page_title: Richard Myers
section_title: Military transformation
hierarchical_section_title: Richard Myers / Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff / Military transformation
caption_attribution_description: English: President George W. Bush makes a statement to the press in the Pentagon on May 10, 2004, as Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Pete Pace look on.
context_page_description: Richard Bowman Myers is the 14th president of Kansas State University and a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As Chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United States military forces.
  Myers became the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on October 1, 2001. In this capacity, he served as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council during the earliest stages of the War on Terror, including planning and execution of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. On September 30, 2005, he retired and was succeeded by General Peter Pace. His Air Force career included operational command and leadership positions in a variety of Air Force and Joint assignments.
  Myers began serving as the interim President of Kansas State University in late April 2016, and was announced as the permanent president on November 15, 2016.
context_section_description: In February 2004 Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a coup d'état, leading to conflict within the country. The United States deployed Marines to Haiti as part of the multinational Operation Secure Tomorrow from February to July 2004. On March 13, Myers visited the United States troops deployed to Haiti.
  
  Together with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Myers conducted weekly press briefings at The Pentagon on the War on Terror.
  One of Myers' achievements as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was his pursuit of the transformation of the United States military. Myers orchestrated substantive changes to the nation's Unified Combatant Command's plan following the September 11 attacks, leading to the establishment of United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) as the new Unified Combatant Command to consolidate and coordinate domestic defense. It was also to support local, state and federal authorities in order to assist the newly created Department of Homeland Security, especially in responding to national emergencies. Following the establishment of USNORTHCOM, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was also merged into USNORTHCOM and the United States Space Command was merged in to the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) in order to consolidate and strengthen the nation’s nuclear deterrent and space missions. Like his predecessors, Myers also continued to promote a joint culture among the nation’s military services in order to avoid interservice rivalry.
  In order to emphasize the War on Terror, Myers created what was known as "National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism 2002-2005." The Strategic Plan provided a new guidance to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, regional commanders and Unified Combatant Command commanders for a multi-pronged strategy that aimed at targeting global terrorist networks.
  Myers' tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ended in September 2005 and he was succeeded by General Peter Pace, who had served as Myers' Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff. Myers retired from active duty on September 30, 2005 after more than forty years of active service. His retirement ceremony was held at Fort Myer, Virginia, with President George W. Bush delivering the retirement remarks.
caption: Myers with President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Peter Pace during a Press Conference at The Pentagon on May 10, 2004.
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