Outgoing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a Nov. 20 interview that women and racial diversity are essential to the strength and success of the U.S. armed forces.
Austin made the remarks in an interview with NBC News as the former commander of the U.S. Central Command prepares to leave his position after four years as head of the Department of Defense.
“I have spent 41 years in uniform, three long tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, and everywhere I went on a battlefield, there were women in our formation,” Austin said.
“I would tell you that, you know, our women are the finest troops in the world. Quite frankly, some of the finest in the world.”…