Admiral Mullen to Replace Peter Pace As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has decided to replace Joint Chiefs Chairman General Peter Pace with Admiral Mike Mullen. Gates wanted to renominate General Pace and Vice Chairman Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr., but members of the Senate Armed Services Committee told Gates that confirmation would be a "backward looking and very contentious process" should that happen.

Wikipedia bio:

Admiral Michael G. Mullen (born October 4, 1946) became the 28th Chief of Naval Operations of the United States Navy, relieving Admiral Vern Clark on 22 July 2005. He served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations under Clark, and as the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe & Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples.

A 1968 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Mullen has served in a wide range of assignments at sea and ashore, in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Fleets.

He has commanded three ships, Noxubee (AOG-56), Goldsborough (DDG-20), and Yorktown (CG-48); and has also commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two and the George Washington Battle Group. Mullen’s last command at sea was as Commander, U.S. Second Fleet/Commander, Striking Fleet Atlantic.

Mullen’s shore assignments include duty on the staffs of the Secretary of Defense and the Chief of Naval Operations. He has served as Director of Surface Warfare and he was the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 2003 to 2004.

In 1985, Mullen graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School with a Master's of Science degree in Operations Research, and in 1991, he completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

As Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Mullen had operational responsibility for NATO missions in the Balkans, Iraq, and the Mediterranean. As Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, he was responsible for providing overall command, operational control, and coordination of U.S. naval forces in the European Command area of responsibility. He assumed these duties on 8 October 2004 and was relieved of them upon his becoming Chief of Naval Operations.

Links to Mullen's speeches and interviews.

Profiles: Lt. General Douglas Lute

Bio - Lieutenant General Douglas Lute:

Director for Operations, J-3

Douglas E. Lute, originally from Michigan City, Indiana, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975. His first assignment was to the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bindlach, Germany, where he commanded C Troop. He received a master's degree from Harvard University and taught in the Social Sciences department at West Point.

Following attendance at the British Army Staff College, he returned to the Second Cavalry as operations officer, serving both at the squadron and regimental levels. In 1990-91 he deployed and fought with the Regiment in Operation DESERT STORM, and later served on the staff of the Chief of Staff of the Army.

He commanded 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry at Fort Hood, Texas from 1992-94. He then served on the Joint Staff in the Directorate for Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5, and held a War College Fellowship at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

From 1998-2000 he commanded the Second Cavalry Regiment, part of XVIII Airborne Corps, at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He served next as the executive assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 14 months before joining the First Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany, as the Assistant Division Commander. He commanded Multi-national Brigade East in Kosovo for 6 months in 2002 before being assigned to US European Command in January 2003 as the Deputy Director of Operations.

In June 2004, he began more than two years as Director of Operations (J-3) at US Central Command during which he oversaw combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa. He assumed duties as Director of Operations, the Joint Staff, in September 2006.