Joseph Dunford

Joseph Dunford served as the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2015 to September 2019, the nation's highest-ranking military officer during a period that encompassed the Islamic State's peak, the Syrian civil war, and the critical years of Iranian military expansion across the Middle East — all of which directly affected the strategic environment in which Israel operates. Born December 23, 1955, in Boston, Massachusetts, Dunford graduated from Saint Michael's College in Vermont and was commissioned as a Marine infantry officer in 1977. He rose through the ranks of the Marine Corps across four decades, earning combat experience in multiple deployments, and served as the 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps before being elevated to Chairman.

As Chairman, Dunford was the primary military-to-military interlocutor between the U.S. armed forces and the IDF. He made multiple visits to Israel during his tenure, meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and other senior Israeli military leaders to maintain the integrated operational planning, intelligence sharing, and weapons cooperation that characterizes the U.S.-Israel security relationship. His chairmanship coincided with the period in which Iranian proxy forces — Hezbollah, Iranian Revolutionary Guard units, and Iranian-backed militias — established a significant military presence in Syria, directly threatening Israeli security on its northern border. Dunford publicly acknowledged that the U.S. and Israeli militaries maintained what he described as a "seamless" relationship in addressing these threats, and he was consistent in characterizing Israeli security as a direct American security interest.

Post-retirement, Dunford has served on corporate boards and maintained his involvement in national security policy discussions, appearing before congressional committees and at security forums where the U.S.-Israel defense relationship is a standing item. At Rank 27, he represents the military institutional dimension of the pro-Israel community: the career uniformed officer whose professional experience of the Middle East operational environment produced an unambiguous assessment that Israel's security is integral to American strategic interests.