Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin was nominated by President Biden for the cabinet post of Secretary of Defense. The U.S. Senate has approved Austin, who is a retired general in the U.S. Army. Austin is a Catholic and a African-American who has accomplished much in his military career and a graduate of West Point. He is the first African-American to hold this post.

During his time in Iraq he was known as a soldier's soldier. Austin commanded units in various Army divisions, including light infantry {the 10th Mountain] and airborne {82nd]. He earned the Silver Star while leading the 3rd Infantry in the so-called, Thunder Run to Baghdad in March 2003. Here is a Secretary of Defense our country truly needs.

I myself served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam era and am now a member of American Legion Post 103 in Douglaston. As such I would like to praise President Biden's pick of Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin for the position of Secretary of Defense, which will make our nation and the world safer.

Sincerely yours,
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.