Admiral Mike Mullen is Scheduled to retire October 1, 2011 | Eastern NC Now

   Admiral Mike Mullen is scheduled to retire October 1, 2011, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. President Barrack Obama has picked U.S. Army General Martin Dempsey, decorated general from the Iraq theater, to replace Admiral Mullen in this leadership position on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In all likelihood, Admiral Mullen will be the last Vietnam War-era veteran to serve in the top position in the United States of America's military.

    Admiral Mullen's scheduled retirement, and subsequent replacement, will set in motion a reshuffling of some of the top positions in President Barrack Obama's administration. Most notable of which: The Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, will be replaced by CIA Chief Leon Panetta and the new CIA Chief position will be next held by U.S. Army General David Petraeus.
    Admiral Mike Mullen speaking to the National Association of Counties at their Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., March 8, 2011.     image by Stan Deatherage

   In his last days of his administration as chairman, Admiral Mullen is gravely concerned that professionalism and ethical standards across the armed forces are being compromised by the duration of the United States' sustained "war footing." The U.S. military enters its tenth year of war since the September 11, 2011 attacks, which is the longest sustained conflict in the history of this stoic nation.

    Admiral Mullen commented: "It has been my great honor to lead the fine 2.2 million men and women that make up the United States military. They are the best-trained, most capable fighting force representing this nation, in all of my 42 years of service."