However, unlike many other presentations given by Dempsey during his tenure, he does not go out with a song. We've fixed that below, with a half-dozen of the chairman's performances, some of which carry their own messages worthy of reflection:
Will Dempsey's successor, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., be able to reference Chumbawamba's 1997 hit "Tubthumping" and sing a line from the slightly more modern "Uptown Funk" in the span of 20 seconds? It's difficult to know for sure.
Along with the pop-themed message of perseverance, Dempsey also offered his audience of military children and families another rule to live by: Always play the hits. He ended with "The Unicorn Song," a crowd favorite that's featured in many of his appearances.
3. Exploit your tactical advantage
Bret Michaels, frontman for the 1980s metal band Poison and occasional reality-TV star, attended the 2014 Military Child of the Year Awards but didn't perform. This gave Dempsey a chance to zing his fellow singer, joking that the rocker feared he'd be upstaged by the general and decided to keep an uncharacteristically low profile.
All was forgiven when they teamed up to belt out "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood, part of which Dempsey sang while wearing a red bandanna.
This one's fairly self-explanatory, but the reactions from his fellow uniformed singers make this a can't-version of the Andy Grammer hit. No video could be located of Dempsey covering Grammer's latest, "Honey, I'm Good."
6. Go Army, Beat Navy
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
