[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14867-14868]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRATULATING GENERAL MARTIN DEMPSEY ON HIS RETIREMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, after 41 years in uniform, General 
Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the 
highest-ranking military officer in the land, retires today.
  More than once this year, we on the Armed Services Committee have 
expressed our gratitude for his service and bid General Dempsey 
farewell as he testified before our committee for what we expected 
would be his final hearing; but, time and time again, world events 
brought him back to us.
  That underscores what a consequential job General Dempsey has had. 
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the senior military 
adviser to both the legislative and executive branches of government. I 
am personally very grateful for his willingness to spend time, formally 
and informally, with members of our committee discussing our country's 
security, providing his best military advice on an unprecedented 
spectrum of serious and diverse threats during an era of declining 
resources and when Congress and the President have very different views 
on national security policy. All of that has been a tremendous 
challenge.
  In his four decades of dedicated service, General Dempsey has led our 
forces against threats far different from those we faced when he left 
his native New Jersey to become a West Point cadet. Instead of Soviets 
in the Fulda Gap, General Dempsey has had to confront a newly 
aggressive Russia, an expanding China, Iranian-backed instability in 
the Middle East, as well as ISIS and al Qaeda.
  And those are just some of the threats we can see. General Dempsey 
has also had to face increasing cyber attacks on our military and our 
country, the threat posed by diseases like Ebola in an increasingly 
mobile world, and a tremendous amount of change within the military, 
itself.
  In honoring him and his service, we also honor, through him, those 
who have served under him. To meet the challenges that the United 
States faces around the world and to meet our sacred obligations to our 
servicemembers and their families requires a commitment to service and 
sacrifice that separates America from the rest of the world and 
separates those who serve in the military from much of our own 
population. It takes something special.
  For having that ``something special'' and for serving our Nation with 
honor and distinction for 41 years, I know I speak for my colleagues in 
thanking General Martin Dempsey and his wife, Deanie, for their service 
to our country as they move into the next phase of their life together.
  General Dempsey's career has been a lesson in dedication to country 
and selfless service.
  A career army officer, he has commanded at every level--from Platoon 
Leader to Combatant Commander--and his assignments have carried him and 
his family across the United States and around the world.
  As a company grade officer, he served with the 2nd Cavalry in Europe 
and the 10th Cavalry at Fort Carson. Following troop command, he earned 
his Masters of Arts in English from Duke University and was assigned to 
the English Department at West Point. He subsequently earned additional 
advanced degrees from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College 
and the National War College.
  In 1991, General Dempsey deployed with the Third Armored Division in 
support of Operation Desert Storm. He later commanded a battalion in 
Germany and then served as the Army's ``senior scout'' as the 67th 
Colonel of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment--the Brave Rifles--before 
reporting to the Joint Staff as an assistant deputy director in the J-5 
and later as a Special Assistant to the 14th Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff.
  In 2003, General Dempsey commanded the 1st Armored Division in 
Baghdad and returned to Iraq in 2005 as the Commanding General of the 
Multi-National Security Transition Command--Iraq. From 2007 to 2008, he 
was the Deputy Commander and then Acting Commander of U.S. Central 
Command, and from 2008 to 2011, he commanded U.S. Army Training and 
Doctrine Command.
  Appointed to serve as the Army's 37th Chief of Staff, General Dempsey 
led his beloved Army a short 149 days before being tapped to serve as 
the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that capacity, and 
as the Nation's highest-ranking military officer, he has served as the 
principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, 
the National Security Council, and Congress.
  General Dempsey's job has required him to coordinate and build 
consensus among the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint 
Staff, the Services, and the Combatant Commands. He has also developed 
important relationships with military leaders in other nations.
  He has guided the Joint Force in executing an extraordinary range of 
global responsibilities, from counter-terrorism and crisis response, to 
supporting our allies, building partner capacity, and humanitarian 
assistance. His efforts to strengthen key alliances, bolster new 
partnerships, and more closely integrate the military with other tools 
of national power and influence are commendable.
  General Dempsey's tenure as Chairman has been marked by significant 
transitions in military operations and personnel in an increasingly 
dynamic and unpredictable security environment.
  A firm believer in constantly learning and growing, General Dempsey 
guided the Joint Force to study, learn, and incorporate lessons learned 
over the past 14 years. In addition, recognizing the shifting nature of 
the security environment and our ability to respond to it, General 
Dempsey led a paradigm shift in how we posture and employ this Joint 
team around the world.
  At the same time, the past few years have witnessed exponential 
growth of the cyber threat against our Nation, and General Dempsey has 
pushed the expansion of our cyber capabilities in response. He has 
championed the rapid development of our cyber forces, and implemented 
the Joint Information Environment to optimize and better defend our 
military's information technology infrastructure. These initiatives 
will be critical to the future security of our Nation.
  As principal steward of the military profession, he renewed an 
internal commitment to

[[Page 14868]]

strengthen the Profession of Arms and reinvigorated education, 
training, and leader development. He managed historic decisions, 
including reforms to General and Flag Officer ethics, and Department-
wide improvements in Sexual Assault Prevention and Response. His 
stewardship set conditions to preserve the strength of the all-
volunteer force and to ensure service members departing the military 
successfully transition back into their communities.
  As he retires, General Dempsey should take great pride in his role in 
ensuring our military remains the best supported, best trained, best 
equipped, and best led force on the planet.
  With over four decades of dedicated service to our Nation, General 
Dempsey and his family deserve our most heartfelt gratitude and 
admiration. He and Deanie have our very best wishes for the next phase 
and the challenges and opportunities it will inevitably bring. Our 
Nation, our Joint Force, and our Army are all better for his leadership 
and distinguished service.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________