Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Burton Eichen | Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff fields a question from a 1st Air...... read more read more
CAMP MARMAL, Afghanistan - The 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the U.S. Armed Forces, Adm. Mike Mullen, displayed his support and admiration to military troops currently deployed to International Security Assistance Force, Regional Command North, Camp Marmal, during a brief visit held at the USO on July 17.
“I’d like to express my great appreciation for what you’re doing here,” said Mullen. “Our country has always survived because young people sign up to serve their country, to live for it and to die for it. This is an extraordinary part of who we are and what we represent. It is a burden born by the young from the time we became a country. You certainly represent that.”
He continued, “I take my hat off to all of you, not one day goes by in this job that I don’t think about the sacrifices you go through and the decisions I make that effect you all and what you’re doing.”
As he looked around the room, he stopped and asked who in the crowd was married; the majority raised their hands.
“A profound thank you goes out to all of your families as well. Their support is a critical part of what you do and I’ve never seen it so strong,” he continued. “The readiness of our families is tied directly to the readiness of our forces.”
Mullen went on to speak about the importance of leadership in the military and the ever-changing environment that has been northern Afghanistan.
“Only a year ago we were increasingly concerned about RC North; we were concerned about the direction it was heading … 18 countries work together here and when you look at the assessment of the battle space and the changes which have occurred in that time, the integration of special forces into our conventional forces and vice versa, it has really made a huge difference in a relatively short amount of time.”
“Everything is changing. The way we recruit people and even whom we recruit. The skills we have and the skills that we’ll need in the future are changing as well. How we promote, how we educate, all of these things are very much going to evolve.”
After his opening remarks the floor was free for troops to ask questions and voice any concerns they have. One of the first topics to be discussed was the frequency of deployments.
“We will reach a time in the not too distant future when the deployment cycle will slow down and we’ll be home twice as long as we are deployed. It is important that we are able to sustain ourselves for the long run,” he answered. “This challenging world is not going to go away.”
Other topics were discussed ranging from government pay stops and retirement plans to larger inquiries about the placement of troops as we prepare to depart Afghanistan in 2014.
When asked about the future occupancy of Afghanistan Mullen had this to say, “We are very committed to a long term relationship with Afghanistan, but we have not worked out the details of what that means. In the end it will be up to the afghan people and their leadership. Our focus is on trying to achieve a level of security so that this country, which has been at war for over thirty years, can look forward to an improved economical environment, full of development and a better future for their children."
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.18.2011 10:28 |
| Story ID: | 73897 |
| Location: | CAMP MARMAL, AF |
| Web Views: | 289 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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