Lloyd Austin, faces a challenge to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the
NAACP and other prominent Black organizations are publicly throwing their support for his nomination.
Austin,
a retired four-star Army general, has already achieved a historic mark as the first Black commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). He could make history yet again, with President-elect
Biden’s naming Austin as a nominee for Secretary of Defense. Several Black organizations are urging Congress to approve a process that would help push the nomination forward.
Austin, 67, has worked previously with President
Barack Obama’s administration as CENTCOM’s director, leaving the post after his retirement in March 2016. Previously, Austin served as the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army (VCSA), heading that office in 2012.
35 A year after arriving in France, fighting across Germany, liberating the Dachau Concentration Camp and occupying Vienna, Austria, for post war duties, 60 Soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Division’s 222nd Infantry Regiment celebrated Christmas 1945 by singing.
The Soldiers belonged to the 222nd Infantry Glee Club and their singing took place in the Great Hall of Vienna’s Konzerthaus. The Christmas night program, called “Silent Night, Holy Night,” was one of the highlights of the glee club’s six-month existence.
The 222nd Infantry was part of the American occupation force in Austria’s capital and the regimental glee club, encouraged by music loving officers in the 42nd Division, was part of the various activities taken up by American Soldiers still overseas after the war’s end.
‘Race matters’: Austin advocates tout his historic candidacy in the face of other concerns December 12, 2020 Then-Gen. Lloyd Austin makes remarks during the U.S. Central Command change of command ceremony at Macdill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., March 30, 2016. (Army Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp/DoD) WASHINGTON ― Immediately after President-elect Joe Biden announced he would nominate retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to lead the Pentagon, members of Congress questioned whether the selection would upend the relationship between civilian and military leaders in the department. In the days that followed, Austin’s advocates have been asking lawmakers to think hard about another topic: the retired general’s race.
In historic move, President-elect Biden appoints retired General Lloyd Austin for top job
Crusader Staff Report
Retired U. S. Army General Lloyd Austin, III, will serve as the nation’s first Black Secretary of Defense. As the leader and chief executive officer of the United States Department of Defense, Austin, will command the executive department of the United States Armed Forces located at the Pentagon.
President-elect Joe Biden, in a historic move, made the announcement Wednesday, December 9, after news reports emerged that he had tapped Austin for the top job. Austin’s appointment must be confirmed by the Republican majority Senate.
THE VIEW FROM AMERICA
Chido Nwangwu, Publisher, USAfricaonline appreciates the noble gesture of American President-elect for appointing a good number of African-Americans into strategic offices in his cabinet
In politics, the common saying is that there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends but there are only permanent interests. To a great extent, this is true especially regarding the politics nations and groups play. It is probably true for some individuals and groups whose commitments are only determined and calibrated by the barometers of short term, tactical interests.
On the other side, I do know that movement politics are about loyalty and commitment to shared interests.