Michael Mullen | |
---|---|
Birth name | Michael Glenn Mullen |
Born |
Los Angeles County, California, U.S. |
October 4, 1946
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1968–2011 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands held |
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chief of Naval Operations U.S. Naval Forces Europe Allied Joint Force Command Naples Vice Chief of Naval Operations U.S. Second Fleet NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two George Washington Carrier Battle Group USS Yorktown (CG-48) USS Goldsborough (DDG-20) USS Noxubee (AOG-56) |
Battles/wars |
Vietnam War Persian Gulf War |
Awards |
Defense Distinguished Service Medal (4) Navy Distinguished Service Medal (2) Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (6) Officer of the Order of Australia |
Michael Glenn "Mike" Mullen, AO, MSC (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 officer in the Navy's history to be appointed to four different four-star assignments; the other appointments 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. Since 2012, Mullen has been a visiting professor at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Mullen was born on October 4, 1946, from Los Angeles, the eldest of five children of Mary Jane (Glenn), who worked as an assistant to comedian Jimmy Durante, and Hollywood press agent John Edward "Jack" Mullen. He attended St. Charles Borromeo Church 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, and was classmates with former Commandant of the Marine Corps Michael Hagee, former Chief of Naval Operations Jay L. Johnson, former Secretary of the Navy and Senator from Virginia Jim Webb, National Security Council staff member during the Iran–Contra affair Oliver North, former Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, and NASA administrator Charles Bolden. He graduated in 1968.