DOD OFFICIAL SAYS U.S.-INDIA DEFENSE INDUSTRY COLLABORATION MOVES AHEAD

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Carter: U.S.-India Defense Collaboration Moves to Next Level
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2013 - Deputy Secretary Ash Carter delivered a groundbreaking collaborative defense proposal to Indian military officials during his recent trip there and is committed to continuing to put new ideas on the table, he told an audience today at the Center for American Progress.

Carter traveled to India, Afghanistan and Pakistan on a 7-day trip that began Sept. 12, but at this event he focused on what he called the strong and rapidly growing defense partnership between the United States and India.

"In the United States, with U.S. industry ... we identified and put forward to the Indians a truly groundbreaking entirely new collaborative proposal to co-develop with India a next-generation Javelin antitank capability," Carter said.

The proposal addresses a key military requirement for both armies and is an unprecedented offer the United States has made unique to India, the deputy secretary added.

During the trip, Carter delivered a second round of potential capability areas of cooperation proposed by U.S. industry. And in India, Carter said he made sure to hear from senior Indian industry representatives about their ideas for increasing private-sector partnerships.

The push to reach the next level of defense collaboration and co-development with India comes after 15 months of effort between the countries to overcome bureaucratic obstacles to such work, Carter said.

The underlying program, called the Defense Trade Initiative, was devised by former Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, and Menon and Carter used DTI to find ways to take the nations' defense cooperation to the next level.

Among the advances made possible through DTI, Carter said, involved export controls.

"We have demonstrated repeatedly that we can release sensitive technology to India," Carter said.

"We've adapted our system in ways that will speed our release process for India," he added, "especially in the Department of Defense, recognizing that for ... all partners this process is subject to case-by-case review and there will always be some technologies that we will keep to ourselves."

Areas of progress include technology transfer, licensing agreements, license exceptions, end-use monitoring and others.

"We've also taken unprecedented steps to identify forward-leaning proposals by industry, from industry on both sides for defense items to be co-produced and -- the true measure of our common goal -- co-developed by the U.S. and India," Carter said.

These include a maritime helicopter, a naval gun, a surface-to-air missile system and a scatterable antitank system, all of which the deputy secretary discussed with Indian officials during his recent visit, he said.

"In each instance," Carter noted, "the United States has fast-tracked these projects to ensure that our internal processes are ready to go as soon as the Indian government wants to move forward."

U.S. and Indian research and development experts also play a critical role in areas that include the cognitive sciences and others in which DOD would incentivize increased cooperation by U.S. defense researchers, the deputy secretary said.

"I let the Indian government know last week that I will be incentivizing U.S. researchers who seek and find Indian partners in key research areas we identified previously," he added. "We'll ensure that those innovative projects receive priority funding. This is an approach we've only ever taken with the United Kingdom and Australia, and now India will join that company."

When Carter visited India a year ago, he visited the Lockheed Tata plant in Hyderabad, which assembles parts for the C-130J cargo plane, a partnership between an American company and an Indian company, he said.

"This was a partnership that was encouraged and applauded by the U.S. and Indian governments but was not founded by either one," Carter added.

"This year I had the opportunity to travel to Hindon Air Force Station, where the Indian Air Force operates a growing number of C-130Js and also C-17s," he said.

While he was there, the deputy secretary was briefed by an Indian Air Force pilot who landed and took off in a C-130J in the Himalayas from an altitude well above 16,000 feet, "certainly a record and quite an accomplishment," Carter said.

"We're excited to have the next tranche of six C-130Js included in a pipeline of several major defense sales currently under consideration by the Indian government," he added. "Our goal is for India to have all the capabilities it needs to meet its security requirements and to be a key partner in that effort."

The Defense Department also invests in joint exercises, Carter said, because the U.S. and Indian militaries remain the most visible cooperative efforts between the two nations and serve as a cornerstone of the defense cooperative relationship.

Such exercises allow the U.S. and Indian militaries exposure to one another's tactics, techniques and procedures, he said.

"They also allow Indian troops access to U.S. troops, making operating together possible if it proves necessary to further U.S. and Indian interests and, perhaps most importantly, helping foster person-to-person ties in the defense area that are so important to our two countries in other areas," Carter observed.

In May, he said, 200 Indian Army soldiers trained with members of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, [N.C.,] where they jointly conducted various scenarios related to a U.N. peacekeeping mission, from humanitarian assistance to air assault.

"I hear Indian soldiers were even able to shoot off a Javelin or two," the deputy secretary added. "And one day soon I'm confident that we'll co-develop these weapons."

As for the United States and India, Carter said, "we're each big, complicated democracies. We move slowly, but over the long run we also move surely. And that to me is the trajectory for us and India in the defense area."

DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER TAKES NOTE OF PROGRESS IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Carter Meets With Afghan Officials, Notes Progress
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2013 - Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter has wrapped up a three-day visit to Afghanistan, where he met with senior International Security Assistance Force, coalition and Afghan officials.
In a statement summarizing the visit, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said Carter met in the Afghan capital of Kabul with Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, Interior Minister Umar Daudzai and members of the Afghan Parliament to stress the importance of a timely conclusion to the bilateral security agreement that will spell out the terms of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan once the current mission ends there in December 2014.
Carter also stressed the importance of timely, free and fair elections in Afghanistan next year, the press secretary added.

In addition, he said, the deputy secretary noted the "tremendous progress" made by the Afghan national security forces this fighting season, the first in which they've assumed full lead.

Carter also met with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham and ISAF Commander Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. to discuss progress made on concluding the bilateral security agreement, supporting the Afghan forces and setting conditions for a stable and secure Afghanistan in 2015 and beyond, Little said.

The deputy secretary also visited ISAF and Afghan forces in Bastion, Shindand, Gardez and Ghazni to commend them on their ongoing efforts and successes, the press secretary said, and he thanked Polish forces at Ghazni and the 203rd Afghan National Army Corps at Gardez.

He also visited Herat to pay tribute to the men and women affected by the Sept. 13 attack on the U.S. consulate there, and to praise Afghan and ISAF forces for their quick and decisive action, Little said.

READOUT: U.S. DEPUTY SECRETARY CARTER'S MEETING WITH NORWAY'S DEFENSE STATE SECRETARY THORSHAUG

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Readout of Deputy Secretary Carter's Meeting with Norway's Ministry of Defense State Secretary Eirik Thorshaug

           Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:



           "Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Norwegian Ministry of Defense State Secretary Eirik Thorshaug met today at the Pentagon.



            The two leaders exchanged views about the on-going violence in Syria. Deputy Secretary Carter reiterated the need for the international community to respond to the chemical weapon attacks that claimed innocent lives in Syria. They agreed on the importance of the norms surrounding the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons, and on the need for close consultation in the days ahead.



           "Deputy Secretary Carter and State Secretary Thorshaug also discussed the positive developments in Afghanistan and the future of NATO post-2014. The two leaders underscored the need for enhanced focus on maintaining interoperability and readiness through training and exercises in the both the near and long term.



           "The two leaders highlighted the close cooperation between the United States and Norway exemplified by current cooperation on the F-16 and the planned Norwegian procurement of the F-35. Deputy Secretary Carter and State Secretary Thorshaug also reaffirmed the continued cooperation in the Arctic as access and activity in the region increases.

READOUT OF DEPUTY SECRETARY CARTER'S MEETING WITH JAPANESE PARLIAMENTARY SENIOR VICE MINISTER ETO

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
Readout of Deputy Secretary Carter's Meeting with Japanese Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister Eto

           Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:

           Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter hosted Japanese Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister of Defense Akinori Eto today at the Pentagon. 

           Deputy Secretary Carter welcomed Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister Eto and expressed admiration for the strong work the United States and Japan have accomplished together in support of the bilateral Alliance.  Deputy Secretary Carter emphasized the steadfast nature of the U.S. commitment to the Asia-Pacific rebalance, and noted the significant role of the U.S.-Japan Alliance in maintaining regional security and stability.  The two leaders discussed the strategic environment and the possibility of a review of the 1997 U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines in order to meet emerging opportunities and challenges. They agreed that strengthening cooperation with other regional partners, including the Republic of Korea, is an important element of promoting peace and stability.

           Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister Eto updated Deputy Secretary Carter on the status of Japan's National Defense Program Guidelines, including the content of the interim report released on July 26.  Deputy Secretary Carter and Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister Eto agreed to make steady progress on the realignment of U.S. Forces Japan, including the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko and of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.  They also discussed progress being made with respect to the Joint Strike Fighter program. The two leaders agreed to stay in close touch to build upon the strong bilateral relationship between their two countries.

DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER'S REMARKS AT CAMP HUMPHREYS

FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Presenter: Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter and Commanding General, 8th U.S. Army, Lt. Gen. Johnson
Deputy Secretary Carter Delivers Remarks to Troops at Camp Humphreys

LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOHN D. JOHNSON: OK, take your seats. How's everybody doing?

OK. We have the great privilege today to have our Deputy Secretary of Defense with us to talk to us, Dr. Ashton Carter.

I've got just three things to tell you about him real quick before we begin.

Number one, as the Deputy Secretary of Defense, you know that he's the number two guy in charge of our military.

Number two, he's from Pennsylvania. Anybody out there from Pennsylvania?

AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!

LT. GEN. JOHNSON: That's what I thought, Sir.

All right, number three, as a former assistant to the SecDef -- previous SecDef, Dr. Perry -- he's been at Pyongyang, North Korea. Hoo-ah?

AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah!

LT. GEN. JOHNSON: And I guess there's a fourth one. The fourth one is, in his previous job as the undersecretary, he was fighting for us the whole way. So MRAPs, UAVs, other ISR platforms, he's responsible for getting that for us in the fight.

So a big Humphreys welcome to our Deputy Secretary of Defense, hoo-ah.

AUDIENCE: Hoo-ah! (Applause.)

DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASHTON B. CARTER: OK. Well, thank you. Thanks very much, General Johnson.

General Thurman's here. He and I have spent the day together.

It's terrific to be here with you. I'll be really brief, and then I look forward to meeting each and every one of you and giving you a coin and just getting a chance to see your face.

I just want to -- the main thing I want to say to each and every one of you, from the Secretary of Defense, Secretary Panetta, from me, from the entire leadership of the Department is: Thank you. Thanks for what you're doing out here. Means an enormous amount to our country. Means an enormous amount to this region. Means an enormous amount to the world.

And so I want you to go home tonight after this and talk to whomever's close to you, a parent, kids, spouse, good friend, whatever, and say that, "Today I was thanked for what I do." And please do that for me.

And what you've got to understand is that we kind of share something together, I feel, and I'm sure you feel -- each and every one of you feels as well, which is it's a great feeling to wake up every morning and be part of something that's bigger than yourself. And that's what we do.

And in fact it's even bigger than the great nation that we all serve, because the world still looks to our country, to the United States for much of its security. We provide that. And that's a big deal.

People take it for granted. You look out, you know, around here, the community around here. You go to any American community and people are waking up every morning and they're living their lives and they're raising their families and they're taking care of their parents and they're going to school and they're going to work and they're doing all these things.

And when you then look at -- turn on your television and look at Syria or someplace where there is no security, you realize how fortunate it is to have security. You provide that to people.

I always say security is like oxygen. If you -- when you have it, you don't pay any attention to it. But when you don't have it, it's all you think about.

So it is the most important thing to this world and to our societies, and you deliver that. And believe me, if they didn't have it, that's all they'd think about. And sometimes you -- you know, we all say to ourselves, "Geez, we feel underappreciated. We feel taken for granted."

We're not. I think most people understand that we provide to them the most basic thing you can have in life, without which none of the other things that are -- that make life worth living are possible.

So, you do that. Go home and tell your family you were thanked today by the leadership of the Department for what you do.

You, right here, right now, in this part of the world, are at the fulcrum of the strategic change that we in the United States are making, that the rest of the world is experiencing, from a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan -- which is not over yet, because we're still fighting hard in Afghanistan and we will be for another few years -- but you can see that that era is coming to an end.

And so we are trying to turn the energies of this great Department and its capabilities as the greatest military on Earth, to the challenges that will define our future and the world's future in security.

Many of those challenges are out here. So when the President and the Secretary of Defense asked all of us -- General Thurman was right in the middle of this last winter -- asked all of us in the senior leadership to look up from the foxhole, so to speak, of Iraq and Afghanistan that we have been in and we have been amazingly successful at and amazingly proficient at, but look up, look beyond that and say, "What should we be doing next?"

And when you do that, the first thing you see is this part of the world because of its central importance to the world going forward.

So when the president and everybody talks about rebalancing the effort of our military towards this region, that's what they're talking about. So you'll see that reflected in everything we do.

And so for you and your careers, this is a very exciting place to be at this time in our history. You're going to be right at the center of things.

And within the region as a whole, nothing is more central than Korea, because you have a mission that there's nothing abstract about it, there's nothing -- requires a lot of imagination. All you have to do is look north.

It was remarked that I've been there. And if you haven't had the pleasure of being there, going there reminds you why you're here.

And you have to be ready every day. You are ready every day. You are next to our units that are actually in Afghanistan at this moment. You, like them, have to be at the highest state of readiness.

That's why you're getting great new facilities, the fanciest base in the Army. That's why you have the newest and best equipment. Because your proficiency, your readiness, your capability has to be absolutely tip-top for you to do what you do.

And I know you do that. And that's the great thing about our military. You not only do that, but as the Japanese learned in the earthquake relief, we have not only the best fighting military in the world, but we have the most humane and skilled at dealing with people and foreign societies.

And I know you do that every day. You're out there in the society and so forth and you conduct yourselves with decency and dignity and treat other people with -- with dignity.

And that's amazingly important. You don't find that everywhere around the world. And in the American military you find it. You should be very proud of that, as proud of that as you are proud of your combat capabilities.

So you have much to be proud of. You have much to feel good about when you wake up every morning. And you should. And I just wanted you to know that and to reflect on that a little bit and go home and tell your family about it.

But the main message from Secretary Panetta and all of us on down is: Thank you for what you're doing.

Now, come on up and we'll chat a little bit. (Applause.)