the uss sampson is expected to arrive at the debris field later today. airasia confirms the debris field is that of the missing jet. the question is now that the debris has been found, the first pieces of it how can the u.s. be of help? we want to bring in pentagon press secretary rear admiral john kishy. thank you so much for being with us. to that question now that this debris has been found, what do you see the u.s. role to be? well first let me express on behalf of all the men and women of the defense department our deepest condolences to those affected by this terrible tragedy. we know there are hundreds of families going through just an unspeakable ordeal our hearts go out to them. as we ve made clear, we re ready to help in any way that we can. we ve assisted in these types of searches before unfortunately, so we have experience in this. we have a destroyer, the uss sampson is on station now as of this morning and she will be prepared to assist in any of the
jim hall deborah hersman, we thank you for your time and expertise, thank you for joining us here on new day. we know the u.s. navy has been called in to help in the crash of airasia flight 8501. what s the role they ll play? we ll talk live with pentagon press secretary rear admiral john kirby, next. sir, we re going to need you on the runway. (vo) theraflu starts to get to work in your body in just 5 minutes. (vo) theraflu breaks you free from your worst cold and flu symptoms. (vo) theraflu. serious power.
the navy is very competent in search-and-rescue operations. have you talked with the uss sampson over the last 24 hours? i ve not communicated directly with the sampson, however i ve been in touch with our operations center at pentagon who has been in touch with the pacific fleet ohio headquarters we know she s on station now. i don t know that she s participated in any recovery efforts, but she s standing by and ready, as well as her whole crew to do that. the sampson on site. admiral john kirby, always great to have you with us. search crews have now recovered debris from flight airasia 8501. several bodies of those on board have been recovered as well. there are still many questions surrounding the incident. our experts are going to tackle some of your questions, straight ahead.
the number three house republican. today new york city mayor bill de blasio will meet with several police union leaders. the move comes a day after de blasio was booed and heckled while addressing recruits at a police graduation ceremony. police union leaders have blamed de blasio for the city s volatile climate following weeks of protests in the eric garner case and the execution of two nypd officers in brooklyn. the u.s. has conducted an air strike in somalia, targeting a senior leader of the terror group al shabab. we don t know if the strike was successful it was carried out by an unmanned aircraft monday. the pentagon s press secretary says there do not appear to be civilian casualties. the strike comes after somali military officers captured a top al shabab military commander over the weekend. we re watching news conference that s happening
little. he s on a trip to asia with the defense secretary. more on that trip in a minute. allen, who is married, denied any wrongdoing and, for now, remains commander in afghanistan as the investigation continues. defense secretary leon panetta was informed by the pentagon s general counsel on sunday of this fbi investigation into general allen. panetta turned the matter over to the pentagon s inspector general and then told the white house that same day. the u.s. official tells nbc news that the chairman of the joint chiefs, general martin dempsey, called general allen monday night to inform him of the defense department investigation. this morning the national security council spokesperson tommy vietor said the president has put on hold his nomination pending the investigation of all allen. general allen continues to lead as a he has so ably done for