US Defense Secretary Hospitalized Since Monday, Pentagon Confirms
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who sits under the president in the command chain and whose tasks include being ready for a nuclear attack, was hospitalized since Monday, the Pentagon confirmed.
His press secretary, Air Force Major General Pat Ryder, confirmed Austin’s stay at Walter Reed national military medical center, raising anger among the Pentagon Press Association (PPA).
Ryder said Austin was “recovering well” after being hospitalized due to complications after what the Pentagon called a “minor elective medical procedure.”
Still, it was unclear whether he had undergone anesthesia that could have made him incapable of making split-second decisions.
The PPA said the American public had the right to be informed about the health status and decision-making ability of its “top defense leader.”
“The fact that he has been at Walter Reed … for four days and the Pentagon is only now alerting the public late on a Friday evening is an outrage,” the PPA stressed in an open letter.
GROWING THREATS
“At a time when there are growing threats to US military service members in the Middle East and the U.S. is playing key national security roles in the wars in Israel and Ukraine.”
He said, “the American public must be informed about the health status and decision-making ability of its top defense leader.”
The White House refused to say when or how it had been notified of Austin’s hospitalization, and it referred questions to the Pentagon.
Commentators recalled that when U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland went in for a routine medical procedure in 2022, his office informed the public a week in advance.
Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson, cited only an “evolving situation.” He also said that the Pentagon did not make Austin’s absence public due to privacy and medical issues. Yet he declined to provide any other details about Austin’s medical procedure or health.
Austin, 70, spent 41 years in the military, retiring as a four-star army general in 2016.
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