A U.S. Coast Guard officer, right foreground, asks Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey a question during the Coast Guard Commandant's Fall 2013 Flag Conference Nov. 14, 2013, at the Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters Building in Washington, D.C. Dempsey was the first speaker in the event, during which Coast Guard leaders addressed near-term and future strategic objectives.