A submariner from Upstate New York is now the commander of the command responsible for transforming the military to meet the threats of the 21st Century.
U.S. Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. took over U.S. Joint Forces Command Oct. 2. He succeeds Army Gen. William F. Kernan.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard Myers participated in the ceremony.
The command is responsible for ensuring the U.S. military develops tactics, equipment, training and doctrine to fight the wars of the future. "Joint Forces Command has been breaking the mold from what (the military has) always done in the past," Myers said. He said the recently completed joint experiment Millennium Challenge 2002 was just one example of the type of work the command does to aid military transformation.
The command is also responsible for joint military training and is the military force provider to the joint combatant commands.
The secretary praised Kernan for his leadership of Joint Forces Command. "The U.S. military will be taking a bold step in its thinking," Rumsfeld said during the ceremony. "We can not and will not bet on what will happen in the next war. The next act of war can happen at any location. This outstanding leader has accelerated our progress in transformation."
Myers' and Rumsfeld's comments gave emphasis to the missions that lay ahead for Giambastiani. "As we maintain predominance in warfare as we know it, we must experiment and take risks to master new ways of waging war," Giambastiani said. "We must do this both to be able to conduct such campaigns ourselves but, more importantly, to prevent others from even considering waging such campaigns against us."
Giambastiani graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with leadership distinction in 1970. His operational assignments include tours as a division officer and department head on attack and fleet ballistic missile submarines.
The admiral also commanded NR-1, the Navy's only nuclear powered deep diving ocean engineering and research submarine followed by USS Richard B. Russell. He also commanded Submarine Development Squadron Twelve. In addition to the seven submarines assigned, the squadron served as the tactical development agent and CNO-designated Warfare Center of Excellence for submarine doctrine and tactics. Established in 1949, Development Squadron Twelve is the oldest experimental unit of its kind in the U.S. military.
The Canastota, N.Y. native also served as the first director of strategy and concepts at the Naval Doctrine Command as well as the commander of the Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force; commander of Submarines Allied Command Atlantic and commander of Anti-Submarine and Reconnaissance Forces Atlantic. He most recently served as senior military assistant to Secretary Rumsfeld.
Staff Sgt. Rodney is a public affairs specialist at Joint Forces Command
Story by Staff Sgt. Norinda Rodney, USA, National Guard Bureau
Date Taken: | 10.03.2002 |
Date Posted: | 07.04.2025 00:17 |
Story ID: | 528550 |
Location: | WASHINGTON, US |
Web Views: | 2 |
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