Joe Biden’s nominee for Defense Secretary, Retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin said that if he were confirmed, he would work to “fight hard to stamp out sexual assault, to rid our ranks of racists and extremists, and to create a climate where everyone fit and willing has the opportunity to serve this country with dignity.”

His remarks, according to The Epoch Times, were made at the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill yesterday.

“The job of the Department of Defense is to keep America safe from our enemies. But we can’t do that if some of those enemies lie within our own ranks,” Austin said.

The Epoch Times points to a 2017 Pentagon survey which found that most military members “describe their work climate as inclusive, have good relationships with coworkers and supervisors, and are comfortable interacting with diverse personnel. They generally denied problems with hate crimes, gangs, and racist/extremist organizations at their duty station as well.”

The report also found that most in the military felt that their workgroup members “are treated as valued members of the team without losing their unique identities (80 percent), empowered to make work-related decisions on their own (71 percent), and have outcomes fairly distributed among them (69 percent).”

For the full report, click HERE.