Secretary of Defense Lloyd AustinClandestine hospitalizations “unnecessarily” increase U.S. national security risks, according to a new report from the Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

Pentagon The watchdog’s scathing 188-page review examined the secretary of state’s hospitalizations in December 2023, January 2024 and February 2024 and blamed Austin’s team for miscommunications and a failed transfer of power.

The OIG noted that Austin’s “compelling desire to understand his health status” played a major role in the breakdown in communications within the Pentagon and between the Department of Defense and the White House and Congress.

Neither Austin’s chief of staff nor Deputy Defense Secretary Katherine Hicks knew about his cancer diagnosis or the surgery he underwent in December 2023. In fact, the OIG noted, “virtually all staff” were unaware of Austin’s medical condition and treatment.

PhD. Mark Siegel: Lloyd Austin’s secret hospitalization did not involve patient privacy

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pauses during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, November 17, 2021 (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

There is also allegedly evidence that when Austin was rushed to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for “severe” pain on Jan. 1, 2024, he asked the ambulance not to use lights or sirens. Additionally, Austin reportedly told his personal security detail not to notify anyone about the incident.

“No one on Secretary Austin’s staff knew the severity of his condition, including when his condition worsened and he was transferred to the surgical intensive care unit on January 2,” the OIG said in its report.

On Jan. 3, 2024, Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, texted the secretary’s junior military assistant, who was in the hospital with the secretary at the time. In his address, Magsaman urged the secretary of state to be more candid about his condition.

“I wish (Secretary Austin) was a normal person, but he is the (Secretary of Defense). We have significant agency responsibilities. He cannot keep complete confidentiality from his staff… Please turn over to him information that we cannot withhold from him. The hospitalization was always a secret and for him to be admitted to the intensive care unit was a big deal and I was concerned,” Magsaman wrote, according to the OIG report.

On February 29, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testified at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., about his failure to disclose his cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization. (Reuters/Evelyn Hochstein)

The OIG also found that when Austin was unexpectedly hospitalized again on February 11, 2024, his authority was not transferred “until hours later.” Regarding the incident, the OIG noted that “given the severity of his condition,” Austin authorities should have transferred him “several hours earlier than ultimately occurred.”

After the review, the OIG made 20 recommendations to the Department of Defense to “improve the process” and recommended that the Department of Defense take immediate action.

Pentagon releases summary of Austin hospital review

Inspector General Robert Storch said in a statement, “While the Department has taken some important steps to address these issues, further improvements are needed to ensure the Department’s readiness, transparency, and fulfillment of its mission. . These improvements are not just administrative imperatives; they are operational and national security imperatives.”

Ultimately, the report found that the Ministry of Defense lacked a “comprehensive” plan for handing over responsibilities in the minister’s absence.

After the report was released, a senior defense official acknowledged to reporters that Austin had “made a mistake” and insisted there was “no scandal” and “no cover-up.” The official also noted that “at all times, both the secretary of defense and the deputy secretary of defense are fully prepared to support the president.”

On February 29, 2024, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin testified before a House Armed Services Committee hearing regarding his recent hospitalization at the Rayburn Building and communications with President Biden. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Austin acknowledged his office’s shortcomings at a press conference in February 2024, shortly after the hospitalization became public.

“I want to be very clear. We didn’t handle this right and I didn’t handle this right.” Austin said at the time Regarding his previous hospitalization. “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should also have told my team and the American public that I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and the American people.”

Liz Frieden contributed to this report.