The Pentagon reported that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized in Washington D.C. on Monday after complications arose from elective surgery.
The Pentagon’s press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Pentagon, said that Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III had been admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the evening of Jan. 1 for complications after a recent elective procedure.
Ryder said that “he is recovering well, and expects to resume full duty today.”
Ryder stated that Austin was admitted to the hospital after surgery but not immediately afterward.
On Friday, the news was released to the media about Austin who had been in hospital since Monday.
Ryder stated that “medical privacy and personal issues” were the reason why the hospitalization wasn’t reported to the media.
Ryder explained that the situation was evolving and they had to take into account a variety of factors, including privacy issues for both medical professionals and individuals. We are now in the position to provide you with an update.
The date or type of surgery was not immediately known.
On Friday evening, the Pentagon Press Association (PPA), a nonprofit organization that represents journalists who cover the Pentagon and its activities, sent an official letter to Secretary Austin’s staff.
The letter was sent to Ryder, and to Chris Meagher (assistant to the Secretary for Defense Public Affairs), and expressed the “significant concern” of the organizations about the Defense Department delaying the disclosure of Austin’s hospitalization.
The letter stated: “We write to express our serious concerns over the Defense Department failing to inform the public and media about Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization.” The Pentagon’s failure to notify the public and media about Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization is outrageous.
The organization stated that the Defense Department’s disclosure “falls well below the normal disclosure standard” when senior administration officials have surgery.
The letter stated that “it falls far below the usual disclosure standards which are customary by federal departments when senior officers undergo medical procedures or are temporarily incapacitated.”
The board argued the American public should be informed when their leaders become incapacitated.
The public has the right to know when U.S. The letter stated that Cabinet members should be informed when they are hospitalized or under anesthesia, or if duties are assigned as a result of medical procedures. The letter said that this practice has continued even to the level of the president. As the country’s top military leader, Secretary Austin does not have a right to privacy.
The letter concluded, “At a moment when the United States is facing increasing threats against its military personnel in the Middle East as well as playing a key role in national security in wars in Israel or Ukraine, the American people need to know about the health and decision-making abilities of the top defense leader.”
Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense, has filled in for the Deputy Secretary while she was on leave.
Ryder stated that the deputy secretary was always ready to exercise and act in the place of the secretary if necessary.