All posts tagged: Kathleen Hicks

Austin cancels trip for Ukraine, NATO meetings after hospitalization

Austin cancels trip for Ukraine, NATO meetings after hospitalization

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin delivers remarks during a meeting with Kenyan Defense Minister Aden Duale at the Pentagon on February 07, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin canceled a trip to Brussels this week where he was set to attend meetings related to Ukraine’s defense and NATO, after his emergency hospitalization over the weekend. The meeting on Ukraine will instead be held virtually. The Pentagon declined to confirm the status of the NATO meeting. The change of plans comes during a week when Congress is trying to pass a bill for Ukraine aid and days after former President Donald Trump made controversial comments about possibly abandoning NATO allies, should he secure a second term. Austin was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Sunday afternoon due to “emergent bladder issues.” The defense secretary has been fighting prostate cancer and recuperating from surgery over the past few months. Doctors said late Sunday night that after undergoing tests and evaluations, Austin was admitted to the critical care unit. …

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin re-hospitalized for bladder issue

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin re-hospitalized for bladder issue

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin takes questions during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2024.  Andrew Caballero-reynolds | Afp | Getty Images Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was taken back to the hospital on Sunday afternoon for symptoms related to a possible bladder issue, the Pentagon announced. Austin is battling prostate cancer and has been recovering from surgery over the past few months. He is currently retaining all responsibilities of his post, the Pentagon said. On his way to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Austin brought along all “unclassified and classified communication systems necessary to perform his duties,” according to Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks is on standby to assume any of Austin’s functions, should that become necessary. The Pentagon made clear that the White House and Congress have been notified of the Sunday hospitalization, avoiding a repeat of a December incident when Austin and his staff failed to inform top government officials that Austin was in the intensive care unit for complications …

US Defence Secretary admits public could have been ‘better’ informed after hospital stay backlash

US Defence Secretary admits public could have been ‘better’ informed after hospital stay backlash

Lloyd Austin, US secretary of defence, resumed official duties on Friday after he was hospitalised on Jan 1 – ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP The US Defense Secretary has said he will “commit to doing better” after he was accused of covering up a four-day hospital stay that forced him to delegate his official duties. Lloyd Austin, the second-in-command of the US military after Joe Biden, said he “understand[s] the media concerns about transparency” and that he “could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed” about the trip. Mr Austin was taken into hospital on January 1 over “complications following a recent elective medical procedure”, according to a Pentagon spokesman, as Houthis conducted further attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea and Russia launched long-range missiles in Ukraine. However, Mr Austin’s hospitalisation was not made public until Friday, January 5, despite the decision that Kathleen Hicks, his deputy, would take on his official duties while he was reportedly in an intensive care unit. Ms Hicks was in Puerto Rico at the time, communicating …

What Ukraine Can Teach the U.S. About War

What Ukraine Can Teach the U.S. About War

If the anonymous voices quoted by U.S. news outlets in recent months are any indication, many Western military experts think that they know how to fight Ukraine’s war better than the Ukrainians do. American officials, NBC News reported last month, have “privately expressed disappointment” about how Ukraine had deployed its soldiers and believe that Kyiv’s forces “have not necessarily applied the training principles they received” from NATO militaries. Yet despite such scolding, the Ukrainians keep conducting their war their way. Despite exhortations to gather more forces in the south and try to cut through Russian lines, even if that means exposing more soldiers to enemy air attacks, Ukrainian forces—stymied by minefields—have proceeded more cautiously, conserving personnel in what could be a protracted conflict with a far more populous nation. They have opted instead to attack, using homegrown weapons systems as well as those provided by allies, Russian supply chains and command-and-control facilities deep behind the front line while also focusing on destroying artillery closer to the fighting. Ukrainian commanders believe they understand the fundamental dynamics …