If confirmed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, what should Gen. Dunford's priorities be?

SSG Carlos Madden — Tue, 05 May 2015 16:46:35 -0400

Response by GySgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 5 at 2015 4:48 PM

GySgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 May 2015 16:48:15 -0400

First, to all my other service brethren..... Can we all say OOH RAH! Let me hear it!

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 5 at 2015 4:55 PM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Tue, 05 May 2015 16:55:14 -0400

Whadda ya mean "if confirmed"??? :-)

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 5 at 2015 5:03 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 05 May 2015 17:03:20 -0400

How to end the wars and ensure Afghanistan and Iraq are real tigers.

Response by SGM M Crisp made May 5 at 2015 5:17 PM

SGM M Crisp — Tue, 05 May 2015 17:17:15 -0400

Make the Army standards the Marine Corp standards. The Army has become such a distasteful service with all of its political correct bullshit

Response by SSG Carlos Madden made May 6 at 2015 8:55 AM

SSG Carlos Madden — Wed, 06 May 2015 08:55:40 -0400

Sir,
How to definitively "end" these wars but also be successful has been the ongoing question since 2001 and one which I doubt Washington will ever reach a consensus on. Thanks for your response.

Response by Cpl Robert Clark made May 7 at 2015 12:23 PM

Cpl Robert Clark — Thu, 07 May 2015 12:23:05 -0400

His first order of business should be to arrest B.O.

Response by CPT Paul Robbins made May 7 at 2015 12:44 PM

CPT Paul Robbins — Thu, 07 May 2015 12:44:15 -0400

Run a covert operation to identify and bring down all traitors in our country ....the pols and others who are trying to dissolve our sovereingty as a Nation and merge us into a socialist communist NWO

Response by SGT John Beardsley made May 7 at 2015 1:23 PM

SGT John Beardsley — Thu, 07 May 2015 13:23:57 -0400

Take Care Of The Enlisted Men And Women!!!

The primary duty of the most senior officers and noncommissioned officers is to take care of the lowest servicemembers, first, last and always. Screw the politics and screw the "good-ol-boy" networks . . . if you take care of the soldiers the job will take care of itself.

The best commander I ever served under, LTC Clark, constantly reminded his officers and noncoms of that, and lead by example. The result was a unit with extremely high morale and a gung-ho attitude.

And do NOT forget the service members who did their jobs and now need assistance from the Veteran's Administration. A former soldier is STILL a soldier.

Response by Capt Lance Gallardo made May 7 at 2015 1:35 PM

Capt Lance Gallardo — Thu, 07 May 2015 13:35:11 -0400

We need an Infantry Officer, a strategic thinker, and a bona fide war fighter as the Chair of the Joint Chiefs. Say what you want about Obama, this time he got it right with our Commandant. My vote is for Gen. John F. Kelly to replace him. He lost his son, Robert, in Afghanistan, A Marine Infantry officer like his father.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR [login to see] 938.html It was Commandant Joseph F. Dunford,Jr., one of Kelly's oldest and closest friends, who made the casualty call himself, on November 9th, 2010 (the day before the Marine Corps Birthday).

I think Gen. Kelly if he becomes the next Commandant of the Marine Corps will bring a sorely needed integrity to all ranks (started by our outgoing Commandant Gen. Dunford), and he will also work hard to let the American Public know about the sacrifices the volunteer military is making every day to keep turds like ISIS and Al Qaeda at bay, and making sure these evil animals, to quote the immortal words of the Mad Monk, don't hang around to "collect their 401(k) retirements."

Lt. Gen. John Kelly, who lost son to war, says U.S. largely unaware of sacrifice

Before he addressed the crowd that had assembled in the St. Louis Hyatt Regency ballroom last November, Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly had one request. "Please don't mention my son," he asked the Marine Corps officer introducing him.

Response by SCPO Jeff Strickland made May 7 at 2015 2:47 PM

SCPO Jeff Strickland — Thu, 07 May 2015 14:47:09 -0400

How about some integrity and good old fashioned honest leadership, where accountability is paramount to the success of the forces!!! Your not going to make everyone happy, but if there is a common goal to aspire too, it'll be easier to keep the boys and girls focused and on track...

Response by LTC Marc King made May 7 at 2015 3:11 PM

LTC Marc King — Thu, 07 May 2015 15:11:01 -0400

The priority should be the safety and security of the nation above all else and he should have the moral courage to let his civilian task masters know when our safety and security are in jeopardy. He should be a military leader and not a politician -- if that is what he wants to be he should do the honorable thing... retire and run for office. The welfare of his warfighters should come next... not their comfort but their welfare and have the courage of his own convictions when it comes to letting those who have never served, and there are plenty of them giving the military instructions these days that he is man who represents the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, he has been in harms way as those he represents have and if they wish to influence the action, they are welcomed to raise their right hand as so many of us have and do the right thing---stand in harms way.

Response by SSgt James DeBoard made May 7 at 2015 3:21 PM

SSgt James DeBoard — Thu, 07 May 2015 15:21:19 -0400

I certainly hope he is not a "YES" man and will do what is right for this country.

Response by A1C Vic Albetta made May 7 at 2015 5:32 PM

A1C Vic Albetta — Thu, 07 May 2015 17:32:13 -0400

Hopefully use his position to spearhead improvement in the VA. The problems persist despite the press attention.

Response by CPO Ronald Ross made May 7 at 2015 8:07 PM

CPO Ronald Ross — Thu, 07 May 2015 20:07:14 -0400

I noticed from 1985 to my retirement in 2005, how shore duty stations for the Navy slowly were manned more and more by civilians and less and less by active duty. I understand the need for some permanent positions at certain commands and facilities, but not to the degree it has reached. Hospitals, clinics, admin offices and commissaries to name a few. I much preferred to conduct any of my business with the military person, as they almost always took more pride and attention to detail in their handling of me or my family. Not all, but so many of the civilians will give you an attitude. It's not enough to file a complaint, its just the lack of respect that military both junior and senior ALWAYS gave, or else. Then there is the loss of shore duty stations for our military. So many billets have gone away for them, their options are more limited than ever before. At least, that's how it appears to this Old Retired Chief.

Response by Sgt Packy Flickinger made May 7 at 2015 8:25 PM

Sgt Packy Flickinger — Thu, 07 May 2015 20:25:23 -0400

First and foremost, to operate in the best interest of the nation, not for a political agenda of the Obama/Democrat administration.

Response by LTJG Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2015 1:38 AM

LTJG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 May 2015 01:38:49 -0400

Based on that picture, his first priority should be getting some sleep.

Response by SFC Stephen King made May 8 at 2015 5:48 AM

SFC Stephen King — Fri, 08 May 2015 05:48:36 -0400

Begin by building and reinforcing the fact that we are the best Military in the world. Do this not only in word but action. Start with the pay scale raise it it for us and those before us. We are a small percentage of Americans who support and defend our country. This leads to fixing the VA.

Response by LTC Timothy O'Neill made May 8 at 2015 7:33 AM

LTC Timothy O'Neill — Fri, 08 May 2015 07:33:35 -0400

Easy (right . . .): Re-emphasize basic soldier skills by instituting a "zero-based" policy on mandatory training (that is, every requirement is reviewed annually and scrapped when it is no longer productive) and a recognition that technology alone will not solve our problems. This will take political courage, but what are Marines for?

Response by PFC Stephens Clark made May 8 at 2015 7:54 AM

PFC Stephens Clark — Fri, 08 May 2015 07:54:41 -0400

His first Response would be to get our troops back up to maximum strength.

Response by PO1 Tom-Genie Hurst-Andrews made May 8 at 2015 3:27 PM

PO1 Tom-Genie Hurst-Andrews — Fri, 08 May 2015 15:27:23 -0400

HIS first priorities should be to get the MILITARY back up to snuff and ensure our military has the arms needed to get the job done also go after ISIS.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2015 10:40 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 May 2015 22:40:45 -0400

Slow down the Army drawdown and maintain a healthy armed forces to deal with today's threats.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2015 10:39 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 May 2015 22:39:26 -0400

Simper Fi!

Response by Capt Richard I P. made May 9 at 2015 3:55 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Sat, 09 May 2015 15:55:12 -0400

1. Warfighting.
2. Support to warfighting.
3. Training for warfighting.

Response by SFC Joey Parton made May 13 at 2015 1:52 PM

SFC Joey Parton — Wed, 13 May 2015 13:52:14 -0400

Be a Marine not a politician.

Response by COL David S. made May 16 at 2015 12:20 PM

COL David S. — Sat, 16 May 2015 12:20:12 -0400

Take care of soldiers! The military has lost site of the care and feeding of its soldiers. Wake up!

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made May 17 at 2015 6:06 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Sun, 17 May 2015 18:06:48 -0400

Listen 90% of the time. Discuss 6%, direct 2%, and advise 2%. Unfortunately you'll waste 50% of your time sorting the worthwhile stuff from the bloviating.

Your instincts are better than the Washington Post by far.

Now tell the Boss the balanced truth and do the same for your people.

Standby to have your heart broken.

Response by LCpl Mark Lefler made Jun 5 at 2015 5:33 PM

LCpl Mark Lefler — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 17:33:55 -0400

The total annihilation of ISIS, then letting Putin know we're not gonna take his shit.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 10 at 2015 6:47 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 18:47:35 -0400

Refine the counterinsurgency doctrine and tactics.

Response by Scottie Northcutt made Dec 23 at 2015 12:22 PM

Scottie Northcutt — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:22:31 -0500

He should follow the leadership of the military with due respect of all the military in the field and aboard.

Response by Scottie Northcutt made Dec 28 at 2015 2:39 PM

Scottie Northcutt — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 14:39:08 -0500

Keep his eyes on the future of the military.