On Jan. 1, Austin was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland to treat complications resulting from a December procedure to treat prostate cancer. Though his responsibilities were transferred to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, the White House was not notified for two days that the nation’s top military official was missing in action. The delay in notifying President Joe Biden was attributed to Austin’s chief of staff being out sick with the flu at the time. According to a Feb. 26 statement from the Pentagon, a 30-day review of the communication breakdown was conducted. Pentagon officials say that concerns over respecting Austin’s privacy, coupled with the uncertainty of his condition and how it relates to executing a transfer of authority (TOA) in the absence of clear guidance on making such an unplanned decision, may have contributed to the information desert. Defense officials concluded that Austin’s staff was limited in three ways.Following an internal investigation, the Pentagon says that no wrongdoing was committed in connection with the secret hospitalization of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Defense officials said that “the process for making decisions to transfer the secretary’s authority could and should be improved,” however, “nothing examined during this review demonstrated any indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate.” The Department of Defense made eight recommendations to Austin’s office on how to better handle TOA protocols in the future. Two recommendations have already been implemented, according to the statement. Austin is scheduled to testify before Congress on Feb. 29 to discuss the incident. Shortly after the Pentagon report was published, defense officials were criticized for clearing their own personnel of wrongdoing. “‘I’ve reviewed myself and found myself to be blameless.’ has been official military policy for far too long in the this country and it’s a BIG part of why the military can’t retain their studs now,” nationally syndicated television host Jesse Kelly said in a post to X. “They’re getting out. They’re done with this nonsense.”
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