The Secretary of Defense of the United States receives a medical discharge after two days in the hospital

The Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, was discharged from hospital this Tuesday after two days hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the Walter Reed military hospital, on the outskirts of Washington, for bladder problems, as reported by this Tuesday the Pentagon.

The retired four-star general “is recovering well and has resumed all of his tasks and duties,” his Department said in a statement.

Both the White House and Congress, the Defense Staff and its “number two” in the Pentagon, Kathleen Hicks, have been notified of the return to duty of the US military official, according to the document.

On medical advice, Austin will continue his recovery at his home for a few days before returning to his office at the Department of Defense later this week.

In order to adequately carry out his tasks remotely “he has full access to the necessary classified and unclassified communications systems.”

Austin had been admitted on Sunday for bladder discomfort related to the operation he had undergone in December to treat the cancer he suffers from.

“His condition indicated the need to be monitored by the intensive care and support team,” indicated the doctors who treated him at Walter Reed.

The cause of his problems was identified and corrected with non-surgical procedures on Monday, the doctors point out.

“The bladder problem was unrelated to his cancer diagnosis and will have no effect on his excellent prognosis for his cancer treatment,” they add.

In January, the retired general had sparked a strong controversy when it was announced that he was hospitalized but had not informed the White House or the rest of the Government of this until four days after his admission to the Intensive Care Unit.

On December 22, Austin had undergone surgery to treat his cancer, and was discharged almost immediately.

But on January 1 he was admitted again to the Walter Reed military hospital, on the outskirts of Washington, due to complications from the disease.

Neither the White House nor Hicks, who was on vacation, received notice of the hospitalization until the 4th. The Secretary of Defense did not disclose the reason for his admission until the 9th. He was discharged on January 15.

The incident has motivated the Pentagon to open a thirty-day investigation into how the communication failure was possible, and to update its protocols for notification of this type of situation.

As head of the US military, the Secretary of Defense must always be available should a national security emergency arise.

Austin is summoned to appear on February 29 before the Armed Forces committee in the House of Representatives to testify about what happened.

After his hospitalization became known in January, several congressmen, and the foreseeable Republican candidate in the November presidential elections, Donald Trump, demanded the resignation of Austin, former commander of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and first Secretary of Defense. black.

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