Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I beg your pardon...? Deputy defense secretary was not told Austin had been hospitalized when she assumed his duties | CNN Politics WWW.CNN.COM When the deputy Secretary of Defense began assuming some of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s responsibilities on January 2, not even she knew that it was because Austin was hospitalized, two defense officials told CNN. Quote When the deputy secretary of defense began assuming some of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s responsibilities on January 2, not even she knew that it was because Austin was hospitalized, two defense officials told CNN. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon’s No. 2 leader, was among the senior leaders kept in the dark about Austin’s true whereabouts until Thursday, three days after the secretary checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following complications from an elective surgery. Not even the president was aware of Austin’s hospitalization until three days into his stay there, CNN previously reported. The revelation that not even Hicks knew that Austin was hospitalized is sure to add to questions swirling within the administration about why his status was kept secret, not only from the public but from senior national security officials and the White House. Austin was hospitalized following an elective medical procedure he had on December 22, while he was on leave, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said. He returned home the following day, but on the evening of January 1 he “began experiencing severe pain” and was transported to Walter Reed via ambulance. “He was placed in the hospital’s intensive care unit to ensure immediate access to due to his medical needs, but then remained in that location in part due to hospital space considerations and privacy,” Ryder said. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen. C.Q. Brown, was notified January 2 that Austin had been hospitalized the day before, Ryder told CNN. But he is not in the chain of command. The military service secretaries, who are in the chain of command, were not notified until January 5, four days after Austin checked into the hospital. Pentagon waited three days to inform White House that the defense secretary was hospitalized in ICU WWW.NBCNEWS.COM Austin took responsibility for not disclosing his condition sooner. Quote Amid tensions in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized, including spending four days in the intensive care unit, according to two senior administration officials. The Defense Department did not inform senior officials in the White House’s National Security Council of Austin’s hospitalization until Thursday — three days after he arrived at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a U.S. official confirmed. Politico first reported the delay. Austin was admitted to the hospital Monday night for “complications following a recent elective medical procedure,” the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, said in a statement Friday evening. Austin released a statement Saturday taking responsibility for not disclosing his condition sooner. "I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon. I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better," Austin said. "But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.” President Joe Biden spoke with Austin on Saturday evening, according to a senior administration official, who indicated it was the first phone call between the president and Austin since his hospitalization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Does this fall under "don't ask, don't tell" ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 It really does feel at times this country is a runaway train 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 Just now, Brian said: It really does feel at times this country is a runaway train *all the time 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mclumber1 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 You should always tell your boss if you are going to take a sick day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CastlevaniaNut18 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signifyin(g)Monkey Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Isn't this a version of the West Wing story arc where Bartlett doesn't let anyone but his chief of staff know that he has MS, and then there's a national emergency and it's suddenly a huge deal? Yet another instance of something that might have qualified as a 'scandal' in the 1990s, but doesn't even register on the radar nowadays in the MAGA-verse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xbob42 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 51 minutes ago, Brian said: It really does feel at times this country is a runaway train I like to imagine this is how every nation is at all times, and we're just learning about it recently as everyone seems to give less of a shit about keeping up appearances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricofoley Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I think the only way this makes sense is that the elective procedure he was getting was something he was extremely embarrassed to admit to anyone, yeah? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwheel86 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Am I the only one who thinks Biden has a little of W Bush's "well he's a good guy" when judging how his subordinates are performing? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 37 minutes ago, Jwheel86 said: Am I the only one who thinks Biden has a little of W Bush's "well he's a good guy" when judging how his subordinates are performing? You absolutely aren't the only to get that sense from Biden's management style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbobo Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Doesn't the President have frequent meetings with Secretary of Defense, did he just not notice that he was missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwheel86 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 17 hours ago, elbobo said: Doesn't the President have frequent meetings with Secretary of Defense, did he just not notice that he was missing? That but also did the Combatant Commanders (who report directly to SecDef) not notice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 The Pentagon finally announced the reason for Austin's hospitalization - he's being treated for prostate cancer and developed a severe infection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbobo Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 2 hours ago, Jwheel86 said: That but also did the Combatant Commanders (who report directly to SecDef) not notice? the more I think about it the more confused/concerned I get. There are the wars in the Ukraine and Israel going on, US warships are actively engaging targets seemingly every other day in the gulf... like who is reporting this information to the president, who is the pentagon reporting to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwheel86 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 18 minutes ago, elbobo said: the more I think about it the more confused/concerned I get. There are the wars in the Ukraine and Israel going on, US warships are actively engaging targets seemingly every other day in the gulf... like who is reporting this information to president, who is the pentagon reporting to? Biden supposedly has a very active (too active?) NSC Staff running foreign policy out of the White House, I guess they were and are just used to bypassing Austin? Wasn't the entire idea of another recently retired General as Defense Secretary because Biden needed the expertise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CayceG Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Resignation or not, sounds like Biden needs to line up a successor. Prostate cancer is no joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air_Delivery Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 1 hour ago, CayceG said: Resignation or not, sounds like Biden needs to line up a successor. Prostate cancer is no joke. Depends on the type. Most of the time at his age its the slow growing kind that can be treated with radiation therapy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUFKAK Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 On 1/9/2024 at 1:03 PM, CayceG said: Resignation or not, sounds like Biden needs to line up a successor. Prostate cancer is no joke. The fact it was elective tells me it’s not terminal yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbobo Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 prostate cancer is one of most survivable cancers out there, if it is caught relatively early the 5 year survival rate is >99% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CayceG Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Those are good pieces of news. And I'll issue a correction, because when I wrote that reply, I had in mind PANCREATIC cancer instead of Prostate cancer. I was all mixed up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 14 minutes ago, CayceG said: Those are good pieces of news. And I'll issue a correction, because when I wrote that reply, I had in mind PANCREATIC cancer instead of Prostate cancer. I was all mixed up! Yeeeaaahhh - pancreatic cancer is effectively a death sentence in most cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, TUFKAK said: The fact it was elective tells me it’s not terminal yet. But elective just means it was scheduled in advance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUFKAK Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 5 hours ago, Jason said: But elective just means it was scheduled in advance? Yes, but also means likely caught early if they were able to schedule in advance. Perhaps it’s because my ER is tertiary care and we get a lot of oncology patients so it may be institution specific, but elective oncology here tends to mean greater survivability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoberChef Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 I really don't know WHY in the hell this is even a thing. It's called medical privacy. He seemingly followed all rules & regs in the interim & set forth his benefactor to take over just in case. Some people don't like putting their personal business out there. The very way such a thing became so politically dividing (isn't everything nowadays?) is probably why he didn't want to say anything to begin with. Meanwhile I'm stuck having to hear that twat Elise talk WAY too much shit constantly as she's the representative of where I live ffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mclumber1 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 6 hours ago, SoberChef said: Some people don't like putting their personal business out there. He's the head of the military. You at least tell your boss you'll be taking time off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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