WASHINGTON, 12 Feb: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized and is in the critical unit, the Pentagon confirmed.
The US Top military adviser has been hospitalized because of an “emergent bladder issue” and has transferred his duties to deputy secretary of defense Kathleen Hicks.
Austin’s admission to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center comes a month after the defense secretary’s secret hospitalization when he was admitted for complications following prostate cancer surgery in December.
The latest statement mentioned that the defense secretary was admitted to a critical care unit after going through multiple tests and evaluation procedures.
Initially, the Pentagon said the secretary had “traveled to the hospital with the classified and unclassified communications systems necessary to perform his duties,” but a later statement confirmed the transfer of his responsibility to Hicks.
Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization comes amid serious security challenges in the Middle East, where policy makers are worried about escalation.
