PENTAGON 9-11 COMMEMORATION AND REMEMBERING ONE OF THE HEROS LOST

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Secretary Leon E. Panetta, left, and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in rendering honors as the national anthem plays during the ceremony to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the Pentagon, Sept. 11, 2012. DOD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

At 9/11 Service, Dempsey Memorializes a Hero Among Many
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2012 - Thousands of heroes died during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, many while helping others in the chaos around them, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today during a remembrance service at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.
Dempsey took the stage with President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta before an audience of military and civilian officials that included family members and friends of the nearly 200 people who died 11 years ago today after hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the west side of the Pentagon.
"Sept. 11 will always stand apart from other days," Dempsey said, "not because of what we say up here about service and sacrifice, courage and character -- of course, it's all of those things -- but also because of what those things say about all of us, all Americans."
Today, he added, "as we remember the 184 lives that ended here and all who perished in New York and in Somerset County, Pa., let us commit ourselves to the ideals for which they lived and in which they believed."
The chairman also honored the generation inspired by those who died on 9/11 to step forward and defend the nation, he said, "a generation who fought in Iraq and who still fight in Afghanistan."
The Pentagon Memorial captures the moment of the attack -- 9:37 a.m. -- and each victim's age and location at the time. Each unit is a cantilevered bench, a lighted pool of flowing water and a permanent tribute, by name.
At today's ceremony, Dempsey welcomed the families and friends of those lost on the grounds of the Pentagon on 9/11 and highlighted the life and death of one of them: Army Chief Warrant Officer William Ruth.
"His memorial bench of granite and steel sits in the last row in front of me, seventh in from the far right," the chairman said. "Bill served as a Marine in Vietnam, flying helicopters. After the war, he became a social studies teacher and joined the Army National Guard, serving in the first Gulf War as a medevac pilot."
Ruth was loved by his students, Dempsey added, who were "proud of his service and moved by his deep commitment to them and to our nation."
"One student said, 'He opened up my eyes and my heart to the world.' Many others, inspired by his example, became teachers, nurses [and] firefighters, and several followed him into the life of the military," the general told the audience.
Ruth retired from the classroom after nearly 30 years and returned to serve in the Pentagon, the chairman said.
"There is no doubt among his colleagues that he lost his life that fateful morning because in the middle of the chaos he stopped to help somebody," Dempsey added. "There were thousands like Bill that day. They remind us that life takes on meaning only as the causes to which we attach ourselves have meaning -- that in the end, we become what we are through some cause we make our own."
Dempsey called upon all at the ceremony to rededicate their lives to the cause of giving back to the nation, and ended by quoting Panetta:
"The strength of our democracy has always rested on the willingness of those who believe in its values and in their will to serve to give something back to this country."

U.S.-JAPAN MILITARY PARTNERSHIP BOLSTERED

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, introduces Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki, chief of joint staff for Japan Self Defense Forces, to his staff during an honor cordon at the Pentagon, Aug. 23, 2012. DOD photo by D. Myles Cullen


Dempsey, Japanese Counterpart Bolster Partnership Across Domains
By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2012 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff welcomed his Japanese counterpart to the Pentagon today as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen military ties between both countries.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey met with Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki, chief of joint staff for Japan Self Defense Forces, to discuss ways to further enhance the nations' strategic and personal partnership in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

"Our partnership with Japan is historic, ... very long and very enduring," Dempsey said. "We've committed to each other that we will continue to improve and build on that partnership and make it even stronger."

Dempsey said he first met Iwasaki, then chief of the air forces, during a visit to Tokyo in October, and the two men have since become "counterparts, peers and friends."

"We came to an agreement to further cooperation with U.S. forces to deepen our understanding as we did in the past," Iwasaki said after the meeting.

Dempsey said he and Iwasaki compared notes on topics from family to joint operations, including the significance of the U.S. deployment of tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft to Japan and associated safety measures.

"The Osprey is our next generation of tactical airlift, and so very important to our modernization efforts in our future," Dempsey said. "We ... want very much to assure the people of Okinawa, and Japanese people in general, that it will be safe to operate. We will continue to work hard to build confidence in the system -- confidence that we have here."

As aviation and maritime systems continue to evolve, Dempsey and Iwasaki said, they will seek avenues to expand an already solid military-to-military relationship in other domains, including cyberspace, land, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

"We're not limiting ourselves to discussion about the maritime domain," Dempsey said. "I think our relationship expands far beyond that, and, in fact, we've served together all across the world."

THE GEN. DEMPSEY TRAVELS IN IRAQ

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Dempsey Returns for Talks in Changed Baghdad

U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, travels aboard a CH-47 helicopter from Bagram to Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 20, 2012, to meet with leaders from the International Security Assistance Force, U.S. Central Command, U.S. State Department and the Afghan military. DOD photo by D. Myles Cullen
　
　

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, Aug. 21, 2012 - Arriving in this city had both familiar and unfamiliar aspects for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today.
　
On one hand Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey arrived in a city he knows well, having commanded the 1st Armored Division here in 2003 and 2004, and as the commander of the Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq from 2005 to 2007.
　
But Baghdad also is a changed city. Many of the scars of war are gone now, and today, tens of thousands of Iraqis peacefully celebrated Eid al Fitr – the end of Ramadan – in areas where T-wall barriers once stood.
　
In a symbol of the changed state of Iraq and its evolved relationship with the United States, Dempsey had to get his passport stamped by Iraqi customs officials upon his arrival. And, no longer a commander in a combat zone, the chairman ditched his once familiar camouflage for his class B dress uniform for meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and army Gen. Zebari Babakir, Iraq's chief of defense.
　
Dempsey said he felt a certain satisfaction arriving back in Baghdad. "Flying over, there certainly seemed to be a sense of what we call normalcy," he told reporters traveling with him. "Are there still challenges, problems? Of course there are. But the Iraqis appear to be on a good path."
　
The chairman met with Maliki for 90 minutes. The two men had worked together when Dempsey commanded the transition effort. "We spent the first 30 minutes reminiscing about our time together, the tough times and what's ahead," he said. "The way we find our way forward in difficult times is through our relationships."
　
Dempsey also spoke with Maliki and Babakir about the current effort to equip and train Iraqi security forces via the Office of Security Cooperation Iraq. More than 225 U.S. troops, seven Defense Department civilians, 530 security assistance team members and more than 4,000 contracted personnel are in the office at the Iraqi government's invitation.
　
Iraqi leaders told the chairman they are generally pleased with the efforts of the office. But, Dempsey said, all sides – including the U.S. Army chief of the office at the American embassy, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen – are frustrated by delays in some aspects of the foreign military sales program.
　
The program to equip the Iraqi security forces runs to $12.7 billion this year. The lion's share comes from the Iraqi government and about $1.5 billion comes from the United States.
　
The leaders also discussed in general terms how Syria could evolve. The Iraqi prime minister is deeply concerned about Syria breaking up along ethnic or religious lines, Dempsey said. He is particularly worried about these divisions spilling over the border to Iraq where there are many of the same divisions.
　
"At the same time, there's also the opportunity for Iraq to maybe be the dam against that flood," Dempsey said.
　
Maliki's sense is that the Syrian example is so stark and dire for the region that it might be a reason to galvanize Iraq to pull together, the chairman said.
　
"Now it may have the exact opposite, too," he said. "But there's an opportunity there and my report is that he sees it. I sensed that he understands he can play a positive role in the region."
　
Maliki heads a democratically elected government, and as such, Iraq can become the major leader in the region as other states look to develop democracy in wake of the Arab Spring, Dempsey said. If Iraq can help other nations in the region, "I think Maliki could be historic," he said.
　
The relationship between Iraq and the United States is improving because U.S. officials did what they said they would do, the chairman said. When the United States and Iraq negotiated the agreement for U.S. troops to leave Iraq in December, many Iraqis believed it wouldn't happen, he said.
　
But the U.S. government proved good to its word, and that has made the relationship easier, Dempsey said. "We scaled our physical presence way down, while not scaling down our commitment to the nation," he said. "I don't know if they believed that a year or two ago."
　
The leaders also discussed aspects of the military-to-military relationship – bilateral exercises, education, equipment and the like -- as they would with leaders of any other country, Dempsey said.
　
"We are having conversations as two sovereign nations about interests," he said. "And that's what's important."