Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Charles CQ Brown, Jr. Hold a Press ConferenceContracts for July 25,[...]

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PATRICK RYDER: Thank you, everyone, for being here today. It's my pleasure to introduce Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown Jr.

The secretary and the chairman will deliver opening remarks and then have time to take a few questions. Please note that I will moderate those questions and, due to time constraints would ask that those called upon limit their follow ups to give your colleagues a chance to ask their questions.

With that, I will turn it over to Secretary Austin. Sir?

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD AUSTIN: Thanks, Patrick. Good morning and thanks for being here. I wanted to take just a moment to acknowledge the president's remarks last night, and I want to thank President Biden for being such a strong and skillful guardian of our national security.

He will leave an extraordinary legacy of foreign policy achievements, including rallying the world to save Ukraine from Putin's aggression, uniting and expanding NATO, and positioning America to compete with China and win. I've seen countless times how deeply and personally this commander in chief cares about our troops, our veterans, and our military families.

Now, the president is intensely focused on the work ahead, especially in ending the war in Gaza and reinforcing Ukraine's capabilities for the long haul, and making our posture in the Indo-Pacific even stronger. And this department will continue to do what we always do, stay firm and stay focused, because we've still got a lot to do. And as we move forward, the entire department salutes the president's life of service.

Now, as you all know, it's been a busy time here. We're moving quickly from the historic 75th anniversary NATO summit to my departure tomorrow for my 11th trip to the Indo-Pacific. So, since we're in between these two major events and halfway through 2024, I wanted to take a step back and I wanted to look at the progress that we've made over the past three and a half years, especially when it comes to NATO and the Indo-Pacific.

Now, it's worth remembering where we were when I started as secretary back in 2021. The pandemic was raging, autocrats were emboldened, NATO was divided and our alliances and partnerships across the Indo-Pacific were frayed. So, the Biden-Harris administration came into office determined to restore American leadership and to invest in the greatest fighting force on Earth and to reinforce the global network of allies that makes us stronger and safer.

And that's exactly what we've done, and we've shown that American leadership gets results for the American people. Just look at our most important alliance. Today NATO is larger than ever, stronger than ever, and more united than ever. And over the past three and a half years, we've seen an historic increase in annual defense spending across the alliance by almost $80 billion.

All NATO allies have agreed to spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense. In 2021, only six allies did so. But in 2024, a record 23 NATO allies will hit the 2 percent spending goal. And beyond NATO, our bonds with our allies and partners are deep and strong.

Putin's outrageous invasion of Ukraine and the tragic Israel-Hamas war have meant sustained communication and consultation with my counterparts with an intensity that few secretaries of defense have ever matched. I have calls with many of my fellow ministers of defense every week or every month, and the Ukraine Contact Group-Defense Contact Group that I lead has kept some 50 defense leaders worldwide in close touch at a truly historic tempo. And these frequent touch points have produced vital capabilities for Ukraine. They've also spurred our friends to help shoulder the burden, and they've strengthened America's security.

Now, let me talk about what that kind of sustained engagement has meant in the Indo-Pacific, which is our priority theater of operations. As you know, I'm wheels up tomorrow morning for important meetings with Secretary Blinken and our allies in Japan and the Philippines. Now, I know that it's easy to focus on the crisis of the day, but just look at what our strategy has achieved in the Indo-Pacific over the past three and a half years.

We're nearly doubling our military construction investment in the Indo-Pacific from fiscal year '23 to fiscal year '24, and our ties with Australia and India are stronger than ever. We've improved our relationships with Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, and many more. In Japan, we're in the process of forward stationing a marine littoral regiment, the most advanced formation in the Marine Corps.

And just a few weeks ago, we announced a plan to station our most advanced tactical aircraft in Japan, reflecting more than $10 billion of capability investments. And meanwhile, Japan is making historic investments in its defense spending, and Japan and the ROK are taking some truly historic strides forward together.

But there's no greater example of our progress in the Indo-Pacific than the Philippines. When I started as secretary, our ties with the Philippines were at a low point. We were even on the brink of losing our decades-old Visiting Forces Agreement. But after three years of intensive engagement and partnership, we are in an entirely new chapter of our alliance.

Last year President Marcos agreed to include four new locations under our Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. We've expanded our rotational access thanks to the leadership of President Marcos and Secretary Teodoro, and we're taking unprecedented steps to help modernize the Philippine military. So, I very much look forward to going back to the Philippines and to Japan. I visited both countries just last year.

In Tokyo, Secretary Blinken and I will hold a 2+2 meeting with our Japanese allies. And in Manila, we'll hold another 2+2 with our counterparts from the Philippines. Again, I'm very proud of America's historic achievements with these great allies over the past three and a half years, and it's amazing what the United States, Japan, and the Philippines have done together in just the past six months.

With Japan, we've made significant improvements to our force posture. We've also worked more closely than ever with the Republic of Korea. And I'm proud that Minister Kihara and I will sit down in Tokyo with Minister Shinn for an historic trilateral defense ministerial, the first ever to be held in Japan or the ROK.

All of this just underscores the new convergence in the Indo-Pacific that I talked about in Singapore last month. We're not just strengthening our bilateral alliances, we're also seeing our regional partners come together like never before around our shared vision of a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific. So, it's going to be a great trip, and we're going to deliver even more progress.

And with that, I'll turn it over to General Brown.

CHAIRMAN OF JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF GENERAL CHARLES BROWN: Well, thank you, Secretary Austin. Good morning, everyone. On a warm day, an October day in 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed a crowd on the Outer Bridge Drive in Chicago, and he said those who cherish their freedom must work together for the triumph of law and moral principles in order that peace, justice, and confidence may prevail in the world.

President Roosevelt knew that we could not turn a blind eye to nations who violate treaties, international law, and the sovereignty of their neighbors. He knew that unchecked aggression only leads to more aggression. Our National Defense Strategy lays out five key challenges: People's Republic of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and violent extremists. All five of these challenges are active today, and they're increasingly interconnected.

The PRC is undermining the international order using economic coercion, military build up, technology advancements that challenge our interests and those of our allies. Russia continues its aggression with its war in Ukraine. Iran persists in its malign and destabilizing activities across the Middle East. North Korea remains a significant threat with its continued development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. And violent extremists continue to exploit ungoverned spaces, fragile states threatening regional and global stability.

These increasingly interconnected threats demand a coordinated and strategic response from the international community. And importantly, we must leverage all the strengths and capabilities of the United States and of our allies and partners. Our most valuable strategic advantage is that we never fight alone.

From the very founding of our nation, when the French military assisted 13 upstart colonies in gaining their independence to the beaches of Normandy to the coalition to defeat ISIS, our battlefield successes have depended on integrating military power with like-minded nations.

Due to the complex security environment, we need to redouble our efforts today to collaborate and cooperate with allies and partners. We can't develop our respective national plans and capabilities with allies and partners as an afterthought. We must start at the beginning with the end in mind. We need to be integrated by design.

And over the course of the past month, I've had the opportunity to visit several allies and partners around the world to underscore our desire to work in concert and coordinate closely with one another. At the end of June, I went to Botswana to attend the African Chiefs of Defense Conference, the first time that conference was held on African soil.

Two weeks ago, as the secretary highlighted, we were privileged to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Washington Treaty at the NATO summit here in Washington DC. 13 allies came together to celebrate 75

years of peace. We reaffirmed our commitment to collective defense and our shared values of democracy and the rule of law.

Russia hoped their invasion of Ukraine would fracture and weaken NATO. Our alliance is stronger and more unified than ever. We've expanded and welcomed Finland and Sweden, and we continue increasing collective capability interoperability, furthering and improving the - history's longest and most successful alliance.

The NATO summit also included leadership from Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, demonstrating that our collective security is not limited to one region or one continent. Security in one region contributes to security in another, which is why last week I traveled to Philippines and Japan to meet with key leaders and strengthen multilateral relationships in the Indo-Pacific region.

I had the opportunity to meet my counterpart and other officials in the Philippines, and we held an historic meeting of chiefs of defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan in Tokyo for the first ever Tri-CHOD meeting in Northeast Asia. Our work with these allies is critical to maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific and to counter growing influence by the PRC.

En route to the Indo-Pacific region, I also visited the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies in Anchorage, a DOD regional center that addresses strategic implications of current and emerging Arctic security challenges. On a related note, the Department of Defense released its 2024 Arctic Strategy this past Monday. That strategy lays out the steps we will take to safeguard the Arctic, defending our homeland and keeping the region stable and secure.

The strategic security of the Arctic must be intentionally thought through today to determine what capability and capacity will be needed in the future. For in the Antarctic or the Indo-Pacific regions or in Africa, navigating and evolving security challenges depends on integrating and collaborating closely with our allies and partners, because President Roosevelt's words hold an enduring truth.

Those who cherish freedom and peace must stand united. Progress will not always be swift. But if the past 75 years have taught us anything, it's that achieving a stable, just, and prosperous world requires the work of all of us. Our alliances and partnerships are our greatest strengths, and together we will continue to build a safer and more peaceful world.

Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

MAJOR GENERAL RYDER: Thank you both, gentlemen. The first question will come from Associated Press, Lita Baldor.

Q: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Russian and Chinese bombers were off Alaska yesterday. I'm wondering if you could talk to us about what threat you think that growing cooperation is to the U.S., and also particularly to the allies in Asia who were very concerned with this growing activity.

And for you, Mr. Chairman, the president himself expressed some disappointment in the pier and the aid that it was able to bring into Gaza. Now that that is gone, what if any military involvement do you see - U.S. military involvement do you see as necessary or not in helping to get continued aid into that area, where obviously Palestinians are still starving?

MR. AUSTIN: Thanks, Lita. Regarding the Russian and Chinese aircraft that flew together in the north here recently, this was not a surprise to us. We closely monitored these aircraft, tracked the aircraft, intercepted the aircraft, which demonstrates that forces are at the ready all the time and we have very good surveillance capabilities. And of course, I won't discuss any intelligence issues here at the podium.

But again, it's the first time that we've seen these two countries fly together like that. They didn't enter our airspace. I think the closest point of approach was about 200 miles off of our coast. But this is a thing that we track very closely, we're able to intercept. And if it happens again, if there is any kind of a challenge from any direction, I have every confidence that NORTHCOM and NORAD will be at the ready and will be able to intercept.

In terms of the relationship between Russia and China, this is a relationship that we have been concerned about throughout, mostly because we're concerned about China providing support to Russia's illegal and unnecessary war in Ukraine. And we've seen evidence of that, and we would hope that that would cease going forward. But again, we'll see what happens and how this relationship continues to develop. We will remain focused on protecting the homeland here. And again, I applaud the efforts of NORTHCOM and our great airmen who are always at the ready.

GENERAL BROWN: Let me just echo the applause really for the nearly 1,000 service members that operated JLOTS over the course of - since the time they've been operating there in the Mediterranean.

And so, what I would tell you is that the 20 million pounds of humanitarian assistance to help the citizens of Gaza, we continue to - we've moved all that forward. At the same time, the elements that we've been able to put in place, some of the coordination elements and the flow from Cyprus, also the ground movement through Jordan, many of those things we'll continue to work on. And so, the coordination elements that were put in place we'll continue to sustain and support as we transition this capability of humanitarian assistance through other means, whether it's through land means through Jordan, but also through the port of Ashdod there and Israel.

MAJOR GENERAL RYDER: Okay. The next question, we'll go to Fox, Jennifer.

Q: Thank you. Secretary Austin, just to follow up on the Chinese and Russian warplanes, the Chinese and Russians put out video bragging about this mission, so clearly it was a propaganda effort. The leader of the Houthis also bragged overnight that the drone that struck near the U.S. consulate in Tel Aviv flew 1,400 miles undetected. Are you concerned that the raucous political turmoil and election and the decision of the president to step aside is leading to adventurism and miscalculation by America's adversaries? Are they testing the U.S. right now?

And General Brown, yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wants the U.S. to deliver weapons to Israel faster. He also said that the ratio of civilian casualties to Hamas combatants killed in Gaza is the lowest in the history of urban warfare. Is that true?

MR. AUSTIN: Thanks, Jennifer. As to whether or not our adversaries are testing us at this particular time, they're always testing us, and that's no surprise to any of us. We see activity in the north on a number of occasions, and we are always at the ready to address that activity.

And in terms of the Houthis, as you know, they've been focused on successfully launching an attack on Israel. And this one drone that was able to get through is something that - it happened. But again, when you consider the fact that they have tried to attack Israel some 200 plus times and this one got through, I think it speaks to the remarkable air defenses that Israel has.

But again, we will see challenges from adversaries throughout, and I don't think that this particular point in time is any different. I think we'll continue to see this going forward. It's just the nature of who they are and what they do. But again, we have the world's greatest military, the most capable military, and we will continue to protect this nation.

GENERAL BROWN: Jennifer, I'll tell you that we've - as a nation and as a military, we've provided capability for Israel to defend itself before 7 October but also after 7 October. And after 7 October, we rushed a number of capabilities in to the Israelis, save recently one shipment of 2,000 pound weapons. And we'll continue to support the Israeli with munitions.

To the prime minister's comments on the ratio, I've not seen the numbers to validate or invalidate what he said. But I will tell you, in every one of my conversations with my counterpart, I do talk about the aspect of minimizing the civilian casualties and pushing humanitarian assistance into Gaza as they conduct their military operations.

Q: So, you're not withholding or slowing weapons to Israel right now?

GENERAL BROWN: We're not.

MAJOR GENERAL RYDER: Okay. Let's go across the room here to Washington Post.

Q: Gentlemen, thanks for your time today. Mr. Secretary, the Pentagon for more than a year has been examining what the definition of a Gold Star family should be, and it's an emotional topic for people on both sides of the issue. Can you explain where you stand on this issue, whether you support a broader definition that includes not only families of those killed in combat but also accidents, suicides, and other health crises?

Mr. Chairman, despite efforts to stop the Houthis attacking, global shipping remains mostly stymied in the Red Sea statistically. Do you support expanding those efforts in any way to stop the Houthis? And why has the current efforts not been enough to stop it?

MR. AUSTIN: Well, thanks for the question. Let me begin by expressing my deep condolences to all those families who have lost a loved one either in combat or otherwise. Every one of our troops is special to us, and we cherish what they bring to the force. And we feel their loss when we lose them.

This is an important topic, and it requires and deserves serious deliberation. And so, what we have done is taken in input from a number of different places and we've consulted a number of different people.

And so, it's going to take us a little bit more time to work through this, but we'll get it right and we have to get it right. It's really important. But again, this is important to us. It's also important to the many families who are a part of our larger family here.

GENERAL BROWN: As we work in the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandab, we're working not just with U.S. but also with the international community, with our allies and partners to ensure the freedom of

navigation and the flow of commerce. There is still flow of commerce that goes through the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab. But as you highlight, the Houthis are challenging the ability for that to move through.

We are taking away capability from the Houthis. We'll continue to take away, and the approach - we're taking capability away from the Houthis. But at the same point, it's going to take more than just a military operation. And this is an engagement with the international community but also the interagency, to use the various tools to put pressure on the Houthis to cease this.

They originally tied this to support of the Palestinians. And if you've watched how they've changed that, we'll see how this progresses forward. If a ceasefire does come to fruition and the hostage deal, that'll be a test of whether or not the Houthis are focused on the Palestinians or the Houthis are focused on the Houthis.

Q: Mr. Secretary, as you know, the Pentagon recently withdrew its recommendation on that Gold Star issue to review it more. Do you anticipate we will see a firm recommendation out of the Pentagon by the end of the year, by the end of the presidential term, any of the above?

MR. AUSTIN: I won't provide any predictions on a date. Again, what's most important is that that we put - we get this right, and we take on all of the recommendations and we consider every aspect of this issue. And when we're ready to provide that recommendation, we'll certainly do that.

MAJOR GENERAL RYDER: Okay. Again, we do have limited time, so I appreciate your limiting your follow ups. Let's go to Al Arabiya, Joseph.

Q: Thank you. Mr. Secretary, just to follow up on Prime Minister Netanyahu's comments yesterday, he said that he wanted to fast track - he wanted U.S. weapons fast tracked. He said that this would lead to a quicker end to the war in Gaza. Your former top official, who departed just in January on Middle East policy, said that the faster delivery of U.S. weapons to Israel will not enable a faster end to the war. There's no end to the war if the ends are total victory or only defined in military terms. Can you say whether you agree with that assessment or not?

And General, wanted to ask about the Houthis again. There's been some criticism in recent days and weeks from U.S. military officials, including from the CENTCOM commander, about the U.S. led mission to counter the Houthis, that maybe the current mission is not succeeding. Can you talk about any recommendations that you've made that the administration has not heeded or listened to? Or what more could be done other than - you mentioned more than just military operations or related matters. What else could be done specifically? Thank you.

MR. AUSTIN: Thanks for the question. Regarding the speed of delivery of security assistance to Israel, we have provided security assistance to Israel at record pace, and we've done that from the very beginning. We're able to do that because we learned a lot of lessons from our efforts to provide security assistance to Ukraine.

And you saw what happened initially. This conflict - well, the Israelis were attacked. A couple of days later, we had security assistance flowing in on the airfield there to our allies there in the Israel. We have sustained that throughout. And again, we're going to continue to do that. We're going to continue to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself.

But again, in terms of the prime minister's comments, I won't comment on that. What I will tell you is I'm going to stay focused on doing what we've done to date, providing Israel what it needs to be successful.

GENERAL BROWN: Well, I'll just tell you, I'm not going to get into internal deliberation discussions and tell you what recommendations I made or didn't make or what was taken or not taken.

What I will say is that we are doing is actually taking away a capability from the Houthis from military aspect. But to be able to address this, it's going to take broader than just the military strikes. There's an inspection regime of things that is - of smuggling that we can - we'll work through. There's also other things from a sanctions standpoint and many of the tools that you're probably familiar with.

And that's the conversation of the things that we need to do, not just for the U.S., but just in the international community, and to raise the awareness of the impact of - there is the flow of navigation now, but there is an impact. And so, how do we collectively internationally look at this so we can get that free flow of commerce back to the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandab.

MAJOR GENERAL RYDER: OK. Let's go to NBC.

Q: Thanks. Mr. Secretary, when and how did you find out that President Biden was deciding not to run? I guess could you discuss when, how, and by who or whom? I'm not sure actually what that is, who, by whom did you find out that he was stepping down? Have you spoken with him since or the vice president since?

And can you give us any sense of - I know you're not going to want to give us transcripts or quotes from any meetings that you've had that the vice president has participated in. But in some of these bigger decisions that have happened as you've been secretary, like the withdrawal from Afghanistan, strikes against the Houthis, can you give us any sense of the role that the vice president has played in those meetings, like your impressions?

And General Brown, you mentioned at the top that there are still active challenges today including - or including violent extremists. So, I wonder, with this talk about the potential for the mission in Iraq to change and the U.S. military presence there to really decrease by a significant amount in the coming year or so, what is the U.S. military assessment for ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and how they could reconstitute over what timeline? Thanks.

MR. AUSTIN: Thanks, Courtney. I found out when the president made the announcement. This is a very - this is a significant issue, a very personal issue for the president, and he made his decisions on his own timeline. And in terms of whether or not I've spoken with him or seen him, we were in the same NSC meeting yesterday, and then I spoke with him again separately by phone.

So, again, I think the president has done a significant amount for this country and the international community. And I am absolutely convinced that he is committed to doing everything he can for as long as he can to build upon many of the successes that you heard me talk about earlier today.

So I think in terms of - your second question was about Vice President Harris and her contribution to decision making processes. I won't get involved in any kind of political commentary or political processes. What I will tell you is what I know. Having sat in meetings with her for three and a half years,

having observed her provide input to some very complex decision making processes, she is always prepared. She is always - she always provides meaningful and very helpful input.

And again, I've seen her help the team, help the president work through some very, very complex issues. As you know, the president is the major player in the process, but she is a key player and, again, has always been engaged and involved, is always prepared for whatever discussion that we're going to have.

She's represented this country in the international arena, on the international stage a number of times and done so in a very, very professional and effective manner. She's met with key leaders around the globe. She even met with President Xi. And so, she understands national security, international affairs. And again, she's been a vital asset to the overall team throughout this. Again, that's what I know from sitting in a room with her over three and a half years.

Q: I didn't mean to limit you. If you did want to give quotes or transcripts from meetings, you could do that. I was just trying to - .

MR. AUSTIN: Sure. See me later. I'll hand them out.

Q: It's on the record.

MR. AUSTIN: Yeah.

GENERAL BROWN: Thanks, Courtney, on the question regarding ISIS. You're probably aware that we had our Iraqi partners here this week to talk about the transition from Operation Inherent Resolve to a bilateral security relationship. I had a chance to sit down with my counterpart and talk a bit about that transition, but also talk about the security environment and in relation to ISIS.

I'm not going to - I can't predict for you what might happen. But we are both focused on making sure there's not a resurgence of ISIS. And so, as we make that transition, it is something, a topic that we did talk about and how we posture ourselves from the US military, how we work the bilateral relationship, and where the Iraqi security forces are very broadly.

Now, we'll continue to work through the details of how that transition and number of forces. But we both understand the importance of us working together to ensure that there's not a insurgence a resurgence of ISIS.

MAJOR GENERAL RYDER: Okay. Let's go to Reuters, Idris.

Q: Thank you. Mr. Chairman, let's start off with you. Can you just give us a broader assessment of Israel's military strategy in Gaza? It seems there's sort of a clear and then not hold, which allows Hamas to come back into areas. How do you see - is that a sustainable strategy? And have you seen a credible day after plan from the Israelis so far?

And Mr. Secretary, you mentioned Vice President Harris being a key player. Could you give an example of when you've seen that? And then personally for you, what are you hoping to achieve in the remaining six months? And looking back at your tenure, what do you see as your legacy, and what's your biggest regret that you've had in the past three and a half years?

MR. AUSTIN: In terms of specific examples of Vice President Harris's input to decision making processes, we'd go back to the same place that Courtney was trying to get me to there to provide information that we dealt with that process, and I'm not going to do that.

But what I will tell you is that, if you just kind of look at the things that we have done, Idris, over the past three and a half years, the strikes that we've had to take, the deployments that we've done, the decision to support Ukraine, there's just thing after thing after thing, she's always there, she's always a part of the process, and she's always very engaged.

And the one thing that I would also tell you is that she absolutely loves troops. And she comes from the state of California where, as you know, there are a lot of troops in that state. And so, she's always been focused on the welfare of our troops and our families and also veterans as well.

So, that's what I know. And again, she has been thoroughly engaged throughout. And what was the second part of your question?

Q: What do you see as your legacy in this job, and what's your biggest regret in the past three and a half years? You've had successes, but naturally also some failures, frankly. But yeah, what's your biggest regret?

MR. AUSTIN: Idris, if my staff heard me talk about my legacy, they would have a heart attack because they know that I never focus on my legacy. I'm focused on defending this country, taking care of our people, and making sure that we have what we need to do those things. And again, I think, as long as we're doing the kinds of things that we are doing and have done, the legacy issue will take care of itself.

Again, if you look around, I mean, there's a lot of points on the board. And if it's a fact, it's not bragging, it's a fact. I mean, you look at what I mentioned earlier, what we've done with the Philippines and throughout the Indo-Pacific, you look at the fact that NATO is more unified than it's than it's ever been, and it goes on and on and on. I think this team has done remarkable work.

And I mention the team because it is all about the team. We have some of the greatest and most talented professionals here on the OSD staff that I've ever had the chance to work with. And of course, you know the caliber of people we have on the Joint Staff, but our troops are out there doing amazing things every day. And whatever successes we've achieved, it's because of them and because of the great families that support them.

So, we have work left to do, and we're going to stay focused on that work. We've got Ukraine and Russia. We've got Israel and Gaza. And we have to continue to make sure that we maintain the competitive edge in the Indo-Pacific.

Q: Biggest regret?

MR. AUSTIN: I'm sorry?

Q: Biggest regret in the past three and a half years?

MR. AUSTIN: I'll tell you what my biggest-what I'm grateful for

most is having the ability to serve with the kinds of people that I just described. So, yeah.

operating in a very complex urban environment with an extensive tunnel network. And so, from a strategy standpoint, I'd prefer to defer to them exactly their strategy. But being able to go in and clear out areas and be able to try to hold that at the same time as Hamas is able to use that subterranean features to move around does create some challenges.

As far as the day after, we have talked to the Israelis about this, how to make a transition. We've talked to them a number of different times. There's not a lot of detail that I've been able to see from a plan from them. And that this is something we'll continue to work with them on. And it's going to be important for the security of the region of how you work that day after, as well as we work and talk to some of the other nations, our partners in the region as well.

MAJOR GENERAL RYDER: OK. We have time for one more. We'll go to Charlie, CBS.

Q: Thank you. First of all, Mr. Secretary, as we understand it, this is the first intercept of a joint Chinese-Russian exercise in that region. What message are they trying to send, and why now?

And General, if I could ask you about the pier, a lot of these conditions would have been predicted and forecasted for the challenges. Many people say that it wasn't designed for what it was meant to do. So, what went wrong?

MR. AUSTIN: In terms of the message that the Russians and the Chinese are sending, I'll tell you what message we're sending. And that message is we're going to be at the ready. We are at the ready. We will always be at the ready. We're going to defend this nation.

And so, if there is a challenge or a threat to the United States of America, your troops will be at the ready, and they will do the right thing. And I want to thank all those who continue to support our troops and their families. What you saw the other day is what they do each and every day. And I am absolutely proud of them.

Q: What do you make of the timing? Why now?

MR. AUSTIN: Well, I mean, you could probably guess that things like that have probably been planned well in advance. And so, that certainly would be my guess. And in terms of why they would choose to do something at a particular time, have to ask them. But what I will tell you is that, whenever somebody does something like that, we'll be at the ready to do the right thing.

GENERAL BROWN: Charlie, as we did the planning for moving the JLOTS, the pier, one of the things-there's a couple things we knew that we did plan for. We knew this would be temporary. We also knew that the sea states would start to increase as you get further into the summer.

And so, from that perspective we did everything we could to help mitigate. And as you saw, we'd bring the pier in, we'd move it back out so we could preserve the capabilities to continue to push humanitarian assistance in to the citizens of Gaza.

Again, I'm very proud of the thousand service members that were doing this work, because it's not easy work. And to be able to provide humanitarian assistance I thought was-I think we all collectively believe it was important to support and get that energized, not just what we did but what the others were able to do because of us being able to energize the process.

Q: But it was hoped it would be more effective?

GENERAL BROWN: Well, I mean, we didn't come out with the metrics and say here's how much we're going to move or how many days, but I think it was effective. And what we did is better than not doing anything at all and just observing. And again, I think we did a good job of actually getting things energized.

And ideally, as we get ready to bring the JLOTS home, we'll continue to be able to help with the coordination piece now that we've got some of that coordination done and continue that flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

MR. AUSTIN: I mean, we're talking 8,800 metric tons of humanitarian assistance. If you're a person in Gaza starving to death, I think that's effective.

And again, as the chairman said, this was never designed to be a permanent fix. And I made that point from the very beginning and I made it every day, that this is a temporary measure that we're taking to help with the overall effort, and we're going to take it out at the end of July. But while we-when we had the opportunity to provide humanitarian assistance, I think our troops did amazing work, amazing work.

MAJOR GENERAL RYDER: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. That concludes our press briefing. Secretary Austin, General Brown, thank you.

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