The Sordid Tale of the Vanishing Secretary of Defense. “Civilian control of the military is part of the bedrock foundation of American democracy” (fn1) On Monday January 1, 2024 Secretary of State Austin was admitted to the hospital, reportedly due to complications from an “elective procedure” he had on December 22, 2023. However, it was not until Thursday the 4th that the President and the National Security Council were informed, Friday the 5th before the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and Congress were informed, and Saturday the 6th the public was informed. This is bad enough, but subsequently we learn that Austin was not only hospitalized, but hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit!  Then on January 9 we learned the “elective procedure” Austin had on December 22 was not what most consider an “elective procedure,” but a procedure to treat prostate cancer.   I wish the best for Secretary Austin and hope he fully recovers. However, Secretary Austin’s health is not an excuse for the lies of omission and commission that he and his staff engaged in to hide his hospitalization from our country’s leaders. To the contrary, it was a staggering dereliction of duty that placed our country’s national security in jeopardy and calls into question whether our civilian leaders have lost control of the military.   When the public was first informed of Austin’s hospitalization the Pentagon claimed he was able to, and would, resume his duties if needed. The Pentagon had to abandoned that less than accurate statement when it became known that Austin was in the Intensive Care Unit at Walter Reed Hospital. Austin then offered up his own excuse: “I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better…But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.” Nonsense. Setting aside whether the public had a right to know, as Secretary of Defense, Austin is in charge of our military and certainly does not have the right to keep being hospitalized in the ICU for prostate cancer from the President and other civilian and military leaders! But this cesspool of deceit runs much deeper.   Now it turns out that it was not only Austin who deceived the President. General Brown (USAF) – the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was informed of Austin’s hospitalization on January 2 and kept that information secret. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Brown is the principal military advisor to both the President and the National Security Council. The hospitalization of the Secretary of Defense is certainly a military matter and General Brown had a duty to inform both the President and the NSC. Instead, General Brown made a conscious decision to violate his duty and concealed that information! At best this is a staggering dereliction of duty, and I believe a usurpation of Presidential Authority.   The only other senior officials I’m aware of who knew of Austin’s hospitalization are his senior military assistant Lt. General Ronald Clark who was informed on the 2nd and Kelly Magsamen, Austin’s Chief of Staff. It’s unclear when Magsmen became aware of Austin’s hospitalization, but it appears to have been on January 1. What is clear, is that like General Brown, Lt. General Clark and Magsamen also kept that information secret.   The only others who knew Austin was in the hospital were his personal security detail and an unidentified “junior military aid.” Guess it’s more important for the SecDef’s junior military aid to know than the President. And of course, with crime so bad in D.C., who travels anywhere there without their security detail?   To sum things up so far, we have a full general who is the Chairman of the JCS and the most senior military officer in our armed forces, a Lt. General who is the SecDef’s senior military assistant, and the SecDef’s Chief of Staff all keeping Austin’s hospitalization a secret. Sounds like a conspiracy to me.   Hiding Austin’s hospitalization from the President and the NSC for four days is unconscionable, but at least they are not involved in the day-to-day operation of our military. The ones who are involved in military operations on a daily basis are our senior military and civilian leaders at the Pentagon. However, except for Magsamen, General Brown, and Lt. General Clark none of the senior Pentagon leadership was notified! Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks – the second most senior person in the Pentagon – was on vacation in Puerto Rico when Austin was hospitalized on the 1st. On the 2nd Hicks was handed some SecDef’s responsibilities but not informed Austin was hospitalized. So, who was handling the rest of Austin’s responsibilities while Hicks was soaking up sun in Puerto Rico? Why the number three person at the Pentagon – Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Sasha Baker. Of course, like everything else in this story of deceit, there’s a twist. Baker was told she was filling in for Austin at the office because Austin was working from home!   On the 4th this soap opera started to unravel when Jake Sullivan, Biden’s National Security Advisor, was finally informed that Austin had been in the hospital since January 1, but was not informed that Austin has prostate cancer. It’s unclear whether Sullivan was informed that Austin was in the ICU. Sullivan then informed the President but neither Sullivan nor the President informed Congress. The same day Under Secretary Hicks is informed for the first time and begins preparing to return to D.C. but cancels those plans and stays in Puerto Rico, because on January 5 Austin resumed all his duties – from the hospital. No really.  With the SecDef in the hospital, the second most senior Pentagon officials decided to stay on vacation.   For some reason Congress and the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force were … Continue reading The Sordid Tale of the Vanishing Secretary of Defense