Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a Monday briefing that when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's staff took the initiative to transfer duties to the Pentagon's deputy commander, the secretary “received medical treatment.” “I was focused,” he said.

After Mr. Austin's undisclosed hospitalization sparked outrage and confusion over who was in charge, the Pentagon on Monday released an unclassified summary of the process to transfer command of the Pentagon, including Mr. Austin's military aide. It was revealed that they had made a call to transfer authority to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. Kathleen Hicks. There was no mention of Mr. Austin being transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) on January 2 and that he had instructed his staff, led by a senior military aide, to do so because he would no longer be able to communicate securely.

“At that point, his staff recognized that he would be in another area and they were unable to contact him via secure communications, so they made that decision,” Ryder said. (Related: Pentagon refuses to answer basic questions about Lloyd Austin's 911 call after promising 'transparency')

Hicks' staff was contacted and the members agreed to transfer Austin's authority to the deputy chief, “and they did what they normally do in these types of situations,” Ryder said. “We recognized that the Secretary was focused on getting medical care right now, so we took the lead and did what we had to do.”

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The review highlighted that some improvements to the devolution process were warranted in “unprecedented circumstances”, Ryder stressed. He reiterated that the Pentagon's command and control did not exceed his authority at any point because Hicks effectively became acting secretary of defense.

Mr. Hicks was informed of the transfer and prepared to take his place, but did not learn that Mr. Austin had been hospitalized until January 5.

“It's strange that at that moment it appears as though the staff is the one deciding who is secretary of defense,” the reporter said.

Ryder did not answer questions and referred reporters to a non-confidential summary of the review. Despite this, Austin continues to take responsibility for the absences, but has not fired anyone and has no intention of resigning.

The review authors rejected evidence of any attempt to cover up Austin's illness or hospitalization, blaming privacy laws and Austin's murky medical circumstances for the confusion. Despite this, Biden did not learn about Austin's hospitalization until days later.

Ryder said Austin “expected his staff to do their jobs” and explicitly instructed anyone on his staff to tell the president that Austin was hospitalized and unable to work the next day. It seemed to suggest that it wasn't.

austin Said In an unusual press conference in February, he said he chose not to reveal his health status to President Joe Biden because he did not want to burden the president with the news.

“The review and its recommendations are helping to inform internal policy deliberations regarding lessons learned and improvements to processes and procedures,” Ryder said. Has completed Jennifer Walsh, Director of Performance Improvement and Director of Management, said:

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