Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin resumed work at the Pentagon on Monday after his secretive hospitalization earlier late last year. During a recorded meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stolteberg, Austin addressed his health situation, revealing that he is still in recovery.

“At this important time, I’m glad to be back at the Pentagon. I feel good and am recovering well — but still recovering — and I appreciate all the good wishes that I’ve received thus far,” he stated.

The meeting also saw Austin comment on the drone attack on U.S. service members at a military base in Jordan on Sunday.

“Let me start with my outrage and sorrow for the death of three brave U.S. troops in Jordan and for the other troops who were wounded,” he stated, adding, “The president and I will not tolerate attack on U.S. forces and we will take all necessary actions to defend the U.S. and our troops.”

Austin’s return to work comes after calls for him to resign or be ousted from his position for failing to notify the White House, Congress or top national security officials that he was hospitalized for days. He had been checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1 but it was not until Jan. 4 that top officials knew about it.

Austin also transferred his responsibilities to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks on Jan. 2 without informing her or any other Pentagon official of the reason behind his decision. He also did not notify the White House that he had transferred his authority to Hicks.

While President Joe Biden insisted on letting the Defense Secretary hold on to his job, his actions led to intense scrutiny for him, as he later released a statement to address “media concerns about transparency” around his hospitalization.

Appreciating the medical personnel that took care of him as well as friends and family, he wrote, “I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better. But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”

On Jan. 9, Austin’s doctors at Walter Reed revealed that he had developed complications – A urinary tract infection – from a prostate cancer surgery he did on Dec. 22. He had reportedly been taken in an ambulance from his home in Virginia to the hospital due to severe pain from the UTI.