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President-elect Joe Biden has made an inspired choice in selecting retired general Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense in his administration. Ever since I entered West Point in 1962, and after 38 years in uniform and 20 years as a retired general, political candidate and businessman, I've learned a lot about this powerful, difficult position. Lloyd Austin is the right person for the job at this time.
It is a job that comes with great responsibilities. The secretary of defense, along with the president, represents the National Command Authority—think nuclear weapons, deterrence, retaliation, crises and response, war and peace and everything in between. In these responsibilities, the secretary must work closely with both the president and vice president, of course, but also other cabinet members, and especially the secretary of state and national security advisor.
The defense secretary oversees the largest discretionary budget in government, over $700 billion. Gen. Austin will be responsible for the welfare and service of millions of service members and their families—their duties, health, food, shelter and even schooling. He will also be responsible for the military discipline and the military justice system and hundreds of billions of dollars for procurement of everything from milk and bread, jet fuel and household moving expenses to exotic, high-tech weapons and protective systems.
The secretary of defense oversees and directs all ongoing military operations, but is also responsible for looking ahead to the strategic future. The secretary of defense has a deep and sustained relationship with Congress—Congress must approve the Defense Budget and oversees budget execution. Congressional leaders also have specific interests because Department of Defense activities affect virtually every state—jobs, revenues, the environment. The secretary of defense is also a public figure and has an important role in maintaining public understanding and support for defense activities.
Every secretary has brought specific experiences and talents to the job; in some cases, this has been a good fit, in other cases, not so much. Almost every secretary has faced significant challenges. For example, Secretary Robert McNamara brought a keen sense of systems analysis and business efficiency to the Defense Department, but it didn't work so well in managing the war in Vietnam. Former congressman Mel Laird smoothed relations with a restive Congress during the Vietnam War, until the U.S.'s secret bombing campaign in Cambodia came to light. Secretary Jim Schlesinger brought great technical insights and leadership to the Pentagon, but foundered in his relationship with the president.
Each succeeding secretary has faced crises and challenges—from the Iran hostage rescue attempt of 1980 to today's rising geostrategic competition with China and Russia. Tough technical issues have arisen related to arms control, like the nuclear weapons Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and weapons procurement, like Air Force tanker aircraft. Cost-overruns and delays in programs invite ugly criticisms. Secretaries of defense must often meet and negotiate with heads of state, testify multiple times annually to Congress, visit with and inspire the troops, host congressional gatherings and appear at press briefings and on cable news. It is literally a seven-day-per-week, 24-hour-a-day job—and virtually every weekend brings a crisis somewhere or on some issue that requires careful attention, detailed understanding and sound judgment. It can be painful and ugly.
I think of my time in the Pentagon as the director of strategic plans and policy for the joint staff in the early 1990s, with the Saturday morning working sessions, afternoons in the White House Situation Room, Sunday morning press calls and Sunday afternoon White House meetings. In the early months of the Clinton administration, every weekend was a crisis—Rwanda, Haiti, Bosnia, North Korea—and sometimes more than one came each week. Secretary of Defense William Perry was there for every meeting, tireless, informed, listening and then offering sound advice or judgment. The nature of the job has not changed. Now it will be China, Russia, North Korea, Libya, Yemen, Ukraine, NATO, climate change, arms control and more on the strategy and policy side. In addition there will be issues of sexual harassment and command climate. Gen. Austin will have to make tough calls on which weapons systems to drop, ships to decommission, Army units to deactivate, bases to close and how to invest for the future. The services will fight each other for missions, programs and budget share. The Pentagon will struggle against the State Department. The Office of Management and Budget will constrain the top-line budget and may go after specific programs; members of Congress will repeat the relentless search for savings and for protection of their own pet projects in hearings.
Lloyd Austin has the experience, skills and character to handle all this. He understands the military—not just the Army—from 40 years of experience. He can be tough, and also compassionate. He has seen all the pushing and shoving inside the Pentagon. He knows all about those weekend meetings and press calls. He has seen the Washington inter-agency struggles first hand as director of the joint staff and Army vice chief of staff. He has demonstrated sound judgment in high command positions faced with the extremely difficult tasks of withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq, and then a few years later, revitalizing relationships there to combat ISIS. He successfully navigated the numerous political and diplomatic pitfalls of the Middle East and the Washington bureaucracy. He has the confidence of the president-elect, and is known and respected by other prospective leaders of the national security establishment. He has the integrity to balance the competing demands of the position—his legal responsibilities, his loyalties and friendships, an immediate crisis versus a longer-term challenge, public image and private realities. Character counts and he has it.
When I met him at his invitation in Iraq in 2010, he reminded me that he had taken one of my courses as a cadet at West Point. In that setting he was totally in command, knowledgeable, low-key, able to see the big picture and have command of the details. He never worked for me. I wish he had. America is lucky that Lloyd Austin, after a long, difficult and distinguished career, wants to return to public service. We should welcome him with open arms, and grant whatever waivers are required. He is just the right man to be secretary of defense at this time.
General Wesley Clark (ret.) is Former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Senior Fellow, UCLA Burkle Center.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
