FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Dempsey Arrives in Poland Following Afghan Meetings
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WARSAW, Poland, July 23, 2013 - Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived here today following a successful trip to Afghanistan.
Army Lt. Gen. Mieczyslaw Gocul, the chief of the General Staff of the Polish armed forces, met Dempsey at the plane.
Dempsey will meet with Polish leaders today and will visit with American airmen training with the Polish armed forces tomorrow.
The chairman presented Gocul with a photo taken yesterday, when he met with Polish members of the International Security Assistance Force in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
In Kabul, Dempsey met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, with whom he discussed the bilateral security agreement between the United States and Afghanistan. The talks were productive, with the Afghan president's office issuing a statement following the meeting. "Afghans are ready to sign a security pact with the U.S., on the condition that it leads to peace and stability in the country, the strengthening of Afghan forces, and a united and sovereign Afghanistan," the statement said.
Karzai had broken off talks with the United States on the issue.
Dempsey told a media roundtable at ISAF headquarters that he would like to see the pact signed before October. NATO and partner nations then will negotiate a similar pact with the Afghans. The agreement will govern how the U.S. operates in Afghanistan once the ISAF mandate expires at the end of 2014.
The follow-on agreement would continue the development of Afghan security forces. Dempsey called those forces "the best guarantor of future security in Afghanistan."
NATO has named the follow-on operation Resolute Support.
Showing posts with label CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS SAYS U.S. WILL REMAIN WORLD POWER DESPITE BUDGET
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Dempsey: U.S. Will Remain World Power Despite Budget 'Mess'
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan, April 25, 2013 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff didn't mince words when he spoke about the Defense Department's fiscal challenges during a town hall gathering here today.
"OK, the budget," Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said. "It's a mess. It's just a real mess."
Dempsey landed in Japan today on the last leg of a weeklong trip that also has taken him to South Korea and China. He spoke to an audience of several hundred, mostly airmen, minutes after landing.
This year's budget is particularly difficult because we're trying to absorb all these changes in the last six months of the fiscal year," the chairman said.
"And we are generally about 80 percent spent with 50 percent of the year left," he added. "So we have 20 percent of what we thought we'd have, to stretch ourselves out to the end of the [fiscal] year."
Dempsey said the military will get through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, by stretching its readiness as far as possible and being "extraordinarily careful about how we spend our money." The services have reduced maintenance, flying hours and steaming hours, he noted.
"So we're going to have to play some catch-up in [fiscal year 2014]," he said. "We're working to really get our legs under ourselves in [fiscal 2015] and beyond."
Aspects of the funding squeeze "just are heart-wrenching," Dempsey said. He told civilian employees in the audience that he is "personally embarrassed" about "this issue of furlough [that] hangs over you." Current Defense Department plans call for cutting 14 days from civilian employees' work schedules and paychecks between June and the end of September. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has told the chairman and the service chiefs to "get that number [of furlough days] down as low as you can," Dempsey said.
"And we will," he added, noting that the challenge in doing so is getting to the end of the fiscal year with a force that is still ready. The answer, he said, is that money has to come out of modernization, maintenance, training and compensation.
During his 39 years of service, the chairman said, this is the third time he's seen serious defense budget crunches.
"It's a pain in the neck. ... The budget's coming back to something like a historic norm -- it's just coming down faster than it really should," he said.
In response to a question about changes to the military retirement system, Dempsey said any changes will be "grandfathered" to exclude those currently serving. Service members have a right to expect that the promises made to them when they joined up will be kept, he said, adding, "I haven't heard anyone waffle about that."
Any changes to retirement will be subject to a committee or a commission's study, he said, and will not happen quickly.
"I do think we need to change," the chairman said. He explained that while only 17 percent of those who serve eventually retire, the Defense Department is required to set aside retirement funds for 100 percent of the force.
"That accrual fund tends to suck money off the budget every year," he noted. While the retirement system may in the future change in a number of ways, he said, veterans associations work diligently to protect health care, compensation and retirement.
"That is their charter," he said, "and unless we can convince them we're actually making it better for you, we tend to be at odds with each other. ... We've got to find a system that will be acceptable -- not only to those now serving, but to those who will serve, and that we can reconcile with the veterans support organizations."
Manpower costs at their current level will overwhelm modernization and training, Dempsey said.
"I don't want to be the chairman known for having taken a machete to your paycheck," he said. "That's not the reputation I want to have. ... But I don't want you being the most well compensated military on the planet that doesn't train."
Dempsey also responded to a question about whether the United States can remain a global power in light of its fiscal difficulties.
Given America's role in maintaining open markets and access to resources, as well as assuring freedom of navigation in the sea and air domains, he said, "we can't afford not to be the stabilizing influence that we are."
"Although some are hoping that this budget challenge rocks us back a bit," he added, "I think ... they still want us to provide a stabilizing platform."
The U.S. military won't withdraw to "Fortress America," Dempsey said, and the Defense Department has pared back its forward presence in places such as Japan, the Korean Peninsula and Europe "about as far as we can."
Rotational deployments and other measures can help the nation's military "accomplish almost the same thing, but with smaller force structures," he said.
"We're going to have to think about how to remain a global power with fewer resources, and also managing it inside of an [operational tempo] that is acceptable to you. ... I'm actually quite confident we'll be able to figure that out," he said.
Dempsey told the troops to remember one thing: "We are going to do less with less, but not less well. That's the commitment. ... You're still going to be the best-trained, best-equipped, best-led force on the planet."
Dempsey's visit to Japan will continue in the coming days, and is scheduled to include senior-level meetings and other engagements.
Dempsey: U.S. Will Remain World Power Despite Budget 'Mess'
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan, April 25, 2013 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff didn't mince words when he spoke about the Defense Department's fiscal challenges during a town hall gathering here today.
"OK, the budget," Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said. "It's a mess. It's just a real mess."
Dempsey landed in Japan today on the last leg of a weeklong trip that also has taken him to South Korea and China. He spoke to an audience of several hundred, mostly airmen, minutes after landing.
This year's budget is particularly difficult because we're trying to absorb all these changes in the last six months of the fiscal year," the chairman said.
"And we are generally about 80 percent spent with 50 percent of the year left," he added. "So we have 20 percent of what we thought we'd have, to stretch ourselves out to the end of the [fiscal] year."
Dempsey said the military will get through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, by stretching its readiness as far as possible and being "extraordinarily careful about how we spend our money." The services have reduced maintenance, flying hours and steaming hours, he noted.
"So we're going to have to play some catch-up in [fiscal year 2014]," he said. "We're working to really get our legs under ourselves in [fiscal 2015] and beyond."
Aspects of the funding squeeze "just are heart-wrenching," Dempsey said. He told civilian employees in the audience that he is "personally embarrassed" about "this issue of furlough [that] hangs over you." Current Defense Department plans call for cutting 14 days from civilian employees' work schedules and paychecks between June and the end of September. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has told the chairman and the service chiefs to "get that number [of furlough days] down as low as you can," Dempsey said.
"And we will," he added, noting that the challenge in doing so is getting to the end of the fiscal year with a force that is still ready. The answer, he said, is that money has to come out of modernization, maintenance, training and compensation.
During his 39 years of service, the chairman said, this is the third time he's seen serious defense budget crunches.
"It's a pain in the neck. ... The budget's coming back to something like a historic norm -- it's just coming down faster than it really should," he said.
In response to a question about changes to the military retirement system, Dempsey said any changes will be "grandfathered" to exclude those currently serving. Service members have a right to expect that the promises made to them when they joined up will be kept, he said, adding, "I haven't heard anyone waffle about that."
Any changes to retirement will be subject to a committee or a commission's study, he said, and will not happen quickly.
"I do think we need to change," the chairman said. He explained that while only 17 percent of those who serve eventually retire, the Defense Department is required to set aside retirement funds for 100 percent of the force.
"That accrual fund tends to suck money off the budget every year," he noted. While the retirement system may in the future change in a number of ways, he said, veterans associations work diligently to protect health care, compensation and retirement.
"That is their charter," he said, "and unless we can convince them we're actually making it better for you, we tend to be at odds with each other. ... We've got to find a system that will be acceptable -- not only to those now serving, but to those who will serve, and that we can reconcile with the veterans support organizations."
Manpower costs at their current level will overwhelm modernization and training, Dempsey said.
"I don't want to be the chairman known for having taken a machete to your paycheck," he said. "That's not the reputation I want to have. ... But I don't want you being the most well compensated military on the planet that doesn't train."
Dempsey also responded to a question about whether the United States can remain a global power in light of its fiscal difficulties.
Given America's role in maintaining open markets and access to resources, as well as assuring freedom of navigation in the sea and air domains, he said, "we can't afford not to be the stabilizing influence that we are."
"Although some are hoping that this budget challenge rocks us back a bit," he added, "I think ... they still want us to provide a stabilizing platform."
The U.S. military won't withdraw to "Fortress America," Dempsey said, and the Defense Department has pared back its forward presence in places such as Japan, the Korean Peninsula and Europe "about as far as we can."
Rotational deployments and other measures can help the nation's military "accomplish almost the same thing, but with smaller force structures," he said.
"We're going to have to think about how to remain a global power with fewer resources, and also managing it inside of an [operational tempo] that is acceptable to you. ... I'm actually quite confident we'll be able to figure that out," he said.
Dempsey told the troops to remember one thing: "We are going to do less with less, but not less well. That's the commitment. ... You're still going to be the best-trained, best-equipped, best-led force on the planet."
Dempsey's visit to Japan will continue in the coming days, and is scheduled to include senior-level meetings and other engagements.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF TALKS ABOUT U.S. GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, , HORIZONTAL REBALANCING GLOBALLY OF U.S. MILITARY
Chairman Looks at Changes to U.S. Global Footprint
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
PERTH, Australia, Nov. 12, 2012 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is ready to move on to the next step of determining the footprint of U.S. troops based overseas.
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said in an interview today that service members can expect changes in the numbers of troops based overseas, with increases in some cases and decreases in others.
The determination is an outgrowth of the new defense strategy adopted earlier this year, the chairman said, and officials have been working to learn what is necessary to implement the strategy.
"That's part of the strategic seminars I've been holding with the combatant commanders and service chiefs," he said. "I also said when we implemented the strategy that we wouldn't get just one at-bat to deliver this strategy. We'll have several to deliver these over the plate."
The rebalancing of the force to the Asia-Pacific region has received most of the attention since the strategy was announced.
"That was a horizontal rebalancing globally," the chairman said. "This year, I want to look at a vertical rebalancing, and what I mean by that ... is how we array the forces we have ... and how many should be forward stationed and how best to reap the benefits of forward stationing which are close, binding, traditional enduring relationships."
This includes cultural awareness that leads to deep relationships and deep contacts, he said.
The chairman said he also will look at where and how to rotate troops in and out of areas, "and where we base troops in the homeland, where we build readiness and connect with America."
As the military compares the horizontal and vertical rebalancing, he said, "I believe I'll have a pretty good understanding of how to best apply the resources we have as we go through the continuing budget discussions."
But budget uncertainty makes all this more difficult, Dempsey said. There still is no fiscal 2013 budget, and the cloud of sequestration hangs over discussion of fiscal 2014's budget. If Congress fails to find an alternative by January, a sequestration mechanism in budget law will trigger about $500 billion in defense spending cuts over the next decade in addition to $487 billion in cuts already scheduled over that period.
Development of a strategy that takes those spending reductions into account proves the Defense Department is adaptable, Dempsey said.
"I've often said that the military is seen as being resistant to change," the general said. "We're really not. If you look at the force we were 10 years ago and the force we are today, I would compare the way we've changed with any other sector of the United States.
"We're not averse to change, but uncertainty is the thing that is troubling, because you don't want to put the force in the position where it has to make major change every year," he continued. "Tell us what you want us to change once and let us get after it, and I think you'll find we'll deliver."
The chairman is here to participate in annual consultations between the United States and Australia.
Chairman Looks at Changes to U.S. Global Footprint
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
PERTH, Australia, Nov. 12, 2012 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is ready to move on to the next step of determining the footprint of U.S. troops based overseas.
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said in an interview today that service members can expect changes in the numbers of troops based overseas, with increases in some cases and decreases in others.
The determination is an outgrowth of the new defense strategy adopted earlier this year, the chairman said, and officials have been working to learn what is necessary to implement the strategy.
"That's part of the strategic seminars I've been holding with the combatant commanders and service chiefs," he said. "I also said when we implemented the strategy that we wouldn't get just one at-bat to deliver this strategy. We'll have several to deliver these over the plate."
The rebalancing of the force to the Asia-Pacific region has received most of the attention since the strategy was announced.
"That was a horizontal rebalancing globally," the chairman said. "This year, I want to look at a vertical rebalancing, and what I mean by that ... is how we array the forces we have ... and how many should be forward stationed and how best to reap the benefits of forward stationing which are close, binding, traditional enduring relationships."
This includes cultural awareness that leads to deep relationships and deep contacts, he said.
The chairman said he also will look at where and how to rotate troops in and out of areas, "and where we base troops in the homeland, where we build readiness and connect with America."
As the military compares the horizontal and vertical rebalancing, he said, "I believe I'll have a pretty good understanding of how to best apply the resources we have as we go through the continuing budget discussions."
But budget uncertainty makes all this more difficult, Dempsey said. There still is no fiscal 2013 budget, and the cloud of sequestration hangs over discussion of fiscal 2014's budget. If Congress fails to find an alternative by January, a sequestration mechanism in budget law will trigger about $500 billion in defense spending cuts over the next decade in addition to $487 billion in cuts already scheduled over that period.
Development of a strategy that takes those spending reductions into account proves the Defense Department is adaptable, Dempsey said.
"I've often said that the military is seen as being resistant to change," the general said. "We're really not. If you look at the force we were 10 years ago and the force we are today, I would compare the way we've changed with any other sector of the United States.
"We're not averse to change, but uncertainty is the thing that is troubling, because you don't want to put the force in the position where it has to make major change every year," he continued. "Tell us what you want us to change once and let us get after it, and I think you'll find we'll deliver."
The chairman is here to participate in annual consultations between the United States and Australia.
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