WASHINGTON –Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., appeared Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee to answer questions about his nomination as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If confirmed by the Senate, Dunford will succeed Gen. Martin Dempsey.
Questions posed by members of the committee ranged from the slightly silly (such as Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton’s question as to the origin of a story behind Dunford’s nickname “Fighting Joe”) to the serious (such as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain’s inquiry as to the impact of the sequester on the future of the American fighting force and New York Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly’s questions about suicide prevention for troops).
Here are some soundbites (in video form) to help you cover his confirmation process from outside of the Beltway:
- Dunford’s verbal testimony (pre-Q&A):
2. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Arizona, questions Dunford on U.S. military training of Syrian rebels
3. Dunford on the issue of limiting U.S. military presence in Afghanistan to U.S. embassies
4. Dunford on the question of whether or not the U.S. should arm the Ukrainians
ADDITIONAL CLIPS TO COME!
(Note: All videos are freely downloadable and embeddable, so feel free to share, embed or repost so long as they are credited to Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and the MEDILL NSJI.)