Lloyd Austin IIIAge: 57Hometown: Thomasville, Ga.

Education: Bachelor’s degree from U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 1975. Master’s degrees in education from Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., and business management from Webster University in St. Louis. Graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pa.

Recent positions: Commander, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and of division’s 3rd Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C. — 1997 to 1999Chief, Joint Operations Division, Joint Staff, Pentagon — 1999 to 2001Assistant commander (maneuver), 3rd Infantry Division (mechanized), serving in the invasion of Iraq — 2001 to 2003Commanding general, 10th Mountain Division (Light) and commander of Combined Joint Task Force-180 in Afghanistan — 2003 to 2005Chief of staff, U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. — 2005 to 2006Commanding general, 18th Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg and of Multi-National Corps — Iraq, 2006-2009Director, Joint Staff, Pentagon — since August 2009Source: U.S. Forces-Iraq