Lloyd Austin

Lloyd Austin (born August 8, 1953, Mobile, Alabama, U.S.) was the United States secretary of defense (2021–25). He assumed this position in January 2021, two days after Pres. Joe Biden’s inauguration. During his 41-year career in the U.S. Army, Austin served as director of the Joint Staff, was commanding general of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, and headed U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). He was the first African American to serve as defense secretary.

Early life and military career

Austin’s father was a postal worker, and his mother was a homemaker. The family moved to Thomasville, Georgia, when Austin was in third grade. His elementary school in Georgia was segregated, but, by the time he graduated from Thomasville High School in 1971, the system had been integrated.

Two years after his high-school graduation, Austin departed for the United States Military Academy at West Point, telling the local paper he was doing it to make his mother proud. He graduated as an infantry second lieutenant in 1975, and he continued rising through the ranks, commanding troops at the battalion, brigade, division, and corps levels. He helped lead the army’s 3rd Infantry Division during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and later commanded the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan.

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Austin returned to Iraq in 2008. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Pres. Barack Obama, later said he was astounded the first time he met with Austin; Austin showed him what the American military was doing on every piece of contested ground throughout Iraq. “I hadn’t run into anybody who had the comprehensive understanding of the ground war that he had,” Mullen told The New York Times in 2020.

Austin became director of the Joint Staff (a group of senior officers who assist the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) in 2009, a job the Times has called “one of the most powerful behind-the-scenes positions in the military.” The following year he was appointed commanding general of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. This was the beginning of his relationship with Biden. A devout Roman Catholic, Austin regularly sat next to Biden’s son Beau at mass when Beau Biden was serving in Iraq. Austin was still commander of U.S. forces in Iraq when the American withdrawal was completed in 2011.

In 2013 Obama appointed Austin head of CENTCOM. This came after a period of turmoil in the military’s top leadership, when generals James Mattis, David Petraeus, and John Allen had all resigned. In that capacity, Austin oversaw all military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan. He retired from military service in the spring of 2016 and took positions on the directorial boards of Raytheon, Nucor, and Tenet Healthcare.

Tenure as secretary of defense

Biden announced in December 2020 that he was appointing Austin as his defense secretary, and Austin was confirmed by the Senate in January 2021. One of Austin’s first responsibilities in his cabinet position was overseeing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a process that was completed when the final American service member left on August 30 of that year. Austin’s tenure as defense secretary was also marked by two other international conflicts: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas.

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With regard to Russia, Austin consistently used harsh rhetoric, telling reporters in the spring of 2022 that he wanted to see Russia “weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things it has done in invading Ukraine.” He supported U.S. assistance to Ukraine in the form of weapons and money, and, under his watch, the U.S. provided intelligence that had helped Ukrainians kill roughly 12 Russian generals by May 2022. At the same time, under Austin’s leadership, the Pentagon blocked the Biden administration from sharing intelligence for a probe by the International Criminal Court into Russian war crimes. Austin reportedly argued that the court’s investigation might set a precedent that could lead to the prosecution of Americans.

Austin also played a role in the Biden administration’s support for Israel throughout the country’s military action against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. On October 13, 2023, six days after the attack by Hamas that killed roughly 1,140 people, Austin visited Israel and announced that U.S. support for the country was “ironclad.” In December the Biden administration bypassed Congress to approve the sale of weapons to Israel.

In December 2023 Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and on December 22 he received a prostatectomy (the surgical removal of some or all of the prostate gland) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. After developing complications, Austin was readmitted to Walter Reed, and he entered intensive care on January 2, 2024. Austin’s deputy, Kathleen Hicks, was named acting secretary of defense, but she did not know of Austin’s hospitalization until days later. The Pentagon was widely criticized for its lack of transparency in failing to inform Biden or other members of the government about Austin’s illness. A review of the episode by the inspector general of the Department of Defense concluded that Austin’s actions had “increased unnecessarily” risks to U.S. national security.