ウィスパリング同時通訳研究会コミュのPentagon Spokesperson John Kirby holds a briefing with Gen. VanHerck, U.S. Northern Command

John Kirby: (00:14)Okay. Good afternoon, everybody. I think you know, I’m honored and privileged to be joined today by General Vanherck, commander of US Northern command and NORAD. The General’s got an update for you on his work for Operation Allies Welcome, and all the good work that we’re doing across bases here in the United States. The general will have some opening comments. I will turn it over him in a second, and then we’ll moderate questions and answers just like we’ve done before. I’ll go ahead and choose you. Please identify who you are and what outlet you’re with before you ask the general question. So he knows who he’s talking to, and we’ve got about 30 minutes for that, and then when that’s over, I’ll stay behind and we’ll do some other business of the day here from the podium. General, can you hear me and see me okay, sir?

General Vanherck: (01:03)I have you loud and clear and I see you just fine, John.

John Kirby: (01:06)I’ll turn the floor over to you, sir. Thanks again for joining us.

General Vanherck: (01:10)Okay. Thank you, John. And good afternoon to all of you. Let me begin by just saying thanks for spending some time with me today and allowing me to talk about the amazing efforts that are taking place at eight respective task forces across this country, of the men and women at US Northern Command, along with our many partners, are proud to support Operation Allies Welcome, and I’m pleased to provide you with an update on the efforts today. As a lead combat and command for this operation, United States Northern Command provides oversight of DOD forces and activities in support of the Department of Homeland Security, the lead federal agency. While DOD is not responsible for the immigration process, we are working hand in hand with DHS and the other agencies to enable the process. We’ve built housing capacity, and we are providing our Afghan guests the environment they need while they work through the immigration process. Essentials such as a safe and secure environment, nutritious meals, warm clothing, primary medical care, and other services.
(02:09)
Today, total capacity at the eight different installations is over 64,000, and our Afghan evacuee population is approximately 53,000. More than 10,000 DOD personnel are currently supporting Operation Allies Welcome. Since we last spoke my team and I have continued traveling to the DOD installations and task forces across this country. I have seen firsthand seven of the eight task forces and I plan to visit the eighth task force when I visit Camp Atterbury in the very near future. Following each visit, I walk away impressed with how well the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guard members, and the inner agency team are working together to insure our Afghan guests, as well as the personnel supporting the mission, feel safe, secure, and respected. Now, before I take your questions today, I want to briefly talk about three specific types of issues that have generated a fair amount of attention in the media recently.
(03:05)
I want you to have the facts about the good and the dedicated efforts that respective task forces and our agency teammates to address those issues. So I want to insure you have that information straight from me. The three specific issues are the living conditions at each task force, the medical care and vaccination efforts that are underway with our Afghan guests, and then, finally, some of the law enforcement challenges we have seen and addressed at the task forces.
(03:32)
First, let me talk about living conditions at the task forces. And I’d say they’re similar to, and in many cases, exactly the same as conditions provided to US service members during exercise and training missions. The task force has stood up to build eight small cities under emergency conditions, while it hadn’t been perfect. I have seen firsthand how committed our teams are to improving every single day.
(03:56)
Our Afghan guests are living in a safe and secure environment with climate controlled billets, eating three healthy meals, and culturally appropriate meals, each day, including 24/7 grab and go options, and enjoying recreational, classroom, and other activities. While areas for improvement are identified, either by the Afghan guests or task force teams, we work with our inter agency partners, volunteers, and Afghan guests to address them quickly. My visit to Fort McCoy this past Sunday, which included interactions with the Afghan population, indicates they are grateful for the accommodations we’re providing while they work through the immigration process. Secondly, medical efforts truly have been a good news story and the health of our Afghan guests is a top priority. There are more than 1700 medical professionals and staff attending to the needs of the Afghan personnel. Afghan guests have access to necessary medical services, including essential family medicine, pediatric care, emergency medicine, basic laboratory, radiology, pharmacy services, primary dental care, psychosocial support, and mental health services.
(05:04)
Additionally, the US government continues to take every precaution to stop the spread of COVID and other diseases consistent with CDC guidance. The task forces have undertaken vaccination campaigns and they are rapidly approaching 100% completion of all required vaccines for 100% of the eligible Afghans. 100% of the Afghans are COVID tested and 84% have received COVID vaccinations to date.
(05:31)
COVID positivity rates are approximately 0.4%, well below rates across the United States. Our nation’s citizens should feel confident in the work that DOD, along with our contract medical partners, that we’re doing and will continue to do to enable our Afghan guests to be ready to begin their lives in America. Now, finally, there have been reports of various law enforcement challenges at a few of the task forces. We along with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners take each report seriously, and the task forces work closely with the inter agency team to address them expeditiously and appropriately. The safety and security of all personnel at each task force and on each installation is paramount and we will continue taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of not only our military and civilian members, as well as our Afghan guests.
(06:22)
While we have seen a small number of incidents reported, you may not realize the reports are often coming from Afghan guests who are seeking out our service members and our law enforcement professionals at the task forces. While I’m obviously not condoning anything that diminishes good order and discipline at the task forces, that Afghans are reporting incidents is a good indicator of their commitment to keeping the community safe, as well as their confidence in our people. Our commitment to maintain safety and security for the entire population at each installation remains steadfast. Operation Allies Welcome truly is an unprecedented effort. The Afghan personnel I have met and spoken with throughout my visits are appreciative of our support, and are eager to begin their lives in America. I’m proud to be part of this whole of government effort and the entire United States Northern Command team is honored to support. So I’m ready to take your questions, John.

John Kirby: (07:20)Thank you general. We’ll start with Lolita Baldor, AP.

Lolita Baldor: (07:25)Hi General. Thanks so much for doing this. Can you give us a little bit more detail on some of the law enforcement issues? I mean, obviously a lot of us heard about the military service member who was apparently attacked. Do you have any more details on that as to whether or not anyone has been either detained or otherwise caught in regard to that? And then can you give us the numbers of violent or other incidents, law enforcement incidents, that you have seen and are they concentrated at one base or are they spread out? Just give us a bit more detailed picture of that.

General Vanherck: (08:06)Yeah, thanks Lita. So there are two Afghan evacuees that are currently detained in federal custody. Those cases occurred, I believe at Fort McCoy. Those folks have been charged and will be charged through the federal process, not by the Department of Defense. What I would tell you is, for a population of approximately 53,000 personnel, I’ve done some research, and how that compares to populations across the United States. And what we’re seeing is law enforcement violations that are on par, and in most cases, significantly lower than the rates that we’re seeing in similar size populations across the United States. For example, in six weeks in Operation Allies Welcome, in a population of 53,000, there have been eight reported cases of robbery and theft. An average six week period in a similar place is in excess of 150. I’m extremely proud of our team. We have on average, more than 600 security and law enforcement professionals at each task force each and every day. If you look across, that is about three to four times the average of most cities around the globe, if you will. And so we’re taking this very seriously. We take every accusation or incident to heart and take action right away, not only with our DOD members, but primarily with our federal law enforcement, state and local law enforcement, Lita.

John Kirby: (09:54)Megan.
Megan: (09:55)Have there been any more reports of security incidents involving attacks on service members or vice versa?
General Vanherck: (10:05)No. I’m aware of one incident that I believe you’re referring to that occurred at Fort Bliss. I believe on the 17th of September, that is under FBI investigation. They’re the lead agency. And that’s the only one that I’m aware of.
Megan: (10:18)Thank you.

John Kirby: (10:20)Laura.
Laura: (10:24)[inaudible 00:10:24]. Can you give us an update on the situation with the measles and the number of cases, vaccination rate, and how much longer you expect that to hold up the processing?
General Vanherck: (10:37)So I’m aware of 24 total cases of measles, twelve active cases. The vaccination rate is nearing or will be at 100% today for measles. The 21 day period varies depending on individual, and when they arrived, where they received their vaccinations. I expect, initially, completion of 21 day period to begin early next week.

John Kirby: (11:02)Lucas.
Lucas: (11:05)Follow up, General. Lucas Tomlinson, Fox News. What’s the vaccination rate for the Afghans when it comes to the Corona virus>
General Vanherck: (11:12)84%, Lucas, today.
Lucas: (11:15)How long are the Afghans going to be on US military bases?
General Vanherck: (11:21)That’s a great question, Lucas. We’re prepared to be here as long as we need to, to conduct this mission. That’s best addressed by DHS, the lead federal agency. We stand ready to support. We’ll be ready if we need to support through the winter months and into the spring.(11:36)
How about through the spring, General?
General Vanherck: (11:38)Lucas, as I said, we’re ready to support as long as required or until the secretary of defense directs me to stand down support.

John Kirby: (11:47)We’ll go back to the phones here, Jennifer Steinhauer from the New York Times.
Jennifer Steinhauer: (11:50)Thank you. If I could follow up on that question, sir. Do you have a little bit of visibility into what the components are that are taking the longest to move on the evacuees out of these bases and into their permanent situations? Is it mostly security checks? Are you flagging anything of concern in the security component, or is it mostly the vaccination immigration process? What is it? It does seem to be taking quite a while.

General Vanherck: (12:17)Well, thanks for the question. It is not the security checks, and it’s not the vaccination or the medical portion. We have 24,000 today that have completed the complete medical portion of it. I would defer to the relocation folks that have lead, some of our non-governmental agencies on specific details, but the assurances piece we’re very… Not we, but the lead federal agencies and the non-governmental organizations, are very conscious to ensure that each of the Afghan guests have a great place to land and have assurances for where they’re going to relocate to. So I understand that right now is the limiting factor on output.

John Kirby: (13:03)Courtney.
Courtney: (13:05)Hey general, it’s Courtney Kube from NBC news. I just want to make sure I understand one thing. So flights are still not coming in, right, enough, because of the measles, and do you have any sense of when they’re going to restart? And I have one other question.
General Vanherck: (13:19)Hey Courtney. So I would anticipate that flights will start here in the very near future. I don’t have any confirmation on an exact date for you, but potentially next week, we could see something because of the 21 day dates that overseas are complete with their vaccination process.

Courtney: (13:40)And then just to be clear. So there’s currently 53,000 evacuees on military installations. Do you have any sense of a daily cost of how much this is costing to house and care for these people or weekly or monthly? Is there any estimate for cost?
General Vanherck: (14:00)Courtney? I don’t. I would defer to the OSD comptroller for-
General Vanherck: (14:03)Courtney, I don’t. I would defer to the OSD controller for a question like that. I’m not sure what the cost is.
Courtney Kube: (14:09)[inaudible 00:14:09] Will that be reimbursed by the federal government, or is that going to be a cost that continue to be born by DOD? Do you know?
General Vanherck: (14:17)I don’t know if you’re asking me, Courtney. That financial aspect is not in the combatant commander’s lane.
John Kirby: (14:25)Question for the record, and get back to you.
Courtney Kube: (14:26)Thank you.

John Kirby: (14:28)Pierre.
Pierre: (14:31)[inaudible 00:14:31] if you don’t mind, just to confirm that the refugees are offered halal meat and they are offered also a place for prayers.
General Vanherck: (14:41)That is correct. Halal meals are provided three times per day, plus the 24 hour option for grab and go, and we have set up places for worship and prayer for each of the task forces.
Pierre: (14:55)Thank you.

John Kirby: (14:56)[inaudible 00:14:56]
Janey: (14:56)Thank you General. On the US missile defense against North Korea, you said that last time you are ready 24/7 365, if North Korea decides to launch ballistic missiles. How is the United States missile defense capability against North Korea’s hypersonic missile launch this week?
General Vanherck: (15:29)I’m aware of the reference you’re making. I understand the intelligence community is still making an assessment of the North Korean claim to have tested a hypersonic. We’ll just have to see that capability right now. It would be my assessment that the homeland would be safe and secure from a hypersonic capability as North Korea claims they have tested.

Travis Trenton: (15:59)Thank you General. Travis Trenton with military.com. Could you give us some sense of the processing rate. How many of these Afghan refugees are moving off installations into society per day? Or give us some sense of that.
General Vanherck: (16:14)Yeah. That’s best answered by homeland security. What I can tell you is there’s approximately 4000 that are complete with the process pending resettlement at this time, with assurances for relocation.

John Kirby: (16:32)Back to the phones. Tony, do you have a question for the General?
Tony Capaccio: (16:41)General, yeah. Tony Capaccio with Bloomberg. I did have one question. Were the biometric screenings that were done in Afghanistan, have those aided in getting the people who are coming here a proper identification?
General Vanherck: (16:54)Tony, again, that’s best for homeland security. I understand that biometric screening, biographical screening continues even after they arrive at the taskforce locations, but to specifically answer your question, I can’t do that. You need to refer that to DHS.
Tony Capaccio: (17:12)Okay, fair enough. Thanks.

John Kirby: (17:16)Yes, Carla?
Carla: (17:16)Thank you. So, when you said that there were 4000 complete with the process pending for resettlement, that 53,000 number, is that the total amount of Afghan evacuees? That doesn’t include any that have been resettled so far, none have been resettled? Am I interpreting you right?
General Vanherck: (17:35)That’s not correct. I apologize if I misled you. So far resettled is over 2600 or so, of which more than half of those have been resettled through either the SIV process or the refugee process at this time.
Carla: (17:52)Okay, thank you. And you said your total capacity now was 64,000. When you talk to your UCOM and your CENTCOM counterparts, how many total more Afghans are you expecting?
General Vanherck: (18:04)What we’re seeing in the UCOM and CENTCOM AORs right now is slightly over 14,000 that are still remaining to come forward to the eight taskforces. So, when you do the math, you see that we’re relying on the output to ensure that we have enough capacity for the additional remaining Afghans coming this way.

John Kirby: (18:27)Back to the phones. Tara, did you have a question?
Lolita Baldor: (18:30)Yes. General, on the security clearance process, how many of the Afghans have completed and are completely cleared to resettle? And as you said, it’s a question of having a spot for them to resettle to.
General Vanherck: (18:49)I don’t have the specific number, but I believe it’s slightly over 4000 at this time have completed medical, all their screening processes and are pending assurances for relocation.
Lolita Baldor: (19:02)And then of all of the Afghans that are still undergoing the security clearance process, or the vetting process, how many total have been pulled for additional screening because something popped red?
General Vanherck: (19:20)Yeah, I don’t have that number. I would defer that to DHS again. And I’m not aware of any significant problems that we’ve had once they have arrived at any of our taskforces.
Lolita Baldor: (19:34)Okay, and then just to follow on my colleague Lucas’s question, when the bases were first preparing to receive Afghan evacuees, there was a General thought that this would be a very short process. Maybe 10 days, maybe two weeks before they went through, and obviously the numbers are far greater and it’s taking a much longer time. What kind of planning discussions have there been, if this needs to be a longterm solution, if there isn’t somewhere for some of these evacuees to go and they are reliant on DOD to provide a longterm housing solution for them?
General Vanherck: (20:11)Yeah. So, two points to that. First, like I said, we remain ready to do this until the mission is complete. The numbers I think you’re referring to were likely numbers that came out of our initial housing of Afghan SIV applicants, as they came into Fort Lee, where we were averaging about five to seven days or processing time, because they were further along in the process. I’ll have to defer to the state department on the total numbers, but the numbers of SIVs and where they are in the process makes it a shorter process for them. If you’re just at the beginning of the SIV process, or not in the process and you’re a P1 or P2 in the refugee process, now that’s a separate way to go forward for how they’re going to move onward to be a settlement into the United States. Does that make sense to you?
Lolita Baldor: (21:12)Yes, thank you.