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 servicemen and women going forward. I would like to welcome our witnesses, mr. Gary reid, who serves as the director for Defense Intelligence in the office of the under secretary for Defense Intelligence, and Lieutenant GeneralCharles Hooper who serves as the director of the Defense Security cooperation agency. And thank you both very much for being with us today, and 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 amass the greatest possible strength for the longterm 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 programs such as the International Military training and education or imet, these programs provide our partners from around the world an opportunity to train and learn from the best here in the United States. Ultimately, our partners return to their home countries with a greater appreciation of the u. S. And in part Lessons Learned on how to better organize and employ their own armed forces. These programs improve our in r interoperatability, for key partners and lay the foundation for cooperation that will pay dividends for years to come. Over the past 20 years, 1 Million Students have trained in the United States. Currently the United States hosts over 5,000 students from 153 countries. Many of the students who come to the u. S. Are the same troops who have fought or will fight alongside americans down range. Oftentimes they rise through the ranks and become leaders in their own armed forces. With many becomes chiefs of defense, 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 ta s standards and vetting procedures. The attacker, shah heed al shah ram arrived in the United States in twelve, and harbored antiu. S. Sentiments which he broadcast on social media. All the while he was able to purchase a firearm, access u. S. Military insulations and ultimately carry out a deadly attack against americans. We must do more to protect our military personnel and ensure the security of our facilities. Mr. Reid and general hooper, we look forward to your testimonies explaining the results of the department of defense review and explaining the results of the Department Defense review and describing what steps are being undertaken. Your findings are critical to ensure our department has the resources, the support, and the authority it needs. Thank you, again, for joining us and i look forward to the discussion. Before i hand it 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 at 10 30. And we will, then, at that time, clear the 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. Well, let me begin let me begin by thanking senator ernst for holding this earring hearin changes made by the department of defense in response to the december 6th, 2019, attack at naval station pensacola that unfortunately and tragically resulted in the death of three Service Members and wounding of eight other americans. A 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 a comparative advantage of the United States over peer competitors like china and russia. So its training not only helps to improve interoperability but also helps to establish connections with Junior Officers that then go on to hold significant leadership positions in their home countries in the future. Indeed, the military education and training is regularly cited by our military and diplomatic leadership as the most effective and resourceefficient tool that we have to build a Strong 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 today. I want to thank the chair, once again, for holding hthis hearin and i look forward to the constitution. Thank you. So we will go ahead with our witness opening statements. And well start with you, mr. Reid. 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 of International Military student screening and vetting procedures. The tragic loss of life that occurred at Pensacola Naval air station on december 6th, 2019, will never fade from our memories. Three young and vibrant navy sailors, caleb watson, and airman mohatham were tragically taken from us, their families, and their loved ones. Paying the ultimate sacrifice to save others while heroically confronting their attacker. Three of the eight wounded were First Responders from the Naval Security forces in the Escambia CountySheriffs Office. Their brave action to get control within 15 minutes of the initial gunfire. We are further indebted to our fallen comrades and 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 the Great Partnership between pensacola and the escambi county Sheriffs Office that enabled such a swift attack saving countless lives. The department of defense immediately implemented a safety and security standdown. The secretary of defense directed my office to take immediate steps. One, to strengthen the vetting process for International Students immediately. And, two, 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, madam chair, follow up in a closed session to talk about some of the National Security details. With regard to the first task, we screened all current Saudi Arabian military students immediately using new procedures that we had recently put in place as part of our personal vetting Transformation Initiative 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 screened all of the saudi students, and continue to work through the full population of roughly 5,000 current ims. These automated searches look at Intelligence Community derived datasets that include government data, commercial data, and publicly available data. The results of these checks are analyzed by trained Security Experts and analysts. And used as a basis for determination if further investigative action could be required. 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 authorities, relative to the count current population. It should be noted, however, that the perpetrator of the attack and several of those associated with the perpetrator were not subject to this review because they were already subjects to the ongoing fbi investigation. And they were examined more thoroughly through that process. And as you may have been briefed, that resulted, ultimately, in the removal of 21 Saudi Arabian military officers from training in the u. S. For misconduct. However, not related to the december 6th attack. Moving onto the policy review, we found that the department of defense has been overly reliant on the vetting conducted by the department of state as part of their assessment of eligibility for the visa. And that there is insufficient information sharing in place between dod and the department of state in that process. We, also, found that dod programs, meant to detect and mitigate events such as the pensacola attack, did not cover International Military students. For instance, our insiderthreat programs. We learned that 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 nonimmigrant 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 privatelyowned firearms and ammunition for our International Military students. We will build on this with additional changes that reach across the entire student populations and foreign affiliate landscape within the department of defense. To implement these recommendations, i have established a vetting and security review improvement integration group, cochaired with general hoopers office and the Defense Security cooperation agency. We have four subordinate working groups going through each of these recommendations and findings in detail to implement the full set of proposals and ideas. Well be happy to provide you these details in the closed session. In closing, it is important to note that this work is not singularly focused on the tragic events that occurred at pensacola. Protecting our personnel at our military bases is a top priority for secretary esper. Across the department, we are actively reinforcing our Insider Threat programs, improving base security, and strengthening our counterintelligence posture. We are in the midst of the most significant reform process in decades. And improving our awareness of personal security threats. We appreciate all the congressional support we have received over the past several years to provide us the resources and authorities for the full range of dod security, counterintelligence, Law Enforcement, and Insider Threat programs. It is this ongoing work that enabled 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 on department of defense installations around the world. Thank you, again, for your interest in these matters and i look forward to your questions. Thank you you very much, mr. Reid. General hooper. Thank you. Thank you, madam chairwoman, Ranking Member peters, for convening this hearing today. And i acknowledge the presence of senator scott, ladies and gentlemen. The training and education of Foreign Military personnel in the United States is one of our most effective tools to strengthen alliances and attract new partners. As a foreign, i have worked with many who has shaped longstanding cooperation and partnership with the United States. While the value of these types of military training and Education Programs cannot be overstated, i want to know 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 we lost and with the people of pensacola for the impact this event has had on their community. My colleague and i, today, will be sharing new procedures the u. S. 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 benefitting from our Foreign MilitaryTraining Programs. The training and education of Foreign Military personnel, alongside u. S. Forces, and specifically in the United States, is one of our most effective Security Cooperation tools. What makes the u. S. Approach to Security Cooperation different from that of our strategic competitors is that the basis of our approach isnt 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 one another. One International Military students attend training and education in the United States, they are exposed to our values, our culture, and our people. These experiences serve as the Building Blocks for our longterm strategic and defense relationships. In addition to building lasting relationships, these Training Programs build the capacity of our allies and partners to provide for ntheir own defense and contribute to shared security challenges. Education and training in the United States is the foundational is foundational to building and enduring interoperability with our partners and allies. Since the year 2000, 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. It is worth noting that close to 4,000 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 investments. 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 Helenic Military Academy and trained alongside an officer from the african continent while he was on active duty. These experiences shaped his strong support for Foreign Military and Education Training programs and informed the departments response to the incident in pensacola. International military students can receive training and education in the United States under a variety of programs. The department of defense and the department of state, both, have authorities and appro