Outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey says he isn't unhappy with the label some of his detractors have placed on him as a reluctant warrior.
The label came from his opposition to a no-fly zone in Syria and the use of ground troops in Iraq, but he told ABC's
"This Week" in an interview broadcast Sunday that he is OK with being seen as "cautious."
"A military leader should always understand that of all the human endeavors, the one that's most unpredictable and the most costly is warfare," Dempsey said as he prepares to retire on October 1.
Dempsey keeps a wooden box on his desk with a list of the casualties taken and the soldiers who have died under his command. Inscribed on top of the box are the words, "Make it matter …"
"That's my legacy," Dempsey said.
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