Lloyd J. Austin III is the United States Secretary of Defense. Between the years 2013 and 2016 he was the head of the Central Command of the United States, from where he directly supervised the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq. There he earned the nickname “invisible general” because of his allergy to dealing with the media.
Now this invisibility has played a trick on him. It took Austin three days to inform the White House of his admission to the intensive care area of ??a hospital for an infection stemming from the surgery he had undergone to correct prostate cancer. The Pentagon is investigating whether the behavior of the soldier and his entourage (his aides gave up to three different versions to hide his whereabouts) conforms to the procedures that regulate these situations.
Austin was discreet. So much so, that the person who called 911 from his home to request an ambulance prayed that the vehicle would not use “lights and sirens” so as not to alarm the neighborhood. “Mmm, we’re trying to be a little discreet” can be heard on the recording of this call.
Communicating that you are suffering from a serious illness is not easy. It is a taboo that younger generations have begun to break. In the business world, where the retention of information is an attribute of power, the admission of a serious pathology is perceived as a sign of fragility. Especially if this person holds a high position, this area where management ability is confused with physical strength. In the military culture from which Austin, a four-star general, comes, the identification between good health and leadership is even more exaggerated.
The pathology that hid Austin, a 70-year-old man, is more significant if you consider that prostate diseases are sometimes identified with the arrival of old age. Although this should not be a setback for the military if you consider that his immediate superior in office, Joe Biden, is 81 years old.
The United States is debating today whether such a discreet man is the right person to lead the country’s war policy at a time as complex as the present. For Lloyd Austin, the lesson is bitter: when you’re caught hiding the truth, what you’re revealing is weakness.
