ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The history-making first Black American to be defense secretary is retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, a 67-year-old former Army vice chief of staff and former U.S. Central Command commander who has close ties to President Joe Biden. 

The Senate on Jan. 22 confirmed Austin for the job on a 93-2 vote after the House and Senate voted Jan. 21 to waive a law that requires a minimum seven-year gap between active-duty service and an appointment to be defense secretary. Austin, a 1975 U.S. Military Academy graduate, retired from the Army in 2016. 

A retired Army four-star general is President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to become his secretary of defense, a historic selection because Gen. Lloyd Austin would be only the third retired general officer to serve in the post and the first Black person to lead DoD. 

Defense Secretary Mark Esper credits the Army as leading military transformation in an era of great-power competition. He even called the Army “ruthless.”

The former Army secretary, who assumed the top Pentagon post last year, said, “The future of warfare is being shaped right now, before our eyes, and the Army proudly stands at the forefront.” 

He spoke Oct. 15 during a presentation at AUSA Now, the 2020 virtual annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army.

The third day of AUSA Now features an address by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, a town hall focused on family issues and many other forums and events.

Esper opens the day’s main events with a presentation at 10 a.m. 

Acknowledging that change will not happen quickly, the Pentagon is taking a three-pronged approach to its efforts to fight discrimination, prejudice and bias in the military.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently ordered short-, mid- and long-term efforts to look at DoD policies, programs and processes that can improve diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity for all service members.

The Pentagon must fight its “heavily bureaucratic” and “risk-averse” culture if it wants to transform and modernize the force for the future battlefield, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said.

“You have people protecting their programs, protecting their activities, protecting their staff, and on top of that is the risk aversion of taking risks that should be taken,” Esper said in a virtual discussion during the recent 2020 Aspen Security Forum. 

National Guard troops have responded “with the utmost skill and professionalism” amid demonstrations across the country, and there is no need to deploy active-duty soldiers to aid in the response, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said.

“I’m very proud of the men and women of the National Guard who are out on the streets today performing this important task,” Esper said during a press briefing June 3. “I’ve always believed and continue to believe the National Guard is best suited to perform domestic support to civilian authorities in these situations in support of law enforcement.”

DoD guidance for returning to post-pandemic conditions includes a five-step process for resuming normal and routine activities, based on reductions in infections and increasing ability to treat patients with or without COVID-19 at military medical treatment facilities.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has taken the rare step of praising the defense industry for its hard work during a time of pressing national needs.

“During these extraordinary times for our Nation and the world, I would like to recognize your focus and dedication to maintaining the United States’ unrivaled defense industrial base,” he says in a May 4 letter.

His remarks came just a day after he warned in a public forum that the military may soon face flat budgets and that he might cut funding for legacy programs so the Pentagon can afford modernization.

The U.S. military is working toward a “new normal” as it continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said.

“The long-term view is what do we do over the next six, 12, 18 months,” Esper said May 4 during a virtual event hosted by the Brookings Institution. “My view, the view of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the view of our commanders, is there will be a new normal that we will have to adapt to for a certain period of time.”

This period could last until a vaccine “we are confident in” is developed and available, Esper said.