Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Has Been Hospitalized for a Week and Just Told Congress Today

[rangerrebew]

‘Reckless and irresponsible’: Pentagon officials reel from news Austin kept cancer diagnosis quiet
Reactions are a mix of sympathy for his condition and outrage over the way it was handled.
 
Criticism is mounting over Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's decision to conceal his cancer diagnosis from the White House and Pentagon officials. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

By LARA SELIGMAN and ALEXANDER WARD

01/09/2024 09:53 PM EST

Stunned Defense Department officials struggled on Tuesday to digest the news that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and kept it a secret for weeks.

Officials described emotional whiplash as details about Austin’s condition and failure to notify even his closest advisers trickled out over the past few days. On Tuesday, they were shocked to hear of Austin’s early December diagnosis, Dec. 22 surgery and subsequent complications that landed him in the intensive care unit on Jan. 1.


POLITICO spoke to five officials in the Pentagon and administration, as well as two former officials, all of whom were granted anonymity to give candid reactions to the disclosures. They said they are sympathetic to Austin’s desire for privacy, but confused as to why he kept his diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization from his own staff and top Pentagon leaders.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/09/reckless-and-irresponsible-pentagon-officials-reel-from-news-austin-kept-cancer-diagnosis-quiet-00134700

[rangerrebew]

Since I was on a carrier, I'll use that as an example.  What would happen to the CO of a carrier if he/she didn't show up for three days while in port and no one knew why?  Career over!

[rangerrebew]

Austin’s chief of staff failed to tell anyone about hospitalization
By Meghann Myers
 Jan 8, 04:33 PM
 
As questions remain about why Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on Jan. 1, and why his team failed to notify the president until several days later, the Pentagon’s top spokesman has confirmed that a member of Austin’s entourage did not notify his chief of staff about the hospitalization until roughly a day after he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and that she in turn did not notify the White House until Thursday.

It’s the latest revelation regarding the defense secretary’s emergency incapacitation last week, in which the White House did not learn of Austin’s absence leading the department until Thursday, with Congress and the general public only becoming aware of the cabinet member’s incapacitation on Friday.


The Pentagon has refused to offer details about Austin’s initial medical procedure on Dec. 22 and what prompted him to be admitted into intensive care at Walter Reed on New Year’s Day, when he was rushed to the hospital after experiencing severe pain, according to officials.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2024/01/08/austin-chief-of-staff-failed-to-tell-anyone-about-his-hospitalization/

[rangerrebew]

It looks like the chief of staff has been designated to be the sacrificial lamb.  But I would think an Army General would be well versed in how the chain of command works and responsible enough to let others of cabinet rank know.

[Mod2]

Merged several threads.

[Fishrrman]

Seems to me that if Mr. Austin had notified the powers-that-be (who would subsequently put out a news release) that he was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer (which can be aggressive or not so much, as catfish describes above) -- that the reaction from the public would have been one of support, not criticism...

[libertybele]

It looks like the chief of staff has been designated to be the sacrificial lamb.  But I would think an Army General would be well versed in how the chain of command works and responsible enough to let others of cabinet rank know.

You're correct, I think he's the sacrificial lamb.

[mountaineer]

Rep. Chris Deluzio is becoming the first Hill Dem to call for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to resign, saying in statement he's lost faith in the secretary. Story at Politico.

Austin was still hospitalized, as of yesterday.

https://twitter.com/Logan_Ratick/status/1745180379214926172

[Polly Ticks]

Rep. Chris Deluzio is becoming the first Hill Dem to call for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to resign, saying in statement he's lost faith in the secretary. Story at Politico.

Austin was still hospitalized, as of yesterday.

Wow.  Fetterman on the border and Israel, and now Deluzio on the Lloyd Austin debacle .... what are they putting in the water in Pennsylvania and can we add it to the rest of the country's water supplies?

[catfish1957]

Wow.  Fetterman on the border and Israel, and now Deluzio on the Lloyd Austin debacle .... what are they putting in the water in Pennsylvania and can we add it to the rest of the country's water supplies?

False flag trying to make Fettermush to look like a moderate.

[Wingnut]

I wish I could go missing for a week and my boss didn't know. 

[Free Vulcan]

Wow.  Fetterman on the border and Israel, and now Deluzio on the Lloyd Austin debacle .... what are they putting in the water in Pennsylvania and can we add it to the rest of the country's water supplies?

It is interesting.

[mystery-ak]

Report: Aide to Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin Asked Ambulance Dispatcher to Be ‘Subtle’ When Arriving

Kristina Wong 16 Jan 2024

An aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who made the 911 call to request an ambulance on January 1, asked that the dispatchers be “subtle” when arriving at Austin’s home, according to an audio recording of the call obtained by the Daily Beast.

According to the outlet, the aide told the dispatcher, “Can I ask — can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm, we’re trying to remain a little subtle.” The outlet said it obtained the recording through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in Virginia.

The dispatcher told the aide — who is unidentified — that the ambulance could do that, noting that “usually when they turn into a residential neighborhood, they’ll turn them off,” but said the ambulance is required by law to run sirens and lights on main streets, such as Georgetown Pike and Leesburg Pike.

The Daily Beast reported that the call “suggests that the effort to keep his ailment secret was well-known among his close aides.”

Austin infamously did not inform President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks of his hospitalization until January 4, and members of Congress, the Pentagon press corps, and the public until January 5.

The Pentagon eventually revealed that Austin had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in early December, and he underwent surgery to treat it on December 22. During that surgery, he was under general anesthesia but did not inform the president about his diagnosis and that surgery until January. The hospitalization on January 1 was allegedly related to complications from that surgery.

more
https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2024/01/16/report-aide-to-pentagon-chief-lloyd-austin-asked-ambulance-dispatcher-to-be-subtle-when-arriving/

[mountaineer]

January 23, 2024 10:31 AM
By Reuters via VOA News
US Defense Secretary Makes First Public Appearance, Virtually, Since Hospitalization

WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday made his first public appearance, virtually and from home, since his secret hospitalization, during a meeting on Ukraine's military needs.

He skipped over prepared remarks that would have addressed his health.

Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on December 22 to treat prostate cancer. He returned to the hospital on January 1 due to complications, including a urinary tract infection. His hospitalization was not revealed until four days later, and the Pentagon did not specify why he was being treated until January 9.

Austin's failure to tell President Joe Biden he was hospitalized drew criticism from lawmakers and caught the White House by surprise.

Austin appeared on the livestream for a few minutes as he made his opening remarks. He was sitting in front of a white wall with what appeared to be a security system keypad on his left and a Department of Defense seal on the right, with small U.S. and Ukrainian flags on top of a printer next to it.

While there was a slight break in the livestream, Austin did not address his health, even though the topic was in his prepared remarks.  ...

Apparently - or virtually - still alive, then.

[mountaineer]

 
Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin — in his his first public appearance since his incapacitation scandal — says there's "no credible evidence" of "misuse" in U.S. equipment provided to Ukraine, even after an audit found they "lost track" of $1+ billion in equipment.

https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1749820492389740934

[Timber Rattler]

Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin — in his his first public appearance since his incapacitation scandal — says there's "no credible evidence" of "misuse" in U.S. equipment provided to Ukraine, even after an audit found they "lost track" of $1+ billion in equipment.

https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1749820492389740934

Did he record that in the copier room at his hospital?

[mountaineer]

That backdrop doesn't look like most people's "home." A bit too industrial.

[Wingnut]

That backdrop doesn't look like most people's "home." A bit too industrial.

The mini US and Ukie flags were a nice touch. 

[mountaineer]

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) accused Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Monday of providing a list of “non-answers” about his recent secretive hospitalization.

https://twitter.com/bmurphypointman/status/1749893821390073896

[rangerrebew]

Top Republican knocks ‘unacceptable’ response to questions about Austin hospitalization
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 01/23/24 10:35 AM ET
 
Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, slammed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s response to questions about his hospitalization earlier this month as “completely unacceptable.”

Wicker on Monday expressed his displeasure over Austin’s responses to a letter the senior GOP senator sent on Jan. 10 demanding to know the details of the Defense secretary’s treatment for complications related to prostate surgery.


Wicker asked Austin to explain when he was admitted to an intensive care unit and why he was taken by ambulance instead of his security detail. He also asked about the nature and timeline of Austin’s incapacitation and who was notified of his medical situation. 

The senator said the answers he got were inadequate. 

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4423876-roger-wicker-lloyd-austin-hospitalization/

[rangerrebew]

The reason he got unacceptable answers is because there are no acceptable answers.

[Mod2]

Topics merged

[mountaineer]

Defense Sec. Austin, speaking for the first time on his colon cancer diagnosis and hiding it for a month from the American people and the President:

“But I want to be crystal clear, we did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right. I should have told the President about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public and I take full responsibility.  ..."

https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1753083771799130614

[mountaineer]

Reporter: “Anyone else within the military chain of command would have faced reprimand or even dismissal. Why shouldn't that same standard apply to you?”

Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin says “thanks for the question” and then doesn’t answer.

https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1753087327289663976

[Timber Rattler]

Yet another lie, since the public was initially told that Austin was only dealing with a minor elective surgical procedure that had complications, and then it was a prostate problem, and now he admits that it's colon cancer.