Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is bidding farewell to the forces and personnel he's led through a tumultuous term.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin bid farewell Friday to the forces and personnel he has led through a tumultuous term that had three major military crises, a global pandemic and a personal brush with cancer that became a flashpoint for the way it was mishandled.

Defense Secretary Austin will bid farewell Friday following a term that included three major military crises, a global pandemic and a brush with cancer.

The Pentagon Inspector General released a scathing report about Defense Secretary Austin’s failure to quickly disclose his hospitalization in early 2024.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is recommending that the incoming administration spend $50 billion more on defense than President Joe Biden requested. Austin’s five-year spending plan includes a projection to spend as much as $1 trillion on defense as soon as 2028.