1 00:00:00,190 --> 00:00:01,550 - Thank you all for joining us today, 2 00:00:01,550 --> 00:00:04,360 I am Chuck Prichard with OSD public affairs, 3 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,160 I have a few administrative notes before we get started. 4 00:00:08,130 --> 00:00:11,600 First of all attribution for the session is on the record. 5 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:12,990 The session is being recorded 6 00:00:12,990 --> 00:00:15,240 and we will provide a transcript later today. 7 00:00:16,090 --> 00:00:18,930 We have about 30 minutes scheduled for this event, 8 00:00:18,930 --> 00:00:20,230 prior to asking your question, 9 00:00:20,230 --> 00:00:22,350 I ask that you state your name and your affiliation, 10 00:00:22,350 --> 00:00:25,550 I also ask that you limit your questions to one question 11 00:00:25,550 --> 00:00:27,240 and one follow up so that we have a chance 12 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:29,720 to give everybody in that we can, 13 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,850 I'll let you know when we're nearing the time is ending 14 00:00:32,850 --> 00:00:36,120 and we can call for the last question. 15 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:38,620 And as a reminder for those of you who are on the phone 16 00:00:38,620 --> 00:00:40,666 which is a majority of you, 17 00:00:40,666 --> 00:00:43,160 do not use your speakerphone function 18 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:46,620 and to mute your phone when you're not speaking. 19 00:00:46,620 --> 00:00:49,270 And with that, it's my pleasure to introduce 20 00:00:49,270 --> 00:00:50,320 General Stephen Lyons, 21 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:52,350 the commander of the U.S Transportation Command 22 00:00:52,350 --> 00:00:53,880 who is joining us on the phone 23 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:55,500 from the TRANSCOM headquarters 24 00:00:55,500 --> 00:00:57,780 at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. 25 00:00:57,780 --> 00:01:00,160 General Lyons will present a short opening statement, 26 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:01,790 and then we'll go to your questions. 27 00:01:01,790 --> 00:01:04,040 So sir if you're on the line we'll go to you. 28 00:01:05,700 --> 00:01:07,880 - [Stephen] Hey Chuck, General Stephen Lyons here, 29 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:08,713 how do you hear me? 30 00:01:08,713 --> 00:01:10,240 Over 31 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:11,073 - Pretty good. 32 00:01:12,500 --> 00:01:14,650 - [Stephen] Okay, great. 33 00:01:14,650 --> 00:01:17,240 Hey well listen thanks and thanks to everybody 34 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:19,190 that's on the net I appreciate it very much 35 00:01:19,190 --> 00:01:22,460 and I appreciate the level of effort 36 00:01:22,460 --> 00:01:25,310 that the media is going through to keep the public informed 37 00:01:25,310 --> 00:01:26,900 of all this going on in the crisis 38 00:01:26,900 --> 00:01:30,113 and I'm happy to help in any way that I can. 39 00:01:31,450 --> 00:01:35,490 You like the logistics enterprise so (mumbling) 40 00:01:35,490 --> 00:01:36,930 crisis. 41 00:01:36,930 --> 00:01:38,667 So just a couple comments to start with 42 00:01:38,667 --> 00:01:41,660 then I go right to questions. 43 00:01:41,660 --> 00:01:43,210 For those who may not be familiar 44 00:01:43,210 --> 00:01:46,060 with Transportation Command as one of the 11 COCOMs 45 00:01:46,060 --> 00:01:47,510 in the Department of Defense, 46 00:01:48,410 --> 00:01:52,240 we run the department's global mobility enterprise, 47 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:54,940 so our ability to project and sustain the force 48 00:01:54,940 --> 00:01:56,730 on a global scale. 49 00:01:56,730 --> 00:02:01,730 So if you think about airlift, sealift area refuel 50 00:02:01,770 --> 00:02:03,733 aerial medical evacuation, 51 00:02:05,300 --> 00:02:08,420 playing shifts, train's tracks if you would, 52 00:02:08,420 --> 00:02:10,583 that's a combination of both military capability 53 00:02:10,583 --> 00:02:14,050 and many of you think of the great tail airplane 54 00:02:14,050 --> 00:02:15,750 but it's also a commercial capability 55 00:02:15,750 --> 00:02:19,460 that we leverage as well, both in terms of sealift 56 00:02:19,460 --> 00:02:22,510 and airlift and other particular areas. 57 00:02:22,510 --> 00:02:24,380 We do see as a result 58 00:02:24,380 --> 00:02:26,920 of the Secretary's stop movement orders, 59 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:28,530 we are seeing a reduction in movements 60 00:02:28,530 --> 00:02:31,370 as you would expect across the enterprise, 61 00:02:31,370 --> 00:02:35,160 we are also seeing a necessity to continue to operate 62 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:39,390 permission essential tasks and operations. 63 00:02:39,390 --> 00:02:44,053 Our priorities directly bears the Secretary's priorities. 64 00:02:45,230 --> 00:02:48,410 We are focused on protecting and preserving the force 65 00:02:49,450 --> 00:02:52,540 against the CV-19 outbreak, 66 00:02:52,540 --> 00:02:54,990 maintaining mission readiness, 67 00:02:54,990 --> 00:02:58,890 proud to report at this point we are mission ready 68 00:02:58,890 --> 00:03:02,120 to do whatever the Secretary has to do. 69 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:04,900 And then third to support the FEMA 70 00:03:04,900 --> 00:03:06,750 and broader inter-agency efforts 71 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,610 to counter the coronavirus outbreak. 72 00:03:11,610 --> 00:03:13,950 We've done several things in that particular area 73 00:03:13,950 --> 00:03:16,000 we can talk about along the way. 74 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:17,760 We are supporting the State Department 75 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,460 and their task force repatriation effort, 76 00:03:20,460 --> 00:03:23,130 we have moved things in support of HHS, 77 00:03:23,130 --> 00:03:27,573 for example, corona test swabs across the globe. 78 00:03:28,530 --> 00:03:31,330 We help to move field hospitals that you see being built 79 00:03:32,573 --> 00:03:35,530 in places like New York in the State of Washington, 80 00:03:35,530 --> 00:03:37,640 we're pleased to help 81 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:39,637 we're proud of all that we do every day, 82 00:03:39,637 --> 00:03:40,900 and let me pause there 83 00:03:40,900 --> 00:03:44,120 I'm happy to take any questions that you may have. 84 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,620 - Okay sir, I'm gonna go to a Ryan Brown with CNN 85 00:03:46,620 --> 00:03:47,973 for the first question from here. 86 00:03:47,973 --> 00:03:50,220 - General, thank you for doing this. 87 00:03:50,220 --> 00:03:51,680 Two quick ones for you, 88 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:56,250 you mentioned the efforts to fly some of the testing swabs 89 00:03:56,250 --> 00:03:58,290 in the field hospitals around. 90 00:03:58,290 --> 00:04:02,970 Is there a limit on how much you can move 91 00:04:05,770 --> 00:04:06,994 do you have more capability 92 00:04:06,994 --> 00:04:08,670 you could bring to bear to that effort 93 00:04:08,670 --> 00:04:12,810 obviously there's the spread all across the 50 States now 94 00:04:12,810 --> 00:04:15,830 so are you kind of putting raising your hand 95 00:04:15,830 --> 00:04:17,660 and saying we have these kind of assets 96 00:04:17,660 --> 00:04:19,280 we could do more of this? 97 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:22,670 And is that involved any of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet 98 00:04:22,670 --> 00:04:25,770 have you had to tap into that to kind of help move 99 00:04:25,770 --> 00:04:26,783 the stuff around? 100 00:04:28,890 --> 00:04:30,560 - [Stephen] Yeah Ryan great question. 101 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,230 We've been able to respond to any of the mission 102 00:04:33,230 --> 00:04:36,133 requirements that have come to us thus far. 103 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,410 You know, with the reduction in major movements, 104 00:04:41,410 --> 00:04:42,630 typically on an average day 105 00:04:42,630 --> 00:04:44,820 we just got thousands of movements moving across 106 00:04:44,820 --> 00:04:45,653 the globe. 107 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,930 We do have some capacity, an area which I look at capacity 108 00:04:50,930 --> 00:04:54,710 and I really, from two perspectives you mentioned craft 109 00:04:54,710 --> 00:04:56,393 the Civil Reserve Aviation Fleet. 110 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:00,660 On the cargo side, the Civil Aviation Fleet 111 00:05:00,660 --> 00:05:03,950 is really going pretty strong on the passenger side 112 00:05:03,950 --> 00:05:07,760 as you can imagine, it has dropped off significantly. 113 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:09,950 And so as we take on missions 114 00:05:09,950 --> 00:05:12,690 we're specifically looking for opportunities to work load 115 00:05:12,690 --> 00:05:14,550 our commercial partners. 116 00:05:14,550 --> 00:05:16,223 We're talking to them regularly. 117 00:05:17,170 --> 00:05:19,550 I am concerned to some degree about the impacts 118 00:05:19,550 --> 00:05:22,283 on the passenger segment of the aviation industry. 119 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:25,760 And so any opportunity we have to push 120 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:27,163 workload the direction, 121 00:05:28,390 --> 00:05:29,360 we're doing that largely 122 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,170 with the repatriation efforts and other efforts 123 00:05:33,170 --> 00:05:34,600 to that short. 124 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:36,870 So hopefully that answers your question. 125 00:05:36,870 --> 00:05:39,530 - That does and actually if I could follow up on that 126 00:05:39,530 --> 00:05:42,383 very quickly, you mentioned the repatriations, 127 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:45,300 there's seems to be a mix 128 00:05:45,300 --> 00:05:48,210 sometimes it's military, sometimes it's charter. 129 00:05:48,210 --> 00:05:53,210 Do you anticipate additional military repatriation flights 130 00:05:53,230 --> 00:05:54,650 in the next week or so 131 00:05:55,562 --> 00:05:59,330 or is that now kind of in the civilian transportation 132 00:05:59,330 --> 00:06:00,163 kind of hands. 133 00:06:01,990 --> 00:06:04,450 - [Stephen] Yeah, you know what, the way I would describe it 134 00:06:04,450 --> 00:06:07,513 is that our main effort, repatriation 135 00:06:07,513 --> 00:06:09,620 those missions that are coming from the task force 136 00:06:09,620 --> 00:06:10,917 at the State Department, 137 00:06:10,917 --> 00:06:13,070 and the State Department's has really done 138 00:06:13,070 --> 00:06:15,023 a great job on this. 139 00:06:15,023 --> 00:06:17,610 And so we're there overflow valve. 140 00:06:17,610 --> 00:06:20,550 Those missions are being work loaded 141 00:06:20,550 --> 00:06:23,880 into the commercial sector, aviation sector. 142 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,730 So, to your point our craft partners. 143 00:06:26,730 --> 00:06:28,320 There are some residual movements 144 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,160 that will continue out of what I would describe 145 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:36,160 on the margin, as we move Gray aircraft around the globe, 146 00:06:36,230 --> 00:06:38,500 whether space available opportune left 147 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,640 will present opportunities for those geographic commanders 148 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:47,640 to put emphasis on those as the situation represents. 149 00:06:47,810 --> 00:06:52,293 But the main effort will be on commercial airlines, over. 150 00:06:53,530 --> 00:06:54,487 - Okay. 151 00:06:54,487 --> 00:06:56,000 And we'll go to the phone now. 152 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:57,100 Bob Burns, are you on? 153 00:06:58,340 --> 00:07:00,023 - [Bob] Yes I am, thank you. 154 00:07:01,230 --> 00:07:03,793 Journalist Bob Burns with Associated Press. 155 00:07:06,096 --> 00:07:08,550 Is TRANSCOM flying test kits 156 00:07:08,550 --> 00:07:12,180 or other medical supplies or medical personnel 157 00:07:12,180 --> 00:07:15,240 to go on to assist the Theodore Roosevelt 158 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:17,503 with this COVID-19 outbreak? 159 00:07:19,620 --> 00:07:21,770 - [Stephen] You know Bob watching that very closely 160 00:07:21,770 --> 00:07:24,900 we don't have a requirement at the moment specifically, 161 00:07:24,900 --> 00:07:27,560 you know a separate requirement to do that. 162 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:29,780 We do operate regularly 163 00:07:29,780 --> 00:07:33,420 when I would call channels just regularly scheduled missions 164 00:07:33,420 --> 00:07:35,020 across the globe, 165 00:07:35,020 --> 00:07:37,640 sometimes people characterize him as patriot express 166 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,630 as the kind of the name of the mission that we have. 167 00:07:40,630 --> 00:07:42,430 And those missions will continue 168 00:07:42,430 --> 00:07:45,480 to carry whatever priority cargo is required 169 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,083 in whatever region of the globe. 170 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,930 So I haven't received any specific requirements 171 00:07:51,850 --> 00:07:52,750 on the TR 172 00:07:52,750 --> 00:07:54,830 but you know if something comes our way 173 00:07:54,830 --> 00:07:56,890 we're more than willing to do 174 00:07:56,890 --> 00:07:59,443 whatever our Navy counterparts need, over. 175 00:08:00,859 --> 00:08:01,692 Thank you. 176 00:08:02,980 --> 00:08:06,130 - Okay, we'll come back to the press briefing room here 177 00:08:06,130 --> 00:08:07,570 for the next question. 178 00:08:07,570 --> 00:08:10,230 - [Lucas] General Lucas Tomlinson Fox News. 179 00:08:10,230 --> 00:08:13,423 How do you practice social distancing on a C-17? 180 00:08:14,670 --> 00:08:16,920 (mumbling) 181 00:08:20,244 --> 00:08:22,515 - I think the question was, 182 00:08:22,515 --> 00:08:26,260 how do you practice social distance on a C-17? 183 00:08:26,260 --> 00:08:27,590 Was that the question? 184 00:08:27,590 --> 00:08:28,423 Over. 185 00:08:28,423 --> 00:08:29,256 - [Lucas] That is Sir. 186 00:08:30,667 --> 00:08:32,660 - [Stephen] Yeah, it's a great question. 187 00:08:32,660 --> 00:08:35,470 And obviously, when you're in the cockpit 188 00:08:35,470 --> 00:08:37,683 there's no way to get six foot apart. 189 00:08:38,548 --> 00:08:40,410 (crackling) 190 00:08:40,410 --> 00:08:41,370 And so, you know 191 00:08:41,370 --> 00:08:43,680 the way that we're managing our flight crews 192 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,140 is unique in many ways. 193 00:08:48,140 --> 00:08:49,440 And we're trying to create 194 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,797 an isolated system of system(mumbling), 195 00:08:53,810 --> 00:08:57,250 even in motion so the way we treat our flight crews 196 00:08:57,250 --> 00:08:59,770 to show they can't create social distancing 197 00:08:59,770 --> 00:09:04,240 inside the cockpit, where we build them is controlled, 198 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:07,070 where they eat from their foods is delivered, 199 00:09:07,070 --> 00:09:09,810 so we're trying to create a very concerted cocoon 200 00:09:09,810 --> 00:09:14,053 if you would, over entire flight crew apparatus. 201 00:09:15,140 --> 00:09:18,400 And knock on what that seems to be working today, 202 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,430 it allows us to continue mission and protect the force 203 00:09:21,430 --> 00:09:22,603 at the same time. 204 00:09:24,780 --> 00:09:27,800 You know you can't tell a work and fly a plane, 205 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,913 at least not in the left side of the house. 206 00:09:31,930 --> 00:09:33,457 And so there are exceptions and we're working through 207 00:09:33,457 --> 00:09:35,730 how to mitigate those. 208 00:09:35,730 --> 00:09:36,900 Over. 209 00:09:36,900 --> 00:09:38,270 - Just a follow up. 210 00:09:38,270 --> 00:09:40,080 You mentioned this cocoon 211 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,090 and that you can't tell a work while flying a plane. 212 00:09:43,090 --> 00:09:46,590 How many people in TRANSCOM have tested positive 213 00:09:46,590 --> 00:09:47,723 for COVID-19? 214 00:09:50,090 --> 00:09:51,439 - [Stephen] Well, it's a fair question 215 00:09:51,439 --> 00:09:56,220 we're not talking about numbers related to specific units 216 00:09:57,330 --> 00:09:58,640 for many good reasons 217 00:10:00,210 --> 00:10:02,160 that we won't talk about specific numbers. 218 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,320 What I would characterize though, 219 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:06,950 is that at this particular moment in time, 220 00:10:06,950 --> 00:10:10,040 our COVID positive rates are very very low, 221 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:14,263 single digits across the entire mobility enterprise. 222 00:10:15,220 --> 00:10:18,270 You know, that will change over time 223 00:10:18,270 --> 00:10:20,770 I acknowledge that and every day 224 00:10:20,770 --> 00:10:23,110 we're making a concerted effort to understand 225 00:10:23,110 --> 00:10:25,040 how do we protect the force, 226 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,020 and maintain a level of resiliency to operate 227 00:10:29,020 --> 00:10:31,620 this global below the enterprise for the department. 228 00:10:34,610 --> 00:10:36,700 - [Reporter] Finally, one last question. 229 00:10:36,700 --> 00:10:39,230 How concerned are you with your aircraft 230 00:10:39,230 --> 00:10:43,110 flying all over the world with this pandemic globally? 231 00:10:43,110 --> 00:10:45,640 How do you keep these crews 232 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:48,580 from picking up the virus somewhere, 233 00:10:48,580 --> 00:10:49,510 let's say in Europe 234 00:10:49,510 --> 00:10:51,627 and bringing it back to the United States? 235 00:10:53,610 --> 00:10:54,967 - [Stephen] Well it's a great question 236 00:10:54,967 --> 00:10:58,560 and we spent a lot of time working through this issue 237 00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:00,140 and particularly at the air component. 238 00:11:00,140 --> 00:11:03,020 But back to as I was describing earlier on 239 00:11:03,020 --> 00:11:06,410 the way we're managing our crews and our attendance, 240 00:11:06,410 --> 00:11:09,230 very very isolated, 241 00:11:09,230 --> 00:11:12,223 you might characterize it as isolation in motion. 242 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:17,773 But as I go into a particular copy it is very very limited, 243 00:11:18,870 --> 00:11:21,580 straight from the aircraft into village, 244 00:11:21,580 --> 00:11:24,640 they don't go out for food, they leave the building 245 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,330 until their next mission. 246 00:11:26,330 --> 00:11:29,250 And it's a very very controlled environment 247 00:11:29,250 --> 00:11:30,580 as you can appreciate. 248 00:11:30,580 --> 00:11:32,490 And that's how we mitigate 249 00:11:32,490 --> 00:11:37,360 moving from a country that might be a level three country. 250 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,650 They never actually leave that base 251 00:11:39,650 --> 00:11:43,530 and even inside that base, they're very very controlled 252 00:11:43,530 --> 00:11:46,533 and that's the way we're managing that, over. 253 00:11:46,533 --> 00:11:47,400 - [Reporter] Thank you. 254 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,040 - Okay, before we go on, I have remind you again 255 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:51,630 to please mute your phone, 256 00:11:51,630 --> 00:11:53,760 we're getting some feedback from somebody. 257 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,920 And with that, we'll go to Mr. David Martin with CBS. 258 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:58,120 Are you on the line sir? 259 00:12:00,225 --> 00:12:01,058 - [David] I am. 260 00:12:02,450 --> 00:12:07,200 General, could you give us some specifics on the number 261 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:12,200 of missions you've flown both for repatriation 262 00:12:14,410 --> 00:12:19,313 and in response to HHS slash FEMA? 263 00:12:23,050 --> 00:12:23,993 - [Stephen] David specifically 264 00:12:23,993 --> 00:12:26,800 (crackling) 265 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:31,440 We have flown to date approximately 3 million 266 00:12:32,810 --> 00:12:36,360 COVID test swabs for example in support of HHS. 267 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:38,193 That was a very specific dimension. 268 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:43,118 We're working broader missions for FEMA 269 00:12:43,118 --> 00:12:45,010 as they come. 270 00:12:45,010 --> 00:12:48,670 And then specifically on the repatriation effort, 271 00:12:48,670 --> 00:12:52,940 you know, to date that's been a couple thousand, 272 00:12:52,940 --> 00:12:57,410 either executed or being planned. 273 00:12:57,410 --> 00:12:59,670 We know that's going to grow significantly 274 00:12:59,670 --> 00:13:01,740 we received the mission on Friday afternoon 275 00:13:01,740 --> 00:13:05,360 from the Secretary to provide direct support to task force 276 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:07,990 repatriation in the State Department 277 00:13:07,990 --> 00:13:11,500 and we're great partners with the State Department 278 00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:12,770 and they've done a great job 279 00:13:12,770 --> 00:13:15,630 and overall I think they've moved closer 280 00:13:15,630 --> 00:13:19,660 to probably 27 to 30 thousand amps 281 00:13:19,660 --> 00:13:22,580 and that number continues to grow every day. 282 00:13:22,580 --> 00:13:27,210 So we are pleased to join our State Department partners, 283 00:13:27,210 --> 00:13:30,330 and you know, we've got several missions planned 284 00:13:30,330 --> 00:13:33,223 that doesn't probably half a dozen missions this week, 285 00:13:34,140 --> 00:13:37,210 and continue to grow and will continue to support 286 00:13:37,210 --> 00:13:38,823 that effort in any way we can. 287 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:40,793 Over. 288 00:13:42,050 --> 00:13:43,340 - [David] Just the follow up. 289 00:13:43,340 --> 00:13:48,300 are those half dozen missions like the previous ones 290 00:13:48,300 --> 00:13:51,960 which are sound like they are space available 291 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:56,960 on flights that are normally going from these locations 292 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,793 and on the FEMA missions, 293 00:14:02,870 --> 00:14:05,970 are the only FEMA missions you've flown today 294 00:14:07,270 --> 00:14:10,310 the 3 million swabs? 295 00:14:10,310 --> 00:14:11,950 'Cause it sounds like you have 296 00:14:11,950 --> 00:14:15,083 a lot of unused capacity right now. 297 00:14:19,220 --> 00:14:22,070 - [Stephen] Let me answer both questions 298 00:14:22,070 --> 00:14:23,863 on the repatriation effort. 299 00:14:25,096 --> 00:14:29,330 No no those are very very specific two missions. 300 00:14:29,330 --> 00:14:32,880 We stood up an actual repatriation task force 301 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:34,360 here at TRANSCOM, 302 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:36,500 that's linked directly to State. 303 00:14:36,500 --> 00:14:40,640 And we are scheduling commercial passenger airlines 304 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:42,847 for those specific repatriation missions 305 00:14:42,847 --> 00:14:45,330 and support the State Department. 306 00:14:45,330 --> 00:14:46,900 There will still be small numbers 307 00:14:46,900 --> 00:14:49,390 that move on a space available basis 308 00:14:49,390 --> 00:14:51,390 but the main effort is through 309 00:14:52,489 --> 00:14:55,650 our Civil Reserve Aviation Fleet partners 310 00:14:55,650 --> 00:14:57,543 that we use on a day to day basis. 311 00:14:58,706 --> 00:15:00,030 On your second question 312 00:15:00,030 --> 00:15:02,910 With regard to support the FEMA, 313 00:15:02,910 --> 00:15:05,143 inter-agency, HHS et cetera. 314 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,050 There is more work ongoing, for sure. 315 00:15:10,050 --> 00:15:13,630 I highlighted the three million swabs 316 00:15:13,630 --> 00:15:17,390 we're supporting the transportation support 317 00:15:17,390 --> 00:15:20,020 for Northcom is to move the hospitals, 318 00:15:20,020 --> 00:15:24,060 for example up into the Javits Center up into Seattle, 319 00:15:24,060 --> 00:15:26,993 and many other mission assignments as they come. 320 00:15:28,300 --> 00:15:32,060 So as missions come our way we're prepared to support 321 00:15:32,060 --> 00:15:34,680 that the Secretary has made it clear 322 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:35,840 that that's a lot of effort, 323 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:36,990 a priority a lot of effort, 324 00:15:36,990 --> 00:15:39,370 and we're prepared to respond to that, 325 00:15:39,370 --> 00:15:42,840 and work very very closely with Northcom, FEMA 326 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:44,140 and all the other agencies 327 00:15:46,336 --> 00:15:48,890 and frankly, there's just hundreds of missions every day 328 00:15:48,890 --> 00:15:51,280 that move from the Defense Logistics Agency 329 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:52,460 and other agencies like that 330 00:15:52,460 --> 00:15:54,520 that don't even don't even come up with 331 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:56,770 (mumbling) 332 00:16:02,605 --> 00:16:05,162 - Okay, we are still connected? 333 00:16:05,162 --> 00:16:06,310 - [Stephen] We still are. 334 00:16:06,310 --> 00:16:07,143 - Okay. 335 00:16:08,540 --> 00:16:10,320 Alright, with that again I ask 336 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:11,760 please put your phone on mute. 337 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,610 And with that, I'll go to Tara Kapu if she's on the line. 338 00:16:19,170 --> 00:16:21,780 - [Tara] Hi yes I am, thanks General for doing this. 339 00:16:21,780 --> 00:16:23,743 I have a follow up to Bob's question. 340 00:16:24,930 --> 00:16:26,600 You know, there was an article 341 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,210 in the San Francisco Chronicle today 342 00:16:29,210 --> 00:16:31,470 that the captain or the commanding officer of that ship 343 00:16:31,470 --> 00:16:33,500 is desperate for tests. 344 00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:38,500 So who would give you a request to get a TRANSCOM flight 345 00:16:39,470 --> 00:16:43,490 out there to get them tested and medical assistance? 346 00:16:43,490 --> 00:16:47,670 And then secondly, on the 27 to 30 thousand 347 00:16:47,670 --> 00:16:49,700 if I am correct American civilians 348 00:16:49,700 --> 00:16:53,070 you've helped work repatriation for? 349 00:16:53,070 --> 00:16:54,520 Can you give us some of like, 350 00:16:55,376 --> 00:16:57,740 where there were bulk numbers of citizens 351 00:16:57,740 --> 00:16:58,840 that you brought back. 352 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,533 And then last on flying test kits around, 353 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,370 do you have any breakdown by State of what flights you flown 354 00:17:08,370 --> 00:17:09,650 what materials you've delivered? 355 00:17:09,650 --> 00:17:11,710 Of course, there's a lot of interest from the States 356 00:17:11,710 --> 00:17:14,470 about who's getting what and what's on deck. 357 00:17:14,470 --> 00:17:15,470 Thank you very much. 358 00:17:17,020 --> 00:17:17,870 - [Stephen] Okay, 359 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:21,983 to your first question on the on the TR, 360 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:28,720 that the Navy has a lot of capacity available to it. 361 00:17:28,770 --> 00:17:32,122 And they typically internal to the Navy resupply 362 00:17:32,122 --> 00:17:35,253 their ships they are on the way. 363 00:17:36,540 --> 00:17:41,540 And so we would, by exception if we got a mission, 364 00:17:41,740 --> 00:17:43,630 either from Navy or from the Joint Staff 365 00:17:43,630 --> 00:17:45,850 if they asked for specific support, 366 00:17:45,850 --> 00:17:46,960 I mean, we certainly step in 367 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:48,653 and support whatever they needed. 368 00:17:49,810 --> 00:17:51,450 But they've got a lot of capacity 369 00:17:51,450 --> 00:17:55,340 and I can't speak for what that looks like on the ground 370 00:17:55,340 --> 00:17:58,990 so I won't speculate to what the requirements might be, 371 00:17:58,990 --> 00:18:02,113 but we're certainly prepared to support them. 372 00:18:03,190 --> 00:18:05,000 I think you asked for some specifics 373 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,320 on the absolute repatriation mission, 374 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,040 we just again say that Friday afternoon, 375 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:11,830 we received that mission, 376 00:18:11,830 --> 00:18:13,440 and the first mission, 377 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:17,970 as I understand it is scheduled to for Nigeria. 378 00:18:17,970 --> 00:18:22,193 And that schedule I think is a is a Thursday of this week. 379 00:18:24,210 --> 00:18:25,760 I'll give you an example 380 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:27,150 of the schedule that I'm looking at, 381 00:18:27,150 --> 00:18:31,500 it's 150 passengers coming out of Nigeria, 382 00:18:31,500 --> 00:18:34,358 and those passengers would come back into Dallas 383 00:18:34,358 --> 00:18:38,220 and be received into the continent United States. 384 00:18:38,220 --> 00:18:40,020 There's other missions of that sort, 385 00:18:40,930 --> 00:18:45,070 so if you think about Central and South America, 386 00:18:45,070 --> 00:18:47,150 I think the focus right now is on Africa. 387 00:18:47,150 --> 00:18:49,300 And then obviously, we're seeing some missions 388 00:18:49,300 --> 00:18:53,183 start to emerge from the Indo Pacific. 389 00:18:53,183 --> 00:18:54,853 But that's building every day. 390 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,640 Apologies for any additional comments on that. 391 00:18:59,566 --> 00:19:02,270 - [Reporter] Thank you for that and just my last question, 392 00:19:02,270 --> 00:19:03,550 do you have a breakdown by State 393 00:19:03,550 --> 00:19:06,580 of how many missions transponders flown 394 00:19:06,580 --> 00:19:09,350 are supported through either charter or miller 395 00:19:09,350 --> 00:19:12,570 to get test kits out to the states or medical equipment? 396 00:19:12,570 --> 00:19:13,403 Thank you. 397 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,143 - [Stephen] Okay, well you know we'll take that, 398 00:19:19,660 --> 00:19:24,660 I think if your specifically about the three million, 399 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,640 those tests swabs came in directly to the FedEx methods lab 400 00:19:30,730 --> 00:19:34,970 for onward distribution to State and municipalities 401 00:19:34,970 --> 00:19:35,993 as required, 402 00:19:37,180 --> 00:19:40,483 and as directed by the whole government effort. 403 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,000 - Okay, sir we're gonna come back to the room here 404 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,340 we have a question in room. 405 00:19:47,340 --> 00:19:49,160 - Yes sir, Mike Bloomberg The Washington Times 406 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:51,370 I was wondering what percentage of work 407 00:19:51,370 --> 00:19:54,810 being done by TRANSCOM is devoted specifically 408 00:19:54,810 --> 00:19:57,570 to the coronavirus COVID-19? 409 00:19:57,570 --> 00:19:59,809 And what percentage is still focused 410 00:19:59,809 --> 00:20:03,360 on your normal day to day operations? 411 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:05,570 And could you talk a little bit about what impact 412 00:20:05,570 --> 00:20:08,743 all those might have had on readiness for TRANSCOM? 413 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,263 - [Stephen] Mike, good questions. 414 00:20:16,770 --> 00:20:18,940 Yeah we're still operating the global 415 00:20:18,940 --> 00:20:20,920 mobility enterprise, 416 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,733 we still must do that to maintain our level of readiness 417 00:20:23,733 --> 00:20:25,243 for the Secretary. 418 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,500 And so I believe we are doing that, I believe we are ready, 419 00:20:29,500 --> 00:20:33,090 I've just reported to the Secretary that we are ready 420 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,393 to meet our mission requirements as they come. 421 00:20:39,310 --> 00:20:42,160 Proportionally, you know, we're still going through 422 00:20:43,500 --> 00:20:47,030 you can appreciate there might be some lagging 423 00:20:47,030 --> 00:20:48,580 movement on the stock move 424 00:20:48,580 --> 00:20:51,450 and so we're still working through what the exceptions 425 00:20:51,450 --> 00:20:54,030 to policy are what's absolutely essential 426 00:20:54,030 --> 00:20:55,010 inside the department. 427 00:20:55,010 --> 00:20:56,300 You continue to move, 428 00:20:56,300 --> 00:20:58,150 what actually we're gonna stop move on, 429 00:20:58,150 --> 00:21:02,200 so there's a lot of activity that still underway, 430 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,023 we do forecast that on the decline. 431 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:09,740 But nonetheless, as I talked about global mobility 432 00:21:09,740 --> 00:21:12,410 and for example the schedule missions around the globe 433 00:21:12,410 --> 00:21:16,710 which we call, regularly scheduled channels for example, 434 00:21:16,710 --> 00:21:18,560 will continue to operate though, 435 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,990 even though you know our utilization rate of those aircraft 436 00:21:21,990 --> 00:21:24,620 is probably dropped considerably right down 437 00:21:24,620 --> 00:21:26,580 to about 30 to 50%, 438 00:21:26,580 --> 00:21:28,257 we know that those are the lifelines for the units 439 00:21:28,257 --> 00:21:29,970 that are out in the field. 440 00:21:29,970 --> 00:21:31,680 So we'll continue to operate that 441 00:21:32,711 --> 00:21:35,380 regardless of utilization rates, 442 00:21:35,380 --> 00:21:37,580 and then the special assigned missions, 443 00:21:37,580 --> 00:21:40,540 we anticipate those will come down 444 00:21:41,530 --> 00:21:43,990 particularly as we really drew down the efforts 445 00:21:43,990 --> 00:21:46,130 for major exercises like Defender Europe 446 00:21:46,130 --> 00:21:47,470 and otherwise. 447 00:21:47,470 --> 00:21:50,440 And then it will start to pick up 448 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:53,840 in other areas like support to the inter-agency 449 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,840 and COVID, efforts(mumbling) 450 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:58,980 so I wouldn't necessarily you know 451 00:21:58,980 --> 00:22:00,320 without looking out (crackling) 452 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,433 I would characterize it as a percentage. 453 00:22:03,521 --> 00:22:07,350 We shift, this is what we do every day anyway. 454 00:22:07,350 --> 00:22:09,400 We shift the way the global projects are 455 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:11,520 and as the Secretary describes them. 456 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,660 And that's the way the global mobility enterprise 457 00:22:13,660 --> 00:22:15,270 is built to be able to shift 458 00:22:15,270 --> 00:22:17,837 to the priority requirements across the globe. 459 00:22:19,790 --> 00:22:21,350 - Okay, now we go back to the phone. 460 00:22:21,350 --> 00:22:23,483 Phil Stewart with Rodgers, are you on? 461 00:22:25,660 --> 00:22:27,130 - [Phil] I am thanks. 462 00:22:27,130 --> 00:22:30,010 Got a question about just your role 463 00:22:30,010 --> 00:22:33,300 in internal domestic U.S potential supporter. 464 00:22:33,300 --> 00:22:38,070 Are you developing any plans to potentially help 465 00:22:38,070 --> 00:22:43,070 ensure the logistics transportation of the basic goods 466 00:22:43,580 --> 00:22:44,930 in the United States, 467 00:22:44,930 --> 00:22:47,710 should the supply chain in the United States break down? 468 00:22:47,710 --> 00:22:48,543 Thanks. 469 00:22:50,290 --> 00:22:51,140 - [Stephen] Well, 470 00:22:52,750 --> 00:22:57,750 you know the domestic freight, both rail and motor freight 471 00:22:59,270 --> 00:23:02,580 that we utilise, as the Department of Defense 472 00:23:02,580 --> 00:23:04,863 is largely a commercial backbone. 473 00:23:06,150 --> 00:23:08,210 And so we're working very very closely 474 00:23:08,210 --> 00:23:09,883 with our commercial partners, 475 00:23:10,788 --> 00:23:13,500 and the Department of Transportation, 476 00:23:13,500 --> 00:23:18,500 and all indicators are that freight is actually moving 477 00:23:18,570 --> 00:23:21,823 in some areas, it's actually spiking like on air freight, 478 00:23:22,860 --> 00:23:26,760 in ways that we would have seen otherwise. 479 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:31,500 So domestic freight is a good sign because that supply chain 480 00:23:31,500 --> 00:23:33,440 must move regardless, right? 481 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,040 I mean the logistics underpinning of the nation 482 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:37,700 must continue. 483 00:23:37,700 --> 00:23:41,310 And so we're working with the Department Transportation 484 00:23:41,310 --> 00:23:42,330 as they look at this 485 00:23:42,330 --> 00:23:46,427 and they wanna to ensure that there's continued freight 486 00:23:47,630 --> 00:23:50,310 across the continental United States for example, 487 00:23:50,310 --> 00:23:53,023 any policy implications they need to look at. 488 00:23:54,030 --> 00:23:58,410 And so we do not see any downturn and freight, 489 00:23:58,410 --> 00:23:59,390 for the most part. 490 00:23:59,390 --> 00:24:01,130 There are some specific sectors 491 00:24:02,300 --> 00:24:05,870 that will be impacted I mean we'll work very very closely 492 00:24:05,870 --> 00:24:07,280 with the household goods industry 493 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:08,600 because at this time of year 494 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,440 we would normally be on a steep ramp 495 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:13,083 to the summer peak season, 496 00:24:13,950 --> 00:24:17,390 and now we really kind of throttle back 497 00:24:17,390 --> 00:24:18,590 on that mission set 498 00:24:18,590 --> 00:24:21,440 and so you know every every industry sector 499 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:22,740 is a little bit different. 500 00:24:23,790 --> 00:24:26,680 Passenger airlines very concerned about passenger freight 501 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,460 is up freight motor surface freight, 502 00:24:30,460 --> 00:24:34,483 motor freight, rail freight continues to run unimpeded. 503 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,050 And then, I think to your broader question, 504 00:24:39,050 --> 00:24:42,250 for example if the commissary or exchange services 505 00:24:42,250 --> 00:24:45,340 that support our families and service members overseas, 506 00:24:45,340 --> 00:24:48,790 or at all degraded, we're certainly prepared to step in 507 00:24:48,790 --> 00:24:51,530 and we've been talking to Defense Commentary agency 508 00:24:51,530 --> 00:24:54,040 about those kinds of contingency plans. 509 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:56,230 So hopefully that helps answer your question. 510 00:24:56,230 --> 00:24:57,063 Over. 511 00:24:59,060 --> 00:25:02,480 - [Phil] But I mean is there any sense that TRANSCOM 512 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:04,470 may have to play a more active role 513 00:25:04,470 --> 00:25:08,349 in doing the basic movement of goods 514 00:25:08,349 --> 00:25:10,513 in the United States domestically? 515 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:14,720 - [Stephen] Not on the private sector or commercial side 516 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:17,930 there's no indicator that that that would be required. 517 00:25:17,930 --> 00:25:21,990 We would use very similar sets of commercial providers 518 00:25:21,990 --> 00:25:24,603 as exist today in the existing supply chains. 519 00:25:29,424 --> 00:25:31,350 - Okay and with that, we'll go on. 520 00:25:31,350 --> 00:25:33,593 Travis Trenton with Bloomberg are you on? 521 00:25:36,477 --> 00:25:38,477 - [Travis] Yes I'm here can you hear me? 522 00:25:39,340 --> 00:25:41,820 - [Stephen] I can hear you Travis, go ahead. 523 00:25:41,820 --> 00:25:43,660 - [Travis] Great thank you sir. 524 00:25:43,660 --> 00:25:46,600 I wanted to ask you a follow up on Phil's question, 525 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,500 I wanted to ask you about the moving industry 526 00:25:49,500 --> 00:25:51,500 and the household goods movement. 527 00:25:51,500 --> 00:25:54,270 Obviously those have been halted. 528 00:25:54,270 --> 00:25:57,250 And industry is particularly vulnerable 529 00:25:57,250 --> 00:26:00,837 because it gets so much of its revenue from DoD. 530 00:26:02,100 --> 00:26:04,840 And they've warned that some of the companies 531 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:06,710 may go out of business. 532 00:26:06,710 --> 00:26:11,040 I'm wondering if you're concerned if the domestic moving 533 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:15,960 industry could be gutted by this outbreak, this pandemic, 534 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:20,610 And if this could further reduce the capacity 535 00:26:20,610 --> 00:26:23,550 to move troops around when we eventually do come out 536 00:26:23,550 --> 00:26:26,963 the other side, which has obviously been been a big issue 537 00:26:26,963 --> 00:26:27,796 (crackling on the phone) 538 00:26:27,796 --> 00:26:29,796 and I have a follow up question as well. 539 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,787 - [Stephen] I think your questions is an excellent question 540 00:26:34,787 --> 00:26:38,630 and the answer is yes, I am very very concerned 541 00:26:38,630 --> 00:26:41,760 especially for our small business partners 542 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:46,363 that make up so much of the household good moving industry. 543 00:26:47,590 --> 00:26:49,690 You know we're very very active 544 00:26:49,690 --> 00:26:52,780 in our communication, both with the industry sector 545 00:26:52,780 --> 00:26:56,320 and the services who are managing the exception to policy 546 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:00,250 on the moves to make sure we're at least 547 00:27:00,250 --> 00:27:02,960 seeing things the same way 548 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,813 in terms of managing expectations and workload. 549 00:27:08,810 --> 00:27:13,810 I think this package that the Congress passed last week, 550 00:27:14,490 --> 00:27:15,617 I think will come into play here 551 00:27:15,617 --> 00:27:17,680 and it will be very very important 552 00:27:18,610 --> 00:27:22,580 that we protect our small business across the nation. 553 00:27:22,580 --> 00:27:24,580 And so we're watching that very closely. 554 00:27:26,430 --> 00:27:28,370 - [Travis] And if I could just follow up, 555 00:27:28,370 --> 00:27:32,090 I wanted to ask about the status of the global household 556 00:27:32,090 --> 00:27:33,850 goods moving contracts. 557 00:27:33,850 --> 00:27:38,420 Which I believe was around this timeframe that you had 558 00:27:38,420 --> 00:27:41,330 I think have to wrap that up before, 559 00:27:41,330 --> 00:27:44,370 I'm just wondering how the pandemic has affected 560 00:27:44,370 --> 00:27:47,363 that timeline and how you're looking at that now. 561 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:50,830 - [Stephen] Well, it is at the moment the work 562 00:27:50,830 --> 00:27:52,070 that's been done on it 563 00:27:52,070 --> 00:27:55,270 is largely been unaffected by the COVID outbreak 564 00:27:56,220 --> 00:27:58,878 because all the preliminary work 565 00:27:58,878 --> 00:28:00,000 (crackling) 566 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:01,870 partially completed. 567 00:28:01,870 --> 00:28:06,210 So at the moment we're on the same timeline 568 00:28:06,210 --> 00:28:09,590 that we were originally which is really at the end of April 569 00:28:09,590 --> 00:28:13,130 was our target to make an award. 570 00:28:13,130 --> 00:28:17,000 You know we assess every day, based on the COVID situation 571 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:18,450 what we're doing or what we're not doing 572 00:28:18,450 --> 00:28:22,053 so, if things change in that area, 573 00:28:22,053 --> 00:28:24,110 we'll adjust them as needed. 574 00:28:24,110 --> 00:28:27,840 We're certainly not gonna put people or industry 575 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:29,980 at risk in any kind of way. 576 00:28:29,980 --> 00:28:31,510 But there's administratively 577 00:28:31,510 --> 00:28:33,843 we're continuing to move on that. 578 00:28:36,370 --> 00:28:37,950 - Okay, we're near the end of our time 579 00:28:37,950 --> 00:28:39,220 but we just have a few more questions 580 00:28:39,220 --> 00:28:42,040 so I'ma try to squeeze in a couple more real quick here. 581 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:43,423 Courtney, Alvin are you on? 582 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:49,230 Courtney? - [Courtney] Hi yes. 583 00:28:49,230 --> 00:28:50,840 Thanks for taking my question. 584 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,470 I wanted to ask a broader tanker capacity question. 585 00:28:54,470 --> 00:28:56,470 The Air Force announced yesterday that they've elevated 586 00:28:56,470 --> 00:28:59,330 a new KC-46 cat one deficiency 587 00:28:59,330 --> 00:29:01,680 involving excessive fuel leaks. 588 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:05,630 Are you concerned about how this issue might impact 589 00:29:05,630 --> 00:29:07,140 the program's delivery schedule 590 00:29:07,140 --> 00:29:08,570 along with the other talent efficiencies? 591 00:29:08,570 --> 00:29:11,130 Or are you making any progress with the Air Force 592 00:29:11,130 --> 00:29:15,263 and Congress on finding ways to mitigate the capacity gap? 593 00:29:18,230 --> 00:29:19,540 - [Stephen] Yes, Courtney 594 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:24,940 yes I believe we're making progress with the air portion 595 00:29:24,940 --> 00:29:29,940 in Congress to ensure that we retain taskable capacity 596 00:29:30,380 --> 00:29:32,740 for the combatant command to support the Joint Force. 597 00:29:32,740 --> 00:29:36,600 You know while simultaneously the Air Force works through 598 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:38,010 the technical issues with Boeing 599 00:29:38,010 --> 00:29:42,430 to make sure that the KC-46 presents a viable capability 600 00:29:42,430 --> 00:29:46,040 that can essentially well basically refuel everything 601 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:48,313 that the KC-135 refuels today. 602 00:29:49,660 --> 00:29:53,120 I am not gonna get in to the Air Force 603 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,790 in their negotiations with about with Boeing specifically, 604 00:29:56,790 --> 00:30:00,940 I can tell you that things have been much more optimistic 605 00:30:02,140 --> 00:30:03,460 here of late, 606 00:30:03,460 --> 00:30:07,300 I think, the big key there is to move 607 00:30:07,300 --> 00:30:09,970 to a mutually agreed upon technical solution 608 00:30:09,970 --> 00:30:13,460 and lay out those timelines for me specifically, 609 00:30:13,460 --> 00:30:17,340 I know that we've got to preserve area refuel capabilities 610 00:30:17,340 --> 00:30:18,830 for the Joint Force and tools 611 00:30:18,830 --> 00:30:22,590 such that the KC-46 is presentable. 612 00:30:22,590 --> 00:30:24,430 And we're working with the airports on that 613 00:30:24,430 --> 00:30:26,630 I do think we have a good agreement 614 00:30:26,630 --> 00:30:29,660 on a bridging strategy at this particular point. 615 00:30:29,660 --> 00:30:31,550 Thanks for the question. 616 00:30:31,550 --> 00:30:35,000 - Okay, real quickly I'm gonna go to Jeff Scoble, 617 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:35,833 if he's on. 618 00:30:38,510 --> 00:30:41,660 - [Jeff] Hi, this is Jeff Scoble, with Testing Purpose 619 00:30:41,660 --> 00:30:44,530 I'm just curious has Air Mobility Command medevaced 620 00:30:44,530 --> 00:30:47,390 any patients to civilian hospitals 621 00:30:47,390 --> 00:30:50,863 or to military hospitals due to COVID-19? 622 00:30:53,406 --> 00:30:56,460 - [Stephen] We have and I'll spend a little bit time 623 00:30:56,460 --> 00:30:59,363 describing that to you, it's a good question, 624 00:31:00,570 --> 00:31:02,980 because the movement of a highly contagious patient 625 00:31:02,980 --> 00:31:06,690 is a much different challenge. 626 00:31:06,690 --> 00:31:11,000 And we did move a COVID positive patient this past weekend 627 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,700 from Africa specifically from Djibouti 628 00:31:14,700 --> 00:31:17,850 up to Launch school in Germany to get the level of support 629 00:31:17,850 --> 00:31:20,763 that particular patient needed. 630 00:31:23,059 --> 00:31:24,680 And and we are also working 631 00:31:26,020 --> 00:31:27,820 candidly to increase our capacity 632 00:31:27,820 --> 00:31:30,140 to be able to meet these kind of requirements, 633 00:31:30,140 --> 00:31:31,890 because we know they're increasing. 634 00:31:32,890 --> 00:31:36,550 So today our approach to patient movement for COVID, 635 00:31:36,550 --> 00:31:39,060 particularly for highly contagious patients, 636 00:31:39,060 --> 00:31:41,970 is to move them in an isolation system, 637 00:31:41,970 --> 00:31:43,763 either air ambulance, 638 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:48,153 you may recall the transportation isolation system 639 00:31:48,153 --> 00:31:51,010 that was developed during the Ebola crisis. 640 00:31:51,010 --> 00:31:53,210 And then in addition to that 641 00:31:53,210 --> 00:31:55,293 because that's a limited capacity, 642 00:31:56,270 --> 00:31:58,820 we're working with scientists around the Air Force 643 00:31:58,820 --> 00:32:00,450 in Defense Threat Reduction NASA 644 00:32:00,450 --> 00:32:03,580 and some others that really study the aircraft 645 00:32:03,580 --> 00:32:06,940 circulation flow, and the implications of the movement 646 00:32:06,940 --> 00:32:08,150 of those particulates, 647 00:32:08,150 --> 00:32:11,330 and potential impacts on cruise, 648 00:32:11,330 --> 00:32:14,700 so that we can indeed move COVID positive patients 649 00:32:14,700 --> 00:32:17,801 and passengers without an isolation unit 650 00:32:17,801 --> 00:32:19,930 while adequately protecting the crew 651 00:32:19,930 --> 00:32:21,337 and we think we're making some progress. 652 00:32:21,337 --> 00:32:22,300 (crackling) 653 00:32:22,300 --> 00:32:23,900 It's a great question thank you. 654 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:25,950 - Okay, for the last question. 655 00:32:25,950 --> 00:32:28,050 I'm gonna go Teresa with Breaking Defense. 656 00:32:30,150 --> 00:32:31,840 - [Teresa] Thank you, but I'm gonna pass since Courtney 657 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:32,790 asked my questions. 658 00:32:35,490 --> 00:32:38,800 - Okay, I got one last small follow up from Fox 659 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:40,120 and then we'll cut it off. 660 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:42,440 - General, you mentioned bringing some Americans home 661 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:43,400 from Nigeria. 662 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:45,390 I was wondering Is that a military aircraft 663 00:32:45,390 --> 00:32:47,140 that's gonna be bringing them home? 664 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:51,010 - [Stephen] No, that'll be a commercial aircraft. 665 00:32:52,020 --> 00:32:57,020 Almost exclusively I see us using U.S flag 666 00:32:57,460 --> 00:33:00,140 commercial passenger airlines. 667 00:33:00,140 --> 00:33:02,580 The ones we use everyday frankly to move troops 668 00:33:02,580 --> 00:33:03,713 for the most part. 669 00:33:04,610 --> 00:33:07,570 We'll use those to support the repatriation effort. 670 00:33:07,570 --> 00:33:10,300 - So you guys are like the Army Corps of Engineers 671 00:33:10,300 --> 00:33:13,623 from the air you contract the air, mostly? 672 00:33:15,990 --> 00:33:18,550 - [Stephen] We do we have regular providers 673 00:33:18,550 --> 00:33:21,700 that are in the Civil Reserved Aviation Fleet if you would, 674 00:33:21,700 --> 00:33:24,886 probably about 25 or 26 providers, 675 00:33:24,886 --> 00:33:27,970 and they provide commercial augmentation 676 00:33:27,970 --> 00:33:30,030 both in day to day operations 677 00:33:30,030 --> 00:33:32,330 and of course we would mobilize them 678 00:33:32,330 --> 00:33:34,790 if needed in a conflict. 679 00:33:34,790 --> 00:33:37,812 And so we use those(crackling) 680 00:33:37,812 --> 00:33:39,560 for the State Department mission. 681 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:41,510 - Okay. - [Stephen] Over. 682 00:33:41,510 --> 00:33:43,610 Thank you very much for your time today sir, 683 00:33:43,610 --> 00:33:44,740 thanks for going a little bit over 684 00:33:44,740 --> 00:33:46,200 I think we got most of the questions answered 685 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,180 if you have some lingering questions that you need answered, 686 00:33:48,180 --> 00:33:49,650 please send them to our duty officer 687 00:33:49,650 --> 00:33:51,820 and we'll do what we can to give some responses. 688 00:33:51,820 --> 00:33:53,270 That's all for now, out here. 689 00:33:54,620 --> 00:33:57,173 - [Stephen] Okay thanks everybody, have a great day.