WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin made his first public appearance on Tuesday, virtually and from home since his secret hospitalisation, during a meeting on Ukraine’s military needs, but skipped over prepared remarks that would have addressed his health.

Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on Dec 22 to treat prostate cancer. He returned to the hospital on Jan 1 due to complications.

His hospitalisation was not revealed until four days later, and the Pentagon did not specify why he was being treated until Jan 9.

Austin’s failure to tell President Joe Biden he was hospitalised drew criticism from lawmakers and caught the White House by surprise.

Austin appeared on the live stream for a few minutes as he made his opening remarks. The defence secretary was sitting in front of a white wall with what appeared to be a security system keypad on his left and a Department of Defence seal on the right, with small US and Ukrainian flags on top of a printer next to it.

While there was a slight break in the live stream, Austin did not address his health, even though the topic was in his prepared remarks.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2024