CJCS shares view about end to operations in Iraq Published Dec. 21, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Stacy Fowler 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently took a trip through the Central Command area of responsibility to witness the official end of combat operations in Iraq during an End of Mission Ceremony in Baghdad Dec. 15, 2011. As the last beans, bullets and ballast leave Iraq, many are asking the question: was the Iraqi campaign worth it? "Those of us who wear the uniform and have served in and out of there have constantly asked ourselves that question through this eight years," Dempsey said. "I think what America's mothers and fathers want to hear is that it was worth it ... We are aware [and] appreciative of the fact - in a profound way - that we have paid a high cost, but it has been worth it." And while "victory" was difficult to definitively decree for military leadership, Dempsey believes the operations were an overall success. "I unequivocally describe what we've done in Iraq over the last eight years as a success," the chairman said. "[This is] evidenced by our effort to unseat a regime that was tyrannical and disruptive to the region; to restore a sense of governance and representative government; and to build security forces that - when the time came - could account for their own stability. That is my definition of success."