Context
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, while attending a National Guard Conference outlined five major areas of focus as part of his future vision.
These included the ability to sustain two wars; Dempsey believes that the US possesses the resources to fight more than one war at a time. He also suggested a shift of resources towards the Pacific while maintaining a focus on Central Asia and the Middle East, to preserve US strategic interests.
A more integrative role between the active forces and the National Guard and Reserves was also laid on the table. Fourthly, General Dempsey suggested a closer integration of Special Forces and general-purpose forces especially as has been witnessed in Afghanistan.
Fifthly, the increasing role of cyber warfare amongst conventional military strategy was identified as a growing problem.
The General also told the audience that he opposed the move to have the chief of the National Guard as a member of the Joint Chiefs.
