Last Call: Panetta, Dempsey in final pre-election briefing Thursday

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey, on Thursday, are expected to give their last press conference before Election Day, defense and military officials tell the E-Ring. Panetta and Dempsey at this time do not have any major announcements forthcoming, sources tell us. But the duo is unlikely to face reporters again ...

DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Sun L. Vega, U.S. Army/Released
DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Sun L. Vega, U.S. Army/Released
DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Sun L. Vega, U.S. Army/Released

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey, on Thursday, are expected to give their last press conference before Election Day, defense and military officials tell the E-Ring.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey, on Thursday, are expected to give their last press conference before Election Day, defense and military officials tell the E-Ring.

Panetta and Dempsey at this time do not have any major announcements forthcoming, sources tell us. But the duo is unlikely to face reporters again before November 6, at least not in this format.

Gen. Dempsey is heading to Israel next week to observe thousands of American and Israeli troops conducting a combined anti-missile war game.

Kevin Baron is a national security reporter for Foreign Policy, covering defense and military issues in Washington. He is also vice president of the Pentagon Press Association. Baron previously was a national security staff writer for National Journal, covering the "business of war." Prior to that, Baron worked in the resident daily Pentagon press corps as a reporter/photographer for Stars and Stripes. For three years with Stripes, Baron covered the building and traveled overseas extensively with the secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, covering official visits to Afghanistan and Iraq, the Middle East and Europe, China, Japan and South Korea, in more than a dozen countries. From 2004 to 2009, Baron was the Boston Globe Washington bureau's investigative projects reporter, covering defense, international affairs, lobbying and other issues. Before that, he muckraked at the Center for Public Integrity. Baron has reported on assignment from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the South Pacific. He was won two Polk Awards, among other honors. He has a B.A. in international studies from the University of Richmond and M.A. in media and public affairs from George Washington University. Originally from Orlando, Fla., Baron has lived in the Washington area since 1998 and currently resides in Northern Virginia with his wife, three sons, and the family dog, The Edge. Twitter: @FPBaron

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