Martin E. Dempsey
General, U.S. Army

Martin E. Dempsey was born in 1952. He attended John S. Burke Catholic High School in Goshen, NY, and entered the U.S. Military Academy in 1970. Upon his graduation from the Academy in 1974, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Armor.

He went on to be the Executive Officer of the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Armored Division during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He then commanded the 4th Battalion of the 67th Armored Regiment "Bandits" from 1992-95 in the 1st Armored Division in Friedberg, Germany.

In June 2003, Dempsey, then a Brigadier General, assumed command of 1st Armored Division. He succeeded Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez who was promoted to Command V Corps. Dempsey commanded 1st Armored Division until July 2005,which included 13 months in Iraq from June 2003 to July 2004. In addition to its own brigades, while in Iraq the 1st Armored Division had operational command over the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division. The command was called "Task Force Iron" in recognition of the Division's nickname, "Old Ironsides," and it was the largest division-level command in the history of the U.S. Army.

It was during this period that the U.S. intervention in Iraq changed dramatically; Fallujah fell to Sunni extremists and the supporters of Muqtada Sadr built their strength and rose up against American forces. Now a Major General, Dempsey and his command assumed responsibility for the Area of Operations in Baghdad as the insurgency incubated, grew, and exploded. General Dempsey has been described by Thomas Ricks in his book Fiasco: "In the capital itself, the 1st Armored Division, after Sanchez assumed control of V Corps, was led by Gen. Martin Dempsey, was generally seen as handling a difficult (and inherited) job well, under the global spotlight of Baghdad."

Dempsey served as Commanding General, Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I) from August 2005 to March 2007. On 27 March 2007, Dempsey was relieved as the Commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq. He was promoted to Lieutenant General and assigned as Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, FL.

On 5 February 2008, Dempsey was nominated to head U.S. Army, Europe/ Seventh U.S. Army and was nominated for promotion to four-star general upon Senate approval.

On 11 March 2008, Dempsey's Commander, Admiral William J. Fallon, retired from active service. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates accepted his retirement effective 31 March. On 13 March 2008, Dempsey was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Commander, U.S. Army, Europe/ Seventh U.S. Army. However, due to the resignation of Admiral Fallon, he never assumed that command and, instead, became Acting Commander, U.S. Central Command, a position he held from 24 March to 30 October 2008. On 28 August 2008, General Carter F. Ham assumed the USAREUR/Seventh Army command.

On 8 December 2008, Dempsey took Command of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and remained there until 11 April 2011.

On 6 January 2011, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he would nominate General Dempsey to succeed General George Casey as the Army Chief of Staff. On 8 February, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced that President Barack Obama had nominated Dempsey to be Chief of Staff of the Army. On 3 March Dempsey testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services for reappointment to the grade of General and to be Army Chief of Staff. On 15 March, the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services affirmatively reported Dempsey's nomination to serve as Chief of Staff to the floor of the Senate. The Senate confirmed Dempsey's nomination by unanimous consent the next day, 16 March.

On 11 April 2011, Dempsey was officially sworn in as 37th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army at a ceremony in Fort Myer.

He was sworn in as 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 1 October 2011.

Education

1974 Bachelor of Science degree, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY

1984 Master of Arts degree in English, Duke University, Durham, NC

1988 Master of Military Art and Science degree, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College

1995 Master of Science degree in National Security and Strategic Studies, National War College

Medals, Awards and Badges

Defense Distinguished Service Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Army Distinguished Service Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device and Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal
Army Achievement Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
National Defense Service Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars
Southwest Asia Service Medal with 3 Bronze Service Stars
Iraq Campaign Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Army Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 4
NATO Medal for Service with ISAF
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Joint Meritorious Unit Award with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Army Valorous Unit Award with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Army Superior Unit Award with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Combat Action Badge
Parachutist Badge
Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
Army Staff Identification Badge