Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman visiting Pease, shipyard

PORTSMOUTH — Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be visiting the Seacoast on Monday, specifically the Pease Air National Guard Base and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte and Jeanne Shaheen, along with U.S. Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, made the announcement Tuesday.

Ayotte, the ranking member of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, extended the invitation to Dempsey.

"We are honored that Gen. Dempsey has accepted our invitation to visit New Hampshire and meet with officials at the shipyard and Pease, and with local defense suppliers," the delegation said in a prepared statement lastweek.

The visit will provide "an important opportunity for him to learn more about the tremendous contributions that New Hampshire citizens make to our national security," according to the statement.