Photo Courtesy of U.S. Department of Defense
Lloyd James Austin III
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AUSTIN TO SPEAK AT NAVAL ACADEMY GRADUATION
ANNAPOLIS, MD. — The 28th Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Lloyd James Austin III, is scheduled to address the Naval Academy’s Class of 2024 during the graduation and commissioning ceremony on Friday, May 24, that begins at 9 a.m. at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. This event is not open to the public.
Austin, a native of Thomasville, Georgia, is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, received his MA from Auburn University, and MBA from Webster University. He also attended the Army Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. He is the first African American to serve as the United States Secretary of Defense. On December 7, 2020, he was nominated by President Joe Biden and was sworn in on January 22, 2021. Austin previously served as the 12th commander of United States Central Command from 2013 to 2016.
The 2024 graduation and commissioning ceremony will be streamed live on our YouTube page.
Founded in 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy today is a prestigious four-year service academy that prepares midshipmen morally, mentally and physically to be professional officers in the naval service. More than 4,400 men and women representing every state in the U.S. and several foreign countries make up the student body, known as the Brigade of Midshipmen. In 2024, U.S. News and World Report recognized the Naval Academy as the #1 top public school, #5 undergraduate engineering school, and #3 best liberal arts college. Midshipmen learn from military and civilian instructors and participate in intercollegiate varsity sports and extracurricular activities. They also study subjects such as leadership, ethics, small arms, drill, cyber security, seamanship and navigation, tactics, naval engineering and weapons, and military law. Upon graduation, midshipmen earn a Bachelor of Science degree in a choice of 26 different subject majors and go on to serve at least five years of exciting and rewarding service as commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps.
For more information about the Secretary of Defense, visit https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/2522687/lloyd-j-austin-iii. For more information about the Naval Academy, please visit www.usna.edu and ourFacebook page. For more information about Commissioning Week at the Naval Academy, visit http://www.usna.edu/CommissioningWeek.
