thedrifter
06-05-07, 07:28 AM
Giambastiani to step down in August
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 4, 2007 17:40:38 EDT
The nation’s No. 2 military officer, Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, will retire this summer, his spokesman confirmed Monday.
Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the New York Times on Saturday that he will retire in August, saying that after 37 years of service, he wants to spend more time with his family and pursue “other ventures.”
A nuclear submarine officer by training, Giambastiani, 59, has been a powerful voice for “transformation,” or modernizing the U.S. and NATO militaries, and for greater joint U.S. military interoperability. He led U.S. Joint Forces Command and Allied Command Transformation from 2002-05. His current myriad responsibilities include streamlining the way the Pentagon acquires weapons systems.
In recent years, however, Giambastiani has stressed that U.S. military force alone will not suffice in the ongoing struggle against terrorist violence.
“We can no longer rely simply on overwhelming force to protect us from the realities we face in today’s struggle against extremism,” Giambastiani said at the Aug. 1, 2005, ceremony in Norfolk, Va., when he relinquished his Joint Forces and ACT commands. “We must rely on the overmatching power of all of our instruments of national and alliance power — not just military power, but also the diplomatic, informational, and economic instruments of power as well.”
Giambastiani began his distinguished career when he graduated in 1970 from the U.S. Naval Academy “with leadership distinction.” He subsequently commanded two submarines, an experimental sub squadron and the Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force. He served as the top military assistant to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He was consulted on the Iraq Study Group Report. And Giambastiani was considered a candidate for the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs, a job that eventually went to Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace.
Giambastiani currently chairs the Joint Requirements Oversight Council; co-chairs the Defense Acquisition Board; and is a member of the National Security Council Deputies Committee, the Nuclear Weapons Council and the Missile Defense Executive Board. He also is co-chair of the Deputies Advisory Working Group, which oversees implementation of the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review and other high-level business issues.
Ellie
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 4, 2007 17:40:38 EDT
The nation’s No. 2 military officer, Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, will retire this summer, his spokesman confirmed Monday.
Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the New York Times on Saturday that he will retire in August, saying that after 37 years of service, he wants to spend more time with his family and pursue “other ventures.”
A nuclear submarine officer by training, Giambastiani, 59, has been a powerful voice for “transformation,” or modernizing the U.S. and NATO militaries, and for greater joint U.S. military interoperability. He led U.S. Joint Forces Command and Allied Command Transformation from 2002-05. His current myriad responsibilities include streamlining the way the Pentagon acquires weapons systems.
In recent years, however, Giambastiani has stressed that U.S. military force alone will not suffice in the ongoing struggle against terrorist violence.
“We can no longer rely simply on overwhelming force to protect us from the realities we face in today’s struggle against extremism,” Giambastiani said at the Aug. 1, 2005, ceremony in Norfolk, Va., when he relinquished his Joint Forces and ACT commands. “We must rely on the overmatching power of all of our instruments of national and alliance power — not just military power, but also the diplomatic, informational, and economic instruments of power as well.”
Giambastiani began his distinguished career when he graduated in 1970 from the U.S. Naval Academy “with leadership distinction.” He subsequently commanded two submarines, an experimental sub squadron and the Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force. He served as the top military assistant to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He was consulted on the Iraq Study Group Report. And Giambastiani was considered a candidate for the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs, a job that eventually went to Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace.
Giambastiani currently chairs the Joint Requirements Oversight Council; co-chairs the Defense Acquisition Board; and is a member of the National Security Council Deputies Committee, the Nuclear Weapons Council and the Missile Defense Executive Board. He also is co-chair of the Deputies Advisory Working Group, which oversees implementation of the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review and other high-level business issues.
Ellie