Martin “Marty” Edward Dempsey (born March 14, 1952), is an American retired military officer who served as the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2011 until September 25, 2015, his ceremonial last day (de facto); in actuality, his last day was September 30, 2015 (de jure).[1] He previously served as the 37th chief of Staff of the Army from April 11, 2011, to September 7, 2011. Before that, he served as Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, from December 8, 2008, to April 11, 2011, as Acting Commander, U.S. Central Command, from March 24, 2008, to October 30, 2008, as Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command, from August 2007 to March 23, 2008, and as Commanding General, Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I), from August 2005 to August 2007. Dempsey assumed his assignment as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2011 and stepped down from the Chairmanship on September 25, 2015.[2][3] He has served as a professor at Duke University and as chairman of USA Basketball.[4][5]
In June 2003, then Major General Dempsey assumed command of the 1st Armored Division. He succeeded Ricardo S. Sanchez who was promoted to lieutenant general, as commander of V Corps. Dempsey's command of the 1st Armored Division lasted until July 2005 and included 13 months in Iraq, from June 2003 to July 2004. While in Iraq, 1st Armored Division, in addition to its own brigades, had operational command over the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division; the command, called "Task Force Iron" in recognition of the Division's nickname, "Old Ironsides", was the largest division-level command in the history of the United States Army.[14]
It was during this time that the U.S. intervention in Iraq changed dramatically as Fallujah fell to Sunni extremists and supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr built their strength and rose against American forces. Then 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 Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey, was generally seen as handling a difficult (and inherited) job well, under the global spotlight of Baghdad."
On March 27, 2007, Lieutenant General Dempsey was transferred from commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, and reassigned as deputy commander of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
On March 11, 2008, Dempsey's commander, Admiral William J. Fallon, resigned from his post as commander of Central Command. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates accepted this as effective on March 31. Dempsey temporarily took over as acting commander.
On March 13, 2008, Dempsey was confirmed by the United States Senate as Commander, U.S. Army, Europe/Seventh Army.[15] However, due, to Admiral Fallon's unexpected retirement, Dempsey never took command of U.S. Army, Europe/Seventh Army.
With AdmiralMichael Mullen set to retire as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2011, U.S. President Obama needed to select his replacement. The vice-chairman, Marine General James Cartwright, who was initially believed to be the front runner for the job, had fallen out of favor among senior officials in the Defense Department. Obama administration officials revealed on May 26, 2011, that the President would nominate Dempsey to the post of chairman.[23] In August 2011, General Dempsey was confirmed by unanimous consent to succeed Admiral Mike Mullen as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was sworn in as 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2011. On June 26, 2013, President Barack Obama re-nominated General Dempsey to serve a second two-year term as chairman.[24] Dempsey stepped down on September 25, 2015, and was replaced by General Joseph Dunford, USMC.
Dempsey was appointed as the chairman of USA Basketball in 2016. After eight years in the position, he was re-elected as chair in October 2024 through to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.[25]
On October 18, 2020, Dempsey was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, in the Public Service category.[26]
Personal life
Dempsey is married to his high school sweetheart, Deanie.[27] They have three children: Chris, Megan, and Caitlin. Each has served in the United States Army and is married with three children. Chris remains on active duty as a cavalry colonel. Martin and Deanie have nine grandchildren.[28]
On December 7, 2011, Dempsey received the USO's Distinguished Service Award on behalf of all military members.[29] In October 2016, he was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, for commitment to British-American defense cooperation.[30] Also, the Association of the United States Army, on October 17, 2019 awarded Dempsey the George Catlett Marshall Medal for distinguished public service, that organization's highest award.[31]
^"Board". www.usab.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
^"Bayonne's Gen. Dempsey named one of world's most influential: Time Magazine", The Jersey Journal, April 17, 2015, updated January 17, 2019. Accessed February 1, 2022. "Army General Martin E. Dempsey, who was born in Jersey City and grew up in Bayonne, made Time magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, a group that includes Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Pope Francis and celebrity Kim Kardashian."