“What we want to make sure happens going forward is that I am not the last African-American secretary of defense, that we create those opportunities in our ranks for African-Americans and Hispanics to rise to the very highest ranks in our military.”

American retired army general and defense official

Lloyd James Austin III is a retired United States Army general and American defense official. He served as the 28th United States secretary of defense from 2021 to 2025 in the Biden administration. Austin spent much of his career in the U.S. Army before taking on one of the country’s highest civilian defense posts. He is known for leading the Pentagon during a period of major national security challenges and for public remarks shaped by military service, defense policy, and the responsibilities of command.