911 Call for Lloyd Austin Is Out

Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed hospital on Monday, two weeks after being secretly admitted for complications following surgery for prostate cancer. Now, audio is out of the call requesting an ambulance be sent to the defense secretary's Virginia home on New Year's Day, with a special request made to the Fairfax County dispatcher. "Can I ask [that] the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens?" a male voice can be heard saying in the redacted 911 call released by Virginia officials. "We're trying to remain a little subtle."

Fox News identifies the voice in the call as that of an Austin aide. The ambulance was apparently subtle enough, because barely anyone knew of Austin's hospitalization, which has led to an uproar of sorts in DC. As Austin recuperates and works from home, his doctors say the 70-year-old "progressed well throughout his stay and his strength is rebounding," with an "excellent" prognosis, per the AP. Austin, meanwhile, says in a statement, "I'm eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon."