These reports are used by desk officers in the Pentagon and troops in the field when they make operational plans and prepare briefings on the situation in the war zone.
On his first day, Mr. Hagel also received briefings on delicate intelligence and operational matters, met with the civilian secretaries of the armed services, visited the Pentagon's Sept. 11 memorial, and spoke by phone to several members of Congress, George Little, the Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement.
The Abbott government has been restricting information about possible asylum seeker arrivals since it was elected in September 2013, first by limiting discussion of anything said to be an "operational matter" then by ditching weekly press briefings in favour of a weekly statement about boat arrivals.
Once onboard, the ship's captain, Lieutenant Commander J.D. Gainey, provided briefings on Hopper's mission and operational capabilities.
The best guess is that he doesn't have much of an operational role at all — perhaps he gets some briefings and sends out some messages privately from time to time.
Ms. Wilson said the review would include closed-door briefings by intelligence officials about the operational details of the program, a review of its legality and discussion about whether changes are needed in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which bans eavesdropping in intelligence investigations without a court order.
These FTE staffing costs would be in addition to operational expenses (in excess of approximately 200,000 NZD) for workshops, briefings, travel, report writing, and public education material.
The last couple of days have been occupied by the requisite meetings and briefings needed to get everyone on the same page regarding scientific goals, operational procedures and safety.
Instead, Mr Morrison has being giving weekly media briefings, which have proved frustrating for journalists with many questions remaining unanswered for "operational reasons".
