Why did mike mullen retire

Too many foreign and domestic policy choices have become militarized; too many military missions have become politicized. This is not the time for stunts. This is the time for leadership. Skip to content Site Navigation The Atlantic. Popular Latest. The Atlantic Crossword. Sign In Subscribe. This development can be laid directly at the door of Mullen and his successors. The result has been that the services, especially the Navy, do not fill all their war and staff college instructor billets and have the same problem with their student billets.

Recently, a carrier pulled into Hawaii for RIMPAC and a friend of mine commented on how beat up and rusty this giant ship looked compared to a nice, clean, new Australian warship. And Mike Mullen meant well. John T. Kuehn is a former naval aviator, retiring as a commander from the U. Mullen believes our national debt is our greatest security threat. Mullen, who spent four years as chairman—the top military advisor to Presidents George W.

He brought bold and original thinking to the work of strengthening the U. John's Church "sickening. Mullen told Raddatz that these recent events have reminded him of the unrest that swept the country in , when he was at the U.

Naval Academy. The U. In his op-ed, Mullen wrote that tackling police brutality and "sustained injustices against the African American community," as well as defending First Amendment rights, are "not mutually exclusive pursuits" and neither "will be made easier or safer by an overly aggressive use of our military, active duty, or National Guard. Mullen is part of a growing chorus of former senior military officers -- who have also worked to remain apolitical -- criticizing the administration's response to Floyd's death and the subsequent nationwide protests against systemic racial inequality.

Bush and Barack Obama. After Defense Secretary Mark Esper called on governors on Monday to "dominate the battle space" so that civil unrest "dissipates," former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.