Data Centers, AI, and the Future of U.S. Strategic Competitiveness
June 4, 2026 • 10:30 – 11:30 am EDT
Hosted by Strategic Technologies Program
Modernizing to Meet the Future Threat: A Conversation with Lieutenant General Eric Austin, USMC
June 18, 2026 • 10:30 – 11:30 am EDT
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Please join the CSIS Defense and Security Department (DSD) and the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) on Thursday, June 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for a Maritime Security Dialogue event featuring Lieutenant General Eric Austin, USMC, CG, MCCDC / DC, CD&I / PAE-MC.
LtGen Austin will sit down with Dr. Seth G. Jones, president, CSIS Defense and Security Department, to discuss the future growth of the Marine Corps, lessons from the recent wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and implications for the Indo-Pacific. Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spicer, USN (Ret.), chief executive officer and publisher, U.S. Naval Institute, will offer opening remarks.
The Maritime Security Dialogue series brings together CSIS and the U.S. Naval Institute, two of the nation's most respected non-partisan institutions. The series highlights the unique challenges facing the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard from national level maritime policy to naval concept development and program design. Given budgetary challenges, technological opportunities, and ongoing strategic adjustments, the nature and employment of U.S. maritime forces are likely to undergo significant change over the next ten to fifteen years. The Maritime Security Dialogue provides an unmatched forum for discussion of these issues with the nation's maritime leaders.
This event is made possible by support from HII.
Lieutenant General Eric Austin
Lieutenant General Eric Austin is currently serving as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command; Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration; and Portfolio Acquisition Executive Marine Corps.
Lieutenant General Eric Austin was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1991, earned his wings as a naval aviator in 1994, and selected to fly the AV-8B Harrier. Lieutenant General Austin has extensive operational and tactical experience in the AV-8B, to include deployment aboard amphibious shipping as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit and combat experience from multiple deployments to Kuwait and Iraq. He commanded Marine Attack Squadron 211 from May 2007 to November of 2008 and commanded Marine Aircraft Group 14 from June 2014 to May 2016. He served as the Deputy Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command from 2017 to 2018. He most recently served as the Commanding General of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Okinawa, Japan.
His staff assignments include Director, Capabilities Development Directorate, Combat Development and Integration; Deputy Director, Joint Training, Joint Staff J7; Military Secretary to the Commandant of the Marine Corps; Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing; Pacific Command Action Officer, Operations Directorate for the Joint Staff J-39; Executive Officer, Marine Aircraft Group 13; Executive Officer, Marine Attack Squadron 513; Weapons and Tactics Instructor, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1; and various squadron billets in operations, aviation maintenance, aviation safety and pilot training.
Lieutenant General Austin graduated from the Naval Academy with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering in 1991, was a distinguished graduate of The Basic School in 1992, and completed flight school in 1994. He was awarded a Masters of National Security Strategy from the National War College in 2010, graduated from the Marine Corps University Senior Planner’s course in 2012, and completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in 2013.
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Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command; Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration; and Portfolio Acquisition Executive Marine Corps
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Chief Executive Officer and Publisher, U.S. Naval Institute