Admiral Mike Mullen: A hands-on Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

摘要

It was inevitable, ifrnslightly pathetic, that many Americans first became aware of Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Feb. 2, when he told the Senate Armed Services Committee, "It is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. No matter how I look at this 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."rnMullen's statement was a breakthrough, soon emulated by other key members of the military-and given his biography, growing up as the son of show-business publicists in Los Angeles, perhaps not an entirely unexpected one. But it is not the most significant thing Mullen has done or said during his time as the highest-ranking U.S. official in uniform.