Martin Dempsey
Birth name	Martin E. Dempsey
Born	(1952-03-14) March 14, 1952 (age 60) Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1974–present
Rank	General
Commands held	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Chief of Staff U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment 1st Armored Division
Battles/wars	Gulf War Iraq War
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Army Distinguished Service Medal (4) Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (3) Bronze Star (2) with Valor

General Martin E. Dempsey, USA (born March 14, 1952) is the 18th and current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He previously served 149 days as the 37th Chief of Staff of the Army from April 11, 2011, to September 7, 2011. Prior to that, he served as Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, from December 8, 2008, to April 11, 2011, as Acting Commander, U.S. Central Command, from March 24, 2008, to October 30, 2008, as Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command, from August 2007 to March 23, 2008, and as Commanding General, Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I), from August 2005 to August 2007. As Chairman, Dempsey is the highest ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces. He assumed his current assignment on October 1, 2011.^[1]

Biography[link]

Dempsey attended John S. Burke Catholic High School in Goshen, New York, and received a commission as an Armor officer upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1974. As a company-grade officer, he served in 1st Squadron, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment as the S-1 OIC. He went on to be the Executive Officer of the 3rd Brigade 3rd Armored Division during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. He then commanded the 4th Battalion of the 67th Armored Regiment "Bandits" from 1992–1995 in the 1st Armored Division in Friedberg, Hesse, Germany.^[2]

In June 2003, then Brigadier General Dempsey assumed command of 1st Armored Division. He succeeded Ricardo S. Sanchez who was promoted to command V Corps. Dempsey's command of the 1st Armored Division lasted until July 2005 and included 13 months in Iraq, from June 2003 to July 2004. While in Iraq, 1st Armored Division, in addition to its own brigades, had operational command over the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division; the command, called "Task Force Iron" in recognition of the Division's nickname, "Old Ironsides", was the largest division-level command in the history of the United States Army.^[3]

It was during this time that the U.S. intervention in Iraq changed dramatically as Fallujah fell to Sunni extremists and supporters of Muqtada Sadr built their strength and rose up against American forces. Then Major General Dempsey and his command assumed responsibility for the Area of Operations in Baghdad as the insurgency incubated, grew, and exploded. General Dempsey has been described by Thomas Ricks in his book "Fiasco": "In the capital itself, the 1st Armored Division, after Sanchez assumed control of V Corps, was led by Gen. Martin Dempsey, was generally seen as handling a difficult (and inherited) job well, under the global spotlight of Baghdad."

On March 27, 2007, Dempsey was promoted from commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, to be reappointed as a lieutenant general and assigned as deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

On February 5, 2008, Dempsey was nominated to head the Seventh United States Army/U.S. Army, Europe, and was nominated for promotion to four-star general upon Senate approval.

On March 11, 2008, Dempsey's commander, Admiral William J. Fallon, retired from active service. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates accepted this as effective on March 31. Dempsey took over command as acting commander CENTCOM.

On March 13, 2008, Dempsey was confirmed by the United States Senate as Commander, Seventh United States Army/U.S. Army, Europe.^[4]

On December 8, 2008, Dempsey took command of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command.^[5]

On January 6, 2011, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he would nominate General Dempsey to succeed General George Casey as the Army Chief of Staff.^[6]

On February 8, 2011, Gates announced that President Barack Obama nominated Dempsey to be the 37th Chief of Staff of the United States Army.^[7]

On March 3, 2011, Dempsey testified before the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services for reappointment to the grade of general and to be the 37th Chief of Staff of the United States Army.^[8]

On March 15, 2011, the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services affirmatively reported Dempsey's nomination to serve as the 37th Chief of Staff of the United States Army to the floor of the Senate.^[9] On March 16, 2011, the Senate confirmed Dempsey's nomination by unanimous consent.^[10]

On April 11, 2011, Dempsey was officially sworn in as 37th Chief of Staff of the United States Army at a ceremony at Fort Myer.

With Admiral Mike Mullen set to retire as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2011, President Obama needed to select his replacement. The Vice-Chairman, Marine General James Cartwright, who was initially believed to be the front runner for the job, had fallen out of favor among senior officials in the Defense Department. Obama administration officials revealed on May 26, 2011, that the President would nominate Dempsey to the post of Chairman.^[11] In August 2011 General Dempsey was confirmed by unanimous consent to succeed Admiral Mike Mullen as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He was officially sworn in as 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2011, succeeding Admiral Michael Mullen.

Education[link]

• 1974 Bachelor of Science degree, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY
• 1984 Master of Arts degree in English, Duke University, Durham, NC
• 1988 Master of Military Art and Science degree, United States Army Command and General Staff College
• 1995 Master of Science degree in national security and strategic studies, National War College

Dates of rank[link]

United States Military Academy Cadet - Class of 1974

Rank	Date
10px Second Lieutenant	5 Jun 1974
First Lieutenant	5 Jun 1976
Captain	8 Aug 1978
Major	1 Sep 1985
Lieutenant Colonel	1 Apr 1991
Colonel	1 Sep 1995
Brigadier General	1 Aug 2001
Major General	1 Sep 2004
Lieutenant General	8 Sep 2005
General	8 Dec 2008

Awards, decorations, and badges[link]

U.S. military decorations Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster) Army Distinguished Service Medal (with 3 oak leaf clusters) Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (with 2 oak leaf clusters) Bronze Star (with Valor device & oak leaf cluster) Meritorious Service Medal (with 2 oak leaf clusters) Joint Service Commendation Medal Army Commendation Medal Army Achievement Medal (with oak leaf cluster) U.S. Unit Awards Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with oak leaf cluster) Valorous Unit Award (with oak leaf cluster) Army Superior Unit Award (with oak leaf cluster) U.S. Service (Campaign) Medals and Service and Training Ribbons National Defense Service Medal (with 2 service stars) Southwest Asia Service Medal (with 3 service stars) Iraq Campaign Medal Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Army Service Ribbon 60px Army Overseas Service Ribbon (with award numeral "4") Foreign awards NATO Medal for service with ISAF Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

Other accoutrements Combat Action Badge Basic Parachutist Badge Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge Army Staff Identification Badge 1st Armored Division Combat Service Identification Badge 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia 7 Overseas Service Bars (reflecting 3½ years of overseas service in combat zones)

On December 7, 2011, General Dempsey received the USO's Distinguished Service Award on behalf of all military members.^[12]

Publications[link]

1. Win, Learn, Focus, Adapt, Win Again – Article series for Army Magazine (AUSA). Oct. 2010 - Feb. 2011

Interviews[link]

1. Dempsey Muses on Challenges as New Head of Joint Chiefs – Thom Shanker. New York Times. Oct. 3, 2011.
2. The New Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on "Getting to the Truth" – Karl Moore. Forbes Magazine. Oct. 20, 2011.
3. Gen. Martin Dempsey's Interview with Jeremy Paxman – Jeremy Paxman, BBC. Nov. 28, 2011.
4. Transcript: Gen. Martin Dempsey's Interview with Fareed Zakaria – Fareed Zakaria. CNN. Feb. 19, 2012.
5. Video: Gen. Martin Dempsey's Interview with Charlie Rose – Charlie Rose. Mar. 16, 2012.

Speeches[link]

1. Gen. Dempsey Becomes the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – Sept. 30, 2011
2. The Atlantic Council of the United States: Security and Partnership in an Age of Austerity – Dec. 9, 2011.
3. End of Mission Ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq – Dec. 15, 2011.
4. Duke University's Ambassador S. Davis Phillips Family International Lecture Series: A New Vision for the US Military – Jan. 12, 2012.
5. West Point Class of 2013 500th Night – Jan. 21, 2012.
6. Harvard University's John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum: Security Paradox – Apr. 12, 2012.
7. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: A Conversation with General Martin Dempsey – May 1, 2012.

References[link]

1. ^ By law, 10 USC 152, Dempsey assumed office on October 1.
2. ^ Baron, Kevin, "Gen. Martin Dempsey: The Quiet American", National Journal, February 11, 2012.
3. ^ "Iron Soldiers: Mission complete". 1st Armored Division Public Affairs. 1st Armored Division Public Affairs. http://www.nationalcenter.org/LeavingIraq7-8-04.pdf. Retrieved July 2004. 
4. ^ http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/noms_confn.htm
5. ^ Tice, Jim (December 8, 2008). "Dempsey takes command of TRADOC". Army Times. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/army_command_change_120808w/. Retrieved December 9, 2008. 
6. ^ Bacon, Lance (January 6, 2011). "TRADOC head is pick to become chief of staff". Army Times. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/01/army-general-martin-dempsey-is-chief-of-staff-pick-010611w/. Retrieved January 6, 2011. 
7. ^ "General Officer Announcements". Department of Defense. http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=14255. Retrieved February 8, 2011. 
8. ^ "Hearing Schedule". U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=5014. Retrieved March 3, 2011. 
9. ^ Brannen, Kate. -next-army-chief-031511/ "Sen. committee confirms Dempsey as Army chief". Sen. committee confirms Dempsey as Army chief. Army Times. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/03/defense-dempsey-confirmed-as -next-army-chief-031511/. Retrieved March 16, 2011. 
10. ^ Senate Congressional Record for March 16, 2011
11. ^ Starr, Barbara. "Obama to choose Army head as next Joint Chiefs chairman, officials say". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/26/joint.chiefs.chairman/index.html?hpt=T2. Retrieved May 26, 2011. 
12. ^ Miles, Donna. "Dempsey Accepts USO Award on Behalf of Military Members". http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66388. Armed Forces Press Service. http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66388. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Martin E. Dempsey

• Military Biography
• Chairman's Corner
• GEN Martin E. Dempsey on Facebook
• GEN Martin Dempsey on Twitter
• Gen. Martin Dempsey at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Martin Dempsey at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Martin Dempsey in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

v t e Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Bradley Radford Twining Lemnitzer Taylor Wheeler Moorer Brown Jones Vessey Crowe Powell Jeremiah (acting) Shalikashvili Shelton Myers Pace Mullen Dempsey

v t e Senior Officials in the United States Department of Defense Secretary of Defense: Leon Panetta Deputy Secretary of Defense: Dr. Ashton Carter Secretaries of the Military Departments: Secretary of the Army: John McHugh • Secretary of the Navy: Ray Mabus • Secretary of the Air Force: Michael Donley Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: General Martin Dempsey, USA Under Secretaries of Defense for: Acquisition, Technology and Logistics: Frank Kendall III (Acting) • Policy: Dr. James N. Miller • Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer: Robert Hale • Personnel and Readiness: Jo Ann Rooney (Acting) • Intelligence: Michael Vickers Deputy Chief Management Officer: Elizabeth McGrath Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Admiral James Winnefeld, USN Chiefs of the Military Services: Chief of Staff of the Army: Raymond Odierno • Commandant of the Marine Corps: James Amos • Chief of Naval Operations: Jonathan Greenert Chief of Staff of the Air Force: Norton Schwartz • Chief of the National Guard Bureau: Craig McKinley

v t e United States Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey (Chairman) Winnefeld (Vice Chairman) Odierno (Army) Amos (Marine Corps) Greenert (Navy) Schwartz (Air Force) McKinley (National Guard) Battaglia (Senior Enlisted Advisor)

v t e Leaders of the United States Army Senior Officer / Commanding General Washington Knox Doughty Harmar St. Clair Wayne Wilkinson Hamilton Wilkinson Dearborn Brown Macomb Scott McClellan Halleck Grant Sherman Sheridan Schofield Miles Chiefs of Staff Young Chaffee Bates Bell Wood Wotherspoon Scott Bliss March Pershing Hines Summerall MacArthur Craig Marshall Eisenhower Bradley Collins Ridgway Taylor Lemnitzer Decker Wheeler Johnson Westmoreland Palmer Abrams Weyand Rogers Meyer Wickham Vuono Sullivan Reimer Shinseki Schoomaker Casey Dempsey Odierno Vice Chiefs of Staff Collins Haislip Hull Bolte Palmer Lemnitzer Decker Eddleman Hamlett Abrams Haines Palmer Haig Weyand Kerwin Kroesen Vessey Wickham Thurman Brown RisCassi Sullivan Reimer Peay Tilelli Griffith Crouch Shinseki Keane Casey Cody Chiarelli Austin

Charlie Rose
Rose in May 2010
Born	Charles Peete Rose, Jr. (1942-01-05) January 5, 1942 (age 70) Henderson, North Carolina, U.S.
Education	Duke University B.A. (1964) Duke University J.D. (1968)
Occupation	Talk show host Journalist
Years active	1972–present
Notable credit(s)	Charlie Rose, 60 Minutes II, 60 Minutes, CBS News Nightwatch, CBS This Morning
Website
http://www.charlierose.com/

Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. (born January 5, 1942)^[1] is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993. He has also co-anchored CBS This Morning since January 2012. Rose, along with Lara Logan, has hosted the revived CBS classic Person to Person, a news program during which celebrities are interviewed in their homes, originally hosted from 1953 to 1961 by Edward R. Murrow.^[2]

Early life[link]

Rose was born in Henderson, North Carolina, the only child^[3] of Margaret Frazier and Charles Peete Rose, Sr., tobacco farmers who owned a country store.^[4][5] As a child, Rose lived above his parents' store in Henderson and helped out with the family business from age seven.^[6] Rose admitted in a Fresh Dialogues interview that as a child his insatiable curiosity was constantly getting him in trouble.^[7] A high school basketball star, Rose entered Duke University intending to pursue a degree with a pre-med track, but an internship in the office of Democratic North Carolina Senator B. Everett Jordan got him interested in politics.^[8] Rose graduated in 1964 with a bachelor's degree in history. At Duke, he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Duke University School of Law in 1968.^[6] He met his wife, Mary (née King), while attending Duke.^[3][4]

Career[link]

After his wife was hired by the BBC (in New York), Rose handled some assignments for the BBC on a freelance basis. In 1972, while continuing to work at Bankers Trust, he landed a job as a weekend reporter for WPIX-TV. His break came in 1974, after Bill Moyers hired Rose as managing editor for the PBS series Bill Moyers' International Report. In 1975, Moyers named Rose executive producer of Bill Moyers Journal. Rose soon began appearing on camera. "A Conversation with Jimmy Carter," one installment of Moyers's series U.S.A.: People and Politics, won a 1976 Peabody Award. Rose worked at several networks honing his interview skills until KXAS-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth hired him as program manager and gave him the late-night time slot that would become the Charlie Rose show.

Rose worked for CBS News (1984–1990) as the anchor of CBS News Nightwatch, the network's first late-night news broadcast. The Nightwatch broadcast of Rose's interview with Charles Manson won an Emmy Award in 1987.^[4] In 1990, Rose left CBS to serve as anchor of Personalities, a syndicated program produced by Fox Broadcasting Company, but he got out of his contract after six weeks because of the tabloid-style content of the show. Charlie Rose premiered on PBS station Thirteen/WNET on September 30, 1991, and has been nationally syndicated since January 1993. In 1994, Rose moved the show to a studio owned by Bloomberg Television, which allowed for improved satellite interviewing.^[9]

Rose was a correspondent for 60 Minutes II^[10] from its inception in January 1999 until its cancellation in September 2005, and was later named a correspondent on 60 Minutes.^[11]

Rose was a member of the board of directors of Citadel Broadcasting Corporation from 2003 to 2009.^[3] In May 2010, Charlie Rose delivered the commencement address at North Carolina State University.

On November 15, 2011, it was announced that Rose would return to CBS to help anchor CBS This Morning, replacing The Early Show, commencing January 9, 2012, along with co-anchors Erica Hill and Gayle King.

Cameo appearances[link]

Rose has appeared as himself in the 1998 film Primary Colors,^[12] in a 2000 episode of The Simpsons^[13] and in the 2008 movie Elegy.^[14] He and his show were also used in the Wes Anderson film The Royal Tenenbaums. He also appears as himself in the 2011 George Clooney directed film, The Ides of March.

[edit] Accusations of conflict of interest

While hosting the 2002 Coca-Cola Company shareholders' meeting, Rose said "few companies are able to connect as completely with consumers in the way that Coca-Cola is. It is a privilege to be associated with [The Coca-Cola family] ... This is the business of Coca-Cola: being part of a family, being worldwide, doing well and doing good at the same time."^[15] Afterward, Coca-Cola agreed to become what Rose called "a leading underwriter" of The Charlie Rose Show, paying "six or possibly seven figures."^[16] Even the Charlie Rose mugs used on his PBS show feature a Coca-Cola logo on one side.^[17][18] Although CBS News policy bars correspondents from doing commercials and product endorsements, the Washington Post reported CBS was "comfortable" with Rose's actions. Rose insists he "would never do a story on 60 Minutes II about anybody who underwrites my PBS show."^[16]

[edit] Quiet influence

The New York Times reported that Rose encouraged a discussion between the leaders of NBC and Fox, that led eventually to a mutual reduction in ad hominem attacks between Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly on their respective news programs.^[19]

Rose has attended several Bilderberg Group conference meetings, including meetings held in the United States in 2008;^[20] Spain in 2010;^[21] and Switzerland in 2011.^[22] These unofficial conferences hold guests from North America and Western Europe, most of whom are political leaders and businessmen. Details of meetings are closed off to the public and strictly invitation-only, and critics^[who?] speculate the controversial nature of these meetings of highly influential people. Accusations from conspiracy theorists against The Charlie Rose show claim that it has become the US media outlet for Bilderberg.^{[23][unreliable source?]}

Personal life[link]

Rose's twelve-year marriage to Mary Rose (née King) ended in divorce in 1980. Mary is the sister-in-law of Morgan Stanley Chairman John J. Mack. Since 1993, his companion has been socialite and chairman of the New York City Planning Commission and director of the city department of planning Amanda Burden, a stepdaughter of CBS founder William S. Paley.^[24]

On March 29, 2006, after experiencing shortness of breath in Syria, Rose was flown to Paris and underwent surgery for mitral valve repair in the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital. His surgery was performed under the supervision of Alain F. Carpentier, a pioneer of the procedure.^[25] Rose returned to the air on June 12, 2006, with Bill Moyers and Yvette Vega (the show's executive producer), to discuss his surgery and recuperation.

In a 2009 Fresh Dialogues interview, Rose described his life as "great and glorious."^[7] He added, '"I get up every morning with a new adventure. The adventure is fueled by interesting people. I get a chance to control my own destiny. I do something that is immediately either appreciated or not. I get feedback."

Rose owns a 575-acre (2.33 km²) farm in Oxford, North Carolina, an apartment overlooking Central Park in New York City, a beach house in Bellport, New York, an apartment in Washington D.C.^[3] and an apartment in Paris, France.

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (March 2012)

• Charlie Rose Official website of his eponymous show
• Charlie Rose official channel on YouTube
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Charlie Rose at the Internet Movie Database
• Charlie Rose collected news and commentary at the Los Angeles Times
• Charlie Rose collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Charlie Rose at the Notable Names Database
• Charlie Rose shows on Hulu
• celebritynetworth.com, Celebrity Net Worth, Charlie Rose
• Why Business Loves Charlie Rose David A. Kaplan, Fortune, September 28, 2009

Binyamin "Benny" Gantz (בנימין "בני" גנץ)
Benny Gantz, 2011
Nickname	Benny
Born	(1959-06-09) June 9, 1959 (age 53) Kfar Ahim, Israel
Allegiance	Israel
Service/branch	Israel Defense Forces
Years of service	1977–
Rank	Rav Aluf
Commands held	890 "Efe" (Echis) Airborne Battalion (1987-1989), Shaldag Unit (1989-1992), Reserve Paratroopers Brigade (1992-1994), Judea Regional Brigade (1994-1995), Paratroopers Brigade (1995-1997), "Etgar" Division (1998-1999), Lebanon Liaison Unit (1999-2000), Northern Corps (2001), Judea and Samaria Division (2000-2002), Northern Command (2002-2005), Ground Forces Command (2005-2007), Military Attaché in the United States (2007-2009), Deputy Chief of General Staff (2009-November 2010), Chief of the General Staff (February 14, 2011 - )[1]
Battles/wars	1982 Lebanon War, 1982-2000 South Lebanon conflict, First Intifada, Second Intifada, Operation Cast Lead

Binyamin "Benny" Gantz (Hebrew: בנימין "בני" גנץ‎, born June 9, 1959 in Kfar Ahim, Israel) is the current Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.^[1][2]

Personal History and Military Service[link]

Born in Kfar Ahim, Israel in 1959, Gantz was drafted into the IDF in 1977. He volunteered as a paratrooper in the Paratroopers Brigade, and in 1979 became an officer after completing officer's training school. During his career Gantz has served in a number of roles, including: Commander of the Shaldag Unit in the Israeli Air Force, Commander of the Paratrooper Brigade, Commander of the Reserves Division in the Northern Command, Commander of the Lebanon Liaison Unit, Commander of the Judea and Samaria Division in 2000, before becoming the Commander of the Israeli Northern Command in 2001, and as Israel's military attaché in the United States from 2005 until 2009 before becoming the Deputy Chief of the General Staff.^[3][4]

Gantz has received a number of degrees during his military service. He is a graduate of the IDF Command and Headquarters College and the National Security College. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in History from Tel Aviv University, a Master's Degree in Political Science from the University of Haifa, and an additional Master's Degree in National Resources Management from the National Defense University in the United States.^[3]

Chief of Staff[link]

Chief of Staff, LTG Benny Gantz embracing Gilad Shalit upon his return from captivity, 18 October 2011

Benny Gantz visits Southern Command on August 19, 2011, following the 2011 southern Israel cross-border attacks

Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz trains with soldiers at a Paratrooper Exercise, 18 May 2011

Following the canceled appointment of previous nominee Aluf Yoav Galant, Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced on 5 February 2011 that he will be recommending to the government that Gantz be appointed the 20th Chief of the General Staff (after the pending approval by the Turkel Advisory Committee on Senior Appointments and a government vote).^[5]

On 13 February 2011, after a stormy government meeting, the Israeli government unanimously approved Gantz to be the next IDF chief of staff.^[6] According to the Jerusalem Post, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated in the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that Gantz was an "excellent officer and experienced commander and had rich operational and logistical experience, with all the attributes needed to be a successful army commander."^[7]

On February 14, 2011 Gantz assumed command as the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.^[2]

In his first year as Chief of the General Staff, Gantz appointed the IDF's first-ever female major-general, Orna Barbivai.^[8][9]

In July 2011 Gantz appointed a special committee to address a controversy that had developed concerning mention of the word Elohim, "God," in the military Yizkor prayer. The committee determined that a disputed passage should read Yizkor 'Am Yisrael, "May the Nation of Israel remember," and not Yizkor Elohim, "May God remember." Gantz upheld the committee's ruling.^[10]

Controversies[link]

Land grab allegations[link]

A report in the Israeli daily Yisrael Hayom from March 2010 charged Gantz with illegally extending the perimeter of his yard to encompass a small plot of land that had been designated public property and subsequently building on it. "The Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Major General Benny Gantz, invaded a public land area adjacent to his home in Rosh Ha'Ayin, illegally and without a permit and a license constructed a nice and wide deck on public land next to his house's yard, enclosed it with a pretty wooden fence - and broke the law." The report included photos of the alleged violations. Gantz admitted to the facts but claimed that the public land in question was not and could not be accessible for use by the public. Two months after town hall officials notified him of the violation, the deck was disassembled and removed.^[11]

In February 2011, following the government's decision to promote Gantz to Chief of the General Staff, Attorney Avi'ad Vissuli of the Forum for the Land of Israel submitted a formal objection to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and to Judge Ya'akov Turkel, demanding that the appointment be revoked. Vissuli compared the violations attributed to Gantz to the controversial property violations of Major General Yoav Galant.^[12][13]

Role in the death of Corporal Madhat Yusuf[link]

The Second Intifada erupted while Gantz served as Commander of the Judea-Samaria Division. Corporal Madhat Yusuf, a nineteen-year-old Border Guard policeman, was stationed at the time at Joseph's Tomb in present-day Nablus. On 1 October 2000, an armed Palestinian group attacked the tomb, and Yusuf suffered a gunshot wound to the neck from a Palestinian sniper. Rather than send in Israeli rescue forces, Ehud Barak, who was Prime Minister and Minister of Defense at the time, instructed Chief of the General Staff Shaul Mofaz to arrange for the Palestinian Authority to evacuate Yusuf to safety. Despite agreeing to the arrangement, Palestinian security forces failed to arrive, and Yusuf bled to death after four hours.

Since the incident, relatives and friends of Corporal Yusuf have demanded that various individuals be held accountable for what they consider to have been a preventable disaster. Early in February 2011, Yusuf's family told reporters they were considering filing a petition with the Supreme Court to challenge the planned appointment of Gantz to Chief of the General Staff.^[14]

The Turkel Committee charged with reviewing Gantz's qualifications vis-a-vis his planned appointment to Chief of the General Staff determined that Gantz "was not the most senior ranking commander at the scene, and there were operational as well as political considerations involved in the incident for which he was not responsible."^[15]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Benny Gantz

v t e Chiefs of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Yaakov Dori (1947–49) Yigael Yadin (1949–52) Mordechai Maklef (1952–53) Moshe Dayan (1953–58) Haim Laskov (1958–61) Tzvi Tzur (1961–64) Yitzhak Rabin (1964–68) Haim Bar-Lev (1968–72) David Elazar (1972–74) Mordechai Gur (1974–78) Rafael Eitan (1978–83) Moshe Levi (1983–87) Dan Shomron (1987–91) Ehud Barak (1991–95) Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (1995–98) Shaul Mofaz (1998–2002) Moshe Ya'alon (2002–05) Dan Halutz (2005–07) Gabi Ashkenazi (2007–2011) Benny Gantz (2011–present)

v t e Deputy Chiefs of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Tzvi Ayalon (1948–49) Mordechai Maklef (1949–52) Haim Laskov (1955–56) Tzvi Tzur (1958) Yitzhak Rabin (1961–63) Haim Bar-Lev (1967–68) Israel Tal (1973) Yekutiel Adam (1978–82) Moshe Levi (1982–83) David Ivry (1983–85) Dan Shomron (1985–86) Amir Drori (1986–87) Ehud Barak (1987–91) Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (1991–94) Matan Vilnai (1994–97) Shaul Mofaz (1997–98) Uzi Dayan (1998–99) Moshe Ya'alon (1999–2002) Gabi Ashkenazi (2002–04) Dan Halutz (2004–05) Moshe Kaplinsky (2005–07) Dan Harel (2007–09) Benny Gantz (2009–10) Yair Naveh (2010–present)

v t e Heads of Northern Command Carmel (1948–49) · Avidar (1949–52) · Dayan (1952) · Simhoni (1952–54) · Tzadok (1954–56) · Rabin (1956–59) · Zorea (1959–62) · Yoffe (1962–64) · Elazar (1964–69) · Gur (1969–72) · Hofi (1972–74) · Gur (1974) · Eitan (1974–77) · Ben-Gal (1977–81) · Drori (1981–83) · Or (1983–86) · Peled (1986–91) · Mordechai (1991–94) · Levin (1994–98) · Ashkenazi (1998–2002) · Gantz (2002–05) · Adam (2005–06) · Eizenkot (2006–2011) · Golan (2011–)