49 Facts About Lloyd Austin

1.

Lloyd James Austin III was born on August 8,1953 and is a retired United States Army four-star general who has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense since January 22,2021.

2.

Lloyd Austin is the first African American to serve in this role.

3.

In 2013, Lloyd Austin was appointed as the first Black commander of CENTCOM by President Barack Obama.

4.

Lloyd Austin retired from the armed services in 2016 and joined the boards of Raytheon Technologies, Nucor, Tenet Healthcare, and Auburn University.

5.

Lloyd Austin was born on August 8,1953, in Mobile, Alabama; he was raised in Thomasville, Georgia.

6.

Lloyd Austin graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1975, where he was commander of G-1.

7.

Lloyd Austin later earned a Master of Arts degree in counselor education from Auburn University's College of Education in 1986, and a Master of Business Administration in business management from Webster University in 1989.

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8.

Lloyd Austin is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced courses, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College.

9.

Lloyd Austin was commissioned as a second lieutenant after his graduation from West Point.

10.

In 1981, Lloyd Austin was assigned to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he was the operations officer for the Army Indianapolis District Recruiting Command, and where he later commanded a company in the Army Recruiting Battalion.

11.

Lloyd Austin then returned to the West Point as a company tactical officer for E-1.

12.

Lloyd Austin subsequently served as Executive Officer for 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain, and later Director of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security for Fort Drum.

13.

In 1993, Lloyd Austin returned to the 82nd Airborne Division where he commanded the 2d Battalion, 505th Infantry.

14.

Lloyd Austin was awarded a Silver Star for his actions as commander during the invasion.

15.

Lloyd Austin served from September 2003 until August 2005 as Commanding General of 10th Mountain Division, as Commander, Combined Joint Task Force 180, during the War in Afghanistan.

16.

On December 8,2006, Lloyd Austin was promoted to Lieutenant General and assumed command of XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

17.

Lloyd Austin handed over command of XVIII Corps to become Director of the Joint Staff in August 2009.

18.

Lloyd Austin oversaw the transition from Operation Iraqi Freedom and combat operations to Operation New Dawn and stability operations focused on advising, assisting, and training the ISF.

19.

Lloyd Austin was extensively involved in the internal US discussions and then negotiations with the Iraqi Government leading up to the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement.

20.

Lloyd Austin directed the drawdown of forces and the redeployment of approximately 50,000 service members.

21.

In December 2011, Lloyd Austin was nominated to become Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

22.

Lloyd Austin supervised a review of the psychiatric treatment of personnel assessed for disability by the Army.

23.

Lloyd Austin became the commander of CENTCOM on March 22,2013, after being nominated by President Obama in late 2012.

24.

Lloyd Austin was preceded as CENTCOM Commander by General James Mattis, whom Lloyd Austin would later succeed as Secretary of Defense.

25.

Lloyd Austin had earlier described ISIL as a "flash in the pan".

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26.

In 2015, Lloyd Austin conceded in a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing that a CENTCOM-developed US program intended to train Syrians to combat ISIL had not been successful.

27.

Immediately after retiring as CENTCOM Commander, Lloyd Austin joined the board of Raytheon Technologies, a military contractor, in April 2016.

28.

On May 29,2018, Lloyd Austin was appointed as an independent director on the board of Tenet Healthcare.

29.

Lloyd Austin operates a consulting firm and has been a partner at Pine Island Capital, an investment company with which Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Michele Flournoy are affiliated.

30.

Lloyd Austin had a close relationship with Beau, Biden's late son, when he served on Lloyd Austin's staff in Iraq in 2008 and 2009.

31.

Lloyd Austin took office on January 22,2021, after being sworn in by a Defense Department official, and was sworn in ceremonially by Vice President Kamala Harris on January 25,2021.

32.

Several days after assuming office as Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin visited the National Guard deployed to Washington DC Lloyd Austin praised the Guard for protecting the Capitol in the days after the 2021 attack.

33.

On February 24,2021, Lloyd Austin visited US Northern Command, Los Angeles, which is coordinating an immunization effort in the area in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to further investigate the fight against COVID-19.

34.

On January 2,2022, Lloyd Austin announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing symptoms at home.

35.

Lloyd Austin received a COVID-19 vaccine booster in early October 2021.

36.

Concerns of possible right-wing extremism among the troops caused Lloyd Austin to implement new training requirements.

37.

On February 5,2021, Lloyd Austin announced that all members of the United States military would be required to stand down within the next 60 days in order to conduct training.

38.

On February 25,2021, under Biden's direction, Lloyd Austin coordinated military defensive airstrikes against an Iranian-backed militia in Syria.

39.

Lloyd Austin had previously recommended such airstrikes as a response to Iranian attacks on Americans in Iraq earlier in the month.

40.

On February 25,2021, Lloyd Austin visited the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.

41.

The trip was part of the Biden administration's "America is back" diplomatic theme, and Lloyd Austin pledged the US's commitment to reaffirm ties with its allies and to maintain a robust military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

42.

Lloyd Austin added that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula remains the Biden administration's top priority, and that the alliances with South Korea and Japan are among the most important tools the United States has in that regard.

43.

Lloyd Austin made a three-day visit to India, where he met with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, and other senior government officials.

44.

Lloyd Austin urged India to cancel the planned purchase of Russia's S-400 air defence system.

45.

Lloyd Austin expressed doubt that the Department of Defense would meet its May 1 deadline for the 2021 withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

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46.

Lloyd Austin said that he wanted to see "Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine".

47.

Lloyd Austin said he "does not" believe that Russia's invasion of Ukraine will result in a nuclear war.

48.

Lloyd Austin was raised by a devoutly Catholic mother and remains practicing himself.

49.

Lloyd Austin has been described as an "intensely private" man who loathed talking to the news media when he was in Iraq and has a habit of "referring to himself in the third person".