We are live this morning for remarks from outgoing joint chiefs of staff chair general Martin Dempsey. He will be talking with the children of parents in the military at the conference hosted by the military Child Education coalition. The wife of general dempsey is also speaking at this event today. Live coverage on cspan2 in washington, d. C. Your respect here from the general in just a moment. A special thanks to the many many volunteers that you will see battle in this room but throughout this National Training seminar, but also to those volunteers who support us day in and day out. We just get tremendous support. There is a special group that you will see of men and women running around in lieu tshirts. There from deloitte and for some years now weve gotten great volunteer support from deloitte and a special thanks to ed casey and the members of deloitte for their outstanding support. As you go through this next couple of days and you look through the program you will see an Outstanding Group of Speakers Panel members. Andi dont ask you to engage them and give them your thoughts, give them your ideas, and challenge them on some of the things they are telling you. One of the most important aspects of the National Training seminar for us is the feedback we get from you and the questions and in the comments. I was with a group yesterday, and listening to some the comments from a parent and to talk about what of the children had been before they graduate from high school. If you think about the population in this country, as mobile as it is but how many families experience in different schools for the children in 12 years . Some of you probably have experienced 12. So last night i called my wife, and we were talking and i said, by the way, i met this lady today whose child was in 10 different schools. And she said yeah the transition of the military families, she said come have you thought about how me schools your oldest daughter was in wrecks i said of course i was in the field, but nine different schools. So the challenge that we face in supporting military children around the world is one thats not going to be lessened by certain deployments, whether were fighting a war in iraq and afghanistan or someplace else. And its very important for those of us involved in this organization to share their thoughts with people because a lot of people just do not understand that. The other aspect of what we do in helping the military child and the military family is the second and Third Order Effects of the dazzling nonmilitary children. And thats so important. I know i preaching to the choir because with so many educators out here today. Next group id like to say special thanks to is dr. Murray keller dr. Mary keller. Are you in the room . Wr. Please stand. Most of the staff is involved in someplace else. We exist because of the tremendous job that mary keller and the statute in and the staff did in supporting us around the world. [applause] now id like for the members of the board of directors if you would please stand. I know who you are so stand. Come on, come on come on. Stay standing a second. [applause] these men and women represent i think the finest with respect and representing a constituency irregardless of what service you are from or if youre from the Education Career or whether youre from business world. And my special thanks to you and to those you represent the couldnt be here with us. And please join in a special round of applause. [applause] now i think we are covered here. Army, navy, air force marine coast guard, active guard reserve. Business world antieducation. On this board. So please engaged in while you were here asking questions. I can tell you the knowledge that they have is tremendous. Most have been involved in a military for many years. Some have not been involved with the military more in the education area but i feel very confident that this is just a tremendous board that represents me and represents you. Im always a little cautious on this one because it says here youre going to 30 s. To ask students poppe. So dont be surprised if so that you table pops up. Its one of those programs we have is the student to student program. But we like it every year is have three of our student to student participants stand up and take a look at about the program. So at this time i would like to were is the number one . Please. Dont watch the clock. Do what it does. Keep going. I am a senior from Allison High School in texas. I am making this quote part of my store. Thank you for making my story your mission. [applause] perfection is not attainable but if we chase perfection we can achieve excellence. I am a junior at Fort Campbell high school in kentucky and i am making this quarter a part of my story. Thank you for making my story your mission. [applause] with the teamwork and intelligence wins championships. Michael jordan. I am a sophomore in san antonio texas. By making this quote a part of my store to thank you for making my story your mission. [applause] thank you very much. Now its my honor to introduce representing our sponsor. Is a senior vice president. Please come up. [applause] good morning. Thank you, general. I want to start off by saying this is the first opportunity had to be this great conference but i must say its an honor to be here and have the opportunity to participate with you in this meaningful event. While i may be new to this event im proud to stand up and represent circle. As a pledge our support to mcec nine years running. To prepare for this i went with the office talk to other executives and leaders and individuals who have been involved with mcec and i must say im truly impressed youre in this world of Government Contracting i supported the military in many different ways the Intelligence Community and beauty community. At seeing the work you do for the troops at home in many ways is really powerful. I commend you. Friend i was on a mission of ensuring quality education express are all the military children. This is a welldeserved adequate a noble object and one that we believe them. The company a workforce built on the vision of making a positive difference in peoples lives. This is what mcec does, and congratulations. Both of our organizations share similar values and goals and we are both striving to make differences by pashley serving those who serve us. So our behalf of our company i want to thank each of you here for all the wonderful things you do for our military children and i would also take a minute to say thank you and give a special thanks to the brave men and women here with us today who have accepted the duty of protecting our great nation. Circo is proud to be part of mcec and we are committed to the future of this organization in supporting the wonderful calls. Thank you very much and have a good conference. [applause] next i have the honor and a pleasure to introduce to individuals who are no strangers to the military Child Education coalition. This is the fifth year that general dempsey and his wife deanie have joined us and participated with the military Child Education coalition. General dempsey is the 18th chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Enda deanie have been married 39 years, and they have raised three children, all three of which have worn the uniform of this nation. Theres no couple that provides more support than the dempseys. Day in and day out have just been stalwart supporters to what we do, what we stand for after efforts to support the military child. So it is with great honor and pleasure to introduce to good friends, general Martin Dempsey and his wife deanie. [applause] we are glad to be back. This is our fifth year and so for those of you who know the military works i now qualify for my silver oak leaf cluster for the fifth appears. Every its been an absolute joy to see you and to feel the commitment you make to our children. Deanie will often remind me theres things that chairman and his lady that we have to do. I did one of those yesterday actually. And then theres things we get to do and we get to spend some time with people like you. And as we kind of come to the end of our career thats actually a part that we were really miss, as we just admire what you do so much. Really briefly at going to turn over to deanie and then we will bring up a panel of distinguished questioners, but to date in history Kris Kristofferson was one. He turned 79. Some of your old enough to remember Kris Kristofferson, but actually he kind of crosses generations. Many of us remember him as country western singer with johnny cash and the group the high women. Others may remember him as an actor in blade movies, as whistler. And in the dolphin tail, actually. I mentioned him because hes actually a military child. Hes the son of an air force general. Did pretty good for himself, in that way of making a living, entertainment. He described in a military child as magical privilege and painful all at the same time. And i think many of us can relate to what that means. He actually commissioned into the army and volunteer to go to vietnam but instead they sent him to west point to teach english. While at west point he decide to get out of the military and pursue his career in music. I mentioned that because i was a captain in the arm at west point teaching english and decided to stay, and ive often wondered [laughter] no, not really. But i did want to mention that image of painful privilege and magical all of the same time because i think a resident. With that let me turn it over to deanie and then we will bring those youngsters after to talk with us. I will reiterate what marty said. We are thrilled to be back. As a mom, thank you for what you get. As a kid privilege to travel around and talk with families and user issues, we often can answer with well, mcec is working on that, or mcec has handled that. You want to be proud of what you do for all those kids, many of which im sure are your own. I wish that mcec had been there when my kids were little ittybitty agenda now weve learned anything that we keep learning and move on. So thanks are being you. Thanks for what you do. Theres kids all over that are thank you and appreciate what youre doing even if you dont know. So thanks. Will look for to questions from the kids. You can bring them in. While theyre coming, ive been holding onto my ticket. Is there going to be a raffle . I heard it was going to be a raffle. What happened to the raffle . I was hoping to be part of that. [laughter] dont make eye contact. [laughter] they are here. So this is a great group of youngsters, military children. But i think we will start having to introduce yourselves and then i think youre going to ask the first question to go ahead and introduce yourself. Im Caitlin Jensen from Falcon High School in colorado and it going to be a junior. Im et cetera, from washington. Im going to be a senior next year and i could a silicon high school. Im a junior in florida. I am wrong will gonzalez and i am from sundeck spent im a junior at Falcon High School in colorado. How about a round of applause for them . [applause] okay, caitlin. General dempsey, how do you define your success . I dont know. [laughter] you want me to extrapolate on that . Yes, please. Thats a great question. It works at a whole bunch of levels. Obviously, the things im proud of about myself, pride is kind of counter to humility which i think is the greatest virtue of falcon Senior Leaders but im proud of being a soldier, and not much more than that mean its not about the stars although that surprises people sometimes the issue is not about the stars. Im editing a soldier, proud of being a husband and proud of being a father. Do you think failure plays a part in that success . I dont know if did you the question . Can you Say Something to make sure they hear you . Do you think that failure place apart in that success . Failure place apart in every success. Life come and give experienced it already unsure, overcome your own challenges and got back like chumbawamba. I get knocked down and i get back up again. [laughter] im trying to connect to the kids. [laughter] you dont want me to break down and funk you up do you . [laughter] it really is true that you kind of measure the path of life and the ability to stumble, and you know, keep on the path. You are some things come and i to youngsters, including my own kids, being someone whos in high school is about keeping doors open. Every door that you can imagine is opened to you right now and to do something to close a. Thats a great thing about being american. Com on the grandson of poor irish immigrants growth in new jersey. My father was a postman. My mother stocked shelves at a convenience store. And im the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. I can tell you, that would not happen anyplace else. So the doors are open. You just cant close them. But you can stumble. You just cant fall flat on your face, and ill leave it to your imagination to decide which are stumbles and which are catastrophes. You want to add anything to the . You are getting your own questions . Okay. Im not helping you with yours. [laughter] you cant cheat. Anything else, caitlin . Not right now. Thank you very much. I have a question, mrs. Dems get if you had to start all over again at our age, would you have done anything differently . Not counting spend i was just going to say, what i was your age is when i met this guy sitting next to me. So the life that ive that i wouldve never endangers imagine at that age, and now looking back i would not have changed any of it. An amazing ride. So no, i also dont think i would. General dempsey, i have a question for you. Are you ready to . Im ready. Do you have any mentors . Of course. I think mentors are an important part of growing up. Mentoring is a kind of twoway street. You can want somebody to be a mentor. They have to want to be that mentor in return. Ive been blessed in particular the military leaders that i have chosen, and by the way they dont always have to be older. I have peers who i consider to be mentors and have learned a lot from those who have worked for me but i have military mentors, some of whom are still on active duty although i am now for better or for worse of the oldest office on active duty those pretty hard to find someone older to mentor me. But even, Mike Krzyzewski has become such a great friend and mentor. I love the way he carries himself and the confidence values. If youre not a duke fan you probably dont care for them frankly. But if youre a yankee fan, you have to live with people from boston, for example. But mentors can eliminate. They can actually do it for you. You have to do it yourself. But they can illuminate ideas that you may not have had the opportunity to think for yourself, and then you take them in. You are the aggregate of the things that impress you and inspire you. And im also not a person who believes you need one mentor. I think if you cast your net pretty wide so you can understand how other people have done it and then decide for yourself how much of each of them will become you are ultimately it is you. Have impacted your life . Constantly. I get phone calls sometimes unsolicited and sometimes i will reach out. Every week for sure but i wouldnt say every day but every week ill reach out or be reached, and particular, for example, on things like i am the only one that can really define for myself this issue of civilian and military relations. And its a challenging. Its challenging anytime but in the Information Age trying to stay centered as the senior military leader but the advisor to the president and secretary of defense, the mentor of the Combatant Commanders and the tier of service chiefs. I really have to work to find that the center line to make sure that we are providing a political best military advice. And so i will call up one of my mentors are some professor at duke or unc who would have a relationship with, and i will cite how did that go . Yesterdays congressional testimony, for example. And they will say we think you were, you moved a little closer to the shoulder of the road. I havent talked to them today so this is not about yesterday. [laughter] but they will tell me. Your kind of left or right of centerline and thats not the political left or political right. But they Health Center me really. So yeah, they affect the way i think about my job actually. Thank you. Youre welcome. Hey, man, we are proud of you. Take your time. In one word can you describe the wife of a common agenda and our armed forces . In one word . In one word. [laughter] spent i and english professor. I got this whole vocabulary. Humbling i think might be. To be in this position it is humbling. You get the opportunity to touch soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines as you travel around. Because of martys job that is some pride. I do have influence to try to help situations. And so to be given that gift is really humbling i think. Its been an honor. Theres probably 50 words i could give, not yours probably. But i think if i had to get what they would be humbling. Its been such an honor to get to do this. You are also ambassador for your country. Marty and i do a lot with our counterparts around the world and no matter where you go, you know, youre just held to is deemed as if we represent the United States of america. You land in the plane with United States of america and people are in awe. Taking pictures of the. Its pretty neat to know that weve been given this gift to represent our country at all our service members, just care about them into the best we can for them spew all right. Your word was better than mine. General dempsey, how did you become involved with mcec and how are you benefiting from seminars like these . Thats a great question because when you become i choose to when i was chief of staff of the army and we were asked to come to this thing called mcec. Frankly, i didnt know what it was. I did spend i didnt come early. The way it works for a 4star, general geoffrey been meeting in your office and you walk out and decide whats next. Literally you go from place to place and as youre walking or driving do you prepare for that event. I know you think that i too