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Centcom Boss Welcomes Cadets To 'A Wartime Military'

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By JOHN W. ALLMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 11, 2008

TAMPA - On a day meant for remembrance, Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey took time to thank the next generation of soldiers likely to be called to fight.

"You are entering a wartime military," Dempsey, acting commander of U.S. Central Command in Tampa, said this morning to ROTC cadets at the University of South Florida.

Dempsey mentioned, but didn't dwell on, the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The world did change, especially the United States, in ways that we have yet to realize, on that day," Dempsey said.

Instead, he offered a primer on Centcom's responsibilities around the world to the 200-plus Army, Marine, Navy and Air Force students who packed into an auditorium at C.W. Bill Young Hall.

He explained how the U.S. military has focused more since Sept. 11 on communication channels used by terrorist networks. He said cyberwarfare and the military's efforts to thwart information-system attacks likely will become a bigger threat during their service.

Dempsey said he will step down at Centcom in October. His successor, Army Gen. David Petraeus, will take command Oct. 31. Petraeus was picked in April, a month after the abrupt resignation of Navy Adm. William Fallon.

Dempsey took questions from the crowd for about 30 minutes after his speech.

No one asked about the Sept. 11 attacks, but Dempsey was queried about topics ranging from the media's coverage of the Iraq war to his preferred Middle East exit strategy.

"I'm not looking for an exit strategy," he said, candidly.

Dempsey, who would like to see a change in the deployment ratio to give troops more time at home, said he supports staying in Iraq "as a partner, not an occupier."

"We've got more reasons to be there," he said, "than to come home."

Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915 or jallman@tampatrib.com.

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