Office of the Secretary of Defense: 022_SASC_Transcript_2023

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1 What can you tell us that is going on behind the scenes
2 from your perspective, and in the after action assessment
3 process is there awareness that there is a need to operate
4 differently in the future and a commitment to doing so?
5 Mr. Kirkpatrick: When the -- when the objects were
6 first detected I got called by Joint Staff leadership to
7 come in late one night to review events as they were
8 unfolding and to give them an assessment based on what we
9 knew at that time.
10 I did that. I worked with the director of Joint Staff,
11 the J2 and the J3 that night and over the couple of
12 following days on what are the types of things that we are
13 tracking from an unidentified object perspective, what
14 databases do we use those sorts of things for known objects,
15 known tracking.
16 Beyond that, the response I would have to -- I would
17 have to refer you back to the White House for the decision
18 on how they did the response. We did not play a role in
19 what you would respond other than that initial advice on
20 what we are seeing and how we are seeing it.
21 Senator Gillibrand: Thank you.
22 Senator Ernst?
23 Senator Ernst: Thank you, Madam Chair.
24 Dr. Kirkpatrick, I know that your office has gotten a
25 lot of attention recently and, of course, any new agency
Page determined to be Unclassified
Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO
IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C)
Date: 2/6/2025
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