DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: Hey, good afternoon, everyone. Can you hear me okay?
(UNKNOWN): Yup.
MS. SINGH: Great. All right, well again, good afternoon. Thanks for joining us today. This is Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary. I have a few items to pass along at the top, and then we'll be happy to get into your questions.
This morning, Secretary Austin just took off for his eighth visit to the Indo-Pacific region where he'll visit Papua New Guinea and Australia. Secretary Austin's visit to Papua New Guinea marks the first visit by a secretary of defense to the country. Following this visit, he will then travel to Australia and join Secretary Blinken to meet with their counterparts for the 33rd annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations, and then will meet with U.S. and Australian service members participating in the largest military exercise between the United States and Australia, Talisman Sabre.
Also today, the department announced its 43rd drawdown of equipment from DOD inventory for Ukraine since August, 2021. Today's $400 million commitment in security assistance includes additional air defense munitions, artillery and other ammunition -- other ammunition, armored vehicles, anti-armor weapons and other equipment to help Ukraine counter Russia's ongoing war of aggression.
Also today, the White House announced the nomination of Derek Chollet as the department's Under Secretary for Policy. Mr. Chollet brings extensive experience from his time...
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