In itself, the secretary's incapacity is not a crisis; the Pentagon's chain of command has multiple people who can take over for him. And there might be good reasons to keep such news, at least temporarily, away from the public (and America's enemies).
The more worrisome possibility is that Austin and his staff did not want to release the news that Austin was incapacitated to anyone-including the president and his staff. If Austin's illness was kept under wraps by his aides to shield him from criticism or scrutiny, that's evidence of a dysfunctional staff environment.
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