The aide to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who made a 911 call to request an ambulance for the top official early this month requested that the dispatchers work to be “subtle” when they arrived at his residence, according to an audio recording of the Jan. 1 911 call exclusively obtained by The Daily Beast.
“Can I ask—can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm, we’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the aide said, according to the recording, which The Daily Beast obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in the state of Virginia.
The dispatcher responded that the ambulance could do that, noting that “usually when they turn into a residential neighborhood, they'll turn them off.” She added that the ambulance is required by law to run the sirens and lights on main streets, such as Georgetown Pike and Leesburg Pike.
ADVERTISEMENT
The audio of the call, which has not previously been reported, reveals new details about the Secretary of Defense’s emergency, and suggests that the effort to keep his ailment secret was well-known among his close aides.
Although the Secretary of Defense kept the incident a secret from the public and from U.S. President Joe Biden and other senior administration officials, it was revealed last week that he had received surgery in December to treat and cure prostate cancer. He eventually went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after experiencing medical complications on Jan. 1.
It is not clear who asked the aide to request the ambulance dispatchers attempt to fly under the radar, or if the aide acted of his own accord. The Pentagon did not immediately return a request for comment.
The identity of the caller has been redacted to protect personal information, according to the Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications. The department redacted other personal and health information from the call as well.
Austin’s name and title are redacted on the call, but based on the timing and location—the secretary of defense’s residence—the call can reasonably be assessed to be about his complications.
The secrecy of the Secretary of Defense’s hospital visit and treatment has raised some concerns in recent days. The extent of the Austin’s ailments—and whether it impacted his ability to carry out commands at a time of increased attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East—was unclear for several days.
The audio of the 911 call also reveals some new information about the Secretary of Defense’s medical condition at the time.
The Secretary of Defense was not reporting any chest pain at the time, the aide said on the call. He also confirmed that Austin has not passed out and did not feel like he was going to pass out. When asked, the aide confirmed the Defense Secretary was alert and not confused.
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center officials previously released a statement noting that at the time, Austin was experiencing “nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain.” Later, medical staff uncovered in an initial evaluation that he was suffering from a urinary tract infection and impaired small intestine functioning.
Austin went under general anesthesia in December for the initial prostatectomy procedure, but did not go under general anesthesia after experiencing complications, a previous statement said.
Austin was released from the hospital this Monday, the Pentagon said in a statement.
“The Secretary continues to recover well and, on the advice of doctors, will recuperate and perform his duties remotely for a period of time before returning full-time to the Pentagon,” the statement said. “He has full access to required secure communications capabilities.”
The entire affair has raised questions about the process by which senior U.S. officials delegate power and authority in times of crisis. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients has since launched a review of Cabinet procedures for notification when officials cannot perform their duties due to loss of communications or incapacitation. White House National Security Council coordinator John Kirby has said the way the Secretary of Defense handled this situation was not ideal.
“That’s a problem,” Kirby told reporters in a briefing last week. “That should not happen again—that if a Cabinet official becomes hospitalized or has to be seen for medical, certainly to the degree where the authority has to be delegated, that the White House needs to know.”
“We’ll get better at this. We’ll learn from this,” he added.
In the process of going to the hospital on Jan. 1, Austin transferred some of his authorities to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
The Pentagon Spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, has previously said that Austin will not be resigning over the issue. The White House has said President Biden plans to keep Austin on for the rest of the presidential term.
