I want to thank the amazing doctors and nursing staff at Walter Reed for the exceptional care they have delivered to me and for the personal warmth they have shown my family. I also appreciate all the outreach and well wishes from colleagues and friends. Charlene and I are very grateful for your support.
I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon.
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.