US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Michael E. Langley has been confirmed as a general, making history as the first black four-star Marine general, Marine Corps, in 246 years. announced this week.
Congress Confirmed Langley’s promotion on Monday. According to the Marines, he would become the commander of the US Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany, and command all US military forces in Africa.
From Shreveport, Louisiana, Langley has served in Okinawa, Japan and Afghanistan, and has commanded Marines at every level from platoon to regiment.
In June, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III announces that President Biden has nominated Langley to be General.
Langley grew up in a military family. His father, retired US Air Force Master Sergeant Willie C. Langley served in the Air Force for 25 years, Langley said confirmation hearing in June “As several nominees have testified before me, military families form the foundation on which our combined military preparations stand. My family is no different,” he said.
His stepmother, Ola Langley, whom Langley said he “loved[s] Too to Mama.” Was the US Post Office Supervisor.
Langley graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington. His formal military education includes the US Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School and the College of Naval Command and Staff. He also holds several advanced degrees, including a master’s degree in National Security Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College and Strategic Studies from the US Army War College.
Austin, a retired four-star Army general and the nation’s first black Defense Secretary, spoke about the importance of diversity in the military earlier this year. “Diversity is really important to us. The military has taken the lead in many respects,” he said at the Black History Month Roundtable. “With regard to diversity, I have to make sure that we continue to make progress. And I consider diversity to be the same as being invited to dance. Inclusion is really being asked to dance.”
Lieutenant General Richard Clarke, who became the first black superintendent of the Air Force in 2020, spoke on CBS News earlier this year about diversity and his commitment to enlisting in the military. “If we don’t really start opening up the entire population to attract talent – and there is talent out there – we limit ourselves, it will weaken us,” he said. “And it is not only the army that is in all sections of society.”
“We’ve traditionally been quite diverse, very diverse in the military, but we have some work to do there,” Clark said.
