US defence secretary’s 911 caller requested ambulance with no lights, sirens

The audio of a 911 call requesting an ambulance for United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has revealed that a federal employee working for Austin asked the operator to keep the ambulance discreet.

Recently, Austin was transported from his Virginia home to Walter Reed Hospital after suffering complications from surgery to treat prostate cancer but neither President Joe Biden nor anybody else knew about it. But, how?

The call, which was obtained by US news agencies through a Freedom of Information Act request, was placed on January 1 and it revealed that a federal employee working for Austin asked the operator for the ambulance to be “subtle”, ABC News reported.

“Can I ask — that the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? We’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the employee said.

Local law states that ambulances are required to run sirens and lights on primary roads but they aren’t mandated to do so on secondary roads.

The 911 call was made at 7:15pm from Austin’s home when he was described as awake, alert and oriented. An ambulance arrived seven minutes later at 7:22pm.

Austin, who underwent elective surgery on December 22, was hospitalised on New Year’s Day due to complications. After a two-week stay, he was released on Monday.

His department faced criticism for keeping the nation in the dark about his hospitalisation and not disclosing it to President Biden, who has used this lapse in judgment as a weapon against the White House.

In a statement announcing Austin’s release from the hospital, the Department of Defense said “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.”

“He has full access to required secure communications capabilities,” it continued.

Austin, in his statement, said he would continue to “recuperate and perform my duties from home” and looked forward to returning to the Pentagon as quickly as possible.