Gen. Martin E. Dempsey confirmed as Army Chief of Staff by Senate

Senate confirms Dempsey as Army chief of staff

Mar 18, 2011

By ARNEWS

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 17, 2011) -- Gen. Martin E. Dempsey was confirmed by the Senate March 16, for assignment as the next chief of staff of the Army.

 

Photo credit C. Todd Lopez


Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, answers questions from senators March 3, regarding how he will serve as the 37th chief of staff of the Army.

 

He will succeed Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who plans to retire next month after serving as the Army's chief of staff since April 10, 2007.

Dempsey is scheduled to be sworn in as chief of staff on April 11, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va. A Change of Responsibility Ceremony is scheduled for Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall's Summerall Field at 3 p.m. that day.

Dempsey is currently serving as commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va. He has headed TRADOC since December 2008. Before that he was acting commander of U.S. Central Command, and from August 2005 to the summer of 2007, he commanded the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq.

Dempsey is a 1974 graduate of West Point, where he was commissioned an armor officer.

During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee March 3, Dempsey answered questions about how he would serve as the next chief of staff of the Army, a position he was nominated for in January by President Barack Obama.

"I sit before you today with confidence that whatever challenges confront us in the future, your Army will respond with the same courage and resolve that has characterized it for the past 235 years," Dempsey said.

He told senators that he will work hard every day as chief of staff to earn the trust of Soldiers by ensuring they have what they need.

"I will work to match their drive, their sacrifice and their resolve," Dempsey said, "and I will partner with the Congress of the United States of America and this committee in particular, to ensure we remain worthy of the title 'America's Army.'"

Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas, has been nominated to take over for Dempsey as commander of TRADOC.

Other confirmations by the Senate March 3 include:

- Maj. Gen. Donald M. Campbell Jr., for appointment to lieutenant general and assignment as commanding general, III Corps and Fort Hood. He most recently served as commanding general, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Fort Knox, Ky.

- Lt. Gen. Purl K. Keen to serve as chief, Office of the Defense Representative, Pakistan. He is currently serving as deputy commander, United States Southern Command, Miami, Fla.

- Maj. Gen. Joseph L. Votel for appointment to lieutenant general and assignment as commander, Joint Special Operations Command and commander os Joint Special Operations Command Forward, Fort Bragg, N.C. He is currently serving as chief of staff, United States Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

- Brig. Gen. Donald L. Rutherford for promotion to the rank of major general and assignment as chief of chaplains, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. He is currently serving as deputy chief of chaplains.

(ARNEWS reporter Todd Lopez contributed to this report.)