Retired four-star Army General Lloyd Austin III was confirmed as the nation’s first African American Secretary of Defense.

Our founder, Elton Johnson Jr, worked for General Austin as a Lieutenant Colonel assigned to the G-3 (Operations) Section of Multi-National Corps-Iraq (MNC-I) as an Operations Officer when General Austin (then Lieutenant General Austin) was the Commanding General of Multi-National Corps-Iraq in 2008.

“I worked for General Austin during my second tour of duty in Iraq. I was one of his main briefers. It was a challenging job because he is a very sharp and very demanding individual. You had to really be on the ball and know your stuff to work for him. He is a brilliant man and an excellent leader, I am sure that he will be an excellent Secretary of Defense.” We congratulate Ret. General Austin on this tremendous appointment!