WASHINGTON (Web Desk) – A high-ranking US air force official fainted at the podium during a Pentagon press briefing while discussing the Air Force’s $120billion budget.
US Air Force General James Martin Jr, 52, was talking about the future of the F-35 program when suddenly he started to slump forward on Tuesday, dipping his head beneath the dais, the Mail Online reported.
The whole scene was captured on camera.
While subordinates who rushed to help Martin joked that he fainted after reading the budget, it was later revealed that he had been suffering from the flu.
As the general collapsed, Assistant Air Force Secretary Carolyn Gleason rushed to Martin’s side and grabbed him by the arm.
In the video, light laughter is heard in the room before Gleason asks someone to help her steady the general.
Three Air Force staffers rush over and grab hold of Martin, who appears dazed and woozy.
One of the aides offers him a sip of water from a small plastic bottle while another fetches a chair for the wobbly general to take a sit.
The major general then made a feeble attempt to get up from the chair, but Gleason insisted he remain seated.
He was eventually ushered out of the room and later taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Martin, a career officer who works under the Air Force’s Financial Management and Comptroller office, was back to work Wednesday and was said to be doing well, according to an Air Force representative.
