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in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential fut Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in cabul as you may know yesterday everyone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator Ked Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation Ates syc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack on crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek own motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in tur if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer to to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into um uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the amjad um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uh sencom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to scom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the hthis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on H the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through U we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first a follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking to uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sincom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what cause those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior ice bis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would score the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zilinsky once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the change chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may no yone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commit commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights snom's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 20122 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask the two marines who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has Pro processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uh senom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I refer you to send comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settle violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any re-evaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the H yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houi capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there have been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sycom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injures six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting being apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister gan once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a rocket Detention Facility in Syria s issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any Comm ER has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uh senom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um actually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to S comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Gant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on H the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do um which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Torah you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potential allowing ukrainians to use attack ons to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long-range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sincom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into to Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid the US and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least 2 days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that senom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday want I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense y of Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1 US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sencom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel Blue Lagoon 1 was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lies of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6th this will be the 24th meeting of the udg since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently take taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you go Idris um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sycom uh St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to S count for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any the uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houthis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on H the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh who these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack ons to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long-range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sincom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the cost es of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that senom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the home plan and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may no thisone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his is Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sincom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sencom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the pan flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack on crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6th this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh ation are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they w yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to S comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houthis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houi capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assed you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long-range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sincom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that senom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to uh protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I not going to have anything to provide again there has been no changes and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest the fact that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may Noone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sincom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sinc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this V Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel Blue Lagoon 1 was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deler to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe um uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain's suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state Department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uh senom St say was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to S comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly ly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houi capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the shortterm but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack ons to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup us Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to uh protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may no I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the midd East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sencom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crew oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta Sunan these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lies of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future shorely or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and us ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idris um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to S comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the H yeah thanks as a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houi capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to uh protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like IES thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know Yer one I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the department of defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23y old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a rocket Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sencom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel Blue Lagoon 1 was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize ize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are Cooper in with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian in law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated interational humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the amjad um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uh senom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increas terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on H the target and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houi capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that S com puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in Hava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long-range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do and what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries uh um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that senom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to uh protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinsky once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that uh Isis claimed in Kabul as you may notice everyone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sincom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sincom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless action of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6th this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assault in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in ter turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it's still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but there's say they weren't yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to send count for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern turn over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huies has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send them the message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and o taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital water way thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of Communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack ons to hit missile sites inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as a relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sincom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal aric sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the Aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that senom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to uh protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the lead is the fact that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday I want to have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1 secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed out outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sincom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sinc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the end during defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Briton suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US has providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again i' refer you to send comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack ons to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrate Ates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine will continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US partic participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the uh raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for following on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as us citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that uh Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know everyone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sencom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF Detention Facility ities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta Union these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and at potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an inperson meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join min ERS of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP T thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom stat says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to sencom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provided as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed and an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the H yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details ass assciated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to Launch Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attack against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zinsky once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that uh is is climed in Kabul as you may know thisone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest cond condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Galant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sencom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS d ches from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2 Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack on crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta senion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein airbase and Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we'll go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor Le or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval Criminal inves instigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there well have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the amjad um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to scom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Gant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three isra police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the hthis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the sov union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the camp campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hom yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an date on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries uh um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Galant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sincom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sincom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta senion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good idus um over the weekend and Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't it yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to sendom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hoies yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24 fourth Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations Force has took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinsky once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know or Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future opts thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know y I want to have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen h Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining host mes a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sincom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General rer I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the tur authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idris um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hes yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthis again to to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal l sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is lead the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that senom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation Target Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and is it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you mayone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel J was struck by a one-way attack on crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor Le or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to comp for anything on that thank you good Idris um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law just secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kind of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company um that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to scom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hes yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking to uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any detail are specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah P do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor injur injury uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to laun stool Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may no thisone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Galant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to Swift reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights snom's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 2 first attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta Sun these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed hoies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6th this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two Marine who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor Le or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but we're not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhcom St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again for you to send comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on ho the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media report saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular craft I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned return to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation and initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparent ly a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest ATT that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know thisone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sincom issued a press relase Rel with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights snom's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthi attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and caress actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future shorle or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as a precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the author authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go EDR um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't it yeah the information I have is um factually correct is I know it but of course again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the internet ational Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two Marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastru structure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces has took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that s put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinsky once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes and policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday I want to have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc com's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these wless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consider consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sincom uh station says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh up dates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houthis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hes yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in a planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and address addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcement to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as yourone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed ahed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a rocket detention facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and own own Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack on crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems current private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta senion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we'll go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor Le or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law just secretary believ that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhcom St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to S comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks just I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint um our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that we hit we'll get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any re-evaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the H yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks car thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom are the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any sov Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh in uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah P do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those inuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries uh um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor injur injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to laun stool Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that uh Isis claimed in Kabul as you may notice I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sinc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Mari ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian back toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we'll go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were a by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on is as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct cor but they're saying they weren't it yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the htis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houi capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn um from various uh incidents or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operation forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary Affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was a t as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the international Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at Inc uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and us ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sycom uh St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hoies yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houthi capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks sir um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just a a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take the lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when and might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday I want to have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Med Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc com's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian back toothies attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a oneway attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with in investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inck uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idris um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian in law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to scom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist acity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houth these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthi again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do Whata those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries uh um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh and some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for us forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may no I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral exec ution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the red on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flaged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing going war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we'll go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's it's really a a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer to to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idris um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to sycom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the homeuse yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks car thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile SES inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the ious Ness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our la long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation Comm community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah P do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor in injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may notice I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc com's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresp responsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we'll go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future shorely our future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marine Mar have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at in uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uh says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't it yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the H yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this import important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in anyway in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens all and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range we weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those U but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest ATT that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday want to have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continue to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential imp impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of Defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understand understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sycom uh says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provided as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the whole yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houi capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabil ilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional medic Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinsky once again they pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those U but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that uh Isis claimed in kab as you may know yesterday everyone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the amilies of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator Ked Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc com's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SD DF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek own motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta senion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the ud CG since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to scom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the H yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh H these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the hoies again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you p um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the international community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F6 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do cause those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries uh um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to ldel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organ organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest fact that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights s comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houth continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta senion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 201 22 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reac action to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend br's suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to sencom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his cond ances for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or N9 months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the whole yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houy capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long- range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sycom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to laun stool Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere where uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF partner ERS to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin for formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in General about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shore leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go e um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settle or violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or 9 months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the whole yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR Selman hi Pat thank thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid the US and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspect TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leader leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria senom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights centcom's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lies of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta senion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the ud BCG since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idris um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions that same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the amjad um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sycom uh St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and minister Gant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the H yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh who these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that scom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine uh um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specific to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release U that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know thisone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Moss including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a CE fire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc com's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operate motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack un crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta senion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we'll go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a trouble in incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the ship shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sycom uhcom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to Sy for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and uh um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attacks to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah P do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do and what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries uh um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to laun duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the leat is the fact that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their mut ual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc com's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled most vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group grou on September 6th this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I want to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the whole yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the shortterm but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know y want have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September first Secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding is Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin admin Mr Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press releasee with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights ccoms ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one with struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks e um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the red SE had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provid as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank um uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hes yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houthi capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through um we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries uh uh I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like bis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no change changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know your one I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart minister of defense def yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility and Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operation motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack on crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lies of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be GL to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to S comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the whole yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking to uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR s hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries uh um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attemp which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinsky once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest ATT that uh Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after Escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sinc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack on crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta senion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to ram Stein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assault in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh C certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom St says it was hit correct but saying they wered yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to sencom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US govern government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situ ation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital water way thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication inava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure um and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to laun stol Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week said this uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um any changes to our uh I I'm not going to have anything VI again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest the fact that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may noce I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant recovery of the six hostages in G murdered by Hamas including the 23y old American citizen hin the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthi and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend BR suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US has Prov iding to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to S comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we'll get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hes yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian ion infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any change es to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest ATT that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday I want to have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor development in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed aland who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthi attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an inperson meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close Co ination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local Commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks edus um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provid as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hes yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houy capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognize that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile SES inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still under way thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the train program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized state statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for foll on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under dis discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilit Ator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc com's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September second Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta Union these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to stabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein airbase and Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 5050 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to scom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Gant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions in the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade of these capabilities of the H yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent prent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal lman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah P do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zeni once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may notice I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sinc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port VIs in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uh says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't it yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again under ref free to send comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the Department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh H these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh water way so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sites inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the Brut ality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long-range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding in Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest ATT that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know I want to have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st us sent com for forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to Ure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General ryer I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Edis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Idis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously is evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missile that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile SES inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just Dem demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long- range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speak speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and is it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you everyone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen her Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sencom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law just secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are on ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its Destin so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uh statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to scom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houthis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the H yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press release that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onus is on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the econ and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile SES inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on Prov providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our longrange strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal aric Seligman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service m members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launched to a Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia as seny once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest ATT that uh Isis claimed in Kabul as you may Noone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense .go separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights senc com's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by is detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 2 first attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta Sunan these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies iies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed hoies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the ass not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval Criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend BR suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to Other Nation Nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under it own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the h has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on with the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we'll get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the longm term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation and initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and International Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yourone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US centcom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sinc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threat of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta Sunan these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the us will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the international group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go Idis um or the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't it yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I refer you to send comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Gant um secretary did did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on Hoy targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrup erupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media report saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sites inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long- range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to here Eric yeah I do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launchd Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday I want to have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed alandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sinc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environment Al disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their conditions and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as a precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS walk CP um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support the Turkish authorities who are looking into this and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank than you good Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sycom uh as statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to senom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlement just a second one on um back to the houis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on H the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabil ilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthi again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long-range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal aric Seligman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into lessons learn but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cas es to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the plan planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes and policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukraine Ian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as your I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Amed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights syc comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag own and operated motor vess amjad was struck by a one-way attack on crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threat threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th fourth meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have sub quently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to Yukon for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law just secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh the those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to scom for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the hes yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh H these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking to uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile SES inside Russia R yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long-range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street General AR sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah P do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor injur injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to laun stol Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given that's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukraine defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinsky once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to specul later talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may notice I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages and gun aaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll ref refer you to that but the operation highlights s comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthi continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta onion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed toothies and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who are assaulted from Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but we were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh the is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at inser uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decision decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on is as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhcom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to send count for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler or violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the houthis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we get the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navig ation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media report saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack them to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah I do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks Eric um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to laun stol Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential UK Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yourone I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights centcom's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the vi this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti- ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evalu valuation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to ukom for anything on that thank you go to Eis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhom St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to send comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to car thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on who the targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh in uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter or to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh hou's capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously is evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way through uh we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first to follow up with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing o ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long- range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L sikman hi Pat thanks for doing us um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagements that get applied back into lesson learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah I do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week I do what caused those injuries yeah thanks er um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh in some cases to include suspected tbii uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that senom put out you know and in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those uh but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes um and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know y want to have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov gan regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HS Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a Rocka Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights sencom ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian backed houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flagged and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a oneway attack uncrewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining wi Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta San which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6 this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your question we go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who are assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service memb uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own merits Force protection is always consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer you to the to Yukon for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh correctly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sycom uh St says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course again I'd refer you to S comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank also he expressed his concern over the rising tensions and the increased terrorist activity there um we have of course made very clear from a US Government standpoint uh our policy as it relates to the West Bank uh and when it comes to uh settler violence and um you know no expansion of of settlements just a second one on um back to the huis has there I mean it's been about I think eight or nine months since the uh since the US began strikes on hoi targets and trying to deter further attacks we're continuing to see those attacks I mean you mentioned two tankers that were hit we got the so Union potentially uh spilling uh creating a environmental disaster is there any reevaluation from the Department um to potentially alter the campaign or to change different types of military operations to further deter to send a message or degrade further these capabilities of the home yeah thanks it's a great question and I can tell you that we're constantly evaluating the situation and it goes back to what it is that we're working to do uh which is to preserve freedom of navigation and to degrade and disrupt uh houth these capabilities and we're doing that we are disrupting and degrading and you can see this in the uh in the press releases that sycom puts out in terms of uh degrading some of their capabilities and also taking self-defense strikes to prevent missiles from launching uh that said obviously as evidenced by what I read out earlier uh some of those missiles and some of those drones are making their way way through U we're going to continue to work with the International Community to protect those shipping lanes uh but the onuses on the houthis again to look at the impact that they're having not only in the short term but on the long term as it relates to the environment the economy and the the safety of those that are transiting this important uh Waterway so we're we're going to continue to keep after it uh recognizing that again the Strategic objective here is freedom of navigation through this vital Waterway thanks Carl thanks um first of all with what you told Tara you said the two marines are safe there had been some social media reports saying that three were assaulted you're tracking two uh I was tracking that two two US Marines from the 24th Maritime Expeditionary Unit thank you Pat um and then on the Russian ballistic missiles that hit the Military Institute of communication in pava I'm sorry if I'm messing that up um does the Pentagon know where those missiles originated and does this attack has it shifted the thought process process here at the Pentagon of potentially allowing ukrainians to use attack thems to hit missile sides inside Russia yeah thanks I I don't have any information to provide in terms of the specific origin of those missiles other than again as you highlight these are Russian missile attacks and again just demonstrates uh the the brutality uh the viciousness of these assaults uh to include on civilian infrastructure uh and as as we go into the winter Russia targeting uh infrastructure energy infrastructure uh that will be vital uh as it gets colder in Ukraine um we have been working very diligently for a very long time now to continue to work with the International Community on providing air defense capabilities for Ukraine and we'll continue to do that as it relates to our long-range strike policy I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any change in policy okay thank you and just one more is USS Georgia in the sencom a the USS Georgia is still underway thank you let me go to the phone here let go to uh Wall Street Journal L Selman hi Pat thanks for doing this um I wanted to follow up on the F-16 crash in Ukraine last week is the US participating in any way in this investigation and will there be any changes made to the training program after this crash yeah thanks Laura so uh like like any Sovereign Nation uh that has has any type of incident uh they would be the lead for conducting an investigation and so uh Ukraine uh is leading the investigation so I'd refer you to them to talk about um you know any details associated with that broadly speaking I will tell you you know across the aviation community in general uh and this is a generalized statement here um you're always going to learn uh from various uh incidents uh or engagement that get applied back into Lessons Learned but as it pertains to this particular crash I I just don't have any details or specifics to provide at this time let me go to the room here Eric yeah but do you have an update on the seven US service members who were injured in the raid that us and Iraqi forces conducted late last week ad do what caused those injuries yeah thanks sir um I I don't have specifics to provide to you today in terms of um the causes of the injuries uh um I'm tracking seven total were injured six have returned to duty for minor inj injuries uh and some cases to include suspected TBI uh one service member was uh taken to launch duel Regional Medical Center for follow on care uh in stable condition uh and that's about all I have on that and just as a followup US Special Operations forces took the lead in this operation an initial attack which was carried out over at least two days um and they were targeting apparently a very senior Isis leader involved in the planning of external operations in the Middle East Europe and elsewhere uh can you identify who that leader is and how serious this operation was given it's pretty unusual at this point in Iraq for US forces to take the at least initially to take a lead in a mission like this yeah I'm not going to have any other information to provide Beyond what's in the press release um that that sencom put out you know in in that I would underscore the fact that again this operation targeted Isis leaders uh to disrupt and degrade their ability to plan organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians as well as US citizens allies and partners throughout the region and Beyond uh and so uh again we'll continue to work with our partners uh around the world to include the Iraqis when it comes to U protecting the Homeland and addressing threats like Isis thank you Charlie thank you General um the Ukrainian defense minister was here last week uh he said that he uh set forth specific targets that could be hit within Russia uh zalinski once again today pleaded for those longer range weapons and for the permission to use them is that under discussion and when might we hear anything more about it yeah thanks Charlie um I I don't have any announcements to make in terms of any changes in policy as I highlighted uh secretary Austin will have the chance to meet uh with Ukrainian uh you know our Ukrainian partners and international Partners uh this later this week at Ramstein where we'll be very focused on again better understanding Ukraine's security assistance needs and how best to meet those um but in terms of any changes to our policy uh I I'm not going to have anything to provide uh again there has been no changes uh and as it relates to potential Ukrainian operations I'm just not going to speculate or talk about potential future Ops thanks very much yes sir thank you General uh a quick question about the latest attack that Isis claimed in Kabul as you may know yesterday I have just a few things at the top we'll get right to your questions first the Department of Defense continues to monitor developments in the Middle East on Sunday September 1st secretary Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Defense yov Galant regarding Israel's recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas including the 23-year-old American citizen HH Goldberg Poland the secretary passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious illegal and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas the secretary affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for the murder of these innocent civilians and secretary Austin and Minister Gant once again reaffirmed their Mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages a readout of the secretary's call has been posted to defense.gov separately on September 1st US sencom forces partnered with Syrian Democratic forces captured an Isis leader and facilitator khed Ahmed Al dandal who was assessed as helping Isis Fighters after escape from a rock Detention Facility in Syria sencom issued a press release with additional details so I'll refer you to that but the operation highlights s comm's ongoing efforts to support our SDF Partners to mitigate threats of future escapes by ISIS detainees from SDF detention facilities in Syria and to ensure the enduring defeat of Isis turning to the Red Sea on September 2nd Iranian back houthis attacked two crude oil tankers transiting the V this vital Waterway the Panama flag and owned Greek operated motor vessel blue lagoon one was struck by two anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Saudi flag owned and operated motor vessel amjad was struck by a one-way attack on crewed aerial system this of course follows the August 21st attack of the Greek owned motor vessel Delta sunion these Reckless attacks of terrorism by the houthis continued to destabilize Regional and Global Commerce while threatening the lives of innocent civilian Mariners as well as Maritime ecosystems currently private companies are examining Salvage options in the southern Red Sea for the disabled motor vessel Delta sunion which is still on fire and threatens the possibility of a major environmental disaster the US will continue to work with International partners and allies to protect Maritime Commerce and mitigate potential impacts to the environment despite the irresponsible and careless actions of the Iranian backed houthis and finally looking ahead secretary Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will travel to Ramstein Airbase in Germany on Thursday to host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine defense contact group on September 6th this will be the 24th meeting of the UDC since secretary Austin formed the International Group in April of 2022 the secretary and chairman will join Ministers of defense and Senior military officials from nearly 50 Nations to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued close coordination by the International Community to deliver to Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself with that I'll be glad to take your questions we'll go to AP Tara thanks General Ryder I wanted to ask about the two marines who were assaulted in Turkey if you could give us an update on their condition and speak in general about their um their reaction to the assault not making escalating it into something bigger and what sort of impact it might have on future Shor leave or future Port visits in Turkey uh yeah thanks for asking the question uh so first of all uh the two marines are safe uh they were aided by other Marines in the area and subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as precaution uh but were not injured uh and they have subsequently returned to the USS Wasp um I can tell you that local ismir police and the naval criminal investigative service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident uh no Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators uh in terms of uh the reaction of the Marines uh certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members uh and and most importantly that they're safe uh this is clearly a troubling incident uh we are grateful for the support of the Turkish authorities who are looking into this uh and I'll I'll leave it there will it have any um residual impact such as uh leave or the ability to go outside the gate at iner uh that's really a question for the the local commanders and and US ukom of course every situation is judged based on its own mer it's Force protection is always a consideration and any commander has the authority to to make those kinds of decisions um but again I'd refer to to Yukon for anything on that thank you go to Idis um over the weekend Britain suspended 30 arms export licenses uh to Israel essentially because they couldn't certify that it would be used uh uh under International humanitarian law does secretary believe that every weapon that the US is providing to Israel um is being used uh corre directly under International humanitarian law yeah thanks Edis um as you know our state department has processes to look into uh those kinds of questions the same as we do for any security assistance uh that we provide to other nations around the world those processes are ongoing um as of now uh we have not determined at this point that Israel has violated International humanitarian law but those assessments uh to include those of the state department looking at uh allegations are still ongoing just follow up you mentioned the um I think it was the AMJ um tanker the the shipping company uh that owns it said it was not targeted in the Red Sea had not been hit and was continuing under its own power to its destination so my understanding uh it is continuing on uh it still has the crew on as as far as any uh additional questions on that I'd refer you to sencom uhcom statement says it was hit correct but they're saying they weren't hit yeah the information I have is um factually correct as I know it but of course uh again I'd refer you to S comp for further details thank you Joseph and then we'll go to Carl thanks um last week we asked if the uh Israelis had informed you all ahead of their West operations in the West Bank um you got the department was still trying to gather more information as to what was going on or what they were doing do you guys have any answers or information as to what they're trying to do uh think thanks Joseph I I don't have any uh updates provide as as we highlighted in the readout that we put out uh between in the call between secretary Austin and Minister Galant um secretary did convey his condolences for the three Israeli police officers that were killed in an apparent Terror