Lloyd Austin returns to the Pentagon for the first time since his secret hospitalization on January 1

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin returned to work at the Pentagon on Monday for the first time since his undisclosed hospitalization on Jan. 1, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Austin had been working from home download from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 15, after a two-week shutdown to address complications arising from a Dec. 22 procedure to treat prostate cancer, the Defense Department said ( DOD) in an emailed statement. On Friday, after a scheduled post-op checkup, Austin's doctors said he was expected to make a full recovery and require no further treatment beyond some physical therapy and scheduled follow-up appointments.

“He continues to recover well and is expected to make a full recovery. Secretary Austin's prostate cancer was treated early and effectively, and his prognosis is excellent,” Austin's providers said at the time moment (RELATED: Pentagon refuses to answer basic questions about Lloyd Austin's 911 call after promising 'transparency')

About a week after undergoing noninvasive surgery to treat prostate cancer that was not disclosed to the president or other national security and defense officials, Austin was transported in an ambulance to Walter Reed after experiencing nausea and severe pain in his legs and abdominal area. Doctors placed him in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on January 2 to treat a urinary tract infection, but he received only non-surgical care and was never put under general anesthesia.

The public did not to learn of his hospitalization until Jan. 5, shortly after Congress was notified and just one day after President Biden, Rep. Austin and top national security officials received the news. He resumed his duties as defense secretary that same day.

The Pentagon has said the chain of command remained uninterrupted during the period of Austin's undisclosed hospital stay. However, lawmakers are asking questions to remain about whether the Pentagon was fully prepared to plan for and respond to global crises.

I am outraged and deeply saddened by the death of three of our US service members and the injuries of other US troops in an attack last night against US and coalition forces, which were deployed to a place in the north-east of Jordan, near the border with Syria to work for the…

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) January 28, 2024

During his hospitalization, Austin transferred “certain operational authorities” requiring “ongoing secure communications capabilities” from Under Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks to Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. he said CNN. Hicks, who was on vacation in Puerto Rico at the time, had access to a secure communications suite and conducted some routine business on Austin's behalf without to know the reasoning of the transfer.

Austin's return to the Pentagon follows an intense month conflict in the Middle East, including an attack by Iranian-backed militias on January 28 that dead three US soldiers and at least 34 wounded.

Austin also ordered the military execute combined strikes with the UK against Houthi military capabilities in Yemen.

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