Lloyd Austin

Nominated by President Obama to succeed Marine Gen. James Mattis (No. 22) at U.S. Central Command after less than a year as Army vice chief of staff, Austin is a general on the rise. He earned a Silver Star for his actions as assistant division commander with the 3rd Infantry Division in the opening months of the Iraq war, and is today the Army’s highest-ranking African-American officer. The 1975 West Point graduate has held a series of high-profile commands, including commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division and XVIII Airborne Corps, and as America’s last commander in Iraq — his third deployment to that war zone — he coordinated the final withdrawal of U.S. forces there. Once at CENTCOM, he will use that experience in helping to oversee the withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan, as well.