Published January 22, 2024
This will be defence secretary’s first public engagement after hushed up hospital admission on 1 Jan
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, who is currently recovering from complications from prostate cancer treatment, is set to attend a meeting on Ukraine’s military needs virtually from his house on Tuesday, the Pentagon said.
This will be Mr Lloyd’s first public engagement after his hushed up hospital admission on 1 January after complications, including a urinary tract infection, shocking the White House. The hospital admission also sparked criticism among US lawmakers over failure to inform president Joe Biden.
He was admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Maryland on 22 December to treat prostate cancer.
The secret hospitalisation of the top military official was not revealed until 5 January and the Pentagon did not clarify why Mr Lloyd was being hospitalised until 9 January. He was discharged from the hospital 24 days after his secret surgery, according to the Department of Defence.
In a statement on 15 January, Mr Austin said he will continue to work from home and he’s “eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon”.
“I’m grateful for the excellent care I received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and want to thank the outstanding doctors and nursing staff for their professionalism and superb support,” Mr Austin said. “I also am thankful and appreciative for all the well wishes I received for a speedy recovery.”
Mr Austin’s treatment made headlines after it was revealed neither Mr Biden nor Mr Austin’s deputy secretary Kathleen Hicks knew about the surgery or subsequent intensive care admission until 4 January. Mr Austin also kept his cancer diagnosis a secret from Mr Biden and senior officials until 9 January.
The White House is battling stiff resistance on emergency funding for Ukraine from Republicans in Congress who have used the new security policies along the US-Mexico border as a bargaining chip.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said that while the US was committed to Ukraine, lawmakers needed to pass more funding for Kyiv as it battles Russian forces.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.independent.co.uk
RELATED: Directive Shows Why White House Should Have Known SecDef Austin’s Whereabouts
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – NOVEMBER 22: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting at the Pentagon on November 22, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia. Austin gave opening remarks to participating members including foreign ministers and secretary of states. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Published January 22, 2024
The Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff explicitly laid out longstanding procedures for the White House to know the location of the secretary of defense and the nation’s other military leaders at all times.
It’s a policy that apparently wasn’t followed when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was absent during his hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, D.C., for three days without President Joe Biden knowing he was sidelined.
The directive from the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is titled “Key Personnel Location Reports to the National Military Command Center,” or NMCC. The directive was issued Aug. 23, 2016, toward the end of the Obama administration, and was current as of Dec. 15, 2021, during the first year of the Biden administration.
“The NMCC maintains access to continuous location data (e.g., normal duty location or trip itinerary) on the following,” the directive says, referencing first, “Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Service, and Combatant Command key personnel as reported by the principals or their representatives: (1) Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) (a) Secretary of Defense.”
The directive goes on to list other Defense Department and military officials.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.dailysignal.com
RELATED:SecDef Lloyd Austin Finally Leaves the Hospital but the Stench of His Deception Lingers
Published January 15, 2024
Two weeks after an ambulance ride and admission to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s intensive care unit, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has been released. He will be “working from home” as he recovers. There is no prognosis on when he will return to the office.
This whole episode began at the Defense Department press conference on Friday, January 5, when a written statement was released revealing that Austin was in the hospital, having been admitted on New Year’s Day.
BACKGROUND:
Joint Chiefs Chairman Knew Austin Was Hospitalized and Didn’t Tell the White House or the Service Chiefs
White House Says SecDef Austin’s Job Is Not in Danger and That’s a Problem
NEW UPDATED UPDATE: SecDef Austin Did Not Tell Biden’s National Security Adviser He Was in the ICU
UPDATE: Congress Not Told SecDef Austin Was in the ICU and His Deputy on Vacation for the Last Week
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Has Been Hospitalized for a Week and Just Told Congress Today
The AP provides a very detailed timeline at Timeline of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization.
Once the hospitalization was announced, Austin and his personal staff continued to be evasive about the reason. They stuck to the “compliations” from an “elective medical procedure” excuse until January 9 when they admitted Austin had undergone surgery for prostate cancer on December 22.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.redstate.com
