Austin, Iraq war commander, tapped for CENTCOM
President Obama will nominate Gen. Lloyd Austin, vice chief of staff of the Army, to take command of Central Command, the Pentagon announced on Thursday. The Army general was the last commanding general of the Iraq war, overseeing its final drawdown during Operation New Dawn. Austin will bring those skills to the military’s regional ...
President Obama will nominate Gen. Lloyd Austin, vice chief of staff of the Army, to take command of Central Command, the Pentagon announced on Thursday.
The Army general was the last commanding general of the Iraq war, overseeing its final drawdown during Operation New Dawn. Austin will bring those skills to the military's regional command in charge of ending the Afghanistan war with a similar massive military drawdown to occur while furiously training up Afghan forces as U.S. troops exit.
President Obama will nominate Gen. Lloyd Austin, vice chief of staff of the Army, to take command of Central Command, the Pentagon announced on Thursday.
The Army general was the last commanding general of the Iraq war, overseeing its final drawdown during Operation New Dawn. Austin will bring those skills to the military’s regional command in charge of ending the Afghanistan war with a similar massive military drawdown to occur while furiously training up Afghan forces as U.S. troops exit.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, in a statement, "During his final deployment to Iraq, Gen. Austin led our military efforts at a particularly important time, overseeing the drawdown of U.S. forces and equipment while simultaneously helping to ensure that hard-fought security gains were preserved and that Iraqis could secure and govern themselves. Lloyd would bring an important combination of strategic thinking, regional knowledge and proven judgment to one of the most critical posts in the department."
The Pentagon will rely on Austin’s thinking far beyond Afghanistan as the military becomes increasingly entangled with local militaries and security forces across the Middle East and North Africa, chasing the spread of al Qaeda and other extremists groups.
Austin replaces Marine Corps Gen. Jim Mattis, who has been one of the most quiet and unseen 4-star commanders in the military. Mattis took the post following Gen. David Petraeus, who had turned the Central Command job into a virtual secretary of state for the Middle East, shuttling between capitals and employing the media to demonstrate that America’s interest in the region would continue after the Iraq war. Mattis, in contrast, entered the war known for off-color quips and quickly went radio silent, making only rare public appearances.
Mattis, Panetta said, "will go down as one of the most celebrated battlefield leaders and strategic military thinkers of our time."
Kevin Baron is a national security reporter for Foreign Policy, covering defense and military issues in Washington. He is also vice president of the Pentagon Press Association. Baron previously was a national security staff writer for National Journal, covering the "business of war." Prior to that, Baron worked in the resident daily Pentagon press corps as a reporter/photographer for Stars and Stripes. For three years with Stripes, Baron covered the building and traveled overseas extensively with the secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, covering official visits to Afghanistan and Iraq, the Middle East and Europe, China, Japan and South Korea, in more than a dozen countries. From 2004 to 2009, Baron was the Boston Globe Washington bureau's investigative projects reporter, covering defense, international affairs, lobbying and other issues. Before that, he muckraked at the Center for Public Integrity. Baron has reported on assignment from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the South Pacific. He was won two Polk Awards, among other honors. He has a B.A. in international studies from the University of Richmond and M.A. in media and public affairs from George Washington University. Originally from Orlando, Fla., Baron has lived in the Washington area since 1998 and currently resides in Northern Virginia with his wife, three sons, and the family dog, The Edge. Twitter: @FPBaron
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