ARLINGTON, Va. — Retired U.S. Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey will speak at the 2016 National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Annual Meeting on Tuesday, April 19, in Palm Beach, Fla.

Gen. Martin Dempsey

News of the general’s engagement in the NACDS Annual Meeting follows December’s announcement that former Speaker of the House John Boehner will also speak at the event during the business program.

“NACDS members are going to hear from the very leader and patriot whom the president and secretary of defense heard from, as recently as a few months ago, on the most pressing national security topics,” said NACDS president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson.

“With former Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey and former House Speaker John Boehner on the program, the NACDS Annual Meeting will present the best-qualified and most timely speakers on issues continuing to unfold in the national and international ­arenas.”

Dempsey assumed the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from his prior position as chief of staff of the U.S. Army, which he held from April to September 2011.

In 2015, Dempsey was named one of the “100 most influential leaders in the world” by Time magazine.