Former state VFW commander up for state board post today

Gov. Phil Murphy appears to have settled a two-year-old conflict with the New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars with the nomination of Luddie Austin, the former state commander, to serve on the New Jersey Veterans’ Services Council.

A month before the 2021 gubernatorial election, the state VFW sharply criticized Murphy for not responding to their invitation to attend a gubernatorial candidate town hall at their convention in Wildwood.  His Republican opponent, Jack Ciattarelli, was in attendance.

The VFW had slammed Murphy for COVID-related deaths at state-run veterans homes.

Austin was the state commander at the time.

A former Trenton police sergeant and decorated New Jersey Army National Guard veteran, Austin became the first Black to serve as State Commander of the New Jersey VFW, in 2021.  He served in the National Guard from 1987 to 2008 and was a military police squad leader in Iraq from 2003 to 2005.  He was with the Trenton Police Department from 1994 to 2011 and now owns a private security business.  From 2011 to 2014, he was the commander of VFW Post 7298 in Ewing.

Austin was named in March to replace Michael Berman; the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to consider his nomination today.    Austin will have a short term – he’s filling a vacancy that expires on March 24, 2024 – so Murphy will either need to renominate Austin early next year or allow him to remain as a holdover.