ORIGINAL NEWS
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, press secretary for the Pentagon, issued the following statement:
Around 2:00 PM today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was taken by his protective detail to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in order to receive medical attention for symptoms that may indicate an urgent bladder problem. Notified parties include the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and the Deputy Secretary of Defense. Furthermore, alerts have been sent to Congress and the White House.
The Secretary is continuing to carry out the responsibilities and tasks of his position. If needed, the Deputy Secretary is equipped to take on the responsibilities and tasks of the Secretary of Defense. Enough unclassified and secret communications systems were brought to the hospital by Secretary Austin so that he could carry out his work.
We intend to promptly furnish an update about the health of Secretary Austin.
The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was where Austin was brought by his security detail on Sunday afternoon, according to the Pentagon.
Austin has been admitted to the critical care unit; the length of his hospital stay is unknown, according to a joint statement later that day from Dr. Gregory Chesnut, director of the Center for Prostate Disease Research at the Murtha Cancer Center, and Dr. John Maddox, medical director of trauma.
“The current bladder issue is not expected to change his anticipated full recovery,” they said. “His cancer prognosis remains excellent.”