Chairman of Joint Chiefs Visits SIPA Class, Remotely

Last month, a group of SIPA students enjoyed the opportunity to speak with U.S. Army General Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thanks to video conferencing technology that linked them to the general’s office in the Pentagon. The mid-December discussion came as part of a course entitled Evolving Military Strategy Post-9/11, taught by Admiral Eric Olson, who retired from the Navy in 2011 after more than 38 years of service.

Dempsey, who is the country’s highest-ranking military officer and the principal military adviser to President Obama, the secretary of defense, and the National Security Council, told the students that the Pentagon is already working on the latest threat assessment that will be presented to Congress. Due to the variety and uncertain nature of the threats that the country faces, Dempsey said, a global joint force combining the capabilities of the United States and its allies is more necessary than ever. In this context, he added, more than 80 percent of this Joint Force 2020 is already in the ranks and being trained.

Dempsey took time to listen to suggestions from the 24 students for the 2014 U.S. National Military Strategy. The students, whose home countries include Japan, Spain, Singapore, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, and the United States, also discussed military strategy in their home countries.

Olson, who joined the faculty in September as an adjunct professor of international and public affairs, is is a former U.S. Navy SEAL who rose to become a four-star admiral and commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command. He retired in 2011 after almost four decades of active service, including assignments in Israel, Egypt, and Tunisia.

Over the course of the fall semester, Olson’s class explored how dynamic demographies, economies, technologies, ideologies, and natural resources are shaping a revolution in military thinking. The course aimed to give students a better understanding of the importance of regional populations, geography, religion and history as factors in accomplishing military objectives that support national policy.

Olson is not teaching this spring but will hopefully return to SIPA in fall 2013.

— reporting by Valle Avilés Pinedo