Gates Recommends Admiral Michael Mullen to Replace General Pace as Commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Robert M. Gates is fairly new to the U.S. Defense structure himself: well, new and old. Under George Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, Dr. Gates was the Director of Central Intelligence. Then he took several years off to become the president of Texas A&M University. And now he's back, serving as the younger Bush's Secretary of Defense ever since December 18, 2006, when he replaced the increasingly unpopular Donald Rumsfeld.

Now it's Gates' turn to have a say in the future of America's defense structure. According to Reuters AlertNet, Marine Corps General Peter Pace, who has served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since 2005, is finishing his term in September of this year. Gates at first wanted to re-nominate Pace to serve another term. But on Friday he announced that he is recommending Navy Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations Michael Mullen to take his place.

"I concluded that because Gen. Pace has served as chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the last six years, the focus of his confirmation process would have been on the past rather than the future," Gates said. Re-nominating Pace may have dragged him through a difficult and critical re-nominating process in the Senate, where opposition to the Iraq War is at an all-time high. Since Pace has been involved in the Iraq war for the past several years, Gates thought he should recommend someone new to fill the position.

"There was the very real prospect the process would be quite contentious," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon, according to the Defense Department's website.

Pace's term ends September 30, 2007. Pace is the first Marine Corps General to ever hold the office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Joint Chiefs of Staff is composed of the top-ranking officers from each of the U.S. military's five branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The Joint Chiefs of Staff advises the President and the Secretary of Defense on all military matters directly in Washington. The Chairman is the spokesperson for the group.

Pace was nominated to serve as the vice chairman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2001. His term began just a few weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11 in New York and Washington, D.C. He was also the first Marine Corps General to serve in this position.

Pace was a 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He was a rifle platoon leader in Vietnam and has held command positions in many countries over the span of his distinguished forty year career in the Marine Corps.

Michael Mullen is currently the Chief of Naval Operations, which is the highest single position in the U.S. Navy. Born in Los Angeles, California, Admiral Mullen graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968. He has served in positions of leadership overseas in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. His most recent command was Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, where he was responsible for all Naval operations in Europe, as well as in the Middle East, including Iraq.

General Pace is known for his forthrightness and willingness to speak his mind. Earlier this year he made a statement to the press about homosexuality being immoral. He had been asked to give his opinion on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that the U.S. military adopted during the Clinton Administration. Pace's condemnation of homosexuality caused some controversy, as he was asked by gay activists to retract his words.

This past week General Pace has visited Army troops stationed in Hawaii to explain the new policy extending troops' deployment in Iraq from 12 to 15 months. He visited about 150 soldiers and their families from the 25th Infantry Division and the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Pace explained that the Pentagon had thought the U.S. would have trained 328,000 Iraqi Army and Police personnel by this time, as was planned. But new violence starting in February has caused the Pentagon to change its policy and call instead for an increase in troops and deployment periods in that country. Both Army and Marine Corps recruiters are currently recruiting about 3,000 people a month, as the Joint Chiefs recommended increasing the size of the Army in Iraq by 65,000 individuals, and the Marine Corps by 27,000.

These new troop increases would have especially made Pace an unpopular candidate for re-nomination on the Senate floor this year.