Lloyd James Austin III, an American politician and retired four-star general from the US Army, has held the position of 28th US Secretary of Defense since January 22, 2021. Austin has also held the position of 12th commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) from March 2013 until his retirement from the military in 2016.
Before that, from September 2010 to December 2011, he was commander of the United States Forces in Iraq and the 33rd vice chief of staff of the Army from January 2012 to March 2013. Holding a plethora of roles, He is also the first African American to do so in the US.
Austin joined the boards of Raytheon Technologies, Nucor, Tenet Healthcare, and Auburn University following his retirement from the military.
The Story
What happened, which culminated in the current news, is that the Defense Department officials had indicated that the difficulties in Lloyd developed more than a week after the elective medical surgery that resulted in Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s covert stay in intensive care, necessitating the use of an ambulance to transport him to the hospital.
According to a statement from Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Austin, started feeling “severe pain” on January 1 and was rushed by ambulance to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.
The verdict
Out of all the clouds of doubts, the Pentagon has cleared the skies, and a three-page defense department report released on Monday found no “indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate” by Mr Austin or his staff.
In his statement, the Pentagon chief officially apologized for not notifying government leaders about hospital stays in December and January. Mr Austin’s actions have drawn criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike and stoked concerns about both transparency and security. He had suffered complications from surgery for prostate cancer. He is expected to make a full recovery and has returned to his office at the Pentagon.
Mr Austin, 70, is said to be undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
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