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.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has departed for Germany to attend the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at the Ramstein Air Base, which is his last one before the end of the Biden administration.

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