned or where it's being reported in the magazine. I think we've been very clear on our in all of our engagements that the secretaries had on a near daily basis basis with Minister Galant. He just had another call yesterday with Minister Galant that IDF operations that they are precise that they're targeting Hamas but let's be very clear and just to go off the last question Hamas is a terrorist organization that embeds deeply within civilian infrastructure and uses civilians as a way of shielding their operations so they are making it incredibly difficult for the IDF of course to conduct their own operations but in all of the secretaries calls and engagements with the Israelis we continue to of course emphasize that innocent lives that that they are taking into consideration any military operation civilian lives and innocent lives. It seems that reporting that one of the examples it's given in the article is that the IDF officials are instructed to find a building say a high rise that it has civilian inhabitants and if they find half a single floor of the building occupied by Hamas offices then it's a target wipe it out is that something the department condones again I have not seen this report that you're referencing I do not I'm not aware of this I think what I just said and I'm happy to reiterate it but we have been very clear when it comes to engagement and the need to protect innocent civilian lives but again finding and targeting any member of a terror network is going to be any challenge for any military especially when that network is operating in an urban environment like in Gaza so we're continuing our engagements with the Israeli government we're continuing to again support them in their operations against this terrorist organization but it isn't in all of our conversations and as you've seen in the readouts that we've put out the secretary continues to emphasize the need to uphold the law of armed conflict and protect innocent lives chris yeah we're gonna um you think uh the government of japan and in their coast guard but to clarify that this search and rescue effort is this being led by the u.s. military at this point yes okay yeah how many assets roughly do you have I don't have more on how many assets are being used for the search and rescue efforts it's ongoing again when we have more to share um I will certainly let you know but I don't have more to provide on that front yes in the back and then I'll come over here yeah thank you just a quick question so the house is voting today to freeze the six billion dollars in in funds that the u.s released for Iran earlier this year can you respond to what lawmakers are saying do you think the unfrozen money has emboldened Iran and its proxy groups in the Middle East especially considering all the clashes that we've seen I would say that's really a question for treasury and the state department but to my knowledge Iran hasn't been able to access those funds they're still remained uh frozen and or sorry uh they still remain intact and that they have not been able to be tapped into um again I'm not going to just comment on pending legislation uh and that's really something that I think treasury would be better to answer yeah and then I'll come and then last one over you thank you Japanese defense minister kihara has publicly stated that he has requested the u.s. military to halt operations of ospreys in japan while there hasn't been any official requests I was wondering has there been has that concern been communicated directly to this building through other informal channels yeah again I think I answered this but um appreciate the question haven't received a formal request that I that I'm aware of um again we are taking what happened the the mishap um of one of our aircraft extremely seriously um our focus right now is on search and rescue of the eight that are missing um there is an investigation I'm not going to get ahead of that investigation but when those results um you know are concluded if there's any action or additional action that needs to be taken we will certainly let you know but at this time our efforts are on uh of course you know thinking of these families who are missing their eight loved ones right now yeah and last question over here thank you Sabrina there are reports claiming that the white house has requested um the removal of restrictions on all categories of weapons and ammunition is Israel is allowed to access from us weapons stockpiles stored in israel itself so do you confirm uh that things and uh if so how that will affect providing weapons to Ukraine uh so I'm not exactly sure on the report or or what you're referencing but I think we've been very clear from this podium um and and again throughout this administration that um we are providing Israel with what it needs in its fight against a terrorist organization like Hamas we've provided the the contours of what we are providing which is ammunition uh precision guide immunizations and air defenses these are the requirements that the that the IDF needs when it comes to engaging um in its fight with Hamas in Gaza um in terms of Ukraine uh uh different different area of responsibility different war uh very different landscapes too um we continue to provide Ukraine with what we can on what's remaining from the presidential drawdown authority that we have um we are running low as you know that's why we requested a supplemental package um to that we submitted to the hill that has still not been passed um but the authorities that we're using to provide Ukraine with the weapons and capabilities and systems it needs are coming from presidential drawdown authorities what is real um and what we're providing to israel is coming mainly through fms and fmf um so israel is purchasing equipment so again we're going to continue to provide uh both countries with what it needs in in each of their uh areas of them fighting for their sovereign territory against an an aggressive neighbor um and we've had that long-term commitment to them um from the very beginning i mean you've seen the president you've seen the secretary uh committed to Ukraine for as long as it takes he but also feels like three months ago but just last week he was in kiv reassuring the ukrainians that the us is with them for the long haul and so i'll just i guess leave it on this note that we are um would hope that congress over these next few weeks not only pass a full-time appropriations but also passes our supplemental because we need to keep providing ukraine with what it needs on the battlefield we need to keep supporting israel and of course we are always looking to the indopacific um to to shore up what we need there okay great and i'll leave it at that sure i'm just saying that you saw the reports of an attack in san har or are you confirming an attack happened but the u.s. was not involved in it i've seen the reports out there um i can't confirm that the attack happened all i can tell you is that the u.s. military uh did not initiate any attack yeah thank you everyone have a good thursday