Essay On The Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff

The role of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is an extremely important Role in the American Foreign Policy system. With all of what has been happening in the Middle East, especially with the terrorist group ISIS, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, being a top member of the Armed Forces will have a key role in the coming years of American Foreign Policy.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the senior most military advisor to the President of the United States, as well as the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. He is also the highest ranked member of the United States Armed Forces. He or she reports directly to each of these agencies respectively. Under the chairman, each specific chief of staff,

one from each branch of the armed forces, reports up to the chairmen. These members can report to or be addressed by the President, National Security Council, and Secretary of Defense. However, all acts of communication must first go through the Chairmen, who then disseminates the information to the appropriate agencies or members of the staff.
Today, the Chairman, as well as the other Chiefs of Staff, have no authority to command combat forces, they serve solely as advisors.

They may work with commanders of military combat forces, but cannot command them. This was made official in an amendment in 1953 to the National Security Act of 1947 (Joint Chiefs of Staff). The appointment of a person to the role of Chairman to the Joint Chiefs of Staff must go through the executive branch of the United States government. The person selected for the role must first be approved by the President with the agreement of the Senate. The chairman serves of term of two years, which starts on the first day of October for each odd year. The maximum number of terms that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff can serve is six years. However, in the wartime there is no boundary to the amount of time the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs can hold

office.
There is only two main requirements for an official to become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The first requirement is that the potential candidate must have previously been a chief of staff for one of the branches of the armed forces or the official must have served as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The second requirement is that the official must hold the military rank of General (or Admiral with respect to the Navy). A key point to this clause is that the official cannot implement any command over his fellow Joint Chiefs or any members of the United States Military (10 U.S. Code § 152).
The official agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff came into effect around the time of the Second World War. The Joint Chiefs were created officially by the National Security Act of 1947. This act was right at the very end of World War Two and allowed President Roosevelt to communicate with his top military advisors as well as have his top aides communicate with Great Britain to negotiate the West’s plan of action after the war (Origin of the Joint Chiefs of Staff).
Having an adviser who has a long career in the military will be able to provide the president a proper situational analysis on what is developing in a combat zone and will be able to further explain details about possible actions that a civilian cannot. Almost all of the incidents that are happening around the world today will have some sort of impact on the United States military forces. With someone who has the experience of deploying to a combat zone, General Dempsey will be able to provide the President and other agencies with insight as to how the troops on the ground believe actions should be accomplished. In advising the president in this way, the president may make decisions that would be more beneficial to American ground forces. If the American forces see that their leader is making decisions or taking actions that prove to be beneficial to them, those forces will be in much higher support of their commander-in-chief. This support will also show in the eyes of the American public. If the general population sees that their service members are being taken care of, they will be much more likely to be in favor or agree with what the president’s next actions are. This whole process is attributed to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who provided the initial insight to the President.
Since the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the senior military advisor to the president, he has direct access to the president, as well as the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council. He would then be able to advise the president on any military situations that may arise as well as advise the president on what the next course of action should be for combat forces (Joint Chiefs of Staff).
The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America is General Martin E.

Dempsey. He is a general in the United States Army. He formally served as the Army Chief of Staff from April 11th to September 7th 2011 before being promoted to Chief. General Dempsey Graduated from the United States Military academy in 1974 as an officer in the armored divisions. His career started with his command of assorted Calvary units all over the world as well as in the United States General Dempsey also earned a degree from Duke University. He was also assigned to an academic department at the Army academy of West Point. General Dempsey also holds two Master’s Degrees in Military Art and National Security

studies.
In the early 1990’s, General Dempsey deployed with the Army’s Third Armored Division during the DESERT STORM campaign. After his deployment, General Dempsey took command of an armor unit in Germany for two years. After his time in Germany, he took command of all armor units for the entire United States Army.
General Dempsey then moved to assistant to the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as various other administrative positions. After his time in Washington, he then redeployed to the Middle East theatre. He first went to Saudi Arabia to train and advise the Saudi forces. From Saudi Arabia, General Dempsey then moved to Iraq and commanded the 1st Armored Division in Baghdad.
After over a year in Iraq, General Dempsey ordered his unit of command to Germany. He completed his assigned tour of duty in July 2005. After his completed command tour, General Dempsey returned to Iraq to help advise and train the security forces in country. General Dempsey also spent about a year in charge of the United States Central Command before becoming the Army’s Chief of Staff and eventually the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
General Dempsey has earned many different awards and accolades during his military service. Some of these awards include the Bronze Star and the Combat Action Badge.
General Dempsey is married and has three children. Each one of his children have spent time in service in the United States Army. (United States Department of Defense).
Overall, the role of Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff is a very important role and will continue to be an important role in American Foreign Policy. With the amount of militant groups in not only the Middle East but across the world, the President of the United States is going to need someone who will have the military proficiency to be able to provide expert advice from a standpoint that offers inside information on how to properly and safely deal with these groups. General Martin Dempsey is a very good candidate to remain at his current position until his maximum time in office has been reached. Given his prior service and combat record, General Dempsey will put his country and his fellow service members first and will look to advise the president on actions that will not only benefit the United States but the whole world as well.