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I will begin by offering my sincere wishes to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for a quick and complete recovery from the prostate cancer for which he was recently treated. I believe him to be a good and decent man who has distinguished himself as a military officer and public servant. I understand and respect his desire to keep his condition private. However…
Unique to the other military branches, the Marine Corps' first training requirement for newly-minted officers is called The Basic School, or TBS. What makes it different is that, unlike in the other services, it's not focused on a specific military occupational specialty (MOS). Instead, TBS, located aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA, is a six-month course focused simply on how to be a basically trained Marine Corps officer.
MOS schools like infantry, artillery and engineering come next.
Early in my time as a 2nd lieutenant at TBS, in the fall of 1991, I was assigned as "Officer of the Day," (OOD) which meant that I had to sit in the company office overnight and zealously attend to any incoming calls on the phone on the desk in front of me. Additionally, I was responsible for making hourly patrols around the halls and perimeter of O'Bannon Hall, ensuring that all was well with the student officers of Alpha Company.
When we weren't out in the field, the unmarried lieutenants —which was most of us— spent our nights in our assigned rooms in the barracks, while the married guys lived out in town with their wives and families. They were still assigned rooms in the barracks and were required to maintain their uniform displays in their closets and to keep their rooms and racks (beds) inspection-ready, but after the training day was officially concluded, they all went home to Sally.
(In the Corps, every wife or girlfriend is referred to as Sally.)
Anyway, toward the end of my tour, at about zero-six, as I was valorously guarding the company office, the phone rang, and I undauntedly grabbed the receiver and barked, "Be advised, this is an unsecured line. United States Marine Corps, Alpha Company, The Basic School. Officer of the Day, Second Lieutenant O'Leary speaking. How may I help you sir or ma'am?"
"Hey, O'Leary, it's Schmukatelli," the voice on the other end strained.
That's not a real name, of course, but we use it just like you'd say 'John Doe.' The other go-to is 'Bonnotz'. I've used those phony names so regularly, that many of my civilian friends have adopted them into their vocabularies.
Schmukatelli and I were both in 2nd Platoon, and he was one of the married guys who lived off base. While that fact didn't matter to me, I remember not having a very high opinion of the guy.
"Yeah," I responded tersely. "What's up?"
"Hey, I'm not feeling well. I have a really bad cold," he replied. "I'm not gonna be able to make it in today."
"Dude, I don't think that's how it works," I told him. "You know, you're supposed to go to sick call, right?"
"I know, I know," he coughed. "I'm so really just too sick to make the drive."
"Bro, you know Captain Lewis ain't gonna buy that," I tried to advise him."
He seemed impatient and almost annoyed as he responded, ironically, "Well, I'm too sick to go to sick call. Okay?"
"Um, ok. Roger that, dude," I relented. "What's your phone number?"
He coughed once or twice and then rattled off his number.
I recorded the conversation and phone number in the company logbook and went out to walk my rounds one last time before turning over my post.
Soon after I returned to my desk, our Platoon Commander, Captain Lewis arrived at the building and came to the office. I rose from behind the desk, came to attention, and saluted him.
"Good morning, sir."
"'G'morning O'Leary. What's your report?"
I recounted a few mundane facts and occurrences of the previous twelve hours, ending with the recent phone call from Schmukatelli.
I thought his head was going to explode.
He spun the logbook around, taking note of the phone number, grabbed the phone, and started dialing. I could hear the ring from the handset, and then the call was answered.
"Hello?"
"Lieutenant Schmukatelli?" he snapped. "This is Captain Lewis. What's your situation?"
While I couldn't make out what was being said on the other end of the line, it didn't really matter, did it?
The captain moved the phone directly in front of his mouth and hollered, "Listen to me, lieutenant, you get your ass here by formation at zero-seven-thirty or I will f—king charge you. Do you understand?"
There was a reply and then the captain punctuated the conversation with, "This isn't f—king IBM!!!"
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin began his plebe year at the United States Military Academy in 1971. He graduated from West Point and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in 1975. Before his first assignment as a platoon leader with the 3rd Infantry Division, he completed both Airborne and Ranger school.
He later served as executive officer at the battalion and brigade level and commanded an airborne infantry battalion. He got his master's degree at the Army War College and went on to command an airborne brigade, a division, and both a multi-national corps and all US forces in Iraq.
He was the doggone commander of CENTCOM.
This past Saturday, January 6, against the din of a rattling Chinese saber, as US forces in the Middle East operated under the threat of attacks from Iran and its proxies, and with war raging on the front steps of NATO, the dude who's Number Two in our military's chain of command issued a written statement which read, "…I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better."
Bro, this ain't IBM.
He has handled this whole snafu horribly.
But it's not just Austin who has behaved irresponsibly and unprofessionally. The whole Pentagon leadership cadre has been acting like we're talking about a kid missing a few days from an after-school job.
Let's begin with the fact that his aides and spokespeople have —until quite recently— referred to his prostate cancer surgery as an "elective procedure." That is at least grossly disingenuous and misleading. And, even if he did work at IBM or some other private sector job, wouldn't it have been sort of a good idea for him to let his boss know he was having surgery that required general anesthesia and would be spending the night in the hospital?
The SecDef's prostatectomy was conducted at Walter Reed Medical Center on December 22. According to what Maj Gen Pat Ryder told reporters on January 8, Austin had, at that time, "transferred certain operational authorities" to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks. However, neither she nor the White House had the slightest idea that he was in the hospital.
If it weren't for the complications that ensued the following week, we probably would never have known about any of this.
On New Year's Day, Austin was nauseous and suffered "severe abdominal, hip and leg pain" and was rushed via ambulance back to Walter Reed. Doctors determined that he had a urinary tract infection and a build-up of abdominal fluid that was impeding the function of his intestines, and promptly admitted him to the intensive care unit.
The Secretary of Defense is in the ICU. That sounds like something worth sharing, like maybe with the person who's supposed to take over in his absence.
Yeah, let's just wait 'til tomorrow.
The day following Austin's being admitted, somebody at the Pentagon thought it might be a good idea to contact Deputy Secretary Hicks, who was chilling on a beach in Puerto Rico. Hicks was informed only that she'd have to assume "some of" Austin's responsibilities, but nobody bothered to tell her why.
And she didn't bother to ask.
Seriously. How could she not have asked for the reason?
Oh, and she also didn't think it necessary for her to return from her vacation.
Also at some point that day, Austin's Chief of Staff, Kelly Magsamen, learned of the Secretary's hospitalization, though it's unclear from whom. However, Magsamen was at home with a flu that was evidently so debilitating that it kept her from picking up the phone to pass the word along to Hicks or anybody else.
But you have to wonder. Was it her illness that prevented her from making a phone call or was it something else, like being told not to?
So now, think about this — the person who is acting as our Secretary of Defense has no idea why she's in that position and still hasn't bothered to ask.
That day, Ryder and Joint Chiefs Chairman, Gen CQ Brown, were let in on the news of Austin's hospitalization but they too were left in the dark as to the reason for it, or of the Secretary's condition.
And I guess neither of them bothered to ask, either.
But, even after Brown learned of Austin's hospitalization, our nation's senior military officer joined the list of Pentagon officials who didn't think to share that information with the Commander-in-Chief.
OMG.
On January 3, with Austin still in the ICU, the US and over a dozen allied nations issued a final ultimatum to the Houthi terrorists in Yemen over the group's continued harassment of international shipping in the Red Sea.
The following day, at 4 am Pentagon time, US forces launched a drone attack in Baghdad, killing Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari, a leader of the Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba terrorist group, which has been responsible for recent attacks on American troops in Iraq and Syria.
The attack took place while the Secretary of Defense was still in intensive care and, somehow, President Biden had no idea about that fact.
General Ryder has been careful to point out that Austin and Biden had discussed and approved that mission before the secretary's hospitalization (which one?), but wouldn't you expect there to be some communication between the two on D-Day? Seriously, I can't imagine there not being a phone call before launching the strike. Something to the effect of, "Hey, Mr. President, just wanna confirm that we're still doing that thing we discussed last month."
Later that day, Ryder briefed reporters about the strike, but made no mention as to the SecDef's whereabouts or condition. He had known of Austin's disposition for about 24 hours but didn't feel compelled to share it with the public. He would later say that he didn't feel he was "at liberty to disclose that information."
And it wasn't until that same day, two days after she was instructed to assume some of her boss' duties, that Kathleen Hicks was made aware of the reason — that he was in the hospital. And, even then, it appears that nobody let her know anything about Austin's condition or that he was in the ICU.
Oh, yeah, and then somebody got around to notifying the Commander-in-Chief, though not directly. And it was only because Austin wasn't going to be able to make it to a scheduled event at Marine Corps Headquarters that day.
Kelly Magsamen informed National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who shared the scoop with President Biden. That was roughly 72 hours after his Defense Secretary was admitted to the intensive care unit.
Holy crap.
The following day, January 5, the Senate Armed Service Committee was informed of the situation, and at 5:03 pm that Friday afternoon, the Pentagon quietly released the following written statement:
On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications following a recent elective medical procedure. He is recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today. At all times, the Deputy Secretary of Defense was prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the Secretary, if required.
That was four days after Austin had been admitted to the ICU and, again, they referred to the procedure as "elective."
On Saturday, Ryder told NBC that Austin "resumed his full duties" the previous day, in spite of the fact that the dude was still in the ICU and would remain there for at least another two days. (I have to say "at least" because no one has been clear about when exactly Austin was transferred out of intensive care.)
Also on Saturday, five days after being admitted, Austin spoke to President Biden for the very first time in 2024 and is reported to have sounded "groggy" on the call. It's not clear whether he informed the President about his actual medical condition, but it wasn't until January 9 that the Pentagon disclosed his prostate cancer to the public, even though he was diagnosed in early December.
After the call, a White House official said Biden had “full confidence” in Austin and was looking forward to him being back at the Pentagon.
The Pentagon then released the written statement where Austin accepted responsibility for the lack of transparency.
On January 8, General Ryder finally held an off-camera briefing with a fairly perturbed Pentagon press corps. He notified them that, during the initial procedure and hospital stay, back in December, Austin had "transferred certain operational authorities to the Deputy Secretary of Defense."
He added that, after being released from the hospital, Austin worked from home "through the holidays," which means that the Secretary hasn't been to his desk in over three weeks.
Ryder also assured reporters that, "we're…looking at the processes and procedures to include both White House and congressional notifications to ensure that we can improve those processes."
Are you kidding me? This is one of those things that might be funny were it not so frightening. Am I the only one who thinks that this is all like totally basic ABC stuff? Just pick up the phone!
But it gets better. Later that day, chief of staff Magsamen announced that the Pentagon would undertake a
30-day review of how the notification process about Austin's hospitalization was so horribly botched.
30 days? Really?
Magsamen also announced immediate changes to ensure that senior Pentagon officials and the White House are quickly notified whenever the secretary has a transfer of authority to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Am I crazy for having assumed that there was already an SOP for that?
And, late yesterday, the Pentagon's Inspector General notified Austin, Hicks, and the DOD's director of administration and management that the IG was initiating its own review.
So now we've got two different investigations going on to determine simply why nobody in the Pentagon had the presence of mind to share a really important piece of information with the relevant parties.
You can't make this stuff up.
A few years back, I had a battalion operations officer who always had a note taped above his radio in the operations tent that read, "What do I know and who else needs to know it?"
It was really high-tech and looked something like this.
Pretty simple, don't you think? No investigation necessary.
Defense Secretary Austin remained in the hospital last night, as the US and UK carried out attacks on more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen.
There has been no mention of when he's expected to be released. Let's hope it doesn't take 30 days.
Brian O'Leary is a retired Marine Corps colonel, who served for 30 years, including combat deployments to Somalia and Iraq, and command of an infantry battalion in Afghanistan. Additionally, he has spent 25 years in the financial services industry. Brian earned his BA in English from Penn State University and his MA in National Security Studies from the US Army War College.
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