Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey delivers remarks during the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff change of responsibility ceremony at Summerall Field, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., Sept. 30, 2011. Dempsey, the18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, succeeded Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, outgoing chairman, during the ceremony. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. BaileyNew Military Chief Faces Economic Challenges -- New York Times
WASHINGTON — After his Senate confirmation as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey knew he had some catching up to do before being sworn in Friday as the nation’s highest-ranking officer and principal military adviser to the president and secretary of defense.
The gap in his training was not the geopolitics of the Middle East, a perpetual font of American security concerns. Even before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, General Dempsey was among the few senior officers with significant time immersed in Muslim culture, having served for several years as an adviser to Saudi Arabia’s security forces. And since 9/11, he has had two tours in Iraq and was also the acting commander of American forces across the Middle East and Central Asia.
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My Comment: Kudos to the new Chairman of The Joint Chiefs for realizing the obvious .... trillion dollar deficits will result in cuts that will disemboweled America's military more effectively than any other adversary in the world. But bottom line .... there is not much that he can do about it.