Martin Edward "Marty" Dempsey (born 14 March 1952) is an American retired military officer who served as the 18thchairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2011 to September 2015.[1] He previously served as the 37thchief of Staff of the Army from April to September 2011. Before that, he served as Commanding General,U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, from December 2008 to April 2011, as acting commander,U.S. Central Command, from March to October 2008, as deputy commander,U.S. Central Command, from August 2007 to March 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 in October 2011, and stepped down from the chairmanship in September 2015.[2][3] He has served as a professor atDuke University and as chairman ofUSA Basketball.[4][5]
Dempsey was born on 14 March 1952, inJersey City, New Jersey, and grew up in nearbyBayonne.[6] He attendedJohn S. Burke Catholic High School inGoshen, New York. Dempsey isIrish American.[7][8][9] Following high school, Dempsey attended theUnited States Military Academy at West Point and graduated with the Class of 1974. Dempsey's four grandparents were born in the counties ofSligo,Donegal,Mayo andRoscommon inIreland. He learned a small amount of theIrish language while spending his summers in Ireland as a child.[10][11]
Dempsey received a commission as anArmor officer upon graduation from theUnited States Military Academy in 1974. As acompany-grade officer, he served in 1st Squadron,2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment as a platoon leader in B Troop, support platoon, S4 and the officer in charge for personnel. He went on to be the executive officer of the 3rd Brigade3rd Armored Division duringOperation Desert Shield/Storm. As a captain, Dempsey was the commanding officer of Alpha Troop, 1/10 Armored Cavalry at Ft. Carson, Colorado. As alieutenant colonel he commanded the 4th Battalion of the 67th Armored Regiment "Bandits" from 1992 to 1995 in the1st Armored Division inFriedberg, Hesse, Germany.[12]
In 1996 he took command of the3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Following that assignment as the Army's “senior scout,” he served as an assistant deputy director for strategic plans and policy (J-5) on the Joint Staff, and as special assistant to thechairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, GeneralHenry H. Shelton, USA. During this period of his career, he attended both theArmy Command and General Staff College and theNational War College, earning master's degrees in military art and national strategic studies.[13]
Promoted to brigadier general in August 2001, Dempsey first served in theKingdom of Saudi Arabia training and advising theSaudi Arabian National Guard.[13]
In June 2003, thenMajor General Dempsey assumed command of the1st Armored Division. He succeededRicardo S. Sanchez who was promoted tolieutenant general, as commander ofV 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 the2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and a brigade of the82nd 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 theUnited States Army.[14]
It was during this time that the U.S. intervention in Iraq changed dramatically asFallujah fell toSunni extremists and supporters ofMuqtada 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 byThomas 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 27 March 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 atMacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
On 5 February 2008, Dempsey was nominated to head theU.S. Army, Europe/Seventh Army, and was nominated for promotion tofour-star general upon Senate approval.
On 11 March 2008, Dempsey's commander, AdmiralWilliam J. Fallon, resigned from his post as commander of Central Command. U.S. Secretary of DefenseRobert Gates accepted this as effective on March 31. Dempsey temporarily took over as acting commander.
On 13 March 2008, Dempsey was confirmed by theUnited 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.
On 11 July 2008, Dempsey was nominated to take command ofU.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command while Lieutenant GeneralCarter F. Ham replaced his nomination to command the U.S. Army, Europe/Seventh Army.[16]
On 8 December 2008, Dempsey assumed command ofUnited States Army Training and Doctrine Command.[17]
On 6 January 2011, Defense SecretaryRobert Gates announced that he would recommend that the president nominate General Dempsey to succeed GeneralGeorge Casey as the Army Chief of Staff.[18] On 8 February 2011, Gates announced that PresidentBarack Obama nominated Dempsey to be the 37thchief of Staff of the United States Army.[19] On 3 March 2011, Dempsey testified before theUnited States Senate Committee on Armed Services,[20] and on 15 March 2011, the committee affirmatively reported Dempsey's nomination.[21] On 16 March 2011, the Senate confirmed Dempsey's nomination by unanimous consent.[22] On 11 April 2011, Dempsey was sworn in asChief of Staff of the United States Army at a ceremony atFort Myer.
WithAdmiralMichael Mullen set to retire asChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2011,U.S. President Obama needed to select his replacement. The vice-chairman, Marine GeneralJames 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 26 May 2011, that Obama 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 1 October 2011. On 26 June 2013, Obama re-nominated General Dempsey to serve a second two-year term as chairman.[24] Dempsey stepped down on 25 September 2015, and was replaced by GeneralJoseph Dunford, USMC.
Dempsey was appointed as the chairman ofUSA Basketball in 2016. After eight years in the position, he was re-elected as chair in October 2024 through to the2028 Los Angeles Olympics.[25]
On 18 October 2020, Dempsey was inducted into theNew Jersey Hall of Fame, in the Public Service category.[26]
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]
| Rank | Date |
|---|---|
%2c_rotated.svg) Second lieutenant | 5 June 1974 |
 First lieutenant | 5 June 1976 |
 Captain | 8 August 1978 |
 Major | 1 September 1985 |
.svg) Lieutenant colonel | 1 April 1991 |
 Colonel | 1 September 1996 |
 Brigadier general | 1 August 2001 |
 Major general | 1 September 2004 |
 Lieutenant general | 8 September 2005 |
.svg) General | 8 December 2008 |
On 7 December 2011, Dempsey received theUSO's Distinguished Service Award on behalf of all military members.[29] In October 2016, he was made an honorary Knight Commander of theOrder of the British Empire by QueenElizabeth II, for commitment to British-American defense cooperation.[30] Also, theAssociation of the United States Army, on 17 October 2019, awarded Dempsey the George Catlett Marshall Medal for distinguished public service, that organization's highest award.[31]
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| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commanding General of the1st Armored Division 2003-2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander of theMulti-National Security Transition Command – Iraq 2005-2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Commander ofUnited States Central Command 2007-2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander ofUnited States Central Command Acting 2008 | Succeeded by David Petraeus |
| Preceded by | Commanding General of the Army Training and Doctrine Command 2008–2011 | Succeeded by John Sterling Acting |
| Preceded by | Chief of Staff of the Army 2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 2011–2015 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | Order of precedence of the United States as Former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | Succeeded byas Former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
Leaders of theUnited States Army | ||
|---|---|---|
| Senior officers / commanding generals |   | |
| Chiefs of staff | ||
| Vice chiefs of staff | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
