Lloyd Austin

The world lost one of the greatest leaders that we have ever witnessed. Alma lost a great husband and the family lost a tremendous father. And I lost a tremendous personal friend and mentor.

I agreed and continue to agree with the decision that was made to end our military presence in Afghanistan. It was the right decision.

We helped build a state, Mr. Chairman, but we could not forge a nation. The fact that the Afghan army that we and our partners trained simply melted away in many cases without firing a shot took us all by surprise.

We’re going to get everyone that we can possibly evacuate evacuated.

We do not teach critical race theory. We don`t embrace critical race theory. And I think that`s a spurious conversation.

Yes, I would support a briefing by the Department to the congressional defense committees on the overall prioritization of forces in the annual GFMAP.

I absolutely support primary and secondary, yes, ma'am.

As I stated then, this is a leadership issue--and we will lead.

The healthy--the health, welfare, and safety of our force is of utmost important to me.

Strengthening installation resilience to hazards associated with the effects of climate change ensures that the DOD can successfully execute critical missions.

China presents the most significant threat, going forward.

I think these are both critical capabilities that we will need going forward.

I absolutely agree with you.

China is, in fact, our pacing challenge, and it is my priority focus.

There are no guarantees in any of this.

What will happen to women and girls? And not only that, but many, many others, and they are probably going to be at risk.

There is no place for politics in our Military.

I certainly support my President's decision, Senator.

the Department faces a growing climate crisis that is impacting our missions, plans, and capabilities and must be met by ambitious, immediate action.

No, I do not believe that. And that is -- that is why we have diversity, equity, and inclusion focused in the military.

Well, I won't give you a yes or no answer on that, Senator, because it deserves more than a yes or no. The military, like any organization, will have its challenges, but I do not believe it is a fundamentally racist organization.

For the loved ones of those who have fallen, let me simply say, we know the depth of your sacrifice, but we can never truly know the depth of your loss. What we can do is honor the memory of those who lost by caring for those who mourn…

Let me assure you, from my perspective our effort is not to make the Army be the bill payer for the Air Force or Navy.

The President has decided to end America`s involvement in our longest war. And we`re going to do just that.

climate change is an essential element of our national security, and I absolutely agree with that.