Retired Army general, Auburn trustee to speak at This is Auburn Speaker Series event

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Auburn University Board of Trustees member and retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin will present “Reflections on Leadership” as part of the This is Auburn Speaker Series event Friday, Oct. 6, at 3 p.m. at the Auburn Alumni Center.

The 1986 Auburn graduate’s lecture is the day prior to Auburn’s football game versus Ole Miss, which is being held on Auburn’s sixth annual Military Appreciation Day. Austin will be introduced by retired Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, Auburn’s senior counsel for research security and cyber initiatives. Austin and Burgess have a combined 79 years of service to the U.S. Army.

Austin’s 41 years of service most recently includes being commander of U.S. Central Command from March 2013 through March 2016. In that role, he was responsible for the 20-county Central Region that includes Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He was also the Combined Forces commander in Iraq and Syria. Austin has extensive operational experience, having commanded troops in combat at the one-, two-, three- and four-star levels. During his last deployment, he served as a four-star general and commander of United States Forces-Iraq from September 2010 through December 2011. He later served as the 33rd Vice Chief of Staff of the Army.

Austin is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and holds master's degrees from Auburn University in education and Webster University in business management. Austin was confirmed as a member of the Auburn University Board of Trustees in January.

He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Auburn University and the Distinguished Graduate Award from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and a trustee of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

His many awards and decorations include five Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit.

He and his wife, Charlene, also an Auburn graduate, live in St. Petersburg, Florida. They have two sons.

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