In order to cope with the harsh environment expected from the high luminosity LHC, the CMS forward muon system requires an upgrade. The two main challenges expected in this environment are an in- crease in the trigger rate and increased background radiation leading to a potential degradation of the particle ID performance. Additionally, upgrades toother sub detectors of CMS allow for extended coverage for particle tracking, and adding muon system coverage to this region will further enhance the performance of CMS. Following an extensive R&D program, CMS has identified triple-foil gas electron multiplier (GEM) detectors as a solution for the first muon station in the region 1.6<|η|< 2.2, while continuing R&D is ongoing for additional regions.