The Pentagon's Inspector General found that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks violated protocols during Austin's secretive 2024 hospitalization for prostate cancer treatment. Despite finding no adverse operational impact, the report stated that the risks to national defense were increased unnecessarily. The report cited Austin's strong desire for health privacy as a reason for keeping his hospitalization and diagnosis secret from the White House and the public for extended periods. While the Pentagon emphasizes there was no command gap, the report recommends further changes to prevent a similar situation.
FILE - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a joint news conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, at the Foreign Ministry's Iikura guesthouse in Tokyo, Sunday, July 28, 2024. The Pentagon ’s Inspector General found that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks botched protocols during his 2024 secretive hospitalization for prostate cancer treatment.
I want to be crystal clear, we did not handle this right and I did not handle this right. I should’ve told the President about my cancer diagnosis, and I should have told my team and the American public," Austin said at a Feb. 1 briefing.“Lloyd Austin, the secretary, went AWOL, he disappeared for days. Would that occur on your watch?" Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., asked during the hearing.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Prostate Cancer Pentagon Hospitalization
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