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Report | Jan. 10, 2025

Review of Responsibilities and Actions Related to the Secretary of Defense’s Hospitalizations and the DoD’s Policies and Procedures for Notification and Transfer of Functions and Duties (Report No. DODIG-2025-058)

Administrative Investigations

Inspector General Robert P. Storch announced today that the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released the “Review of the Responsibilities and Actions Related to the Secretary of Defense’s Hospitalizations and the DoD’s Policies and Procedures for Notification and Transfer of Functions and Duties.” The OIG report released today consists of several parts. First, the OIG examined the responsibilities and actions related to the transfer of functions and duties from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks during Secretary Austin’s hospitalizations in December 2023 and January and February 2024. Second, the report details the OIG’s assessment as to whether the DoD’s policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective assumption of functions and duties by the Deputy Secretary of Defense or other senior DoD leadership in the chain of succession due to health-based or other unavailability of the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense. Lastly, the report presents findings related to notifications required for continuity of operations, as well as two other topics.

The OIG made 20 recommendations to improve processes, widen the aperture of those involved in the decision-making process, enhance the flow of information within the Department and to other critical government stakeholders, and update related training and guidance. The OIG believes that taking prompt action on these recommendations is important to help ensure that fully informed decisions are made and communicated in a timely fashion in this important area.