Pentagon Press Briefing with Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder – April 23, 2024. [Video]

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder briefs the news media at the Pentagon.
As you saw over the weekend, Secretary Austin welcomed the passage of the National Security Supplemental by the House of Representatives on Saturday, which will help the Department of Defense support Ukraine and Israel, bolster security in the Indo-Pacific and stand firm with our allies and partners around the world. In his statement, he highlighted that the bipartisan legislation will allow the department to surge life-saving security assistance to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s aggression, support Israel’s defense from Iran and its proxies and increase the flow of urgently-needed humanitarian aid to suffering Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We remain hopeful for quick passage by the Senate and subsequent signing into law by the president.

Separately, Secretary Austin spoke today by phone with the Greek Minister of Defense Nikos Dendias and U.K. Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps and separate calls to discuss a variety of topics concerning mutual security interests. Full readouts will be posted on defense.gov later today.

Additionally, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy Lisa Sawyer and State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense for the Slovak Republic Igor Melicher cochaired the U.S.-Slovakia High-Level Defense Group today at the Slovak Ministry of Defense in Bratislava, Slovakia. Participants discussed a range of issues related to the global security environment and shared their commitment to strengthening the NATO alliance ahead of the 75th Anniversary NATO Summit July 9 through 11 in Washington, D.C. A full readout has been posted to the DOD website.

Switching gears, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force Africa, along with the Zambian Army, are cohosting the African Land Forces Summit 2024 April 22 through 26 in Livingstone, Zambia. The summit brings together over 40 land force military chiefs from across Africa, other European partner nations, along with academic thought leaders and government officials for candid dialogue to discuss and develop cooperative solution. The theme for this year’s summit is “Regional Solutions to Transnational Problems.” At the conclusion of the summit, DOD will sign the two newest state partnership programs between North Carolina, Zambia and Malawi. For more information, I would refer you to AFRICOM Public Affairs.

Finally, on April 22, Iran malign militia groups conducted two unsuccessful attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. These are the first attacks on coalition facilities since February 4th. These attacks put coalition and Iraqi personnel at risk. We call on the government of Iraq to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria against attacks from these groups. If these attacks continue, we will not hesitate to defend our forces, as we have done in the past.

Defense Now April – 2024
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Pentagon Press Briefing with Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder – 04/23/24

Film Credits: Defense.gov

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