The Defense Secretary's Curious New Year's Hospital Stay

NavyHoops said:
So if I read this all correctly, he had an elective surgery, and it sounds like leadership knew this and everything was handled appropriately. Then he had complications and headed to the hospital. I haven’t seen any details on the level of acuity, but guessing it’s fairly high if he landed in the ICU. We have no idea what state he was in when he headed to the hospital. But he has handlers (aides, etc), that definitely should have been following some protocols to escalate to the chain of command. According to several articles I read, he transferred authority to his Deputy on 1/2, but she was not aware he was in the hospital. The whole thing sounds like a total miss in comms, transfer of authority and leadership. It’s hard to know where fault lies, especially knowing what kind of state the SecDef was in when he went to the hospital. He could have been in a state that comms was not possible. But that is why they have SOPs, they train to them and are surrounded by teams at all times. Sounds like some folks need some remedial training and some who might need new jobs.
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As usual, you give a very clear-headed explanation of what the protocols are how simple slip ups in comms can be result in what has happened.

However, every account I've read (and I don't spend a lot of time on it) has said that this was an "elective" surgery. I am not interested in what kind of surgery it was. It is none of our business. Be that as it may, how on God's green earth does the SecDef schedule an "elective" procedure which could (and in this case did) result in his incapacitation at the precise time we are assassinating an Iranian proxy commander in Iraq, Israel is assassinating an Iranian proxy commander in Lebanon, the Netanyahu government is talking about deporting 100,000s of Gazans and we are an errant Houthi missile away from the US taking out rocket launchers in Yemen?

I have no doubt there are competent people, military and civilian, to manage this situation, but this is a really, really bad look. And does Congress really need something else to fecklessly b***h about while punting on every important issue of the day?
 
cb7893 said:
As usual, you give a very clear-headed explanation of what the protocols are how simple slip ups in comms can be result in what has happened.

However, every account I've read (and I don't spend a lot of time on it) has said that this was an "elective" surgery. I am not interested in what kind of surgery it was. It is none of our business. Be that as it may, how on God's green earth does the SecDef schedule an "elective" procedure which could (and in this case did) result in his incapacitation at the precise time we are assassinating an Iranian proxy commander in Iraq, Israel is assassinating an Iranian proxy commander in Lebanon, the Netanyahu government is talking about deporting 100,000s of Gazans and we are an errant Houthi missile away from the US taking out rocket launchers in Yemen?

I have no doubt there are competent people, military and civilian, to manage this situation, but this is a really, really bad look. And does Congress really need something else to fecklessly b***h about while punting on every important issue of the day?
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I don’t necessarily disagree, but elective surgery is a very broad term. I have had ‘elective surgeries’ that definitely were not. Maybe I had flexibility with dates, but not a lot. Living in pain can suck. No clue what kind I surgery he had. If it was bariatric surgery, not sure what factors drove him there, but guessing the doctor recommended it because he needs major changes for his health. Not to mention it’s one of the most stressful jobs out there. For someone of his stature, is there ever a really good time? Hopefully between and the CMC health issues, all our branches and chains of commands are reviewing succession planning, comms plans, etc.

Note - just saw the protease cancer update.
 
NavyHoops said:
I don’t necessarily disagree, but elective surgery is a very broad term. I have had ‘elective surgeries’ that definitely were not. Maybe I had flexibility with dates, but not a lot. Living in pain can suck. No clue what kind I surgery he had. If it was bariatric surgery, not sure what factors drove him there, but guessing the doctor recommended it because he needs major changes for his health. Not to mention it’s one of the most stressful jobs out there. For someone of his stature, is there ever a really good time? Hopefully between and the CMC health issues, all our branches and chains of commands are reviewing succession planning, comms plans, etc.

Note - just saw the protease cancer update.
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The issue isn’t what he had surgery for or when he had it. It’s the fact that he was MIA for FOUR days and nobody knew. I can certainly tell you that if I had a troop back in my day do something similar both the Airmen AND myself would be held accountable. This is a clown-show plain and simple.
 
tkinion said:
The issue isn’t what he had surgery for or when he had it. It’s the fact that he was MIA for FOUR days and nobody knew. I can certainly tell you that if I had a troop back in my day do something similar both the Airmen AND myself would be held accountable. This is a clown-show plain and simple.
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That isn’t necessarily true.

It appears in the latest version some people were told … it just wasn’t properly communicated to the WH.
 
tkinion said:
The issue isn’t what he had surgery for or when he had it. It’s the fact that he was MIA for FOUR days and nobody knew. I can certainly tell you that if I had a troop back in my day do something similar both the Airmen AND myself would be held accountable. This is a clown-show plain and simple.
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If you look at my previous post I addressed this. I don’t disagree in theory. But the nuances are where this really comes down to. And yes. As a Marine I would have been held accountable and would have held my Marines accountable.
 
There are several ways built into our governmental system to provide accountability/oversight for cabinet members:

He can choose to resign himself
The president can choose to fire him
Majority of the House can impeach him, and then 2/3 of the Senate can convict and remove him from office
Congress can haul him in front of a committee to testify. Pretty common strategy at times
 
It’s just not a good look. You have to wonder if this is an isolated communication problem with the Pres/VP or a symptom of a broader communication disconnect. if a broader disconnect why? Particularly as things don’t seem that great in the world right now. I mean DS just had his commitment extended to 5 years-I’m sure part is recruiting and retention but also the world situation. I like the Sec Def a lot. Not sure about consequences. But in the big scheme it tees me off more that Hunter Biden got all kinds of waivers for his past drug use (coke in High School etc.) and age when a lot of the great young people on this forum can’t score a waiver for lesser things.
 
I think in the big picture, this is all a good lesson in “the truth is ‘easier’ than trying to cover it up”. Look at the mess that resulted from whatever ‘lack of transparency’, perhaps in the name of privacy’, this was. VS how the Commandant of the Marine Corps issue was addressed.

In general, dealing with things on the front side, vs the back side, always has a better outcome. However challenging or difficult it is. A good life lesson here for young readers.
 
If I were writing/editing for Duffle Blog I would start with this headline:

Commandant of the Marine Corps One-Ups His Boss by Avoiding the "Not a Good Look" Label, or something like that.

www.marinecorpstimes.com

Top Marine general in ‘good condition’ after open-heart surgery

Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, hasn’t been on full duty status since he went into cardiac arrest in October but plans to make a return.
www.marinecorpstimes.com www.marinecorpstimes.com
 
Lucy said:
But in the big scheme it tees me off more that Hunter Biden got all kinds of waivers for his past drug use (coke in High School etc.) and age when a lot of the great young people on this forum can’t score a waiver for lesser things.
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He lasted for about a month or two before failing a drug urinalysis from a test done on (supposedly) his first drill weekend.
As far as I know, the big waiver that he got was for his age as he was too old to enter under the program they brought him in on.
 
I don’t believe anything this Presidency and his peeps speak about anymore. They are truly a bunch of liars and that has proven over and over as a FACT.
 
OldRetSWO said:
He lasted for about a month or two before failing a drug urinalysis from a test done on (supposedly) his first drill weekend.
As far as I know, the big waiver that he got was for his age as he was too old to enter under the program they brought him in on.
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From Wikipedia:

Biden's application for a position in the U.S. Navy Reserve was approved in May 2013. At age 43, Biden was accepted as part of a program that allows a limited number of applicants with desirable skills to receive commissions and serve in staff positions. Biden received an age-related waiver and a waiver for a past drug-related incident; he was sworn in as a direct commission officer by his father in a White House ceremony.
 
A1Janitor said:
From Wikipedia:

Biden's application for a position in the U.S. Navy Reserve was approved in May 2013. At age 43, Biden was accepted as part of a program that allows a limited number of applicants with desirable skills to receive commissions and serve in staff positions. Biden received an age-related waiver and a waiver for a past drug-related incident; he was sworn in as a direct commission officer by his father in a White House ceremony.
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Desirable Skills? That is rich.
 
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