KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Hello, everyone. Welcome. So, good morning and welcome to the Department of War. Before we begin, I want to take a moment to recognize and honor Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, the Guardsman who was murdered in DC this past weekend. She is an American hero, and we will never forget her service and sacrifice. While we mourn her loss, we will continue to pray for the full recovery of Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, the other service member critically injured in this heinous attack.
This attack on our National Guardsman in DC follows months of Democrat elected officials demonizing the National Guard, portraying them as a threat to our republic and attempting to sow discord in their ranks. To name a few examples, Governor Gavin Newsom claimed that President Trump was fabricating emergencies in order to justify the deployment of the National Guard in some major cities.
Governor JB Pritzker claimed that the deployment of the National Guard amounted to an attack on the American people. Outside an ICE facility in California, Rep Maxine Waters taunted the troops standing guard and demanded to know whether they intended to shoot her. And of course, the seditious six urged members of our military to defy their chain of command in an unprecedented, treasonous and shameful conspiracy to sow distrust and chaos in our armed forces.
This rhetoric insults our warfighters, who put their lives on the line every day to keep Americans safe, and it creates an environment where criminals feel emboldened to commit violent acts against them. Right now, over 2,200 National Guardsmen from all across the country are serving as a part of Joint Task Force DC, with an additional 500 on the way. Each one of them will continue working to ensure the safety of all who live, work and visit the district.
We will not lose sight of our mission. This targeting will only embolden our resolve. Our warriors are strong, and we will not back down until our capital and our cities are secure. Defending our homeland and rescuing America's greatest cities from endemic violence is the highest and best use of our military.
I would also like to take a moment today to welcome all of you here to the Pentagon briefing room as official new members of the Pentagon press corps. We're glad to have you. Legacy media chose to self-deport from this building. And if you look at the numbers, it's pretty clear why no one followed them. National trust in these mainstream media outlets has cratered to 28 percent, the lowest ever recorded. The American people don't trust these propagandists because they stopped telling the truth.
So, we're not going to beg these old gatekeepers to come back and we're not rebuilding a broken model just to appease them. Instead, we're welcoming new media outlets that actually reach Americans, ask real questions, and don't pursue a biased agenda. The public has moved on from the old model, and so will the Pentagon.
This is the beginning of a new era. We look forward to working with you to keep the American people informed and to ensure transparency. In the interest of transparency, I want to provide an update on the department's operations against narco terrorists in the Western Hemisphere.
To date, there have been a total of 21 kinetic strikes on drug boats in our hemisphere, with 82 narcoterrorists killed. Each stretch â strike conducted against these designated terrorist organizations is taken in defense of vital US national interests and to protect the homeland.
Our operations in the SOUTHCOM region are lawful under both US and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict. These actions have also been approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command.
A completely fake story in The Washington Post, now discredited by the New York Times, tried to mischaracterize these successful strikes in bad faith. It was an attempt to damage the secretary and the president, and the people saw through it. The phony Washington Post story even attributed statements to the secretary that were total â totally fabricated. He never said them. That is the epitome of fake news.
As the White House confirmed yesterday, the decision to restrike the narcoterrorist vessel was made by Admiral Bradley, operating under clear and longstanding authorities to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States was eliminated. Secretary Hegseth stands behind Admiral Bradley 100 percent. Admiral Bradley made the right call.
And unlike the previous administration, we have our warfighter's back at this department. This department will defend our homeland. This is not a catchphrase. It is a commitment. And as the secretary said, when it comes to killing narcoterrorists, we have only just begun.
Lastly, I would like to announce that the War Department has created a new division for strategic marketing that will be led by Abbey Lower, who will hold the title of Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of War for Strategic Marketing. The division will be a new core function within public affairs and will complement our media and strategic engagement teams.
The purpose of this new division is to create marketing campaigns that support the War Department's military recruitment efforts, providing a halo effect to the great work the military services are already doing to recruit our nation's warfighters.
And with that, I'd be happy to take your questions. Yes, Caitlin.
Q:Â Thanks, Kingsley. Can you talk about the autonomy that's given to the commanders who are carrying out these operations, like Admiral Bradley, to make decisions? Like, in this case, I'm assuming the first strike took out the boat and any actions that followed. Can you talk about the autonomy they're given?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Absolutely. So, the secretary has been very clear in every statement that we've released about these strikes, that they are presidentially directed. And the chain of command functions as it should. And we make sure that commanders on the ground are taken â their positions are taken into account, and they are able to tell us and make decisions if they â if they see things that need to be flagged.
But at the end of the day, the secretary and the president are the ones directing these strikes. And any follow on strikes, like those which were directed by Admiral Bradley, the secretary 100 percent agrees with.
Yes, Matt.
Q:Â Kingsley, if Nicolas Maduro leaves Venezuela today, what role will the Department of War have in a post-Maduro Venezuela? And describe the process the administration will use to determine whether or not current members of the Venezuelan military or Venezuelan government have a role in a post-Maduro Venezuela.
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Thanks for the question. So, the department has a contingency plan for everything. We are a planning organization. If anything were to happen around the world, we have a response planned and ready. So, we stand at the president's beck and call, our commander in chief, to do what is needed if called upon.
And that will be what this department continues to focus on and continues to prepare for in regards to our ongoing operations in the SOUTHCOM region. Again, our focus is taking out narcoterrorists and rooting out that threat that is poisoning the American people. Every single boat that we strike saves 25,000 American lives. That is a crucial mission to protecting the homeland, and we're proud to be a part of it.
Q:Â Just as a follow up quickly, following the departure of Saddam Hussein, there was this desire to name every Baathist a terrorist. Does the administration take the view that any person who served in the Venezuelan military or Venezuelan government is definitionally a narcoterrorist?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â That would be a determination for the president to make. But I can tell you that every single person who we have hit thus far who is in a drug boat carrying narcotics to the United States is a narcoterrorist. Our intelligence has confirmed that, and we stand by it.
Yes, Monica.
Q:Â Thanks, Kingsley. I have two questions, if I may. First question regarding, Sarah Beckstrom, the 20 year old West Virginia National Guardswoman who was shot and killed, was her family offered an Arlington burial and â or will there be plans to do so?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â I know that the White House is working that out, so they might be better to describe what the plans are for that. But this department will, of course, support in any way we can, and have been, you know, in close contact with the family. And the secretary will continue to do so. So, we'll keep you all updated on that.
Q:Â And my second question regarding Iran, there are reports that Iran's been planning on rebuilding its nuclear facilities. Iranian's president has said that it plans to rebuild its nuclear facilities with "greater strength." Can you provide us on any sort of update on where that currently stands?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â I can tell you that Operation Midnight Hammer was an absolute resounding success. Iran's nuclear capabilities were totally obliterated, and experts estimated that, you know, it would take two years for them to recover.
So, thanks to President Trump's bold and swift action, we were able to dismantle that threat to the American people. And I think it was also a historic operation by virtue of the fact that there was a clear end state. We have seen this department get marred down in the Middle East in endless wars and nation building. That has stopped under this president and this secretary. We now have a clear end state, a clear mission set. And Operation Midnight Hammer was a success in dismantling that.
Yes, Laura.
Q:Â Thanks so much for having me here today. Now that the president has started the process of designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign Islamic terrorist organization, will the Department of War still proceed with selling F-15 fighter jets to Qatar? And how will they be able to train Qatari pilots at their airbase in Idaho if Qatar is included in the designation?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Thank you for the question. We take very seriously our partnerships, and we always do thorough evaluations to make sure that they protect our intelligence, our operational security, and that they serve the best interests of the American people.
The US military has a longstanding partnership with Qatar, and we look forward to continuing that partnership at our air base in Idaho. And I would just point out that, for reference, you know, the Mountain Home Idaho Air Base is not just Qataris that train there. There are also Singapore military folks that are there as well.
So, it is a base that we do a lot of foreign military training. And we are â we are thankful for those partnerships and will continue to evaluate all of those to make sure, again, that national security is protected. That is the secretary's utmost priority.
Q:Â But given the fact that the Qatari royal family and Qatar itself is the biggest financier â along with Turkey, of course, the financier of the Muslim Brotherhood, would that relationship and partnership be reevaluated since the designation could possibly include Qatar?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â I'm not tracking any reevaluation at this time. But, again, the secretary really keeps national security top of mind, and this administration does as well. So, we will always make sure that American assets are protected.
Q:Â David Zere, Real America's Voice. It's great to be here. I want to know if you can confirm any additional National Guard deployments under Title 10 in additional cities. And have any governors reached out for help under Title 32 as well? And how do you determine how â National Guard troops, how many are armed?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Great question. So, I don't have anything to announce at this time in terms of new deployments, but I can tell you that our mission set is critical. We are keeping American cities safe all across this country, and we are going to remain committed to that.
These missions aren't going to stop in Chicago, in Los Angeles, in DC. We understand the urgent threat that is facing many of these cities, and the National Guard is proud to step in alongside our law enforcement partners to help with that.
And I can confirm that everybody in DC is now armed, and a lot of our DC National Guardsmen are now also doing joint patrols with members of the police department here in DC. So, their safety is, of course, top of mind, and we will continue to make sure that they're able to do their jobs in keeping all of our great Americans safe across our cities.
Yes, Bradley.
Q:Â We're now 90 days into these Venezuelan drug boat strikes. A growing number of members on Capitol Hill are getting their mettle up with regard to war powers. If they do move forward with some sort of war powers effort, will the administration seek to challenge the validity of the War Powers Resolution or will it comply?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â I wouldn't want to get ahead of the president's decision making process in regard to Venezuela. But I can tell you what I mentioned earlier, is that the department is a planning organization. We are always ready. We have plans for every contingency. And we are going to make sure that, when it comes to narcoterrorism, we're dismantling that throughout the Western Hemisphere. And you've seen that in the success of our strikes.
Q:Â One follow up, if I may. 53 percent in a recent CBS/YouGov poll said they support the strikes on these drug boats, but 70 percent said no military operations within Venezuela. Nevertheless, members of Congress are increasingly calling for regime change there. What's the Department of War's message to those members of Congress?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â The Department of War stands behind the president 100 percent. And we will execute on the orders that our commander in chief gives us, and we're proud to do so. That will continue. And again, any decision that is going to be made about certain military actions in the Western Hemisphere region will be the president's alone.
Q:Â Todd Wood, CDM's Armed Forces Press. There's been a lot of reporting that, yes, it's about drugs in Venezuela, but also possibly about election fraud electronically. Do you have any comment on that? And also, are assets â we've heard that special operations aviation assets are exercising for direct action missions in that region. Can you confirm that at all?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â On your first question, I would refer you to the State Department. I think they would probably be able to give you a better answer on that.
But in terms of your second question, I can tell you that we are conducting training missions and exercises. We've got the Ford aircraft carrier now that is down there in the SOUTHCOM region. And as I said, the department's a planning organization, so a big part of that planning is doing trainings and make sure that we're ready at a moment's notice to protect our interests and to protect the American people from narcoterrorism.
Yes, RC.
Q:Â Has there been a determination at this point from the Army secretary on a Distinguished Service Medal for Specialist Sarah Beckstrom?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â I would refer you to the Army for that. And if I hear anything, I will keep you posted. That would be wonderful news.
Yes, James.
Q:Â Hi, James O'Keefe. Nicholas Turza, a branch chief here at the Pentagon, was caught on a video in the spring stating "Trump is illegitimate." We're going to resist him, "Everything he does." We know there are other people like this that work here. My question is what steps is the Department of War taking to identify and address personnel who are in the self-described resistance movement?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Thank you for the question. That's why the work you all do is so important. This is a big building, and we want to make sure that we have the absolute best people working in it to protect Americans every single day.
We don't take lightly what every single civilian and military person in this building do every single day. They do a lot of hard work, and we want to make sure that they're up to the task and that they're on board and willing to serve our commander in chief, who was elected by the whole of the American people to serve as our president. And we support him 100 percent here at the Department of War. That is our mission. That is our chain of command.
So, personnel is policy. The secretary has said that many times, and I know you all in this room are aware of that as well. That was really the â the crux of his speech at Quantico not long ago to the generals. Our people are our most important asset, so we will continue to make sure that our people are consistently putting America first. That's something we care very much about.
Yes, Alex.
Q:Â Thanks, Kingsley. Are there plans to host or hold more of these regular press briefings? And if so, how frequently?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Absolutely. We'd love to. It'd be great to get everybody in here. I know we have the Christmas holiday coming up, but we'd love to make it a weekly or a biweekly tradition. So, we're excited to have you all in the Pentagon for those.
Q:Â And we will be receiving more readouts of the Secretary of War's meetings, you know, with the president yesterday? Much like the State Department and the White House, that provide readouts and scheduling and things like that, will we be receiving more of those?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Absolutely. As I said in my opening, in the interest of transparency, we want to make sure that you all are informed. That's a commitment we take seriously.
Obviously, we're slightly different than other agencies in that we have national security and operational concerns. But we will tell you as much as we can because we want the American public to know all the incredible things that our warfighters are doing every single day and all the amazing initiatives the secretary is â is pursuing here at the Department of War.
Yes.
Q:Â Thanks, Kingsley. Jordan Conradson from Gateway Pundit. I wanted to ask you, in May the secretary announced a new investigation into the Afghanistan withdrawal under Biden. In light of the recent events with one of these refugees killing a service member, is there any updates on that investigation?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â I don't have any updates for you at this time. But I can tell you that the review that we're doing into the horrendous Afghanistan withdrawal under the previous administration, the Biden administration, is expected to be complete by summer of 2026.
And we are committed to ensuring that this review, unlike others, is much more unredacted, that the American people are able to consume the report for themselves and see what truly happened on that fateful day in that fateful withdrawal. And we owe it to our service members to accomplish that.
The review is being led by our chief Pentagon spokesman and senior advisor to the secretary, Sean Parnell, an Afghan veteran himself. And he takes very seriously the responsibility to getting answers to the American people. So, we are committed to that 100 percent, and in summer 2026 the public will be able to have that report.
Q:Â Thank you, Kingsley. A question for you in regard to the Afghan withdrawal. When we brought all these migrants onto military bases or these refugees onto military bases, we saw a surge in assault immediately after, sexual assault and physical assaults. And then all of a sudden, under the previous administration, we no longer learned of anything that was happening anymore on these military bases.
Does this Pentagon plan on giving us some type of criminal data on that to see what actually happened when they were brought on to these military bases? And do we have any status updates on, like, FBI investigations and such?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â So, for FBI investigations, anything that would be a criminal law enforcement matter would obviously be something to direct to the Department of Justice, as we cannot speak to that from our perch here at the Department of War.
But what I can tell you is that we are aware of a lot of that activity that went on. It's despicable. One is too many, right? And we understand that the Biden administration unfortunately put our troops and our country last in many cases. The secretary is committed to correcting that, and I think that's what you're going to see going forward.
Q:Â Thank you. I wanted to ask about Somalia, which isn't talked about very much. But we have done 101 strikes in Somalia in 2025, and there was another â there was a raid carried out in some caves. And I'm quoting former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who I didn't realize would be here today, but â he asked why we're sending "hundreds of US troops into fortified caves in Somalia to kill, like, five guys." And I think it's a good question as to why the US military is still in Somalia.
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Thank you for the question. So, I can â I can assure you, right, this is an America first Department of War and president, so we aren't conducting forever wars in Somalia. We're not seeking regime change, or, you know, we're not nation building.
But I will say that this department's narrowly scoped, intelligence driven counterterrorism operations in places like Somalia alongside our partners allow us to protect the American homeland from terrorist threats and to protect our interests. So, we will continue to make sure that the American people are kept safe. That's our utmost priority.
But, you know, we're not isolationists. We're also not neocons. We're realists. We understand that threats face the American people every single day. We take that incredibly seriously. But at the same time, we're always going to make sure that we're putting America first.
Q:Â And if I could follow up on Laura's question, actually, but from a different angle, she mentioned that â are we reassessing our relationship with Qatar because of funding of the Muslim Brotherhood. It's been widely documented in mainstream Israeli papers that the Israeli government funded Hamas, which we also designate as a terrorist organization. Are we therefore reassessing our relationship with Israel because of this?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â That would be a better question for the State Department, as they're the ones who have those foreign diplomatic channels.
Yes, Ryan.
Q:Â Thank you, and thank you for doing this press briefing. I wanted to get back to the SOUTHCOM strikes real quick just broadly speaking, not specifically about the September 2nd strike. But broadly speaking, are we doing any kinds of uh post-strike assessments to determine that the intelligence that informed those strikes was accurate? Are we recovering any drugs on board those vessels?
You mentioned each vessel struck is equivalent of 25,000 overdose deaths. So, are we mostly picking up fentanyl or cocaine, or what have you? What's going on with these boats? Like, what's on these boats?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Thank you for the question. So, I can tell you, in terms of your question about intelligence, that our intelligence absolutely confirms who these people are. And I can't get into, right, from this podium how we know that. I don't want to communicate to the enemy the ways in which we're carrying out these strikes.
But I can tell you that, without a shadow of a doubt, every single one of our military and civilian lawyers knows that these individuals are narcoterrorists. We know what they're carrying, where they're coming from and where they're going. And they are trying to bring drugs to our shores that kill and hurt American citizens.
The president takes that very seriously. And when he designated these groups designated terrorist organizations, that opened up a lot for us here at the Department of War. We can engage in ways that we never could before. So, that's all I can say at the moment on that topic, but I can 100 percent affirm that we know without a shadow of a doubt who these narco terrorists are.
Yes, Wade.
Q:Â So, you were speaking earlier about the Washington Post's report concerning the Secretary of War and Admiral Bradley. And my question is, does â does the Department of War plan on pursuing any sort of legal action against the Washington Post? And what consequences will there be for lying to the American people? Because, of course, the implication there was that Pete Hegseth and Admiral Bradley are war criminals. And that â that was the implication, and that's what a lot of people on social media were saying after the fact. So, could you speak to that?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â Yeah, it is frankly disgusting that The Washington Post would publish something that is so insanely false. And we've seen this from the mainstream media before, right? Anonymous sources that are being quoted that probably have no idea what's going on, and the Washington Post actually went so far as to falsely attribute a quote to the secretary of defense â of war, excuse me, that he never said.
That is preposterous, that they would write that and pass that off as true journalism. Thankfully, the New York Times stepped in and corrected the record and let the American people know that what they were publishing was absolutely fake news. So, The Washington Post's I think readers â readership should think twice before reading that outlet again.
It is disgraceful that they call themselves journalists, and we told them as such, right? We get press queries like we do from all of you. We told them this story was completely fake news on Thanksgiving evening with a three hour deadline, and they still published it anyway. It's disgraceful. But thankfully, the American people see through it.
Yes, Jack.
Q:Â Kingsley, does the secretary's office or the Pentagon in general, the department, have a message for Senator Wicker, who as a Republican has now backed this inquiry into Secretary Hegseth, again, accusing him of war crimes? It seems strange to see a Republican going after one of President Trump's own cabinet members.
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â So, I can confirm that the Secretary of War spoke with Senator Wicker, and they had a good conversation where he was able to explain to him a lot of the â the rationale behind these strikes.
And we work closely with all of our partners on the Hill, whether Republican or Democrat, to keep them up to date on what this department is doing in regards to the strike. So, we will continue to do that, and will continue to brief members of HASC and SASC , and we look forward to continuing those relationships.
Q:Â Quick follow up. You mentioned working with partners on the Hill. Another senator on the Hill, the Democrat side, is Senator Mark Kelly. Now, we heard some reporting about a possible investigation into him regarding his status as a retired member of the United States Navy, still on pension and therefore still under the jurisdiction of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. And as such, his membership â you mentioned the seditious six, would that be grounds for possibly bringing him back to active service for an investigation, for NJP , or even a full court martial?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â So, you're correct. The Department of War received serious allegations of misconduct against Senator Mark Kelly. And in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice and other applicable recommendations and regulations, we're doing a thorough review of all of these allegations.
And the Secretary of War has tasked the secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, with doing a thorough review looking into all of these allegations and providing him an update on December 10th. So, we will have more information to come on that.
But I would just add that this despicable video that Mark Kelly participated in with the seditious six was a politically motivated influence operation that was an attempt to undermine the chain of command, to sow distrust and division in our armed forces. That is absolutely ridiculous and it puts our warfighters at risk.
And again, he doubled down on the Sunday shows. I don't know if you all saw him on the Sunday shows, but he basically insinuated that service members who do not defy President Trump's orders could face potential prosecution in the future when Democrats are back in power. He even called our troops and likened them to those of the Russian military. This is totally disgraceful from an elected official, and the department takes it very seriously. And that is why we have launched this review.
Q:Â And just to be clear, so if Secretary Phelan were to recommend court martial, that would be on the board?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â What was the question? Sorry.
Q:Â If Secretary Phelan were to recommend court martial, that could be an option on the table?
KINGSLEY WILSON:Â Â All options are on the table at this moment in time, and we look forward to getting the Secretary of the Navy's review. And the Secretary of War has been very clear in his statements as well, that he takes this extremely seriously and it is unacceptable.
That's all the time I have today. Thank you all so much. I really appreciate you coming out.
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