A 911 caller seeking an ambulance for Lloyd Austin on Jan. 1 asked the dispatcher to have first responders arrive at the scene discreetly before transporting the defense secretary to a military hospital.
“Can’t the ambulance show up with lights and sirens? We’re trying to be a little subtle,” said the caller, whose identity was withheld, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News through a Freedom of Information request. of Virginia. The ambulance was dispatched to a single-family home on Austin Street.
Details from the Fairfax County Public Safety Communications Department’s 911 audio file were first reported by The daily beast.
Austin was hospitalized on New Year’s Day with complications from prostate cancer treatment, but the Pentagon waited three days to inform the White House. Austin, who lives in Virginia, was discharged Monday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, although he will work from home while he recovers, according to a statement he issued this week.
The 911 recording partially removed information about Austin’s medical condition, as well as the defense secretary’s chief complaint. The recording includes a series of unedited responses to the operator’s questions about the Defense Secretary’s status.
Austin had no chest pain and felt like he was going to pass out, according to the caller’s responses. The person he called also said Austin was alert and had not vomited blood or had blood in his stool. One of the dispatcher’s questions was redacted.
The caller also asked if it was possible for the ambulance to take Austin to Walter Reed in Bethesda. The dispatcher asked the caller to notify medics when they arrived.
Austin faced harsh criticism for not immediately notifying the White House of his hospitalization. She later said that he took full responsibility and “could have done a better job ensuring the public was properly informed.”
“I am committed to doing better,” he added in his Jan. 6 statement.
The Pentagon inspector general has initiated a review of the matter and the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee has opened a formal investigation.