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According to the main American media, the president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, has chosen as Secretary of Defense retired General Lloyd Austin, former commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), a military command with experience in the Middle East. The news of the appointment was advanced to CNN from sources close to Biden, and later confirmed by major newspapers citing their own sources. It has not yet been made official by Biden staff. Austin would be the first African American to head the Department of Defense, having already been the first African American to command CENTCOM.
Biden may announce Austin’s candidacy on Tuesday, December 8. The role of Secretary of Defense is one of the most important in the administration: he has command of troops around the world and has to manage the inner workings of the complicated Pentagon bureaucracy. Austin has extensive experience at the Pentagon and worked in various positions closely with Biden when he was vice president during the Obama administration: most notably as a CENTCOM commander from 2013 to 2016. Prior to that, while Biden was vice president, Austin was a former deputy chief of Army personnel and commanding general of US forces in Iraq.
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