Michael Mullen Michael Glenn " Mike " Mullen ( born October 4 , 1946 ) is a retired United States Navy admiral , who served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1 , 2007 to September 30 , 2011 . Mullen previously served as the Navy ' s 28th Chief of Naval Operations from July 22 , 2005 to September 29 , 2007 . He was only the third naval officer in Navy history to be appointed to four different four - star assignments ; the others being the Commander , U . S . Naval Forces Europe and Commander , Allied Joint Force Command Naples from October 2004 to May 2005 , and as the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 2003 to August 2004 . As Chairman , Mullen was the highest - ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces . He retired from the Navy after over 43 years of service . Early life and education . The eldest of five children of Hollywood press agent Jack Mullen and his wife Jane , who worked as an assistant to Jimmy Durante , Mullen was born in Los Angeles on October 4 , 1946 . He attended St . Charles Borromeo Church Elementary School in North Hollywood , and graduated from Notre Dame High School , Sherman Oaks in 1964 . Mullen then attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis , as a recruited basketball player , graduating in 1968 . Career . As a junior officer , he served in various leadership positions aboard , , and . He has commanded three ships : the gasoline tanker , the guided missile destroyer , and the guided missile cruiser ; and has also commanded Cruiser - Destroyer Group Two from . Mullen ’ s last command at sea was as Commander , U . S . Second Fleet / Commander , NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic ( COMSTRIKFLTLANT ) . In 1985 , Mullen graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey , CA , with a Master of Science degree in Operations Research , and in 1991 , he completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program . Mullen served as Company Officer and Executive Assistant to the Commandant of Midshipmen at the U . S . Naval Academy . He also served in the Bureau of Naval Personnel as Director , Chief of Planning and Provisions , Surface Officer Distribution and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense on the staff of the Director , Operational Test and Evaluation . On the Chief of Naval Operations ' staff , Mullen served as Deputy Director and Director of Surface Warfare and as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources , Requirements , and Assessments ( N8 ) . He was the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 2003 to October 2004 . He was recognized by his peers in 1987 with the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership skill . He is one of 53 naval officers to be recognized by this award since its inception in 1980 . 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 October 8 , 2004 and was relieved of them upon his becoming Chief of Naval Operations . On October 29 , 2006 , the " Honolulu Advertiser " published an op - ed by Mullen that defined the concept of the 1 , 000 - ship navy . However Gary Roughead has rejected this scheme in favor of a more inclusive vision that includes non - governmental organizations and cooperation with non - allied countries . Joint Chiefs of Staff . On June 8 , 2007 , Secretary of Defense Robert M . Gates announced that he would advise President George W . Bush to nominate Mullen to succeed General Peter Pace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ; Bush announced the nomination formally on June 28 , 2007 . On August 3 , 2007 , the U . S . Senate confirmed Mullen as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Mullen was sworn in on October 1 , 2007 . Upon taking office , Mullen became the first naval officer to hold the Chairman ' s position since Admiral William Crowe , who served as Chairman prior to the enactment of the Goldwater - Nichols Act in 1986 , and who was the immediate predecessor to Army general and later United States Secretary of State Colin Powell . On March 18 , 2009 , Gates recommended to President Barack Obama that Mullen be re - nominated for a second term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs . He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on September 25 , 2009 and began his second term on October 1 , 2009 . On February 2 , 2010 , Mullen and Gates said that they fully supported President Obama ’ s decision to end the " Don ' t ask , don ' t tell " law , which prevented openly gay people from serving in the military . “ It is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do , ” Mullen said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing . “ No matter how I look at the issue . . . I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens . . . For me , it comes down to integrity – theirs as individuals and ours as an institution . ” 2007 Senate testimony regarding the Iraq War . During Mullen ' s Senate confirmation hearings for his first term nomination as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Mullen identified political progress in Iraq as a critical component of Iraq policy . He noted that , " there does not appear to be much political progress " in Iraq . He also said , " If [ the Iraqis ] aren ' t making progress in [ the political ] realm , the prospects for movement in a positive direction are not very good . Failure to achieve tangible progress toward [ political ] reconciliation requires a strategic reassessment . " Mullen further told the Senate that the United States needs to " bring as much pressure on [ Iraq ' s political leaders ] as [ the U . S . ] possibly can . " Regarding the length and scope of the U . S . involvement in Iraq , Mullen told the Senate that while he does not envision permanent U . S . bases in Iraq , " vital interests in the region and in Iraq require a pragmatic , long - term commitment that will be measured in years , not months . " Views on use of military force . In a speech at Kansas State University , Mullen outlined his views about the best application of military force in present times . He characterized most wars , such as World War II , as wars of attrition , where the reduction or elimination of enemy forces signaled victory . He characterized the Cold War as an issue of containment . In characterizing the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , he described them as " a fight against a syndicate of Islamic extremists led by al - Qaeda and supported by a host of both state and non - state actors " , citing the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan as their ' epicenter ' . Mullen outlined three principles about the ' proper use of modern military forces ' : Retirement . President Barack Obama nominated General Martin E . Dempsey as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Memorial Day . Dempsey had been sworn in as Army chief of staff the previous month . On September 30 , 2011 , Mullen officially retired from the military when his term as Chairman ended . In December 2012 , one year into his retirement , the Admiral was in the news again , for having been the target of a computer hacking , a situation that led to subsequent FBI investigations . In 2013 , Mullen joined the board of General Motors . On July 11 , 2013 the Admiral was put on the Board of Directors of Sprint Nextel Corp ( NYSE : S ) directly after a buyout from SoftBank a one of Japans largest cellular companies . Military awards . Other awards . In 1987 , Mullen was awarded the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership . In 2009 the U . S . Veterans group Soldier On awarded Admiral Mullen the first Soldier On Award , created for them by sculptor Andrew DeVries . The Soldier On Award recognizes individuals whose leadership and actions have advanced the goal of ending veteran homelessness . In 2010 , he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia . An auditorium was dedicated in his name March 1 , 2012 before a graduation ceremony at the Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport , Rhode Island . Personal life . Mullen is married to Deborah and together they have two sons , LT John Stewart Mullen , and LT Michael Edward Mullen , who also both attended Annapolis and now serve in the US Navy .