Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on the Department's Representatives to the Congressionally-Mandated Commission on the Naming of Items in the Department of Defense That Commemorate the Confederate States of America

I am pleased to announce today the names of four outstanding leaders who have agreed to serve as the Department’s representatives to the Congressionally-mandated commission on the naming of items of the Department of Defense that commemorate the Confederate States of America.

They are:

• Admiral Michelle Howard, U.S. Navy, retired
• General Bob Neller, U.S. Marine Corps, retired
• Dr. Kori Schake, Director of Foreign & Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
• Brigadier General Ty Seidule, U.S. Army, retired (Emeritus Professor of History, U.S. Military Academy)

Each of these individuals possesses unique and relevant experience, in and out of government, that I know will inform this important effort.  I am enormously grateful for their willingness to serve the nation again, and I thank them in advance for the wise counsel I am confident they will provide.

I also thank the Congress for establishing this process, and I continue to pledge my personal commitment – and that of the Department – to making sure it succeeds.  I look forward to seeing the results of the commission’s work in the months ahead.