PORTSMOUTH — Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be in the Seacoast on Monday, visiting Pease Air National Guard Base and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte and Jeanne Shaheen, along US Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster of New Hampshire made the announcement Tuesday.

Ayotte, the ranking member of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, extended the invitation to General Dempsey.

“We are honored that Gen. Dempsey has accepted our invitation to visit New Hampshire and meet with officials at the shipyard and Pease, and with local defense suppliers,” the delegation said in a statement.
The visit will provide “an important opportunity for him to learn more about the tremendous contributions that New Hampshire citizens make to our national security,” they said.

In addition to visiting Pease and the shipyard, Gen. Dempsey and delegation members are scheduled to participate in a roundtable meeting with New Hampshire defense suppliers. They will also receive a briefing on the New Hampshire National Guard’s Deployment Cycle Support Program, a military/civilian partnership that supports military members and their families undergoing deployment.

Sens. Ayotte and Shaheen serve together on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Congresswoman Shea-Porter is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Congresswoman Kuster sits on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Further details regarding Monday’s schedule will be announced later in the week, Sen. Ayotte’s office said.
The delegation members said they were pleased that Dempsey is visiting, “and we look forward to welcoming him to our state.”