AMC's top National Guard leader selected for National Security Studies course

AMC's top National Guard leader selected for Syracuse University course

The Army Materiel Command's top National Guard officer will attend the National Security Studies course at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University this month.

Maj. Gen. Elizabeth D. Austin, AMC's assistant deputy commanding general for National Guard affairs, was specially selected for the two-week course that covers a range of emerging management challenges for those in the domestic and international security profession.

Austin said she is excited by her selection and has already begun prereading for the course, which offers lessons in history and their contemporary relevance to national security. The senior military officers and civilian executives who attend the course will hear from more than 45 guest speakers and participate in discussions, case studies and simulations.

"Past attendees have told me that I will learn a great deal and build lasting relationships and contacts," Austin said.

As the senior Army National Guard officer assigned to AMC, Austin is the principle adviser to leadership on all issues that impact the component. She also serves as liaison to the National Guard leadership on all matters concerning the command. Austin also serves as a member of the AMC Reserve Component Mobilization Review Board.

Austin began her career as an enlisted Soldier interested in tuition assistance and the once-a-month weekend pay. She later attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a lieutenant. The Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina native said she is proud of her time in the National Guard and her more than 36 years of service, most of it as a logistics officer.

While she said she never set out to be the first of anything, Austin was the first woman in the North Carolina National Guard to be promoted to the rank of brigadier general when she pinned her first star, and to major general when she was promoted last October.

Before coming to AMC, Austin was assigned to the U.S. Army Central Command where she was the single point of contact for Army logistics and support operations within the 20 nations under the organization's purview.