Pentagon Chief: ‘I Take Full Responsibility for Secret Hospitalization’

Paresh Jadhav

12 months ago

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin‘s hospitalization remained unknown even to top Pentagon officials for days after being admitted, even until Kathleen Hicks, the deputy secretary who would step into his duties if necessary, learned of it while on vacation in Puerto Rico on Thursday afternoon.

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Such secrecy is “detrimental to our national security system and downright dangerous”

Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi is outraged that the Pentagon kept Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization secret for days, infuriating many Republican members on the Senate Armed Services Committee and leading Republicans alike. Such secrecy is “detrimental to our national security system and downright dangerous” according to Wicker; furthermore it signals that Biden had promised that DOD would become more open under his administration.

Politico reports that senior DOD civilian and military leaders weren’t informed about Austin’s hospitalization until Thursday evening, when only vague details were available. Kathleen Hicks assumed some of Austin’s duties for the remainder of the week before going public with its announcement late Friday night – just moments before Hicks issued her own statement to Congress and media. This lack of transparency is particularly concerning given heightened tensions in the Middle East as the US considers options to strike Houthi ships attacking Israeli vessels in Red Sea.

Lloyd Austin hospitalization on Jan

At the helm of America’s military, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin may not have been fully informed of all of the details surrounding his days-long hospitalization on Jan. 1 that was only revealed publicly Friday. Austin’s failure to inform senior administration officials raised eyebrows, further embarrassing an administration that prides itself on professionalism, transparency, and teamwork.

Pentagon aides reported Saturday that many top civilian and military leaders at DOD were unaware of Secretary McMaster’s hospitalization until Friday, when DOD made it public. Congress committee leadership were informed about 15 minutes prior to public announcement; while Kathleen Hicks, DOD’s deputy secretary had to assume some duties for him throughout his absence.

The Department of Defense misstep has caused outrage within both the Biden administration and Congress, who say they are baffled and perplexed as to why it has taken DOD so long to disclose what has occurred with their leader. One aide described this incident as being so out-of-character for DOD.”

Lloyd Austin’s aide failed

The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s aide failed to inform either the White House or Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks about his hospitalization on January 1 due to her illness, reportedly the flu. That explanation hasn’t satisfied some; hospitalization opacity has caused frustration across both administrations as well as Congress. Hospital secrets include quality of care, billing irregularities and medication errors – these issues affect patients as well as their families; NPR is investigating whether health department officials are sharing detailed county-level hospital reports with public.

Austin’s hospitalization

Secret hospitalizations can have adverse impacts on quality of care, medication errors and billing processes; as well as being stressful and embarrassing to both patients and their families.

Top Pentagon and White House officials are struggling to explain why Austin’s illness wasn’t publicly disclosed for days despite numerous requests by Biden administration officials. This lack of disclosure has caused considerable dismay across their administration.

White House officials were only informed of Austin’s hospitalization on Thursday, according to US official. Some senior Pentagon service leaders weren’t made aware until Friday evening, when the Department made public news of his hospitalization. On that same day, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks took on some of Austin’s operational responsibilities while still hospitalized despite her being away on vacation in Puerto Rico – her ability being complicated by ongoing crises in Middle East and Ukraine that required her presence at any moment to respond swiftly and decisively when responding urgently when faced with national security threats that demanded her immediate attention when responding to threats to national security threats at any moment’s notice requiring her presence at all times for instantaneous response when needed by national security threats to national security threats at home or abroad.