Gen. Dunford Hosts Armed Forces Farewell Tribute to Ash Carter by Karen Parrish

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford praised the secretary as “a man gifted with a keen intellect.”

“I’ve never worked with someone so quick to identify the key elements of complex issues,” Dunford said. “He’s a visionary. While most of us struggle to tackle today’s challenges, he’s always been someone who could look around the corner and see where the department needed to be in the future.”

Man of Action’ Saved Lives

Dunford credited Carter with saving lives during his years in policy roles, as the Pentagon’s acquisition chief, and as deputy secretary and secretary of defense.

“He’s a man of action. Despite his many years in the department, he was never driven by process or protocol,” Dunford said. “His impatience with red tape is legendary. He’s known for getting things done and demanding the same of others.”

Dunford said the Warfighter Senior Integration Group, an initiative Carter started in 2009, “cut through the bureaucratic processes and delivered urgent capabilities and resources to the warfighter when and where they were needed.” With one phone call from Iraq or Afghanistan, he said, commanders “could get immediate results in solving problems to save lives and enable battlefield success.”

No strategic leader played a more significant role in fielding vehicles and equipment to counter roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, Dunford said.

“Mr. Secretary, it would be hard to overstate the impact of your actions in saving lives and limbs,” the chairman said. “A lot of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines came home because you cared, and because you decisively engaged.”

A Leader Across the Board

Dunford said Carter’s qualities as a leader are also evident in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, al-Qaida and associated groups.

“He’s been instrumental in building a 67-member coalition and implementing a military campaign that has significantly reduced ISIL-held territory, degraded ISIL’s capabilities, limited its freedom of movement, reduced its resources and stemmed the flow of foreign fighters in the region,” the general said.

Dunford noted that Carter has traveled tirelessly as secretary, “coordinating and collaborating with our partners and allies and along the way building strong, meaningful and lasting relationships across the globe.”

Carter’s “quiet weekend visits” to wounded warriors along with his wife, Stephanie, were also hallmarks of his tenure as secretary, Dunford said.

“He was always comfortable sitting down, looking in the eye, and connecting with the wounded and their families,” the general said. “He never rushed a visit.”

From Cold War to Cyber Domain

Carter thanked the general and said his best decision as secretary was recommending Dunford as chairman. The secretary then reflected on his career.

“It was 35 years ago this year that I first walked the halls of the Pentagon,” he said. “In those decades, I worked at administrations of both parties and for 11 secretaries of defense.”

Carter also thanked President Barack Obama “for the trust and the confidence he reposed in me in three different positions over eight years.” The secretary also thanked his “perfect wife,” and said her travels with him had meant a lot to the mostly married troops they have visited.