WEBVTT 00:01.185 --> 00:02.018 (footsteps) 00:02.018 --> 00:03.780 (air whooshes) 00:03.780 --> 00:05.350 - Okay, well good afternoon everyone. 00:05.350 --> 00:07.490 I wanna start by expressing my sympathy 00:07.490 --> 00:09.567 for the defense department contractor who 00:09.567 --> 00:11.010 passed away this Saturday 00:11.010 --> 00:14.240 after contracting coronavirus earlier this month. 00:14.240 --> 00:15.410 Our thought go out to his family 00:15.410 --> 00:17.623 and friends as they mourn his tragic loss. 00:18.520 --> 00:19.353 Over the weekend, 00:19.353 --> 00:20.330 the department of defense continued 00:20.330 --> 00:23.510 to take aggressive action to surge personnel capabilities 00:23.510 --> 00:25.470 and equipment in support of President Trump's 00:25.470 --> 00:29.770 whole-of-nation response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 00:29.770 --> 00:31.260 On the frontline of this fight are over 00:31.260 --> 00:33.380 7,000 National Guardsmen, 00:33.380 --> 00:36.380 operating across all 54 states, territories, 00:36.380 --> 00:37.920 and the District of Columbia, 00:37.920 --> 00:40.100 who continue to assist, 00:40.100 --> 00:43.183 state and local authorities in their response efforts. 00:44.060 --> 00:46.260 In New York, Washington, and California, 00:46.260 --> 00:47.790 the President has approved mobilizing 00:47.790 --> 00:50.740 National Guard troops under Title 32 status 00:50.740 --> 00:52.100 which provides them access 00:52.100 --> 00:53.370 to federal resources, 00:53.370 --> 00:56.570 but still allows them to be managed by the state government. 00:56.570 --> 00:57.403 To be clear, 00:57.403 --> 00:59.340 this is not a move towards Marshall law, 00:59.340 --> 01:01.830 as some have erroneously claimed. 01:01.830 --> 01:04.190 Our great National Guard troops are performing tasks 01:04.190 --> 01:06.590 such as supporting drive through testing sites, 01:06.590 --> 01:09.590 conducting food delivery to protect vulnerable populations, 01:09.590 --> 01:11.287 and helping states plan and coordinate 01:11.287 --> 01:13.620 their local responses. 01:13.620 --> 01:15.490 Allowing states to maintain control over their 01:15.490 --> 01:17.740 National Guard forces is the most effective way 01:17.740 --> 01:19.020 to manage their efforts, 01:19.020 --> 01:21.200 as it permits each governor to tailor 01:21.200 --> 01:23.190 the Guards activities to best support 01:23.190 --> 01:24.533 the needs of their state. 01:25.690 --> 01:27.600 Also as the President announced yesterday, 01:27.600 --> 01:28.830 the hospital ship Mercy, 01:28.830 --> 01:30.964 will deploy this week to Los Angeles. 01:30.964 --> 01:32.620 We're working closely with FEMA 01:32.620 --> 01:34.330 to set the conditions for the ships arrival 01:34.330 --> 01:35.350 later this week, 01:35.350 --> 01:36.560 so that she can start receiving 01:36.560 --> 01:38.790 non COVID-19 medical patients 01:38.790 --> 01:41.390 to free-up bed space in some of the L.A's most 01:41.390 --> 01:43.460 heavily stressed hospitals. 01:43.460 --> 01:45.450 I spoke with the captain of the Mercy last week 01:45.450 --> 01:48.400 as he was making final preparations to set sail. 01:48.400 --> 01:50.110 The men and women of the Mercy are highly 01:50.110 --> 01:52.810 trained professionals and are eager to join this fight 01:52.810 --> 01:55.492 to start helping their fellow Americans. 01:55.492 --> 01:56.880 In the next couple of weeks, 01:56.880 --> 01:58.820 our other hospital ship, the Comfort, 01:58.820 --> 02:01.070 will head to New York City for the same purpose, 02:01.070 --> 02:02.510 the crew and staff are already making 02:02.510 --> 02:05.250 the necessary preparations for the upcoming mission. 02:05.250 --> 02:08.740 I had the chance to speak to that ship's captain as well. 02:08.740 --> 02:09.573 Concurrently, 02:09.573 --> 02:11.200 we have a number of military hospitals 02:11.200 --> 02:14.020 and expeditionary medical units on prepare to deploy orders 02:14.020 --> 02:16.230 that will be moving out this week. 02:16.230 --> 02:18.610 The Army Corps of Engineers is also set to begin work 02:18.610 --> 02:20.590 to convert hotels, dormitories, 02:20.590 --> 02:22.622 and other buildings into temporary medical facilities 02:22.622 --> 02:24.800 across the country. 02:24.800 --> 02:26.010 The U.S Army North, 02:26.010 --> 02:28.026 has activated 10 defense coordinating elements, 02:28.026 --> 02:31.200 co-located with each FEMA regional headquarters 02:31.200 --> 02:34.400 to synchronize requests for federal military assistance. 02:34.400 --> 02:37.330 FEMA as the lead agency for the federal response, 02:37.330 --> 02:40.740 will validate and prioritize these requests. 02:40.740 --> 02:42.810 The department of defense will then deploy armed forces 02:42.810 --> 02:45.913 around the country to provide this support as directed. 02:46.850 --> 02:49.100 Additionally, the department continues to provide logistical 02:49.100 --> 02:51.610 support to American citizens around the world. 02:51.610 --> 02:53.115 Last Friday for example we flew members 02:53.115 --> 02:55.810 of a U.S Women's football team home from Honduras 02:55.810 --> 02:58.750 after the country closed it's borders. 02:58.750 --> 03:00.952 We continue to keep our service members, civilians, 03:00.952 --> 03:02.370 family members around the world, 03:02.370 --> 03:05.400 informed on the latest force health protection guidance. 03:05.400 --> 03:07.780 Today we are elevating the Pentagon reservation status 03:07.780 --> 03:10.253 to health protection condition to C, Charlie. 03:11.110 --> 03:13.920 This limits the number of access points to the Pentagon 03:13.920 --> 03:15.430 and increases the amount of personnel 03:15.430 --> 03:18.370 who would tele work among a few other things. 03:18.370 --> 03:20.380 Tomorrow, we will publish updated guidance 03:20.380 --> 03:21.620 on elective surgeries, 03:21.620 --> 03:22.770 as we look for additional ways 03:22.770 --> 03:24.910 to free-up medical capacity and resources 03:24.910 --> 03:27.623 to focus on COVID-19 related treatment. 03:28.490 --> 03:29.370 In general, 03:29.370 --> 03:30.690 it is important that we all continue 03:30.690 --> 03:32.310 to employ protective measures 03:32.310 --> 03:33.890 including good hand washing, 03:33.890 --> 03:35.000 proactive medical screening, 03:35.000 --> 03:36.640 and social distancing. 03:36.640 --> 03:38.860 These dramatically decrease the risk of an infection 03:38.860 --> 03:41.150 and slow the spread of virus. 03:41.150 --> 03:43.060 The United States military remains well prepared 03:43.060 --> 03:44.430 to defend the nation, 03:44.430 --> 03:47.120 although we have scaled back some of our major exercises, 03:47.120 --> 03:49.610 routine training continues across all services 03:49.610 --> 03:52.880 to ensure our forces maintain a high state of readiness. 03:52.880 --> 03:54.770 I trust our commanders to make the best decisions 03:54.770 --> 03:56.566 for their units as they balance mission requirements 03:56.566 --> 03:59.040 with force health protection. 03:59.040 --> 04:01.460 I'm proud of our service members and DOD civilians 04:01.460 --> 04:03.300 and families who are answering the call, 04:03.300 --> 04:04.940 all around our great country. 04:04.940 --> 04:07.600 I wanna thank them for their contribution to this fight. 04:07.600 --> 04:08.470 By working together, 04:08.470 --> 04:10.310 we will defeat this virus, 04:10.310 --> 04:12.060 and I am confident that our nation will come back 04:12.060 --> 04:13.110 even stronger. 04:13.110 --> 04:13.979 Thank you. 04:13.979 --> 04:14.840 (air whooshes) 04:14.840 --> 04:15.673 - And we'll now 04:15.673 --> 04:16.911 take some questions, - Let's take two questions. 04:16.911 --> 04:18.080 - We're gonna go to the phone lines, 04:18.080 --> 04:19.093 Lido with AP. 04:20.660 --> 04:22.620 - [Lido] Hi, thanks for doing this and hi to everyone 04:22.620 --> 04:24.550 in the briefing room. 04:24.550 --> 04:27.220 Mr. Secretary, two questions. 04:27.220 --> 04:30.010 One, can you provide additional details on the number 04:30.010 --> 04:32.839 of field hospitals and other hospital units that 04:32.839 --> 04:36.170 the U.S. military is making available and 04:36.170 --> 04:38.820 when and where you think they may go? 04:38.820 --> 04:40.450 And then secondly, 04:40.450 --> 04:42.440 what impact do you think some 04:42.440 --> 04:44.370 of this is having on readiness, 04:44.370 --> 04:47.850 there are a number of Navy Sailors who have become ill. 04:47.850 --> 04:50.318 Can you give us an assessment of 04:50.318 --> 04:53.290 what impact you're seeing so far, 04:53.290 --> 04:56.810 on readiness in the United States and in war zones? 04:56.810 --> 04:57.790 Thank you. 04:57.790 --> 04:58.623 - Thanks Lido. 04:58.623 --> 05:01.803 So we have a number of hospitals and medical facilities, 05:01.803 --> 05:05.973 expeditionary medical facilities across all three services. 05:05.973 --> 05:08.480 We have put on what we call PTDO, 05:08.480 --> 05:11.720 Prepare to Deploy Order five such units, 05:11.720 --> 05:13.440 that will be prepared to deploy. 05:13.440 --> 05:17.230 We will of course take our sourcing guidance from FEMA, 05:17.230 --> 05:20.730 but right now I anticipate sending a hospital to Seattle, 05:20.730 --> 05:22.600 and a hospital to New York City, 05:22.600 --> 05:23.433 and beyond that, 05:23.433 --> 05:24.650 once that's confirmed, 05:24.650 --> 05:26.150 we will look at sending to other places 05:26.150 --> 05:29.140 and as necessary we will continue to alert units 05:29.140 --> 05:31.750 to prepare to deploy and deploy them as appropriate. 05:31.750 --> 05:33.710 With regard to readiness, 05:33.710 --> 05:34.543 we have, 05:34.543 --> 05:35.640 as some of you know, 05:35.640 --> 05:38.080 we have 133 military personnel who 05:38.080 --> 05:40.620 have contracted the virus. 05:40.620 --> 05:42.200 We are taking great care of them, 05:42.200 --> 05:43.110 watching them closely, 05:43.110 --> 05:44.948 I've had a chance to talk to several of them, 05:44.948 --> 05:46.514 to check on them. 05:46.514 --> 05:49.360 As this virus ramps up and spreads, 05:49.360 --> 05:51.770 we will obviously see more and more impact 05:51.770 --> 05:53.410 of persons in our ranks. 05:53.410 --> 05:54.770 I am confident that 05:54.770 --> 05:56.600 while it may have some impacts on readiness, 05:56.600 --> 05:59.090 it will not affect our ability to conduct 05:59.090 --> 06:01.980 our national security missions both at home and abroad. 06:01.980 --> 06:04.530 So, I am very confident in terms of the fitness, 06:04.530 --> 06:06.210 the health of our force, 06:06.210 --> 06:08.290 and the commanders ability to make sure 06:08.290 --> 06:11.530 they manage our resources and our people. 06:11.530 --> 06:13.520 Keep in mind I've always outlined three priorities. 06:13.520 --> 06:14.353 Number one, 06:14.353 --> 06:16.380 protecting our people and their families. 06:16.380 --> 06:17.320 Number two, 06:17.320 --> 06:18.380 ensuring safeguarding, 06:18.380 --> 06:20.637 we have our mission capabilities available to us. 06:20.637 --> 06:21.840 And Number three, 06:21.840 --> 06:25.120 supporting the whole-of-nation government effort. 06:25.120 --> 06:26.265 - Jennifer Griffin. 06:26.265 --> 06:27.098 - Hi Jen. 06:27.098 --> 06:27.931 - Hi. 06:29.040 --> 06:31.420 Secretary, as per last week we heard that 06:31.420 --> 06:35.230 the Army had excess capacity to test about 16,000 test 06:35.230 --> 06:37.200 they could run a day but their running 06:37.200 --> 06:38.612 at a very small amount of that. 06:38.612 --> 06:41.450 Why isn't the military helping with the civilian labs 06:41.450 --> 06:44.660 with testing to ease the back-load, 06:44.660 --> 06:47.630 and if I could quickly ask a question about Afghanistan, 06:47.630 --> 06:50.770 why did Secretary of State Pompeo feel the need to go out 06:50.770 --> 06:53.643 to Afghanistan from your perspective, 06:53.643 --> 06:57.550 is the so called Peace Deal in jeopardy 06:57.550 --> 06:59.630 and have you slowed the number of troops 06:59.630 --> 07:00.810 coming out of Afghanistan? 07:00.810 --> 07:03.190 - Well, I don't wanna get too much into Afghanistan today. 07:03.190 --> 07:04.510 I wanna speak about coronavirus, 07:04.510 --> 07:05.343 but I will say, 07:05.343 --> 07:07.750 I spoke to Secretary Pompeo earlier today, 07:07.750 --> 07:10.240 he's obviously over there to try 07:10.240 --> 07:12.300 and keep the process moving forward 07:12.300 --> 07:14.150 otherwise he'll be coming back, 07:14.150 --> 07:16.100 I'm sure he'll speak to it more broadly 07:16.100 --> 07:17.840 once he returns to the United States. 07:17.840 --> 07:20.256 On your first question I've already 07:20.256 --> 07:21.185 forgotten what the first question was. 07:21.185 --> 07:22.018 - It was about testing. 07:22.018 --> 07:22.851 - Testing! 07:22.851 --> 07:24.770 So we have 16 labs available. 07:24.770 --> 07:29.000 We can test at least 6,000 a day is our throughput. 07:29.000 --> 07:31.440 I don't know where the 16,000 number came from. 07:31.440 --> 07:34.680 But I think we're up to 6,000 in terms of capacity, 07:34.680 --> 07:36.680 the issue is test kits, 07:36.680 --> 07:39.160 and as more of those come on board we can test more, 07:39.160 --> 07:42.790 but we have offered those services up to 07:42.790 --> 07:44.810 the inner agency to provide testing 07:44.810 --> 07:47.842 as we have excess capacity in our labs. 07:47.842 --> 07:50.300 And if my numbers are wrong somebody will clean it 07:50.300 --> 07:51.133 up afterwards, 07:51.133 --> 07:52.600 but I think that the last time I was briefed 07:52.600 --> 07:54.790 those were roughly the numbers. 07:54.790 --> 07:55.860 - Go to Courtney. 07:55.860 --> 07:57.570 - I just wanna be clear on the field hospitals, 07:57.570 --> 07:59.810 so, the ones going to Seattle and New York City, 07:59.810 --> 08:01.620 you expect those to move out this week? 08:01.620 --> 08:04.840 - Yeah, I just wanna clarify so there's no confusion. 08:04.840 --> 08:08.130 There are hospitals being provided by HHS. 08:08.130 --> 08:09.660 I forget exactly what they are called, 08:09.660 --> 08:12.950 but they are hospitals in the sense beds, bed spacing 08:12.950 --> 08:13.783 things like that, those are being provided 08:13.783 --> 08:18.233 to Seattle and I forget the other location, 08:20.045 --> 08:22.878 it might of been New York as well. 08:26.729 --> 08:27.562 We are looking at deploying our field hospitals, 08:27.562 --> 08:28.395 which include, the hospital, the equipment, 08:28.395 --> 08:29.228 and medical professionals, 08:29.228 --> 08:30.061 and my aim is to get them out this week. 08:30.061 --> 08:32.494 My view is Seattle and New York City are the places 08:32.494 --> 08:34.350 we just need FEMA to validate that, 08:34.350 --> 08:35.400 because keep in mind, 08:36.460 --> 08:38.380 FEMA is the U.S governments central place 08:38.380 --> 08:40.990 for handling requests and then validating 08:40.990 --> 08:42.590 them and then prioritizing them. 08:42.590 --> 08:43.423 So that's important, 08:43.423 --> 08:45.370 but that is my notion as we'll be moving out this week. 08:45.370 --> 08:47.780 - And then can you just give us a little more detail about 08:47.780 --> 08:50.550 changing the health protection condition to C 08:50.550 --> 08:52.050 at the Pentagon exactly what that means. 08:52.050 --> 08:54.585 How many, a lot of us have been talking about how many 08:54.585 --> 08:56.810 people are actually working in the building right now, 08:56.810 --> 08:57.643 - Yeah. - prior to that, 08:57.643 --> 08:59.730 and where you expect that number to is 08:59.730 --> 09:01.270 now and where it will go to under C. 09:01.270 --> 09:02.550 - Yeah, we can get you those numbers 09:02.550 --> 09:03.820 on who's working in the building now, 09:03.820 --> 09:04.960 I think it's down considerably 09:04.960 --> 09:07.460 maybe 60-some percent if not more. 09:07.460 --> 09:10.670 Again, I'm working off numbers I was given last week. 09:10.670 --> 09:14.530 There does come with HPCON Charlie additional measures, 09:14.530 --> 09:17.230 we talked about limiting the number of sites. 09:17.230 --> 09:18.420 Some screening, 09:18.420 --> 09:19.680 as we could go to medical screening 09:19.680 --> 09:21.600 in terms of temperature testing as people come in 09:21.600 --> 09:24.070 is another action that is looked at. 09:24.070 --> 09:27.120 And then of course everybody swiping as they come in. 09:27.120 --> 09:28.760 There are a number of things so we should be putting 09:28.760 --> 09:30.860 out information more today. 09:30.860 --> 09:32.950 There is no intent whatsoever, Barbera, 09:32.950 --> 09:35.850 to limit the access of the press and we wanna 09:35.850 --> 09:36.683 keep the building open again for 09:36.683 --> 09:39.597 certainly essential personnel and for the media. 09:39.597 --> 09:41.547 - And we're gonna go to the phone lines 09:43.041 --> 09:43.874 to Silvy from AFP. 09:46.580 --> 09:49.136 - [Silvy] Yes hello Mr. Secretary, do you hear me? 09:49.136 --> 09:50.093 - I hear you. 09:51.020 --> 09:52.310 - Okay, thank you very much. 09:52.310 --> 09:54.550 The President yesterday, 09:54.550 --> 09:56.520 spoke briefly about an hostage 09:57.563 --> 10:02.563 who was liberated with the help of a DOD. 10:02.670 --> 10:04.973 Could you (silence) about that? 10:06.330 --> 10:07.270 - Did you say hostage? 10:07.270 --> 10:08.103 - A women - Yes, a hostage. 10:08.103 --> 10:10.421 - Well, we had a young lady, 10:10.421 --> 10:14.270 a young American, 10:14.270 --> 10:19.260 who was the victim of a violent crime in Hondurus I believe. 10:19.260 --> 10:20.793 She has been returned to the United States. 10:20.793 --> 10:23.730 I'll just say out of respect for her, 10:23.730 --> 10:27.446 and her family for her privacy we'll just leave it at that. 10:27.446 --> 10:28.731 - [Moderator] Tahnk you. 10:28.731 --> 10:29.564 We'll go to Barbera Stark. 10:29.564 --> 10:30.397 - [Ghostly Voice] Can you just, 10:30.397 --> 10:31.837 - I've already answered your question Barbera, 10:31.837 --> 10:33.290 so we can skip you I guess. 10:33.290 --> 10:36.230 - [Barbera] Never, or hopefully never. 10:36.230 --> 10:38.510 You said something really interesting, 10:38.510 --> 10:40.000 you said, 10:40.000 --> 10:44.890 that you do expect now some impact on readiness. 10:44.890 --> 10:47.330 To the best of my recollection its the first time 10:47.330 --> 10:49.187 you've publicly at least said that. 10:49.187 --> 10:51.900 So, could you just expand a little bit. 10:51.900 --> 10:54.511 What are you hearing from your folks about what 10:54.511 --> 10:58.950 you expect that impact on readiness to be? 10:58.950 --> 11:01.483 And if there is such a thing, 11:02.430 --> 11:04.840 how come the defense department 11:04.840 --> 11:09.630 was like the civilian sector perhaps not better prepared 11:10.550 --> 11:12.660 to deal with a pandemic situation? 11:12.660 --> 11:14.870 But I've never heard you say before. 11:14.870 --> 11:18.210 - Well first of all I think we are prepared for a pandemic. 11:18.210 --> 11:19.740 We have pandemic plans in place, 11:19.740 --> 11:21.240 we've been exorcizing them now since 11:21.240 --> 11:22.700 late January if you will. 11:22.700 --> 11:24.410 The commanders have been executing their plans, 11:24.410 --> 11:27.170 we've stocked up millions of supplies. 11:27.170 --> 11:29.580 The Unites States Military and our strategic stockpile 11:29.580 --> 11:31.140 and how to handle it in regards 11:31.140 --> 11:33.120 to PPE and other pieces of equipment. 11:33.120 --> 11:34.470 But lets go back to your first question. 11:34.470 --> 11:35.527 What I said is, 11:35.527 --> 11:37.330 "If this pandemic continues 11:37.330 --> 11:40.820 at the scale and scope of what some are predicting, 11:40.820 --> 11:43.810 as over time you could start seeing an impact on readiness 11:43.810 --> 11:45.120 because as you know, 11:45.120 --> 11:46.950 we're curtailing some exercises, 11:46.950 --> 11:49.192 and as you curtail exercises over time that could have 11:49.192 --> 11:51.440 an impact on readiness." 11:51.440 --> 11:53.660 But nothing to which I fear 11:53.660 --> 11:56.330 impacts our mission readiness 11:56.330 --> 11:58.010 to conduct our national missions. 11:58.010 --> 12:00.130 That's just common sense I think, 12:00.130 --> 12:02.590 but again it depends on how long this lasts, 12:02.590 --> 12:03.423 the extent of it, 12:03.423 --> 12:04.810 the impact on our population 12:04.810 --> 12:06.730 is the other thing I think I mentioned. 12:06.730 --> 12:07.910 All those things are factors 12:07.910 --> 12:09.750 will take into consideration over time. 12:09.750 --> 12:11.330 Remember our most important asset, 12:11.330 --> 12:13.640 our most critical resource is our people. 12:13.640 --> 12:15.740 And I wanna make sure that we take care of them. 12:15.740 --> 12:17.170 That's why I've said from the beginning, 12:17.170 --> 12:18.600 since I've been speaking to you all, 12:18.600 --> 12:20.050 number one of our three priorities. 12:20.050 --> 12:22.160 Number one is taking care of our people. 12:22.160 --> 12:23.620 Because if you can't take care of your people, 12:23.620 --> 12:24.830 you can't take care of number two, 12:24.830 --> 12:27.760 which is safeguarding our national mission capabilities. 12:27.760 --> 12:29.700 That's why we're exercising a lot of due diligence 12:29.700 --> 12:31.650 with regard to the health of our force. 12:31.650 --> 12:32.483 - Just to be clear, 12:32.483 --> 12:36.009 is it your sense that the department that you knew, 12:36.009 --> 12:40.240 that General Milly knew by January that 12:40.240 --> 12:44.484 the COVID-19 was a pandemic situation? 12:44.484 --> 12:47.646 - I can't think - But you said the, 12:47.646 --> 12:48.950 (laughs) as far back as yesterday, 12:48.950 --> 12:50.943 let alone two or three months ago. 12:53.613 --> 12:54.710 The use of the word pandemic is 12:54.710 --> 12:57.340 a call made by medical professionals not by us. 12:57.340 --> 12:59.400 We always are very careful as to what's happening 12:59.400 --> 13:00.990 in the world and understanding the world around us 13:00.990 --> 13:02.603 in order to protect the force. 13:03.710 --> 13:05.020 And, we always take precautions. 13:05.020 --> 13:07.170 I mean some of you know who've deployed with us, 13:07.170 --> 13:08.082 you can't go on a deployment without 13:08.082 --> 13:09.970 getting multiple checks. 13:09.970 --> 13:13.070 Whether its dental, physical checks, 13:13.070 --> 13:13.903 things like that. 13:13.903 --> 13:15.940 We're always very conscious about the health of the force 13:15.940 --> 13:18.543 before it deploys on a military mission. 13:19.550 --> 13:20.383 - [Moderator] Patrice. 13:20.383 --> 13:22.290 - Has there been any consideration 13:22.290 --> 13:25.570 towards moving active duty military doctors 13:25.570 --> 13:28.260 away from their jobs towards dealing with 13:28.260 --> 13:30.280 the Coronavirus treatment 13:30.280 --> 13:33.470 and more broadly you talked about some field hospitals. 13:33.470 --> 13:35.760 How many do you eventually think will be needed, 13:35.760 --> 13:36.850 are we talking dozens, 13:36.850 --> 13:38.370 I mean what's the scale? 13:38.370 --> 13:40.610 - Well we only have so much capacity to begin with, 13:40.610 --> 13:42.160 because at the end of the day we have to protect 13:42.160 --> 13:45.128 our mission capabilities as I was just discussing 13:45.128 --> 13:46.060 with Barbera and y'all in the past, 13:46.060 --> 13:48.370 so there is gonna be a limit to what we can provide 13:48.370 --> 13:51.010 if we want to safeguard our military capability. 13:51.010 --> 13:52.270 With regard to your first question, 13:52.270 --> 13:53.990 I've said before here 13:53.990 --> 13:56.440 that when you look at our field hospitals, 13:56.440 --> 13:59.600 when you look at the hospital ships, 13:59.600 --> 14:00.990 most, many, most, 14:00.990 --> 14:03.560 a majority of the people from those ships, 14:03.560 --> 14:06.310 the medical professionals come from the reserves. 14:06.310 --> 14:08.840 So we're very conscious of where we pull the reserves from. 14:08.840 --> 14:10.877 The balance will likely come from active duty military 14:10.877 --> 14:12.240 treatment facilities, 14:12.240 --> 14:13.810 so we're very conscious as 14:13.810 --> 14:16.430 we draw people to staff up the ships or the hospitals 14:16.430 --> 14:18.010 where we're pulling them from because 14:18.010 --> 14:20.680 you're taking away from Peter to pay for Paul. 14:20.680 --> 14:23.440 You gotta make sure that you don't have an impact 14:23.440 --> 14:24.790 on an area that really needs it simply 14:24.790 --> 14:26.310 because you're trying to staff up a ship or a hospital. 14:26.310 --> 14:29.063 - Do you use any active military doctors so far? 14:29.063 --> 14:31.010 - Well, we haven't, 14:31.010 --> 14:33.270 when I talked to the ships' captains last week, 14:33.270 --> 14:35.010 they didn't give me a count as to, 14:35.010 --> 14:36.810 they were still in the process of calling people up, 14:36.810 --> 14:38.900 how many were active and how many were reserve. 14:38.900 --> 14:41.870 But we will have those numbers in due course. 14:41.870 --> 14:43.560 - And going back to the phone lines, 14:43.560 --> 14:45.263 Jeff Soble from Task in Purpose. 14:48.750 --> 14:49.640 - [Jeff] Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary . 14:49.640 --> 14:52.010 I know you say you trust commanders 14:52.010 --> 14:53.760 to make appropriate decisions, 14:53.760 --> 14:57.210 but we've found there's no consistency on lower echelons 14:57.210 --> 14:59.050 when it comes to either social distancing 14:59.050 --> 15:02.810 or how far troops can go on leave on weekend, 15:02.810 --> 15:04.710 Commanders are still holding 15:04.710 --> 15:07.390 all hands formations in town halls to talk 15:07.390 --> 15:09.700 about the need to be socially distant 15:09.700 --> 15:12.260 when they're standing right next to each other. 15:12.260 --> 15:13.093 Can I ask, 15:13.093 --> 15:15.060 where is this guidance from DOD 15:15.060 --> 15:17.240 on what to do and what to avoid 15:17.240 --> 15:20.913 so that people can slow the spread of this disease? 15:21.854 --> 15:23.430 - Well Jeff and for all of you, 15:23.430 --> 15:26.460 look, there will be inconsistencies 15:26.460 --> 15:28.020 because every situation is unique, 15:28.020 --> 15:29.740 it's unique by the type of unit, 15:29.740 --> 15:30.910 it's unique by the mission, 15:30.910 --> 15:32.580 it's unique by the location, 15:32.580 --> 15:34.270 and any other number of factors. 15:34.270 --> 15:37.490 Now, in other cases where we could clearly have done better, 15:37.490 --> 15:38.620 we clearly could have done better 15:38.620 --> 15:40.440 and we will continue to work to do better. 15:40.440 --> 15:41.273 But again, 15:41.273 --> 15:42.290 I have to trust our commanders and 15:42.290 --> 15:45.280 our senior NCOs are taking all the right precautions. 15:45.280 --> 15:47.690 We're fully implementing the CDC guidance, 15:47.690 --> 15:50.837 we're also working hard to implement the President's 15 day 15:50.837 --> 15:53.083 plan to slow the spread of the virus. 15:53.083 --> 15:55.000 There will be inconsistencies, 15:55.000 --> 15:57.900 I'm sure all of you will learn of more inconsistencies, 15:57.900 --> 16:00.500 but we continue to emphasize the guidelines provided 16:00.500 --> 16:02.480 and we continue to power down to commanders to do 16:02.480 --> 16:04.250 what they think is best. 16:04.250 --> 16:05.110 - Paul Boman. 16:05.110 --> 16:06.940 - [Paul] Mr. Secretary, I think it was a week ago, 16:06.940 --> 16:10.240 you talked about DOD setting aside five million masks, 16:10.240 --> 16:11.073 - Right. 16:11.073 --> 16:12.220 five million immediately and then 16:12.220 --> 16:15.460 I think you said 2,000 ventilators. 16:15.460 --> 16:16.600 - Yeah. - Can you give us an update, 16:16.600 --> 16:18.190 how many have gone out 16:18.190 --> 16:20.150 and do you have a sense where they're going? 16:20.150 --> 16:22.003 - Yeah, I don't at my fingertips, 16:22.003 --> 16:23.370 we've offered those up, 16:23.370 --> 16:25.670 they're now in the FEMA system in terms of responding, 16:25.670 --> 16:26.503 but you're right, 16:26.503 --> 16:27.900 we offered one million immediately 16:27.900 --> 16:29.616 with regard to the N95 respirators up to 16:29.616 --> 16:31.110 five million total 16:31.110 --> 16:33.080 coming out of our strategic stockpile. 16:33.080 --> 16:35.110 And we discussed the ventilators this morning, 16:35.110 --> 16:38.140 pulling those all in and the process of doing that 16:38.140 --> 16:39.840 and those are gonna be offered up to FEMA as well. 16:39.840 --> 16:42.630 Again, I don't have the details on where they are 16:42.630 --> 16:43.580 going to apply them, 16:43.580 --> 16:45.974 FEMA is the central processing 16:45.974 --> 16:48.860 place to do both validate and requirements 16:48.860 --> 16:49.827 and then prioritizing the requirements. 16:49.827 --> 16:52.810 - Any sense on when the five million will be all 16:52.810 --> 16:53.700 distributed or- 16:53.700 --> 16:57.100 - I don't but we can get you off to the side afterward, 16:57.100 --> 16:59.796 and give you some more details as we have them. 16:59.796 --> 17:00.960 - [Moderator] Meg. 17:00.960 --> 17:02.940 - [Meg] So to follow up Jeff's question about 17:02.940 --> 17:05.450 social distancing and commanders having control of that, 17:05.450 --> 17:07.380 is there any accountability and do you think any 17:07.380 --> 17:08.923 further measures are needed along those lines? 17:08.923 --> 17:10.680 Because you said there are - Yeah. 17:10.680 --> 17:11.800 - unique situations, 17:11.800 --> 17:13.270 but we're getting tips also about 17:13.270 --> 17:15.260 MEPS being totally packed, 17:15.260 --> 17:18.074 and even though they are all being screened beforehand, 17:18.074 --> 17:21.560 does that mean that they don't be six feet apart? 17:21.560 --> 17:23.890 Or organizations that are deployed to Kuwait 17:23.890 --> 17:25.810 where they are still having big meetings together, 17:25.810 --> 17:28.210 just because there's no Coronavirus in Kuwait 17:28.210 --> 17:29.043 that they know of, 17:29.043 --> 17:31.090 does that mean that they shouldn't be six feet apart, 17:31.090 --> 17:34.640 or should the military be all in this together. 17:34.640 --> 17:37.630 - Again, you just gave like six different examples 17:37.630 --> 17:39.810 of which there's probably like 30 different variables 17:39.810 --> 17:41.800 and we could all step into that same location 17:41.800 --> 17:43.340 and make a different call in each, 17:43.340 --> 17:44.830 that's why I have to trust the commanders. 17:44.830 --> 17:46.670 If there is something that sounds really egregious 17:46.670 --> 17:47.560 or what not, 17:47.560 --> 17:48.620 yeah we should followup on that 17:48.620 --> 17:49.900 using the chain of command, 17:49.900 --> 17:51.060 but again I can't put out 17:51.060 --> 17:53.740 a blanket policy if you will, 17:53.740 --> 17:55.120 that we would then apply to everybody 17:55.120 --> 17:56.480 because each situation is different. 17:56.480 --> 18:01.023 Tell me how I do six feet distancing in a TAC Submarine? 18:01.920 --> 18:06.250 Or how do I do that in a Boomer, 18:06.250 --> 18:08.230 with two pilots sitting side by side? 18:08.230 --> 18:09.600 All these situations are different. 18:09.600 --> 18:12.480 We give the guidelines passed by CDC, 18:12.480 --> 18:13.920 which are some underlying principles 18:13.920 --> 18:16.000 and we ask commanders of all levels, 18:16.000 --> 18:18.573 whether you're a young platoon leader like I once was, 18:18.573 --> 18:21.900 or a division commander like General Milly once was 18:21.900 --> 18:23.631 to implement and use their best guidance to get 18:23.631 --> 18:26.240 it down to the force and then ask commanders to implement 18:26.240 --> 18:28.320 and by the way their seniors and CO's. 18:28.320 --> 18:29.153 We're doing our best, 18:29.153 --> 18:31.460 as we find things that just don't make sense, 18:31.460 --> 18:32.920 we will certainly pull the string on that 18:32.920 --> 18:34.180 and make sure we get it remedied. 18:34.180 --> 18:35.910 - Is there anything you try and doesn't make sense 18:35.910 --> 18:38.210 that you will have asked to be fought Upon? 18:38.210 --> 18:39.410 - No, not yet. 18:39.410 --> 18:40.243 Not yet. 18:40.243 --> 18:41.820 - We've got time for one more from the phone, 18:41.820 --> 18:42.880 and one more from the room. 18:42.880 --> 18:44.860 So, on the phone line, Phil Stewart 18:50.855 --> 18:52.377 - [Steward] So, hi there. Thanks again. 18:52.377 --> 18:53.210 Could you - Sorry, 18:53.210 --> 18:54.270 though I know we have to draw away from the rock spots. 18:54.270 --> 18:56.830 - Please clarify that there are no rules force wide. 18:56.830 --> 18:59.372 does that mean that there's also no 18:59.372 --> 19:03.880 force wide mandate on testing. 19:03.880 --> 19:06.230 Is there been any kind of expansion on testing 19:06.230 --> 19:07.772 and whether or not the, 19:07.772 --> 19:11.570 more troops are gonna be tested in places where there are 19:11.570 --> 19:14.350 higher outbreaks than Donor now? 19:14.350 --> 19:15.550 - Well, like with the guidance we're giving 19:15.550 --> 19:17.680 on social distancing and other best practices 19:17.680 --> 19:19.828 that we've given the same guidance that, 19:19.828 --> 19:22.740 Dr. Fowchee and others have given with regard to testing. 19:22.740 --> 19:25.487 There is no need to test unless you are symptomatic. 19:25.487 --> 19:28.830 And if you are symptomatic then you will get a test. 19:28.830 --> 19:31.600 And that's kind of the general rule we've been following. 19:31.600 --> 19:33.170 That's what's been issued across the country. 19:33.170 --> 19:34.910 That's the rule we are following here 19:34.910 --> 19:36.815 at the Pentagon as well. 19:36.815 --> 19:37.648 (muMbles) 19:37.648 --> 19:39.020 - And we'll go to Terra. 19:39.020 --> 19:39.918 - [Terra] Thank you. 19:39.918 --> 19:42.090 Could you tell us how many beds 19:42.090 --> 19:44.990 the field hospitals will have that are going to Seattle? 19:44.990 --> 19:46.570 And then last week we understood 19:46.570 --> 19:49.620 that the Mercy was actually on orders already for Seattle, 19:49.620 --> 19:51.440 but we'll be going to Los Angeles instead. 19:51.440 --> 19:52.780 Could you walk us through, 19:52.780 --> 19:55.154 what changed your mind on that particular deployment? 19:55.154 --> 19:56.200 And then last, 19:56.200 --> 19:57.335 as we've seen more 19:57.335 --> 20:00.470 senior leaders and lawmakers test positive, 20:00.470 --> 20:03.710 have you taken the coronavirus test and your results? 20:03.710 --> 20:04.830 - Yeah, (laughs) 20:04.830 --> 20:07.080 So, I've been screened for temperature numerous times. 20:07.080 --> 20:08.110 I've not taken a test. 20:08.110 --> 20:10.860 I've knock would have been asymptomatic 20:10.860 --> 20:12.670 if I get symptoms and I will take the test, 20:12.670 --> 20:14.142 I'm gonna live by the rules that we're putting out to 20:14.142 --> 20:17.420 our troops and that's been given to us by the CDC 20:17.420 --> 20:18.650 and Dr. Fowchee. 20:18.650 --> 20:19.483 That's number one. 20:19.483 --> 20:20.913 Number two was, 20:23.028 --> 20:23.861 - [Terra] The field hospital sizes. 20:23.861 --> 20:25.300 - Yeah, so it depends, right? 20:25.300 --> 20:26.500 There are different sizes 20:26.500 --> 20:28.490 depending on the service and the type of hospital, 20:28.490 --> 20:30.290 the largest we have is I recall, 20:30.290 --> 20:33.210 or the army field hospitals, 248 beds. 20:33.210 --> 20:35.330 I suspect that that will be the one that, 20:35.330 --> 20:37.030 the type that we are sending because 20:37.030 --> 20:39.690 they give the highest capacity in one fell swoop. 20:39.690 --> 20:42.170 And then you asked about why Seattle versus, 20:42.170 --> 20:44.500 so what I was getting you was my hunch 20:44.500 --> 20:45.810 last week as to where to send it to 20:45.810 --> 20:48.813 based on the signals we were getting 20:48.813 --> 20:50.740 at different sites across the country. 20:50.740 --> 20:52.120 But again, it's FEMA, 20:52.120 --> 20:52.980 it's FEMA's call, 20:52.980 --> 20:54.830 FEMA made the call based on, 20:54.830 --> 20:57.600 I think they have eight critical factors they access, 20:57.600 --> 20:58.750 based on where the need is 20:58.750 --> 21:00.490 and where the need may be. 21:00.490 --> 21:02.250 And they were the ones that recommend 21:02.250 --> 21:04.970 and made the call that the Mercy go to 21:06.700 --> 21:08.153 Los Angeles instead of Seattle. 21:08.153 --> 21:09.410 - Just as a quick follow up, 21:09.410 --> 21:12.820 if Seattle though does need both a DOD field hospital 21:12.820 --> 21:15.113 and an HHS field hospital, 21:16.030 --> 21:18.480 shouldn't it have also possibly needed the Mercy? 21:19.380 --> 21:21.230 - Again, I'd have to refer you to FEMA 21:21.230 --> 21:23.160 on what their decision tree looks like. 21:23.160 --> 21:24.420 All the factors they consider. 21:24.420 --> 21:26.750 We're gonna support FEMA in this 21:26.750 --> 21:28.810 as we do in any type of other emergencies 21:28.810 --> 21:31.470 and send our capabilities where they're needed. 21:31.470 --> 21:33.680 That's why I anticipate the need to send 21:33.680 --> 21:35.160 a field hospital to Seattle. 21:35.160 --> 21:39.020 I think HHS is sending hospital support to Seattle as well. 21:39.020 --> 21:42.330 And we'd have to just get you connected with FEMA 21:42.330 --> 21:45.480 or get your information back to our folks as to why, 21:45.480 --> 21:47.610 what their criteria is and how they apply it. 21:47.610 --> 21:50.340 But that's who we're relying on to validate requirements. 21:50.340 --> 21:52.030 And then then to prioritize us. 21:52.030 --> 21:54.531 Cause I could tell you I've spoken with seven, 21:54.531 --> 21:56.740 eight, nine, 10 governors so far. 21:56.740 --> 22:00.250 Each one of them has had requests for fieldd hospitals. 22:00.250 --> 22:02.481 Those who have been along the coastline of 22:02.481 --> 22:04.114 have talked about the need for ships. 22:04.114 --> 22:07.140 So we clearly can't meet everybody's needs 22:07.140 --> 22:08.670 with what we have in our inventory. 22:08.670 --> 22:11.480 So we rely on FEMA to do the assessment, 22:11.480 --> 22:13.680 the validation and then the prioritization. 22:13.680 --> 22:14.690 I anticipate, 22:14.690 --> 22:16.640 this is me now talking out loud. 22:16.640 --> 22:19.590 How foresee our hospitals being used, 22:19.590 --> 22:21.340 is during the early stages 22:22.867 --> 22:26.290 of the pandemic the virus hitting a city, 22:26.290 --> 22:28.090 where they're still trying to ramp up capability, 22:28.090 --> 22:29.000 bed space. 22:29.000 --> 22:32.160 We can come in for a short period of time for a few weeks 22:32.160 --> 22:35.080 to provide that capacity until they get either 22:35.080 --> 22:37.160 gyms converted hotels converted, 22:37.160 --> 22:38.490 college dorms converted, 22:38.490 --> 22:39.870 all those things that 22:39.870 --> 22:41.720 the Corps of Engineers is working on right now 22:41.720 --> 22:43.220 that they're the in fact general seminar 22:43.220 --> 22:44.920 has been discussing with New York city 22:44.920 --> 22:46.718 to expand capacity because what we're talking about 22:46.718 --> 22:49.350 is the need for thousands of beds, 22:49.350 --> 22:51.740 we could provide in the field hospital 248, 22:51.740 --> 22:53.910 and we only have so many field hospitals, 22:53.910 --> 22:55.650 so, I see us playing this role 22:55.650 --> 22:58.050 where we're the gap filler for a period of weeks 22:58.050 --> 22:59.340 with our capabilities. 22:59.340 --> 23:02.667 Once the capacity has met through these other mechanisms. 23:02.667 --> 23:04.925 Again, talked about expanding supply, 23:04.925 --> 23:06.200 but you can reduce demand by curtailing 23:06.200 --> 23:08.010 elective surgeries and things like that. 23:08.010 --> 23:10.630 We can then pull out and go to the next site 23:10.630 --> 23:12.770 and cover again that gap for the next city 23:12.770 --> 23:14.190 or locality that is ramping up. 23:14.190 --> 23:15.520 That's how I think it'll play out, 23:15.520 --> 23:16.353 but again, 23:16.353 --> 23:17.290 we're looking at that closely, 23:17.290 --> 23:18.910 trying to model how this may spread 23:18.910 --> 23:21.028 and how it may affect the country. 23:21.028 --> 23:21.861 - [Ghostly voice] Can I just quickly follow up 23:21.861 --> 23:23.608 on there for a second. 23:23.608 --> 23:25.460 The Army Corps courses involved 23:25.460 --> 23:26.810 in helping New York and so forth. 23:26.810 --> 23:27.643 - Yeah. 23:27.643 --> 23:29.230 - But what about the Seabee are they gonna get involved? 23:29.230 --> 23:31.020 Cause they can do things really quickly. 23:31.020 --> 23:31.880 - Yeah. So those are a, 23:31.880 --> 23:34.675 I don't know all the capabilities of the CBS, 23:34.675 --> 23:37.730 but you're talking I don't wanna say 23:37.730 --> 23:39.110 purely combat engineers, 23:39.110 --> 23:40.310 but construction engineers. 23:40.310 --> 23:43.760 But I think what we've assessed at this point in time 23:43.760 --> 23:48.270 is that constructing facilities hospitals, 23:48.270 --> 23:50.320 whatnot would take far more time 23:50.320 --> 23:52.910 than it would to take existing infrastructure 23:53.958 --> 23:54.791 and convert it. 23:54.791 --> 23:55.760 The state of New York has been very aggressive. 23:55.760 --> 23:57.540 They've already identified sites. 23:57.540 --> 23:59.350 The core is assessing those sites. 23:59.350 --> 24:00.980 The core can quickly go in and they got, 24:00.980 --> 24:03.220 what's a four-phase model. 24:03.220 --> 24:05.810 Phase one is to identify the site, 24:05.810 --> 24:07.540 that is the state's responsibility. 24:07.540 --> 24:08.810 And in the case in New York, 24:08.810 --> 24:09.830 they've already done that. 24:09.830 --> 24:11.580 And number two is where they build, 24:11.580 --> 24:13.610 the core builds with FEMA's help. 24:13.610 --> 24:17.470 And so they go and they run additional electrical lines. 24:17.470 --> 24:18.960 They set up wifi. 24:18.960 --> 24:19.980 They can reconfigure 24:21.414 --> 24:23.190 the insides of the building to set up nurses stations, 24:23.190 --> 24:25.140 monitoring stations, et cetera. 24:25.140 --> 24:27.360 Third phase FEMA comes in, 24:27.360 --> 24:28.990 provides medical equipment, 24:28.990 --> 24:30.510 the medical supplies, et cetera. 24:30.510 --> 24:33.270 And then the fourth phase is when the state comes in 24:33.270 --> 24:34.630 and brings their medical professionals. 24:34.630 --> 24:37.010 So, this is the rough model that's been mapped out, 24:37.010 --> 24:38.380 a four phase approach. 24:38.380 --> 24:40.549 I've talked again to the state of New York about it. 24:40.549 --> 24:42.810 I've talked to other governors about it. 24:42.810 --> 24:45.755 And so we're dispatching the core to go around 24:45.755 --> 24:46.930 to all these other States 24:46.930 --> 24:49.970 and particularly cities because that's the way 24:49.970 --> 24:53.330 you can expand capacity in the volume you need. 24:53.330 --> 24:54.590 We're talking thousands, 24:54.590 --> 24:55.553 but it takes some time. 24:55.553 --> 24:57.470 I will take a few weeks to do all that. 24:57.470 --> 25:00.580 And you're also contracting with local builders 25:00.580 --> 25:01.970 and renovators and whatnot. 25:01.970 --> 25:04.766 So it's in between the time from problem recognition 25:04.766 --> 25:07.520 to when you start can open up that 25:07.520 --> 25:09.170 bed space in the thousands, 25:09.170 --> 25:11.540 that we can provide along with HHS and others 25:11.540 --> 25:13.187 with these mobile hospitals and beds, 25:13.187 --> 25:14.160 we can provide, 25:14.160 --> 25:17.390 that capacity to fill the gap until the rest of that gets, 25:17.390 --> 25:18.450 is made available. 25:18.450 --> 25:19.440 Makes sense. 25:19.440 --> 25:20.670 - So in Peru, 25:20.670 --> 25:22.489 is the military going to air lift Americans 25:22.489 --> 25:24.350 the way they did in Honduras? 25:24.350 --> 25:26.213 Well, we're talking to State department about that, 25:26.213 --> 25:27.154 department about that. 25:27.154 --> 25:27.987 What we have to figure out 25:28.836 --> 25:29.669 is make sure we have a good protocol 25:30.910 --> 25:31.743 for how we approach that, right? 25:31.743 --> 25:33.278 Clearly in the case of China, 25:33.278 --> 25:34.410 when we first pulled a us state department, 25:34.410 --> 25:35.570 people out of China, 25:35.570 --> 25:37.770 it was state department contracted aircraft 25:37.770 --> 25:40.490 and then we put them in quarantine at our bases. 25:40.490 --> 25:42.473 Same thing with the next craunch 25:42.473 --> 25:43.558 of folks coming 25:43.558 --> 25:45.240 off of cruise lines that was contracted, 25:45.240 --> 25:46.750 I think by HHS. 25:46.750 --> 25:48.530 And so we've got to look at what the best way is. 25:48.530 --> 25:51.010 I think the best way is to contract air through either 25:51.010 --> 25:52.960 state or HHS or maybe it's FEMA. 25:52.960 --> 25:53.793 I don't know. 25:53.793 --> 25:54.626 We've gotta work through that, 25:54.626 --> 25:56.240 but we're always available 25:56.240 --> 25:59.560 in if we can't get those other mechanisms to work, 25:59.560 --> 26:00.810 to provide military aircraft. 26:00.810 --> 26:02.390 But that will probably be more, 26:02.390 --> 26:03.990 be more on the latter end, 26:03.990 --> 26:05.050 the least likely option 26:05.050 --> 26:06.000 than the first likely option. 26:06.000 --> 26:07.110 Okay. Good. 26:07.110 --> 26:08.109 - Thank you very much. - Good. 26:08.109 --> 26:09.703 Thank you all very much. 26:09.703 --> 26:11.128 (footsteps)