(credit: twitter.com/DeptofDefense)   President Joe Biden’s incoming Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin III

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC   TIMES

It’s official! The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted Friday to confirm retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to become America’s first Black defense secretary in charge of  the behemoth Pentagon.  Senators confirmed Austin by a vote of 93-2 to serve as President Joe Biden’s secretary of  defense.  Remarkably, Austin  sailed with ease through the  Senate confirmation process despite concern he is a recently retired general with defense industry ties.  But it was the general’s irreproachable military credentials that carried the  day even with liberal lawmakers.  Some lawmakers were concerned because his retirement from the military happened less than seven years ago, the minimum period of time a civilian is required to wait to lead the Defense Department. Austin retired in 2016.  However Congress rapidly approved a waiver for Austin to fill the Cabinet position before his Senate confirmation. 

” It’s an honor and a privilege to serve as our country’s 28th Secretary of Defense, and I’m especially proud to be the first African American to hold the position. Let’s get to work.”

-U.S. Defense Secretary Gen. Lloyd Austin, III

It’s an honor and a privilege to serve as our country’s 28th Secretary of Defense, and I’m especially proud to be the first African American to hold the position. Let’s get to work. pic.twitter.com/qPAzVRxz9L

— Lloyd Austin (@LloydAustin) January 22, 2021

General Austin Highly Respected in Military Circles 

General Austin is highly respected in military circles and brings decades of experience having  previously led the U.S. Central Command in its Iraq campaign.  Austin was the first Black commander of CENTCOM.  The USCENTCOM  is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense, its area of Responsibility includes the Middle East, including Egypt in Africa, and Central Asia and parts of South Asia. The command has been the main American presence in many military operations, including the Persian Gulf War’s Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War from 2003 to 2011. During his campaign, Biden promised to appoint the most diverse cabinet in American history. 

General  Austin meeting with US ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey (left) and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (center) in 2011 (credit: Wikipedia) 

Austin was born in 1953, in Mobile, Alabama and raised in Thomasville, Georgia. He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) with a Bachelor of Science degree in June 1975.  He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced courses, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College.  On September 1, 2010, Austin became Commanding General (CG) of U.S. Forces – Iraq (USF-I).  After retiring, Austin in 2016 joined the board of Raytheon Technologies, a military contractor.