Next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs?

The Wall Street Journal is speculating about who could replace ADM Mullen as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Although Gen. Cartwright could still get the nod, the RUMINT (Pentagon jargon for “rumor intelligence” as opposed to HUMINT and SIGINT – intel from human sources or signals intercepts) is swirling around four other four-star officers.

• Army Gen. Martin Dempsey. The current Army chief of staff has several pros: He has combat experience in Iraq; served as acting head of U.S. Central Command; and is a warrior-intellectual in the mode of Gen. David Petraeus. The cons: Gen. Dempsey just took over as the Army’s top officer, and it would be an unusual move for him to take a new job, especially when the Army is dealing with looming budget woes.
  
• Army Gen. Ray Odierno. The bald, imposing general’s command of the 4th Infantry Division drew criticism for the tough tactics it employed early in the Iraq war. But Gen. Odierno remade his reputation overseeing the surge strategy. His oversight of the Iraq drawdown suggests he knows how to bring wars to a close. Though long seen as a George W. Bush-era general, Gen. Odierno did the administration a favor by tackling the shutdown of U.S. Joint Forces Command, a job that sets a precedent for an era of slimmer military budgets.
  
• Adm. Eric Olson. Adm. Olson is the head of U.S. Special Operations Command. He is a Navy SEAL, and in the wake of the successful raid on Osama bin Laden, who wouldn’t want a commando in the top uniformed military post?
  
• Adm. James Stavridis. NATO’s supreme commander in Europe was once seen as a top candidate, but insiders say his stock is not rising.

By: Brant