Joe Biden names US Army General Lloyd Austin to head defense

US president-elect Joe Biden has named Lloyd Austin as the
secretary of defense in his administration, who, if selected, will be the first
ever African-American to be leading the office, AFP reported on Tuesday.

The four-star Army general has had a vast experience in
military before retiring. He headed the central command in Middle East and
Syria from 2012 to 2016, when Joe Biden was the Vice President, and before that,
he led campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, going on to become commanding general
of US forces in Iraq in 2010.

“Throughout his lifetime of dedicated service — and in
the many hours we’ve spent together in the White House Situation Room and with
our troops overseas — General Austin has demonstrated exemplary leadership,
character, and command,” Biden said in a statement.

“He is uniquely qualified to take on the challenges and
crises we face in the current moment.”

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The choice of Austin as the defense secretary came as a surprise
to many, since for weeks name of Michele Flourney was being touted as the most
likely to head the office.

Biden will have to convince the congress to allow a waiver
in Austin’s appointment, as according to rules, the office can only be headed
by a civilian, or in case of a military officer, he or she should be out of
service for seven years.

The rule has been waived only twice: once in 2017, when
Donald Trump chose James Mattis as the secretary of defense, and before that in
1950, when Harry Truman tapped George Marshall to lead the office.

The Biden campaign called Austin “a trusted and
crisis-tested leader who has overseen some of the most complex and impactful
operations in the history of the armed services,” citing the campaign
against the Islamic State group and the withdrawal of nearly 150,000 military personnel
from Iraq before that, AFP reported.

“I look forward to once again working closely with him
as a trusted partner to lead our military with dignity and resolve, revitalize
our alliances in the face of global threats, and ensure the safety and security
of the American people,” Biden said in the statement.

Austin spent four decades in the army, graduating from West
Point Military Academy and following a career with a wide range of assignments,
from leading platoons to running logistics groups and overseeing recruiting, to
senior Pentagon jobs.

In March 2003, he was the assistant division commander of
the 3rd Infantry Division when it marched from Kuwait into Baghdad in the US
invasion of Iraq.

From late 2003 to 2005, he was in Afghanistan commanding the
Combined Joint Task Force 180, the principle US-led operation seeking to
stabilize the security situation in the country.

Since retiring, Austin has been on the board of one of the
Pentagon’s largest weapons suppliers, Raytheon, as well as other companies.

He also was part of a small group of shareholders in an
investment group, Pine Island Capital Partners, that included Biden’s pick for
secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and his rival for the Pentagon job,
Flournoy.