in fact, there were three other future four-star generals in class with you -- david petraeus, martin dempseylter sharp. did you know they would be so powerful? are you friends? general alexander: i knew marty well. i knew skip. and they knew me. if you had asked any of us -- i thought i was going to stay for five years. i think everybody thought dave would be. but for me, i am as surprised as they are. emily: and then you went on from west point to rise quickly through the ranks. general alexander: did not feel so quick at the time. emily: if you only intended to stay five years, what happened? general alexander: well, actually, as my five years were coming up -- i had a great mentor. at the time, he was a brigadier general, tom weinstein. a colonel and then a brigadier general, and that had been at west point that talked about how do we take the future of our army? if we do not keep good people in the army, how do we change our army from where it was in the mid-1970's to where we needed it to be for the first desert storm, and what he convinced me was these are good people. and you can go o

martin dempsey says delving into politics undermines trust and americans shouldn't have to wonder if military leaders draw the line between military advice and political preference. that comes after two retired military officials spoke at the conventions last month. one for donald trump, the other for hillary clinton. >>> developments now in the investigation into the deadly crash in california where the bus was sliced nearly in half after it suddenly veered off the highway and smashed into a pole. trace gallagher has more details. >> hi, the california highway patrol that has seen it all calls it a once in a lifetime occurrence. that's pretty much how horrific and unusual it was. the charter bus was based in los angeles. the trip was from mexico to washington state. at 3:30 monday morning south of san francisco bay area, a passenger tells police the bus was trying to pass a car, but the car wouldn't let it, forcing the bus off the road, into an exit sign. you can see the pole from the sign split the bus from the front to the back axle. of 30 on board, four were killed. several more

instead, retired general martin dempsey is condemning two military leaders, retired army general mike flynn and retired marine general allen were speaking at the conventions respectively. general dempsey says they should have stayed off the stage. kristen fischer reports from washington. >> reporter: the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staffs said it was a mistake for them to speak at the conventions. he believes there's no place for military leaders at any political convention. and he made the case today in a letter to "the washington post." it reads in part, quote, the military is not a political prize. politicians should take the advice of senior military leaders but keep them off the stage. the american public should not wonder where their military leaders draw the line between military advice and political preference. now, the military leaders he is referring to are john allen who endorsed clinton and mike flynn who supports trump. h here's a taste of the comments that made dempsey unfrtible. >> crooked hillary clinton leave the race now. >> with her as our commander in ch

that is going to, as a matter of fact, the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey said before he retired this would be a decades-long problem. by the way, i want to thank the president for the shout-out. you know, previous presidents and secretaries of defense and generals have been longing to say oh, good, you're retiring. >> that's pretty good. i want you to do some sort of realtime fact checking or sort of diplo-speak checking. the president to me got very defensive on the iran question. spent a long time explaining it and tried to say well, no matter what it looks like, this is two separate deals and this is what happens when you restart diplomacy and this was an old account that we had to clear. truth, reality, what did you hear? >> reporter: i heard a lot of frustration and the matter of fact, i doubt the president or anybody no matter what the explanation is, is going to convince those who believe that this was a direct pay-off, a ransom pay-off, for the release of those americans. i don't think he changed any minds here today and i don't think they can be c

reporter: all of this leading the recently retired chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempseyto say the two retired generals and all military should stay out of politics. writing it was a mistake for them to participate as they did. it was a mistake for our presidential candidates to ask them to do so. certain issues like reinstating waterboarding, a practice donald trump has raised as a possibility under his leadership, have compelled this former four star general and cia director to speak out. >> if he wants someone waterboarded, he better bring his own bucket. >> reporter: even the traditionally apolitical group the veterans of foreign wars, is weighing in on presidential politics. just another example of how the military has become a flash point in this very contentious, very unusual presidential campaign. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> the military order the purple heart has also responded to trump's remarks about the medal. a spokesman said the purple heart is america's oldest decoration created by george washington and nobody tries to get one. there are only two r

and over the weekend, former joint chiefs of staff chairman general martin dempsey wrote a letter tohe washington post titled, military leaders do not belong at political conventions. now, dempsey took swipes at both flynn and allen saying, quote, it was a mistake for them to participate as they did. it was a mistake for our presidential candidates to ask them to do so. here with reaction, retired lieutenant general mike flynn. general flynn, i would assume that military men and women, retired, have the same rights to free speech as the rest of us, don't they? >> yeah. sean, the question that i would ask general dempsey is when do you stop becoming an american citizen and caring about the future of our country? i did not -- when i stepped out of uniform. i totally understand someone who is on active duty and in the military. but when you're out and you're a private citizen, you can make your own decisions, and i'm a big boy, and i have made my decision to serve my country in the way that i'm serving it because i don't feel like we're going in the right direction. i think for him -- g

. >> you have seen the criticism that you received from general martin dempsey, for your decision tohe democratic convention. >> i would be very careful about using the word integrity. i would say that dempsey is a terrific soldier. i understand why he felt it was necessary for him, and in his previous and current roll, to offer that view. i have to tell you i agonized over this. it was not a decision that i took lightly. and with the comments about the potential, or the potential that he knows more than all of the generals know, those comments require me to come forward and make these remarks and offer my support for secretary clinton to become president of the united states and commander and chief. it is not something i made lightly, but i felt i had a horrible obligation to under take. >> many of the marines you mentored are still serving. do you fear you're encouraging them to become more politial in. >> no, there was never a moment that i believed i had any responsibility to be political at all. i think the institution of the united states military. the strength of the current s

. >> in a letter to "the washington post" general martin dempsey right there, said retired officers haveying politics, writing, quote, as generals they have an obligation to uphold a political tradition that is to say. it was a mistake for them to participate as they did. >> but is he right? here with us right now to talk about it is -- to get his perspective is fox news military analyst general jack keane. general, your thoughts about them -- both the generals who are friends of yours. >> yeah, they are friends of mine. i have tremendous respect for the both of them. you know, for their accomplishment and distinguished career. but i strongly agree with general dempsey. i do think it's inappropriate behavior and here's why. the reality is the united states military is arguably the most respect and admired institution in the united states. why? because it works. two, it's competent. three, the people in it are willing to sacrifice themselves to protect the nation. and four, it's nonpartisan, above politics. when we have retired generals who are only on that stage because of their associat