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Dempsey pledges as CSA to serve Soldiers every day

By C. Todd Lopez

WASHINGTON (March 03, 2011) -- Soldiers expect their leaders to provide them with the tools they need to do their jobs, something the general nominated as the next Army chief of staff says he'll focus on every day.

During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, March 3, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey answered questions about his fitness to serve as the next chief of staff of the Army -- a position he was nominated for in January by President Barack Obama.

A man in a military uniform with many ribbons sits and speaks into a microphone.  Two other people are behind him and to his right.
Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, was on Capitol Hill before the Senate Armed Services Committee, March 3, to answer questions from Senators regarding his fitness to serve as the 37th chief of staff of the Army. He was nominated for the position by President Barack Obama. The general's wife, Deanie Dempsey, and their son, Maj. Chris Dempsey, were seated behind him during his testimony.

"I sit before you today with confidence that whatever challenges confront us in the future, your Army will respond with the same courage and resolve that has characterized it for the past 235 years," Dempsey said.

The general currently serves as the commander of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, a position he has held since December 2008.

Dempsey told senators that Soldiers from all components of the Army -- active, Guard and Reserve -- are deployed overseas today defending the United States.

"We are truly one Army, and we serve America proud," he said.

And stateside, he said, the Army brings in some 75,000 men and women, each year. Each, he said, is committed to the Army -- and the Army is committed to develop them as Soldiers and leaders.

The general also said he knows Soldiers in his own command in the United States; he knows their families, and he knows wounded Soldiers and their families as well. Of the Soldiers who serve, Dempsey said, their needs are simple.

"They understand the challenges we face, that we have as an Army and face as a nation," Dempsey said. "Their expectations of us are as simple as they are profound. They trust that we will provide the resources necessary for them to succeed in the fights in which we are currently engaged and they trust that we will have the wisdom and resolve necessary to prepare them for the missions unknown to us today, but will surely await us."

"If you confirm me as the Army's 37th CSA, you can be sure I will act to earn their trust every day," Dempsey said. "I will work to match their drive, their sacrifice and their resolve. And I will partner with the Congress of the United States of America and this committee in particular, to ensure we remain worthy of the title 'America's Army.'"

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