IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi is leaving Sunday for a working visit to the United States. Ashkenazi is expected to meet with U.S. government and military officials in Washington and in New York. He will also meet with National Security Advisor Gen. Jim Jones, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, and others. Ashkenazi will later on attend the annual convention of the U.S. branch of the Friends of the IDF. While he is in the U.S., Ashkenazi's deputy, Benny Gantz, will function as Chief of Staff.