Hey everyone , good afternoon . Just wanted to give you a quick update before we dive into your questions . The Department of Defense wants to congratulate the more than 20 DOD senior leaders who were confirmed by the Senate this week , including Cara L . Abercrombie and U . S . Navy Admiral Samuel Paparo . We ' re excited to see what these leaders will bring to the table . In other news , there was a meeting with Colombia ' s minister of defense and Minister of Justice and Law to discuss various security issues . Tomorrow , Secretary Austin will be meeting with Slovakia ' s minister of defense . Full details of these meetings will be available on defense . gov . Over in Africa , the African Air Chief Symposium is happening in Tunis , providing a platform for African air chiefs to address challenges and strengthen partnerships . About 40 African countries are participating in discussions on advancing regional air power solutions . Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks will be traveling to Camp Pendleton and Fort Irwin , California this Sunday to meet with servicemembers and see Project Convergence Capstone 4 in action . Secretary Austin will also be going to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a routine follow - up appointment . Regarding Secretary Austin ' s comments on casualties in Gaza , he cited numbers from the Hamas - controlled Health Ministry , but we cannot independently verify those figures . Let me give Tara another try . Q: Hey , thanks . Can you hear me now , Gen . Ryder? GEN . RYDER: Yeah , I can hear you . Q: Alright , good . I was gonna ask the same question as Idrees , but as a second question , Senators King and Reed have asked President Biden to send one of the Navy hospital ships to Gaza to help out the civilians there . Has the Pentagon received this request and are you guys considering it? GEN . RYDER: Yeah , thanks , Tara . I don ' t have any announcements today about sending hospital ships to the region . Q: So , to follow up on Gaza aid , is the Pentagon thinking about potential airdrops or any other actions to provide more aid to Gaza at this point? GEN . RYDER: Well , I don ' t have any announcements to make regarding any DOD airdrops or plans for them . As we ' ve said before , the U . S . is working with our partners to expand and sustain humanitarian assistance in Gaza . For example , USAID recently announced an additional $53 million in aid for urgent food , shelter , and water for Palestinian civilians . But as for DOD activities right now , I don ' t have any updates to share . Let ' s move on to Lara and then Oren . Q: Thanks , Pat . Secretary Austin testified this morning that his military aide transferred his authorities to his deputy during his hospital stay . So , I just want to clarify the timeline . Between when he was transferred to the critical care unit on January 2nd and when he transferred power , which was the afternoon of January 2nd according to the 30 day review , how much time passed and what was happening? And who was in charge? GEN . RYDER: Yeah , thanks , Lara . I ' m not gonna give you a minute by minute breakdown . As we ' ve discussed before , when the Secretary was admitted to the critical care unit and couldn ' t access secure communications , his aides followed the procedures they ' ve used in the past . They decided to transfer authority to the Deputy Secretary , and that process went smoothly . There were no gaps in command and control , as the Secretary and our 30 day review have emphasized . Q: So , if there were no gaps , why can ' t you give us a minute by minute breakdown? GEN . RYDER: Because I don ' t have that information right in front of me . Q: So , like , if it was . . . GEN . RYDER: What we provided in the 30 day review is all I have to offer . Alright? Q: . . . the sentence . . . GEN . RYDER: Let me . . . Q: . . . On January 2nd , he was taken to the critical care unit , and later that afternoon , there was a slight gap in communication . However , there was always someone in charge of DOD command and control . He always has a communicator with him for secure communication and command activities . Regarding the incident in Gaza , the Pentagon is aware of the reports and is urging Israel to investigate the situation to prevent civilian casualties and ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need . But it also shows that in this situation , Israel needs to consider the impact on civilians when planning and carrying out its operations against Hamas , whether they ' re ongoing or completed operations . And as we ' ve mentioned before , Secretary Austin regularly emphasizes this to his Israeli counterpart . Q: And at this point , it ' s a request from the White House to the government , there ' s no direct request for an investigation from the military . GEN . RYDER: I ' m not aware of any specific request from DOD , but as I mentioned , the White House has reached out . Carla Q: Can I quickly ask about the Middle East? First , have there been any attacks on U . S . forces in the Middle East this week? GEN . RYDER: Not that I know of . If you ' re referring to Iraq and Syria , no . Q: And following the Houthi situation , Xinhua reported that the Chinese are sending ships from the 46th fleet to help escort ships in the Red Sea . Has the U . S . military seen these ships arrive and provide escort? And has China offered assistance in dealing with the Houthis and countering their attacks? GEN . RYDER: I don ' t have information on the location of Chinese vessels . I would recommend contacting them directly . As for China ' s role in countering these attacks or supporting freedom of navigation operations , we have previously stated that we would welcome a constructive role for China , but as far as I know , they have not offered or conducted any operations to ensure the safety of mariners or international shipping . Joseph Q: Thank you . Just to follow up on the attacks in Iraq and Syria , it ' s been almost a month since the last reported attacks . That could change at any time , unfortunately , but do you believe that deterrence has been restored during these past couple of weeks? GEN . RYDER: Well , you know , I don ' t want to make predictions about the future . We are obviously relieved that there haven ' t been any further attacks , primarily because it ' s dangerous , but also because our forces are there to focus on the mission of defeating ISIS . They will continue to prioritize that mission . However , if we are threatened or attacked , as we have demonstrated , we will take appropriate actions to protect our forces . Q: The second question . Both you and the Secretary mentioned this morning that Israel needs to do more to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza . This is mentioned in almost all of the Secretary ' s conversations with his Israeli counterpart . Have you guys talked about what could happen if they don ' t listen to the calls for change? Israel is a sovereign nation and will conduct operations as they see fit . We ' ve emphasized the importance of considering civilian safety during their operations . We will continue to consult with them and expect them to abide by the law of armed conflict . It ' s also important for Hamas to play a role in ending the conflict by putting down their arms and releasing hostages . We expect Israel to act professionally , and they are currently reviewing the situation . We are saddened by the tragic incident and believe Israel should investigate further . Q: Can you explain what the secretary said to Representative Wittman about notifying NMCC when the secretary moves , and how that notification process works? I didn ' t understand the secretary ' s response that there is no standard procedure for this notification . Can you clarify this for me? GEN . RYDER: Yeah , it really depends on the situation . If the secretary is in the national capital region , the level of information shared with NMCC may vary . We are reviewing our procedures to make sure this situation doesn ' t happen again . Q: Can you further explain the current procedure for notifying NMCC when the secretary moves today? What criteria need to be met for this notification to occur? GEN . RYDER: It depends on the situation , and if it ' s deemed necessary for NMCC to know the secretary ' s exact location , that information will be shared . Generally , they will be tracking the secretary if he ' s in the national capital region . Q: Why did the Secretary reference information he couldn ' t verify? GEN . RYDER: I was just explaining where the information came from and the context in which it was cited . Let ' s move on to the next question . Q: And just to circle back on what you mentioned about the 25 , 000 figure and how it was cited by the Secretary from the health ministry , how does it work in the Pentagon? Do you consider various sources like Israel ' s estimates and Gaza ' s health ministry , and then just mention those figures , or do you try to determine which one is most accurate? GEN . RYDER: Yeah , like I mentioned before , we can ' t confirm the accuracy of those figures or corroborate them . It ' s difficult to independently verify information without being on the ground . So , we mainly rely on open source information . We ' re pretty confident that thousands of civilians have been killed , but any civilian casualty is tragic . We ' re working with partners in the region to provide humanitarian aid and stressing the importance of civilian safety to our Israeli partners . Gen . Ryder: Look , we ' ve been very open about how we ' re communicating with the Israelis and our efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and ensure their safety . But we also recognize that Hamas plays a role in this and they haven ' t given up their weapons and are still threatening Israel . I can ' t go into specific details of Israel ' s operations , but they have made some changes in their approach . However , it ' s tragic that too many civilians have been killed . We will continue to consult and communicate with them and expect them to follow international humanitarian and armed conflict laws . Q: Thanks , General . Earlier , you called it a tragic incident . Obviously , it ' s heartbreaking to see civilians affected while trying to get food and peace . But an Israeli national security minister said that the IDF acted excellently and it ' s crazy to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians . You ' ve been talking to your counterparts , but if this is the government you ' re dealing with , has there been any progress? Q: You ' ve been having these discussions for months , but the situation on the ground doesn ' t seem to be improving . Is there a sense of urgency within the Department of Defense to change how we communicate with our Israeli counterparts? Gen . Ryder: Yeah , thanks , Mike . So , as the Air Force has mentioned , the matter is being investigated following the death of a service member . So , I don ' t want to label Airman Bushnell just yet . But I do think it ' s fair to say that self - immolation is an extreme act . As for the details surrounding his death , we know some information has been released , but we need a full investigation to get all the facts . So , let ' s leave it at that . Eunice , over to you . Yeah , thanks , General . So , like I mentioned earlier , we really appreciate the role that the Peshmerga have played in security in Kurdistan and fighting ISIS . We ' re committed to working with the International Coalition to defeat ISIS , which is why we have forces in the region , including the Peshmerga . Thank you . I don ' t have a specific timeline to share with you , Wafa . Thank you . Let me go back to the phone now . Tony Capaccio from Bloomberg , go ahead . Yeah , thanks , Wafa . So , we still believe that Israel has the right to defend itself and we will continue to support them in that . However , we have been actively communicating the importance of protecting civilian safety . Secretary Austin has had conversations with his Israeli counterpart about this recently , and they understand its significance . While I can ' t speak for the Israelis , we will continue to urge them to prioritize civilian safety . Hi , Pat . I have a question about Ukraine . Without Republican support for more aid in the supplemental , what is the Pentagon ' s assessment of the military implications for Ukraine over the next few months? Specifically , how will air defense and artillery shortages impact them? Well , they ' re currently engaged in an active fight , and we have seen Russia making some small gains . So it ' s crucial that we receive the supplemental funding to address these needs . Do you have any updates on the U . S . military assistance to Israel? Is it being sent on a daily basis? Secretary Austin mentioned that over 21 , 000 munitions have been delivered to Israel . Thank you , General . Building on Joseph ' s question , it seems like communication and consultation with Israel isn ' t doing much to protect civilians in Gaza . Is there anything the administration can do to pressure Israel on this issue? Has there been any discussion about cutting U . S . military assistance to Israel as a way to push them on this matter?Q: ( inaudible ) mentioned the Deputy Secretary ' s trip out west , including CJADC - 2 and Project Convergence . Q: My second question is about the DOD ' s efforts to expand the strike coalition against the Houthis in Yemen . The State Department ' s Special Envoy said the Gulf states need to do more , but couldn ' t speak for the DOD . So , on behalf of the Pentagon , is the DOD working to expand the strike coalition against the Houthis? And , you know , Ukraine needs a whole year ' s worth of funding to make sure they can defend themselves and take back their territory . The Ukrainians have proven themselves to be brave fighters , so we have no doubt they will continue to fight bravely . But it ' s really important that we get them the resources they need now , not later . Thank you . GEN . RYDER: Chris Q: Thanks , Pat . I have two questions about the Red Sea region . First , how do the E . U . maritime mission and Operation Prosperity Guardian coordinate with each other? Do they know what each other is doing so there ' s no confusion about which vessels are where and what they ' re trying to achieve? Let me go - - yes , ma ' am . Sorry . GEN . RYDER: We ' re trying to address this as an international problem because it affects the international community . The United States works with coalitions and allies to achieve common goals . The Red Sea is a vital waterway , with 15% of global commerce passing through it . We will continue to focus on this issue . GEN . RYDER: Yeah , I think they do coordinate and communicate on a daily basis . We have experience working closely with partners in coalitions around the world . Many of the countries in Operation Prosperity Guardian and Operation Aspides have worked together in different places for years . Some of these countries are also part of NATO , so interoperability is a strength . Q: Overall , are you trying to grow the coalition , either Operation Prosperity Guardian or the Strait Coalition?Can you talk about what Secretary Austin and Deputy Secretary Hicks are hoping to achieve with this effort , and when they expect to see results? GEN . RYDER: Yeah , there will definitely be more information coming out about that event . I suggest reaching out to the Army , as I ' m sure you already are . Over the past few years , we have seen initiatives like Project Convergence , the Advanced Battle Management System , and the Navy ' s Project Overmatch , all working together to improve integration using different technologies for combined Joint All - Domain Command and Control . This opportunity allows them to experiment with technologies and operate at a theater level , rather than just a tactical level , in order to better coordinate our operations as a Joint Force . For the Deputy Secretary , it ' s a great chance to see the progress being made and how it can benefit the broader Joint Force . Thank you .

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