Army Gen. Martin Dempsey was sworn in as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Sept. 30, setting the stage for a nearly entirely new team leading the Department of Defense.
“In this sense, today begins to complete the transition to our new leadership team. In Secretary [Leon] Panetta, we have one of our nation’s finest public servants,” President Barack Obama said. “In the new deputy secretary, Ash Carter, we will have an experienced leader to carry on the work of Bill Lynn, who we thank for his outstanding service. And the new vice chairman, Adm. Sandy Winnefeld, will round out a team where, for the first time, both the chairman and vice chairman will have the experience of leading combat operations in the years since 9/11.”
There is still much to do, he said. “None of this will be easy, especially as our nation makes hard fiscal choices.”
As commander-in-chief, Obama said “As we go forward, we will be guided by the mission we ask of our troops and the capabilities they need to succeed. We will maintain our military superiority. We will never waver in defense of our country, our citizens, or our national security interests. And the United States of America and our armed forces will remain the greatest force for freedom and security that the world has ever known.”
A Hail & Farewell ceremony was held at Summerall Field, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., on Sept. 30, honoring Adm. Mike Mullen who retired after 43 years of service, culminating with four years as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
Panetta said Mullen “defined the role of the 21st-century Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: part warrior, part diplomat, part mediator, spokesman, fighter, leader.”
And, he added, Mullen would always stand apart in a special place, someone who set an exceptionally high standard for the role of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
“Mike tells it like it is and, frankly, that’s a rare quality in this town,” Panetta said. Incoming Chairman Dempsey brings ”a keen intellect, proven leadership, strategic vision, and most of all, humanity to that critical post. And, oh, yes, he tells it like it is as well, only with an Irish smile.”
While Mullen said discretion is a major part of the job, he did advise Dempsey he’s not only the president’s adviser, he’s the personal representative of the 2.2 million service men and women and their families.
Budget battles will dominate Dempsey’s days, Mullen said, and larger issues of the transition in Afghanistan and improving the relationship with Pakistan.
Looking to a future where he will not be at the helm, Mullen said first among the difficult choices and decisions of the future will be: “what kind of military the American people deserve over the next 20 to 30 years.”
“I become more convinced than ever that as a nation, we can ill afford to lose our edge,” he said considering the effects of a decade of war, threats from Iran and North Korea, from cyberspace and China’s military capabilities.
Cuts in defense spending are fair game, Mullen said. “But cut too deeply and we will burn the very blanket of protection we’ve been charged to provide our fellow citizens. Cut too deeply now and we will harm, perhaps irreparably, the industrial base from which we procure the materials of war.”
The United States has become the best counterinsurgency force in the world, “but we’ve done so at the expense of conventional capabilities we necessarily let lapse,” he said. “We’ve become the most expeditionary force in our history, but in the process sacrificed some of the basics of garrison leadership and continuity that preserve the health of the all-volunteer force.”
Finally, Mullen said, “I told Marty to consider this job a marathon, not a sprint; that time is both his best friend and his worst enemy. I never seem to have enough of it to do the things I wanted, and it’s hard to believe it’s over.”
Dempsey vowed to leave as he began: “I intend to be able to say exactly the same thing. We will be the joint force the nation needs us to be, so help me, God.”