Lloyd Austin

United States Secretary of Defence

Lloyd Austin, 69, is a retired US Army four-star general who serves as the 28th United States secretary of defence. Nominated by President Joe Biden, he is the first African American to serve in that role. Austin was raised by a devout Catholic mother and remains practicing.

Martin E Dempsey

General and former Joint Chief of Staff

Martin Edward Dempsey, 70, served as the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is a retired US Army general who also previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Army. He attended John S Burke Catholic High School in New York and holds a master’s degree in literature from Duke University, writing his thesis on the Irish literary revival. He has given a lecture on faith in geopolitics for the Duke Catholic Center at the Thomas International Centre.