Good morning everyone. We will call this subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities to order. The subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities meets today to receive testimony on the department of defense review of the december six, 2019 insider attack on Naval Air Station pensacola, in which three u. S. Service members tragically lost their lives and eight more suffered injuries. It is critical that we learn from the attack, understand the threat, and take the necessary steps to ensure the protection of our service men and women going forward. I would like to welcome our witnesses, mr. Garry reed, who services the director for Defense Intelligence in the office of the under secretary of defense for intelligence, and Lieutenant General charles hooper, who serves as the director of the defensive purity cooperation agency. Thank you both very much for being with us today. We look forward to your testimonies. The National Defense strategy focuses on strengthening alliances and attracting new partners as a key component to more effectively compete with china and russia while countering the continued threat posed by radical terrorist groups and rogue regimes. The nds states that by working together with allies and partners, we amassed the greatest possible strength for the long term advancement of our interests, maintaining favorable balances of power that deter aggression and support the stability that generates growth. I agree with the nds. That is why i have long supported critical Security Cooperation program, such as the International Military training and education, or i met. These programs provide those around the world an opportunity to train and learn from the best in the United States. Ultimately, our partners return to their home countries with a greater appreciation of the u. S. , and impart Lessons Learned on military and how to organize and deploy their own armed forces. These programs improve interrupt realty with key partners and lay the foundation for cooperation that will pay dividends for years to come. Over the past 20 years, more than 1 million International Military students have trained in the United States. Currently, the United States hosts over 5000 students from 1053 countries. Many of the students who come to the u. S. Are the same troops who have fought or will fight alongside americans downrange. Oftentimes, they rise through the ranks to become leaders in their own armed forces, with many becoming chiefs of defend, ministers, or even president s. However, while the benefits of these programs are invaluable, the tragic events at pensacola highlight unacceptable shortfalls in our Security Standards and vetting procedures. The attacker, arrived in the United States in 2017 and harvard anti u. S. Sentiments which he broadcasted on social media. All the while he was able to purchase a firearm, access u. S. Military installations, and ultimately carry out a deadly attack against americans. We must do more to protect our military personnel and ensure the stability of our facilities. Mr. Reed and general hooper. We look forward to your testimonies, explaining the results of the department of defense review and describing what corrective steps are being undertaken. Your findings are critical to find if the department has the resources, support, and authorities it needs. We thank you again for joining us and look forward to the discussion. Before i handed over to senator peters for his opening remarks, i would like to remind everyone that later we will close the hearing in order to discuss sensitive matters of National Security. At that point, we will ask for the public and members of the press to exit the room. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding. The intent is for us to break it 10 30, and we will then at that time clearly room. Senator peters and i will go vote. We do have a vote called for 10 30. And then we will reassemble those that have the authority to stay in the room. We will reassemble. So thank you very much. Ranking member peters . Let me begin by thanking senator ernst for holding this hearing. Unfortunately that attack resulted in the death of three u. S. Service members and the wounding of eight other americans. Our thoughts remain with the victims and their families. We have a responsibility to the victims to learn all that we can from the attack and to implement changes that will mitigate the risk of future occurrences to the greatest extent possible. Following the attack, the department reacted quickly to put in place additional Safety Measures. The provision of training to Foreign Military personnel is comparatively advantage of the United States over near competitors like china and russia. Such training not only helps to improve our upper realty but also to establish its connections with junior officers. They go on to hold positions in their countries in the future. Indeed, the International Military education and training our unmet program is regularly cited by the military and leadership as the most effective and resource efficient tool that we have to build a Strong Military to military relationship with foreign partners. Despite these clear benefits, we must ensure that such training does not risk the safety of u. S. Military personnel, other foreign students, or the installations in which the training is occurring. On january 17th, the department announced new Safety Measures and im looking forward to hearing about those new Safety Measures from the witnesses of today. I want to thank the committee for holding the hearing and i look forward to hearing it. We will start with you mr. Reed. Thank you chairman ernst and Ranking Member peters, senator scott, other members that may be joining us. We appreciate the opportunity to testify today and address your questions regarding our review. The tragic loss of life that occurred of pensacola Naval Air Station on december six, 2019 will never fade from our memories. Three young, vibrant u. S. Navy sailors were tragically taken from us. Their families and their loved ones, they paid the ultimate sacrifice to save others while confronting their attacker. Three of those wounded were First Responders at the Sheriffs Office. They are brave actions to get control of the situation within 15 minutes of the initial gunfire save many more from the heavily armed shooter. We are forever indebted to our fellow comrades and those who took swift action to protect others from what was later determined by the u. S. Department of justice as an act of terrorism. We greatly appreciate the outstanding work of our federal state and local Law Enforcement agencies. It was a Great Partnership between Naval Security forces and the us gambia county Sheriffs Office that allowed such a Swift Response to this attack saving countless lives. In response to the attack, the department of defense immediately implemented a safety and security stand out. The secretary of defense directed my office to take immediate steps into areas. One, to strengthen the vetting process for a military students immediately. And to, to conduct a comprehensive review of the policies and procedures in place for screening foreign students and granting them access to our bases. Im here today to brief you on the results of this work, and as you already mentioned, follow up in a closed session to talk about National Security details. With regard to the first task, we screened all current Saudi Arabian military students immediately using new procedures we had put in place as part of our personal vetting transformation uninitiated, which as you have been previously briefed, we are building towards a continuous vetting process that relies on automated data record searches as a supplement to the investigative process. We put this process into place for the International Military students and it stays in place today. We have screened all of these saudi students and we continue to work through the full population of roughly 5000 current i ms. These automated searches look at Intelligence Community derived information including government data, commercial, data publicly available data. The results on these checks are analyzed by train Security Experts and analysts and used as a basis for determination of further investigative action. In this case, the review produced only a small number of returns that required additional analysis within the department of defense, but none that triggered any remedial action or further investigation by federal authority, relative to the current population. It should be noted, however, that the perpetrator of the attack and several of those associated were not subjected to this review because they were already subjects to the ongoing fbi investigation and they were examined more thoroughly through that process. As you may have been briefed, that resulted ultimately and they are removal from training in the u. S. For misconduct not related to the december 6th attack. Moving on to the policy, review we found that the department of defense is overly reliant on the vetting conducted by the department of state as part of their assessment of eligibility for the visa. There was insufficient information sharing in place between the d. O. D. And department of state in that process. We also found that d. O. D. Programs meant to detect and mitigate events such as the pensacola attack did not cover International Military students, for instance our insider throughout programs. We learned the policies for International Military student possession of firearms varied at the installation level, and that at the federal level, there are ways to bypass firearms restrictions for non immigrant visa holders. We are well underway to implement the six recommendations derived from 21 findings contained in the report. Additional screening and vetting measures are already in effect for all current and future International Military students. The secretary has issued new policies related to access credentials and the possession of privately owned firearms and ammunition for our International Military students. We will build on this with an additional changed that reaches across the entire student population and foreign affiliate landscape within the department of defense. To implement these recommendations ive established these voting insecurity review proven Integration Group cochair with joan hoopers office and defend Security Cooperation leagues. We have four subordinate working groups going through each of these recommendations and finding in detail to implement the full set of proposals and ideas. We will be happy to provide these details in closed session. In closing, it is important to note that this work does not singularly focused on the tragic events that happened in pensacola. Protecting our personnel and military bases is a top priority for us. Across the department, we are actively reinforcing our Insider Threat programs, proving security and strengthening our Counter Intelligence posture. Within the federal government, we are in the midst of the most significant reform of the background of this investigation process and, decades adopting new technology and improving our awareness of personnel security threats. We appreciate all the congressional support we have received over the past several years to provide us with the resources and authorities for the full range of d. O. D. Security, Counter Intelligence, Law Enforcement, and Insider Threat programs. Its this ongoing worth allowed us to quickly adapt the International Military student vetting process. We will continue to modernize this enterprise for all trusted personnel that, live, work and do business with the department. Thank you again, for your interest in these matters. I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much, mystery. General hooper . Thank you. Thank, you madam chairwoman. Ranking member peters. Thank you for convening this hearing today and i acknowledge the president s of chairman scott. The training and educational Foreign Military personnel in the United States is one of our most effective tools to strengthen alliances and attract new partners. As a foreign officer in a career security cooperate, or i have worked alongside many Foreign Military careers whose training establish an appreciation for American Culture and values and has shaped longstanding cooperation and partnership with the United States. All the value of these types of military training and Education Programs cannot be overstated, i want to be absolutely clear that nothing is more important than safeguarding american lives. The incident in pensacola was tragic, and my heart remains with the families of those who we lost and with the people of pensacola for the impact this event has had on their community. My colleague an eye today will be sharing new procedures that the government has put into place to reduce risk and improve the training environment so that all u. S. Foreign military civilian personnel and their families remain safe and have the opportunity to continue benefiting from our Foreign Military training program. The training and education a Foreign Military personnel specifically in the United States is one of our most effective Security Cooperation programs. What makes the u. S. Approach to Security Cooperation different from that of our strategic competitors is that the basis of our approach is not the sale of goods and services, but the enduring relationship that comes along with it. At the heart of any defense relationship is a human relationship that is built and fostered through opportunities for u. S. And Foreign Military students to train alongside americans. When International Students get training in the United States, they are exposed to our values, our culture, and our people. These experiences serve as the Building Blocks for our long strategic and defense relationships. In addition to building lasting relationships, these Training Programs build the capacity of our allies to provide for their own defenses and contribute to shared security challenges. Education in training in the United States is the foundational to building and enduring operable itty with our partners. Since 2000, one over 1 million International Military students have been trained in the United States. We have trained more than 28,000 saudi students over the life of our Security Cooperation relationship. Its worth noting that close to 4000 heads of state, ministers of defense, chiefs of defense, and other general officers received training by the United States. This delivers a lasting strategic return on our Security Cooperation investigations. Recently, our own secretary of defense discussed his personal experience training alongside foreign partners. He attended west point with students from other countries, trained at the kalanick military academy, and trained alongside an officer from the african continent while he was on duty. These experiences have shaped his strong support for Foreign Military training and Education Programs, and inform the departments response to the incident in pensacola. InterNational Military students receive training in the United States under a variety of programs. The department of defense and department of state both have authorities and appropriations to Fund Military training in the United States. Most of this training