CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS DISCUSSES DEFENSE WITH ISRAELI LEADERS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Dempsey, Israeli Leaders Discuss Defense Cooperation
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

TEL AVIV, Israel, June 9, 2015 – Discussing threats from Iran or the vicious actions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has a different resonance when the conversation is in Israel rather than the United States, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said here today.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed these threats and the state of the military-to-military relationship between the United States and Israel during meetings at the Kyria, the headquarters for Israel’s defense establishment.

The proximity of the threat changes the conversation, Dempsey said. “My first visit to Israel happened to be in Tel Aviv in late 2011,” the chairman told reporters traveling with him. “Then-chief of defense [Lt. Gen.] Benny Gantz took me to a hotel in central Tel Aviv, and we had dinner on the roof -- on a helipad. He took me there purposely. He said ‘Look around you. From this roof, you can see 65 percent of the population of Israel.’

“His message to me,” the chairman continued, “was that was why he needed our help to build and thicken an integrated air/missile defense system, because of the threat of rockets and missiles not only from Gaza, but even more prominently from Lebanon and potentially … from Iran.”

Huge Investments

U.S. and Israeli military officials went to work, the chairman said. Since then, both nations have made huge investments in the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and the Arrow air defense systems.

“We’ve really developed a fully integrated air defense system like nowhere else in the world,” the chairman said. “We also built a fusion center in southern Israel for command and control. We’ve exercised it, and as a result, when the issue occurred in Gaza last year they were very skilled in integrating their air and missile defense system.”

The United States has committed to sustain the system and to “thicken” it, because the threat is increasing, not decreasing, he said.

Army Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, the commander in chief of the Israel Defense Force, hosted Dempsey. The chairman also met with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe “Boogie” Yaalon.

Firm Commitment

Dempsey told the Israeli leaders that America’s commitment to Israel is firm, and that the cooperation between the two militaries is rock solid. “The purpose of the visit is transitional,” the chairman said. “We’ve really solidified our relationship of the last few years in the face of increasing disorder around Israel.”

Syria has disintegrated, and Iran and its proxies threaten Israel. An Israeli military official, speaking on background, called Iran the greatest danger to his nation.

Israelis are worried about what effect a deal with Iran to curtail its nuclear ambitions will have on the region. “Regarding Iran, if there is a nuclear deal with Iran, we have work to do,” Dempsey said. “If there is no deal with Iran, we have work to do.”

If there is a deal, he explained, this does not let Iran off the hook for its other malign activities in the region. Iran is proliferating ballistic missile technology, it is trafficking weapons in the region, and it is operating throughout the region via surrogates and proxies, the chairman said. Iranian moves with naval mines and undersea activities are another concern, Dempsey said, as is Iran’s threat in cyberspace.

Partners Want Assurances

American partners in the region want to be reassured that if there is a nuclear deal, then the United States won’t ignore these other activities, he said. “We’re clear-eyed about the risks that Iran poses to the region,” the chairman added, “and we will work with those partners to address those risks.”

Dempsey said he also spoke with Israeli officials about maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region and in pursuing a quantitative military edge.

Qualitative and Quantitative Military Edge

“As regional groups and partners increase their capabilities,” he said, “the Israelis, naturally, are going to want have discussions with us about how to maintain not only a qualitative military edge, but a quantitative military edge.”

In response to the Iranian threat, nations in the region are growing their air forces, ground forces and maritime forces.

“Israel wants to be sure we are not just helping them on the qualitative side, but also attuned to the fact that while we encourage our Gulf partners to build capability to offset Iran and these substate actors like ISIL -- that they don’t grow so much in size that they become an overmatch in the region,” Dempsey said.

Israel will be the only country in the region with the F-35 Lighting II joint strike fighter, he noted, and that will give them a qualitative advantage. Still, the chairman said, he reassured Israeli officials that the United States is attuned to their concerns and will work with them on mitigating any risk to them.

CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS MAKES REMARKS ON U.S-JAPAN ALLIANCE

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
In Tokyo, Dempsey Reinforces U.S.-Japan Alliance
By Lisa Ferdinando
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

TOKYO, March 25, 2015 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today underscored the importance of the U.S.-Japanese alliance as he met here with Japan's senior military and political leaders.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey thanked Japan for its strong partnership with the United States, as well as its contributions to global security and commitment in the fight against terrorism.

Dempsey met at the Ministry of Defense with his counterpart, Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani. He paid a visit later in the day to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Dempsey complimented the prime minister for all he has done to improve the posture of Japan in a complex security environment.

"The kizuna between us has never been stronger," the chairman said, using the Japanese word for bonds or connections between people.

He said he looks forward to working with Japan under the new defense guidelines that Japan and the United States are developing to define their bilateral defense relationship.

The prime minister, who is to meet with President Barack Obama in Washington next month, said the alliance between the United States and Japan has contributed to the peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region.
More Complicated World

Extremism is a common challenge faced by the United States and Japan, Dempsey said at the Ministry of Defense. Terrorists in Syria killed two Japanese hostages earlier this year, he said, and three Japanese tourists were killed when gunmen opened fire in a Tunisia museum last week.

The global security environment has "clearly become more complicated" in the last few years, the chairman said. In that time, the relationship between the United States and Japan has strengthened, he added.

"We're fortunate to have Japan as an ally and honored to have you as a friend," Dempsey told his counterpart.

Dempsey, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer, thanked Japan for its efforts for missile defense interoperability, noting that a strong deterrent is needed in the face of North Korean provocations.

Dempsey Honors Fallen Troops

In a ceremony before the talks at the Ministry of Defense, Dempsey took part in a wreath-laying ceremony to honor fallen Japanese and U.S. troops. He said he was honored to have been invited to pay tribute to the men and women of both nations' armed forces.

Then, before entering the Ministry of Defense, Dempsey attended an honor cordon, where he reviewed the Japanese troops who were assembled in perfect order outside the building.

Additionally, in an evening event, Nakatani presented Dempsey with a medal on behalf of Japan's emperor to honor the chairman's service, the United States military and the strong U.S.-Japanese alliance.

Dempsey accepted the award, as he told the prime minister earlier in the day, on behalf of the men and women of the United States armed forces who have "benefited so much and enjoyed the relationship" with Japan.

Pacific Rebalance

The chairman said the purpose of his visit to Japan and his next stop in South Korea is to further strengthen ties and reinforce the U.S. commitment to the region as the U.S. military continues its Pacific rebalance.

Other topics in South Korea are expected to include transferring control of allied forces on the Korean Peninsula to South Korea during wartime, as well as integrated air and missile defense, training exercises and options for responding to North Korean provocations.

CHAIR JOINT CHIEFS SUMMARIZES NATO LITHUANIA MEETINGS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, center, talks with Army Gen. John Campbell, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, right, between sessions of the NATO Military Committee conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, held Sept. 20-21, 2014. DoD photo by D. Myles Cullen.  
Dempsey Recaps NATO Meetings in Lithuania
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2014 – Russia’s continuing aggression in Ukraine, vulnerabilities posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other threats along NATO’s southern borders, and the alliance’s continuing commitments in Afghanistan were the chief topics in meetings with NATO’s chiefs of defense in Vilnius, Lithuania, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.
In a statement summarizing the meetings, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey added that today’s agreement between Afghanistan’s presidential candidates to form a new national unity government “puts us in a much better place than we were a week ago.”

“Now we need a signed security agreement and a NATO [status of forces agreement], both of which should be accomplished fairly quickly,” Dempsey said. The agreements are necessary for U.S. and NATO forces to have a role in Afghanistan beyond the current mission, which ends Dec. 31, and both candidates said during the election process that they would sign the agreements.
The chiefs of defense also elected Gen. Petr Pavel, the chief of staff of the Czech Republic's armed forces, to be the next chairman of the NATO Military Committee, the chairman said. “His appointment is significant, because he will be the first Eastern European military leader to take the job,” he added.
Pavel will take the post in July, succeeding Danish Gen. Knud Bartels, whom Dempsey called “a trusted friend.”

CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS RECOMMENDS HELPING VIETNAM BUILD NAVAY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Dempsey Favors Building Vietnamese Naval Capabilities

By Jim Garamone

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2014 – If the United States lifts the embargo against the sale of lethal weapons to Vietnam, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey would recommend providing materials for the Peoples’ Navy, he said during a news conference in Ho Chi Minh City today.

In the first trip by a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Vietnam since 1971, Dempsey visited Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.

Forty-five years ago, the United States was in a conflict with North Vietnam, and Dempsey was a cadet at West Point preparing to join that war. “The challenge now is to think 45 years ahead,” the highest-ranking U.S. military official said.

By 2050, there will be 9 billion people on Earth -- 7 billion of whom will live in the Indo-Pacific. “Where the people are is where the issues are,” the chairman said.

Vietnamese reporters questioned Dempsey on China’s territorial claims in the East China Sea. “We’ve been very clear that we don’t take sides in the territorial disputes, but we do care very much how they are resolved,” he said. “They should not be resolved through use of force.”

The United States has longstanding defense agreements with nations in the region -- Thailand and the Philippines are treaty allies. “We are interested in becoming a partner with a strong and independent and prosperous Vietnam,” the chairman said.

Still, at its core the solution to the East China Sea issue hinges more on stronger multinational response brokered through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rather than a question of “‘What does the United States intend to do about it?’,” he said.

The United States and Vietnam have common interests. “We’re encouraging many of our ASEAN partners and friends to take a multinational approach to maritime security and maritime domain awareness,” he said.

Building capabilities for maritime domain awareness is important to any effort in the region, Dempsey said, including patrol boats, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets and search and rescue equipment.

“Our advice is that we look at this regionally, not country-by-country,” the chairman said. “We’re working our way forward in that spirit.”

There is a growing sense among U.S. elected officials and non-governmental organizations that Vietnam has made progress on the human rights issues that initially led to the embargo being put in place more than three decades ago.

“I think in the near term there will be a discussion on how to lift it,” Dempsey said. “My military advice … will be if it is lifted that we begin with assets that would make the Peoples’ Navy more capable in the maritime domain. That would generate a conversation on what that means, but I think the maritime domain is the place of our greatest common security interest right now.”

This could include intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance assets and even some weapons they don’t yet have for their fleet, the chairman said.

Vietnam is uniquely and importantly positioned as the 13th largest economy in the world, he said. While it is located in Southeast Asia, the nation is the springboard into the Indo-Pacific region.

“I do see Vietnam occupying a key geostrategic region,” Dempsey said. “In terms of managing its maritime resources and managing the territorial disputes -- I’d suggest as goes Vietnam, I think as goes the South China Sea.”

CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS DISCUSSES THE MILITARY AS INSTRUMENT OF POWER

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Dempsey Discusses Use of Military Instrument of Power
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

HONOLULU, July 2, 2014 – The nation’s military instrument of power works best when used in conjunction with all aspects of American might, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here yesterday.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told the members of the International Forum at the Pacific Club here that the military instrument is powerful, but also nuanced.
The chairman’s speech brought to mind the expression “To the man whose only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” Dempsey said the United States shouldn’t be afraid to use other tools, but that there will be times when the nation will need to drive a nail, and the military provides that option.
The general spoke about the greater implications of the global security environment and how it requires the United States to broadly apply the military instrument of power.

The U.S. military is the most powerful, versatile and sophisticated in history, the chairman said. “It is also one of the most flexible and adaptable tools that our nation has at its disposal and available to our elected leaders,” he added. “It has to be to address the complex world in which we live.”

Mere military presence can shape behavior, the general noted, pointing out that a waiting American military presence can bolster diplomatic initiatives, provide support to partners and allies and deter potential adversaries. The U.S. military can share intelligence, sustain reconnaissance and provide security, he said, and American service members can and do bring relief to disaster areas and provide humanitarian supplies across continents.

The military can do a lot, and it sometimes is the default option for leaders, especially if something needs to be done quickly, Dempsey said.

The chairman said his job is to give civilian elected leaders military options. “I must articulate how our military instrument can be used to provide options and to achieve outcomes that support and protect our nation’s interests,” he explained. “More specifically, I must be clear about what effects our military can and cannot achieve. I must represent how fast we can do it, for how long, at what risk and with what opportunity costs.”

And this can’t be done in a vacuum, he added. “I must also consider how our military action or inaction contributes to or detracts from another important instrument of our national power, and that is America’s enormous power of emulation,” he said.

Dempsey touched on the geographic differences he must consider. In the Asia-Pacific region, he noted, there is a rising tide of nationalism. The region also poised to be the economic engine of the 21st century. “Traditional power-on-power relations will shape the region and ultimately decide if it will achieve its potential,” the chairman said.

Conventional military power will be important in the Asia-Pacific region, Dempsey said. In contrast, he told the audience, the tide of nationalism is receding in the Middle East and North Africa at a remarkable rate. “We see the norms of statehood being superseded by centuries-old religious, ethnic and tribal tensions,” he said. “As the region wobbles along a fault time that extends from Beirut to Damascus to Baghdad, state power continues to ebb.”

Using conventional military power in that environment rarely yields expected results, the chairman noted. “Finding ways to deal with this paradox is one of the many challenges before us,” he said.

Continuing the nautical metaphor, the chairman said Europe appears to be at slack tide, with a desire for greater unity on one hand and an instinct for national self-interest on the other. Europe faces transnational extremist threats along its southern flank, the general said, and Russia is flexing its might and stoking ethnic impulses along Eastern Europe’s periphery.

“Europe is approaching an inflection point where decisions to follow either the instinct for collective interests or individual interests could transform that region into a very dangerous operational theater,” Dempsey said.

Terrorism, extremist groups and crime syndicates threaten stability, he said. Added to this is cyber, which Dempsey called “the fastest growing, least understood and potentially the most perilous factor that connects us all.”
“We must understand how this affects all our instruments of power,” he said.
Given all this, the chairman told the audience, the military exists to provide options, and those options fall into two categories: insurance and assurance.
The military is America’s insurance policy, the nation’s top military officer said. “Our most fundamental task is to protect the homeland and our citizens,” he added. “We keep the nation immune from coercion.”

The U.S. military must be prepared to take direct combat action at any time, in any place, against any adversary, Dempsey said. “Our adversaries rightly fear our dominance in the air, on the ground and from the sea,” he added. “When all our options remain on the table, our ability to change the course of events is indisputably superior to any other nation.”

The U.S. military also assures allies, he said, as the presence of U.S. service members provides reassurance to allies and deters enemies.
It’s in this second category -- assurance -- where most of the challenges reside today, the general said. The United States does not face an existential threat as it did during the Cold War, he added, and now allies are seeking assurances.
In the last month, Dempsey has visited Afghanistan, NATO headquarters in Belgium, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. In each place, he told the audience, there is a growing demand for U.S. assurances against an increasing number of threats. “There is an increasing appetite for our leadership to help maintain the international order,” he said.
“Frankly, our ability to provide this assurance is at risk, due to a growing deficit between supply and demand,” the chairman added. “Each action comes with greater opportunity costs -- that is the trade-off of some other action somewhere else due to constrained resources. Each choice requires us to assess and accept increasing risks with eyes wide open. This supply/demand imbalance demands that we bring our military instrument of power back into balance with itself.”
The U.S. military will get smaller, Dempsey said, but it is important it become more agile, more lethal and balanced.

“We want to become more predictable to allies, more confusing to adversaries,” he said.

UNIFORMED SERVICES COMPENSATION PREFERENCES SOUGHT BY PRESIDENT, CONGRESS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Commission Seeks Service Members’ Compensation Preferences

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2014 – The commission tasked by President Barack Obama and Congress to modernize military compensation and benefits programs is seeking input from service members on their preferences.

Alphonso Maldon Jr., chairman of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, said understanding service members’ compensation preferences is central to the commission’s effort to craft modernization recommendations.

“Our primary goal is to ensure the uniformed services can maintain the most professional all-volunteer force, provide for a high quality of life for the members of the uniformed services and their families, and ensure that compensation and retirement systems are financially sustainable,” he said. “Our fundamental objective is to craft an integrated compensation and personnel system that will continue to be valued by service members, provide flexibility for the uniformed services, and be cost effective.”

To obtain these preferences, the commission will survey a number of active-duty, National Guard and reserve service members during the next few months, with plans to survey retired service members as well. The survey will ask participants to value individual elements of their compensation package in relation to each other, Maldon said.

“If you receive this survey, please take it,” he added. “However, the survey is not the only way to let us know your preferences.” People can provide input on the commission’s public website, http://www.mcrmc.gov, and written comments may be mailed to the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, Post Office Box 13170, Arlington, VA 22209.
“These tools are powerful ways to ensure we are aware of your preferences and concerns,” Maldon said.

Over the past year, he noted, the commission has benefitted from meetings with service members, veterans, retirees and their family members. “Additionally,” he said, “representatives of the uniformed services, military and veterans service organizations, and other subject-matter experts have greatly added to our understanding of the breadth of current military compensation and benefit systems. These engagements have reinforced what we've always known: Our people are the strength of our uniformed services.”

Maldon added, “We honor your service and ask for your continued input and support as we move forward with this important endeavor.”

CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS CALLS FOR CIVILIAN-MILITARY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT RELATIONSHIP

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Dempsey Calls on Americans to Discuss Civil-Military Relations

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 5, 2013 - America's all-volunteer military has been a success, but society at large and service members must ensure a shared understanding exists between them, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote in a commentary in the Washington Post today.


Dempsey described the all-volunteer force as one of America's finest achievements. The military is so good, he wrote, that many Americans take it for granted.

"The last decade of war has affected the relationship between our society and the military," Dempsey wrote. "We can't allow a sense of separation to grow between us. As the all-volunteer force enters its fifth decade, civilians and the military need to maintain the shared understanding necessary for a healthy relationship."

Dempsey wrote that the nation needs to discuss the military-civil relationship, as well as the nation's relationship with its service members.

"As a nation, we've learned to separate the warrior from the war," he wrote. "But we still have much to learn about how to connect the warrior to the citizen."

Since the end of conscription in July 1973, those entering the military have served as volunteers. In his commentary, Dempsey urged America's civilians to establish a dialogue with their fellow citizens who serve in the all-volunteer force.

"As citizens, we must listen to our veterans," the chairman wrote. "If we do, we'll hear stories of pride and courage, anger and pain, laughter and joy. We'll hear of actions that humble and inspire us. We'll also hear of moments that break our hearts. These stories represent the best of our nation."

Service members also bear a responsibility to communicate with their fellow citizens, Dempsey wrote. "We should tell our stories and recognize that those who aren't in uniform might not know what to say or ask," he added. "We also have a duty to listen. Our fellow citizens may have different perspectives that we need to hear and understand."

The services as well as veterans understand the need for fiscal change, the general wrote. Cuts in funding, he added, are not an attack on veterans and their families.

"Modest reforms to pay and compensation will improve readiness and modernization," Dempsey wrote. "They will help keep our all-volunteer force sustainable and strong. Keeping faith also means investing sufficient resources so that we can uphold our sacred obligations to defend the nation and to send our sons and daughters to war with only the best training, leadership and equipment. We can't shrink from our obligations to one another. The stakes are too high."

Service members and veterans must remember that public service takes many forms, Dempsey wrote.

"Across our country, police officers, firefighters, teachers, coaches, pastors, scout masters, business people and many others serve their communities every day," he added. "Military service makes us different, but the desire to contribute permeates every corner of the United States."

The nation cannot afford allowing the military to disconnect from American society, Dempsey wrote.

"We must guard against letting military service become a job for others," he added. "Children of those in the military are far more likely to join than the children of those who are not. And young men and women in some areas never even consider the military as one of many ways to serve our nation."

Some fault for this, Dempsey said, lies with the military. Service members, he added, cannot just stay on bases and remain in their own world.

"But we didn't stop being citizens when we put on the uniform," Dempsey wrote. "We came from small towns and big cities across our country, and we'll go back one day. Civilians aren't an abstraction; they're our parents, grandparents, siblings and friends."

An all-volunteer force is actually the norm for the United States, the chairman wrote, noting that since 1787, the nation used conscription for only 35 years.

"Except in times of great crisis, we have relied on a tradition of selfless service," Dempsey wrote. "The all-volunteer force continues that tradition. It has served our nation well for the past 40 years. To do so for the next 40, we'll have to work at it together."