2 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 15 Number 5


February 2021


General Lloyd Austin makes history as Secretary of Defense


and domestic, including the troubling growth of white supremacist and other extremist


mindsets within our own


Armed Forces. I will vote to confirm General Austin as Secretary of Defense so he can get straight to work amid these challenges.”


The historic moment of General


BY CHANCE MEETING General Lloyd Austin, a retired


United States Army four star general, will serve as the new Secretary of Defense under President Joe Biden and will be the first African American to hold the position.


Though General Austin seems


like the perfect fit for a job, his nomination was not met without pushback. Senate some Senate


Republicans Democrats and including


Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Richard Blumenthal, citing the law that states the head of the Pentagon must be at least seven years removed from the military to serve in the position as to maintain civilian control of the military. The law was unprecedentedly waived just four years prior for General Jim Mattis.


voiced


Despite the pushback, many their


nomination


support of Lloyd's including Senator Tim


Kaine who stated “Lloyd Austin is committed to civilian control


of


the military and is well-equipped to lead the Department of Defense as it protects us from enemies foreign


Austin’s confirmation as the Secretary of Defense is evident in the rhetoric of Black organizations that supported the nomination. The Tuskegee Airmen Inc. wrote a letter in support, highlighting the importance of a Black man in the position given the racial disparities that often persisted in the military.


“Though President Truman


integrated the armed forces in 1948, systemic racial disparities in the armed forces persist. According to a recent New York Times report, only two of the top 41 military commanders are Black despite 43 percent of the men and women on active duty being people of color,” their letter read.


“In


addition, government reports show that Blacks are more likely to be the subject of a military investigation or court martial


proceeding than their white


counterparts. As the first Black Defense Secretary, General Austin would be well-positioned


Lloyd Austin has become the first African


Secretary to address the stark


disparities facing the men and women of color in the armed forces.”


As of January 22, 2021 General American


of


Defense, marking a historic moment in the much-needed diversification of our government under President Joe Biden, in a time where progression is key after such a regressive previous administration.


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