by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Retired four-star U.S. Army General Austin Scott Miller is not one to embrace the spotlight.

That being said, many eyes will be on the 63-year-old when he delivers the keynote address during Claremont’s 11 a.m. Monday, November 11 Veteran’s Day ceremony at Memorial Park, 840 N. Indian Hill Blvd. The event is free and open to the public.

Miller is happy to return to his old stomping grounds and hopes to reconnect with childhood friends from Damien High School and his former Claremont High soccer coach, Otto Rieger.

“I don’t think the rivalry is as great as it was back in the day, but Damien and Claremont were fierce rivals in all sporting events,” Miller said. “And it was interesting because we split the neighborhoods where some went to Damien and some went to Claremont and, you know, as I come back, I’m looking forward to seeing them all because I had just really good friends in both schools.”

One of those longtime friends includes Damien alumni Dan Sauter, 60, a former Claremonter who played soccer alongside Miller. Sauter helped convince Miller to speak at Claremont’s Veteran’s Day ceremony.

“I served in the Army for 27 years and Scott Miller is recognized by many as one of the greatest combat leaders that we’ve had in our generation,” Sauter said. “My whole intent is to recognize an American hero, and that’s what he is. I didn’t have to twist his arm, but I think he did it just because he loves Claremont, he loves his friends in Claremont and, he’s doing it not for him, but for them.”

Miller’s family moved around the country to Hawaii, Virginia, and California because his father was active-duty military.

“I know it’s a little confusing,” Miller acknowledged. “People go, ‘Where are you from?’ And I say, ‘Well, kind of a lot of different places.’ So, now I just say Florida,” where Miller currently resides.

His father retired from military service in 1977, and the family settled in Claremont. In 1978, Miller got involved with the Claremont Kings Soccer Club. His involvement would serve as a talking point during his interview with then Representative Jim Lloyd of California’s 35th Congressional District ahead of his recruitment into the United States Military Academy.

“When I went to go meet his team, I thought I was very much a long shot to even be accepted,” Miller said. “But believe it or not, one of the guys on the committee was a big soccer fan and we talked a little bit, and at the time I wasn’t playing for the high school, I was actually playing for the club team, which was a pretty strong club team in Southern California. And so he kind of followed up with me and then he linked me up with the soccer team at West Point, the coaches there. And so, I was kind of recruited for soccer.”

He attended CHS for his senior year, playing on the Wolfpack’s soccer team, and graduating in 1979 before attending West Point. He graduated from West Point in 1983 and went on to a decorated military career.

“General Austin Scott Miller spent nearly 40 years in uniform with an astonishing track record of success that took him from the soccer pitch at West Point (defeating Navy in his final game) to the far reaches of conflict in complex geopolitical regions, including the Indo-Pacific, Africa, Middle East, and South Asia,” according to his profile at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, viewable at ctc.westpoint.edu. “An Airborne-Ranger, Infantry officer, he commanded at every grade, including a company in Korea, the [Task Force] Ranger assault force in Mogadishu during ‘Blackhawk Down,’ the Joint Special Operations Command, and as the final commander of [North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s] Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces–Afghanistan.

“Over 15 years in 1st [Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta], Miller continuously participated in combat operations, was wounded in action twice, and led ‘The Unit’ as commander from 2005 to 2007 during some of the toughest combat operations while targeting Al Qaeda in Iraq. Likely the most deployed leader in the Global War on Terror, he was one of the first Americans on the ground pursuing Osama bin Laden and other high value targets.”

While speaking of his military highlights, Miller recalled the October 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, also known as the Black Hawk Down incident, a clash between U.S. and Somali National Alliance forces that were part of the Somali Civil War.

“In 1993, I participated in a combat operation in Mogadishu, Somalia, with Task Force Ranger and, you know, that kind of was not necessarily the only turning point, but certainly one where you felt a commitment to make things better in the future,” Miller said. “I’m proud of that, but I’m also very proud of different points in my military career, but ‘93 was probably a foundational event for me. Just the idea of this is something I want to be part of, it’s, you know, being able to be in places of importance for the United States of America was something that was compelling to me.”

In 2014, Miller and others helped pave the way for women to enroll at the U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Moore, Georgia. He counts the initiative as among his career high points.

Miller served in the military from 1983 to 2021, retiring as a four-star Army General and the final commander of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces – Afghanistan. He helped oversee the 2021 withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, which he fielded questions about in April during a U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs meeting.

Miller’s honors include two Combat Infantryman Badges, two Purple Hearts, the Silver Star Medal, 20 Overseas Service Bars, and many more.

When he first enlisted, he didn’t envision such a long career.

“As a matter of fact, I always thought I was going to be getting out, you know, the year after next,” Miller said. “And, really, what happened is I just met some inspirational people along the way … and it just kind of kept me in the game. I really, really love my service. I certainly had not planned to make it an almost 40-year career.”

He said that he hopes those who learn about his story and service take away he was “trying to do something that was important for the United States of America.”

Miller will deliver the keynote address at the City of Claremont’s 11 a.m. Veteran’s Day ceremony at Memorial Park, 840 N. Indian Hill Blvd., on Monday, November 11.