Watertown Daily Times
Gen. Lloyd Austin III in 2013
(Provided photo â U.S. Central Command)
FORT DRUM — As retired Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III was confirmed as the Secretary of Defense on Friday, many North Country observers fondly remembered his time as Fort Drum’s commander and the legacy he left behind.
Austin’s distinguished career included leading the post and the 10th Mountain Division from 2003 to 2005, and he’s now the first Black person in charge of the Pentagon.
On Friday, the Senate confirmed him by a 93-2 vote.
But he had to get a waiver from Congress to serve as the defense secretary because his retirement in 2016 did not fulfill the requirement that he had to be out of uniform for seven years.