The chief of the Army was speaking Tuesday morning at an event looking at the future operational environment when the livestream went dark.
Just before, Gen. Mark Milley could be heard saying that he had asked for the livestream to be cut and asking if that was happening.
Only half an hour prior, Milley himself tweeted to tell his followers to “watch live” shortly after 9 a.m. when the event started.
“There was a last minute change to keep GEN Milley’s remarks off the record,” said Lt. Col. Cathy Wilkinson, Milley’s spokeswoman. “I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.”
She added that she doesn’t have a summary of the speech.
#MadSci16, Watch Live at https://t.co/x8JAg58Emg #USArmy #TRADOC https://t.co/Lm1jIszs3S
— GEN Mark A. Milley (@ArmyChiefStaff) August 9, 2016
The Mad Scientist Initiative event, organized by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, looks at the future of the Army, including technology developments and future threats. This session focused on the strategic security environment in 2025 and beyond.
In a chat box alongside the event livestream where viewers expressed outrage, event organizers said that Milley’s remarks were not classified and that notes on his comments would be available in a publicly released report that will be completed 45 days from now.
“Media wasn’t allowed to attend and now we can’t hear the chief? Not sure why speaking frankly can’t be open to the public,” one viewer said in the chat box.
“Yes, what was the point? And why were the general public notified only to be excluded?” another said.
