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Here's a look at the life of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Birthdate: August 8, 1953
Place of birth: Mobile, Alabama
Birth name: Lloyd James Austin III
Father: Lloyd James Austin Jr., postal worker
Mother: Aletia Taylor Austin, housewife
Marriage: Charlene Denise (Banner) Austin (early 80s to present)
Children: Reginald Hill (stepson); Christopher Hill (stepson)
Education: United States Military Academy, BS, 1975; Auburn University, ME, educational counselor, 1986; Webster University, MA, management and leadership, 1989; War Army College (attended 1996-1997)
Military service: US Army, 1975-2016, four-star general
He has achieved many firsts:
- The first African American Secretary of Defense.
- The first African American to serve as Army Deputy Chief of Staff.
- The first African American to lead the United States Central Command.
- The first African American to lead an Army corps in combat.
- The first African-American commanding general of a US Army division.
He received numerous decorations for his military service, including five Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star for bravery in combat, and two Legions of Merit.
He has served on several boards of directors, including Nucor Corporation, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, and United Technologies (now known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation following a merger in 2020).
He served on the board of trustees of Auburn University and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
An athlete in high school, he was captain of his varsity basketball team.
1975 – Austin is commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army upon graduating from West Point. Over the next 20 years, he held various leadership positions and was stationed at bases in North Carolina, Indianapolis, New York, Germany and Panama.
1997-1999 – Commander, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
1999-2001 – Chief, Joint Operations Division, J-3, Joint Staff, Washington, DC
2001-2003 – Deputy Division Commander, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq.
2003-2005 – Commanding General of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. Includes Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq.
2005-2006 – Chief of Staff, U.S. Central Command, Unified Combat Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
2006-2009 – Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Commander of the Multinational Corps; Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2009-2010 – Office of the Director, Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Department of Defense, Washington, DC
2010 – He is promoted to four-star general.
2010-2011 – Commanding General, US Forces Iraq, US Central Command, Operation New Dawn.
January 31, 2012-March 2013 – Vice Chief of Staff, US Army
December 6, 2012 – Nominated by President Barack Obama to be the 12th commander of the United States Central Command.
March 2013-March 2016 – Commander, US Central Command
April 5, 2016 – He retires from the army.
2016 – Founded Austin Strategy Group, LLC., with Austin as owner and president. He later states in a US Office of Government Ethics document that the consulting business will remain dormant following his confirmation as Secretary of Defense in 2021.
September 2020-January 22, 2021 – Partner at the investment firm Pine Island Capital Partners.
December 8, 2020 – President-elect Joe Biden names Austin as his nominee for defense secretary, in an op-ed published by The Atlantic.
January 19, 2021 – Senate Armed Services Committee hearing takes place. Austin addresses concerns about a retired general taking the top civilian job at the Pentagon: “If confirmed, I will carry out the mission of the Department of Defense, always with the goal of deterring war and ensuring the security of our nation, and I will defend the principle of civilian control of the military, as intended.” He also vows to fight to rid the department of “racists and extremists.”
January 21, 2021 – Both houses of Congress approve a waiver to allow Austin to serve as defense secretary, as the law requires a defense secretary to wait seven years after active duty before taking office. This is the second such exemption. The first was awarded to James Mattis in 2017.
January 22, 2021 – In a 93-2 vote, the Senate confirms that Austin will be the first African-American defense secretary.
February 2, 2021 – Austin fires hundreds of members of 42 Pentagon advisory boards, as Pentagon announces review of board members. Those members, appointed by the Pentagon, include late appointments by Donald Trump's administration.
February 2, 2021 – Austin orders a staggered pause in operations across the US military so that commanders can have “necessary discussions” with service members on the issue of extremism over the next 60 days, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announces.
February 16, 2021 – He writes an op-ed in the Washington Post to highlight that, under the Biden Administration, the United States has returned to full support of NATO and its traditional role in the defense of Europe.
March 21, 2021 – He is traveling to Afghanistan on his first visit to the country as the top US defense official, meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and other officials.
April 30, 2021 – In his first major policy speech, Austin emphasizes the importance of emerging technology and rapid increases in computing power to propel the military into the future, presenting a vision of war markedly different from how it was “the last of the old wars.” wars” of the past. They fought for two decades.
June 22, 2021 – Austin announces that he will recommend to Biden a change in the military justice system to take the processing of sexual assaults out of the hands of commanders.
January 2, 2022 – According to a statement from Austin released by the Department of Defense, he tested positive for Covid-19 and is showing “mild” symptoms.
April 24, 2022 – Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken make an unannounced trip to kyiv and meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
March 7, 2023 – Austin makes an unannounced trip to Iraq. He is the highest-ranking Cabinet official to visit the country since the start of the Biden administration.
January 5, 2024 – The Pentagon announces that Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on New Year's Day for complications from a medical procedure. Austin faces criticism as it is revealed that top officials, including President Biden, knew nothing about his multi-day hospital stay. On January 9, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center releases a statement revealing that Austin is being treated for prostate cancer. The cancer was discovered in early December 2023.
