By John Hughes, MD, USMA ’96
GEN (Retired) Lloyd Austin will be replaced as SECDEF once the new administration’s pick is confirmed. He will finish nearly 50 years of service to our country.
He achieved many firsts – first Black theater commander during war and the first Black SECDEF among other firsts.
He does however, leave a troubling legacy as both an Army general and SECDEF.
DEI
Austin accelerated the spread of DEI within the US military as SECDEF. As a Black SECDEF warning about extremism and lack of opportunity for minorities, he is to be both commended for his path from West Point and chided as a supreme hypocrite.
The Army is like most other branches of the military where officers typically need to branch into a combat specialty and move up the ranks commanding combat units to reach general officer and high commands.
Austin graduated from West Point in 1975 and chose the correct branch – infantry. He commanded at all levels from company grade to field grade to general officer. Examining nothing else in his career, it would seem that he chose the correct path to be a general…and he indeed attained the rank of four-star general.
In the DEI debate, proponents point out the lack of equity in race of general officers. The percentage of Black generals is lower than the percent of Blacks in West Point’s classes. The data for each class is difficult to obtain, but the author is familiar with the demographics of his own 1996 West Point year group. A mere 3 Black males in the West Point Class joined the 180 or so cadets that branched Infantry. Two left before 10 years’ service and the last left as a LTC.
Minorities have to be willing to branch the correct branches AND remain in the military if they wish to compete for general officer rank later on in their career. So, in this sense, Austin chose the harder combat arms branch and was later rewarded for it.
In his last speech as SECDEF at West Point in December 2024 he talked about the difficulties facing minorities in today’s military.
“So look, if I get a little fired up about this, it’s just because this isn’t 1950. It isn’t 1948. It is 2024. And we need each and every qualified citizen who steps up to wear the cloth of our nation. And any military that turns away tough, talented patriots—women or men—is just making itself weaker and smaller. So enough already.”
He graduated West Point in the 1970s when the military was still struggling with racism and yet still attained the rank of four-star general so the fact that he achieved such lofty rank and then the office of SECDEF places his DEI argument at odds with the reality of his own career. He achieved the highest ranks possible. Similarly, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is also Black.
So, why did he feel the need to destroy the spirit of the military and lambast meritocracy via his DEI rhetoric for four years?
COVID
Austin issued a draconian COVID vaccine policy that ignored the demographics that were known to be at most risk for COVID. The policy deceptively denied most objectors the right to refuse and was thrust upon generally the healthiest segment of the US population that did not die from COVID in any numbers approximating the general public.
Overall, 96 active-duty members died from COVID in four years. DoD refused to release the demographics of the deaths. Likely most of the 96 had the four or more risk factors and were older and/or overweight like Austin who himself was overweight or DoD would have been more forthright with the demographics of dead servicemembers to defend their controversial policy. Austin contracted COVID at least twice and was vaccinated and boosted.
Even when it was painfully clear that the mandate was unnecessary, Austin stubbornly put pressure on the services to keep kicking out those who were holding out against the COVID mandate in late 2022.
This is in contradiction to his parables at the 2024 West Point speech where he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s be clear. Humility is not weakness. Humility is a command virtue.” Austin lacked humility, and the mandate only ended when the Republicans retook the house and legislated its end.
His disastrous policy eliminated over 8,000 servicemembers from the US military, many of whom were experienced veterans.
At the same time, he presided over a US military that gained weight nearly linearly over the course of his time in office and now 21% of the active-duty military is classified as obese.
In his 2024 West Point speech he said, “We don’t lower our standards for our recruits.” He may have violated West Point’s honor code in that statement as the DoD clearly has – allowances for obesity and other societal flaws not helpful for military service. This was likely to offset the decline in Americans wanting to serve in the military leading to recruiting shortfalls, largely due to his own DEI policy woes.
LOSING WARS
In May 2003, Time magazine published a list of interesting quotes just made by key individuals:
““I think we have good control, but we may need to police up some meatheads.” LLOYD AUSTIN, Brigadier General of the Third Infantry Division, on providing security in Iraq.”
A future SECDEF who bragged to the USMA Corps of Cadets in December 2024 that he led the charge into Baghdad in 2003 was shockingly lacking in any insight about what the war was about. He was not alone.
It was not until 2007 that US generals finally quietly admitted that a sectarian religious war was going on. The “meatheads” Austin would describe would go on to kill over 4,000 Americans and contribute to over 460,000 Iraqi deaths, and lead to a conflict that continues to this day.
US troops at the time of the writing of this article are still based in Iraq performing combat operations.
Despite the best technology in the world and seemingly unlimited funding, the US military juggernaut was unable to defeat the “meatheads” who were never more than a glorified militia lacking aircraft, armored vehicles, and a navy.
Austin would later command over Afghanistan as CENTCOM commander, perpetuating the lie that the war was going well.
As SECDEF he presided over the disastrous collapse of the Afghan government and military in 2021 culminating in the embarrassing images in Kabul in August 2021. Then, he guided Biden as the US supplied Ukraine against Russia with weapons that pushed the world to the brink of WW3.
Interestingly, Austin did not mention Afghanistan in his December West Point speech (the war lost on his watch as a general and SECDEF). It is likely not possible for Austin to have performed any worse as a general or SECDEF.
WAR PROFITEERING
Immediately after he retired from military service in 2016, Austin got hired by Raytheon and earned over $2.7M in stock and compensation before being hired as SECDEF during Biden’s administration. Of note, this is in addition to being on the boards of and receiving payments from Tenet Health and Nucor.
Austin joined the 80% of four-star generals/admirals that work in the military industrial complex.
It could be a coincidence, but Raytheon’s profits doubled when the Ukraine conflict began and the US government awarded massive contracts to Austin’s old company. It would be difficult to prove wrongdoing but there is a clear conflict of interest, the likes of which President Eisenhower warned us about in his epic 1961 warning to America.
It will be interesting to see where Austin works after finishing up as SECDEF. Perhaps another board job in the military industrial sector as a ‘reward’ for his service.
POLITICS
During 2008-2009 when Austin was a three-star general, he allegedly had a close relationship with then CPT Beau Biden, the late son of the current commander in chief. The same President who nominated Austin to be his SECDEF as soon as he won the 2020 Presidential election.
It is quite unusual for a three-star general to be ‘best buds’ with a CPT. The most obvious answer is that Austin took an interest in the younger Biden to gain favor and entry into the elder Biden’s world as he (Austin) sought increased power and responsibility.
Hopefully Austin’s successor can do better. The path forward to a more ethical performance is essentially to do the opposite of SECDEF Austin:
—Eliminate toxic DEI and restore meritocracy to the military
—Push back against the political culture in Washington so toxic and unnecessary mandates like the COVID mandate never happen again
—Win wars, or at least don’t get involved in unwinnable wars
—Bar generals and senior defense department officials from working in the military industrial complex for at least 10 years before and after leaving office.
—Promote generals for merit, not for political connections or obedience to superiors.
The bar for the next SECDEF to do better is shockingly low thanks to GEN (Retired) Lloyd Austin.
John Hughes: Emergency Physician. United States Military Academy Class of 1996. #1 graduate. 3rd Generation West Pointer. 4 combat tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. STARRS member. www.americandoctor.org.
Leave a Comment