FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan -- Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), Security Forces Assistance Brigade here Sunday.
Senior officers and noncommissioned officers visit units and bases all over the world to gain perspective on the force through a bottom-up view from junior command teams and Soldiers themselves, as well as to provide guidance to leaders and insight on the future of the Army straight from the top.
Dempsey's visit to FOB Sharana was just that.
As he exited a U.S. Air Force C-130, Dempsey was met by Col. Dennis S. Sullivan, commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Security Forces Assistance Brigade. The chairman, members of his staff, and Maj. Gen. James McConville, Combined Joint Task Force-101 commander, were escorted to the Commando Brigade headquarters for an intelligence and operations briefing on the situation in Paktika Province as well as a status review of the provincial government by Dean Mattaline, senior State Department representative.
Dempsey opened the floor to questions and answers from the command teams of the brigade and staff after a short update and gave his perspective on the future of Afghanistan.
Will there be Taliban and insurgent contested areas in Paktika? "Yes, and it will be the Afghans' choice whether to allow those contested areas to persist," Dempsey said.
Talking about the future of the force, Dempsey explained that the Army is an elastic service and will shrink in numbers as the wars come to a conclusion. However, by keeping a "bulge" in its mid-level ranks, the service will be able to expand again if necessary by promoting from within.
The challenge for future leaders, he said, will be in the transition from an Army at war to an Army that trains, as many of the mid-level officers and noncommissioned officers of the service have never experienced an Army that trains.
After sharing his perspectives, Dempsey awarded 22 Commando Brigade Soldiers with Combat Infantryman, Combat Action and Combat Medic Badges for their actions while in contact with the enemy.
After a short trip to the dining facility, he shared a meal and conversation with more Soldiers from the brigade and posed for pictures with many of them, and then it was back to the airstrip for a flight to Bagram Airfield.
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