In his assessment of the new Quadrennial Defense Review, General Martin E. Dempsey – the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – provides the below list of priorities. He uses this list “to advise the Secretary of Defense and the President and to determine how to distribute the force among our Combatant Commanders.”
- Maintain a secure and effective nuclear deterrent;
- Provide for military defense of the homeland;
- Defeat an adversary;
- Provide a global, stabilizing presence;
- Combat terrorism;
- Counter weapons of mass destruction;
- Deny an adversary’s objectives;
- Respond to crisis and conduct limited contingency operations;
- Conduct military engagement and security cooperation;
- Conduct stability and counterinsurgency operations;
- Provide support to civil authorities; and
- Conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Check out our interview with General Dempsey.
Image: DoD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo
John Wade 
General, I am a 71 year old retired male that was an engineer in a plant making TNT and other anti personnel weapons. I can not understand why your command is not using some of the old fashion anti-personnel weapons (105 mm dart round, white phos CBU’s and traditional RDX CBU’s)we developed years ago that would create havoc on the ISIS battlefields.