Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks after arriving on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on Thursday at sea. Austin told sailors that he hopes to avoid long ship deployments like the more than 10 months they just spent at sea as he wrestles with security threats from China in the Pacific and Iran in the Middle East. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks after arriving on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on Thursday at sea. Austin told sailors that he hopes to avoid long ship deployments like the more than 10 months they just spent at sea as he wrestles with security threats from China in the Pacific and Iran in the Middle East.