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  1. #1
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    Pace Out as Chairman

    Mullen Tabbed to Head Chiefs of Staff
    Updated 1:20 PM ET June 8, 2007

    By LOLITA BALDOR

    WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Friday he has decided against recommending Marine Gen. Peter Pace to President Bush for a new term as chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff.

    Pace told reporters at the Pentagon that, instead, he is recommending Adm. Mike Mullen, currently chief of naval operations, to take Pace's job.

    Gates said he decided not to recommend Pace's renomination for another term because confirmation hearings on that would focus more on the past than the future.

    Mullen, he said, has the "vision, strategic insight and integrity to lead America's armed forces."

    This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

    WASHINGTON (AP) _ Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Friday he has recommended Adm. Mike Mullen, currently chief of naval operations, to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

    Gates said that Mullen has the "vision strategic insight and integrity to lead America's armed forces."

    If formally appointed by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate, Mullen would replace Marine Gen. Peter Pace as the nation's top military officer.

    Pace has been in his post for six years _ a period that covers the Iraq war. Gates said that until recently, he had intended to renominate the Marine general for another two years.

    But he said that after consulting with senators in both parties, he had concluded that "the focus of his confirmation process would have been on the past and not on the future."

    Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


  2. #2
    Gen. Pace should tell Secretary Gates, "I got your Joint Chief...right here!"
    drumcorpssnare


  3. #3
    Gen. Pace was and still a good friend of the troops. This adm.mullen is he going to be another adm. Zoom? If he is watch out.


  4. #4
    jetdawgg
    Guest Free Member
    DAMN!!!!!!


  5. #5
    Gates taps new JCS chairman, vice chair
    By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
    Posted : Friday Jun 8, 2007 15:59:11 EDT

    Saying he feared a contentious re-nomination hearing in the Senate that would focus too heavily on six years of war rather than the way ahead, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Friday that he will recommend that President Bush seek to replace Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

    Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the current chief of naval operations, is Gates’ choice to replace Pace as the nation’s top military officer. If confirmed, he would be the fourth Navy officer to hold the position.

    Gates, speaking at a news conference at the Pentagon, said he wanted to keep Pace, the first Marine to serve as Joint Chiefs chairman, in that job. But Gates said he changed his mind because of the highly charged atmosphere in Congress over the length and direction of the Iraq war, which blew up this spring into a tough battle between Congress and the administration over war funding and ultimately unmet demands for measurable benchmarks of progress on the part of the Iraqi government.

    “It had been my intention, from early in my tenure, to recommend to the president that General Pace be re-nominated for another two-year term as chairman,” Gates said.

    “However, after consultations over the course of several weeks with both Republican and Democratic senators, I concluded that because General Pace has served as chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the last six years, the focus of his confirmation process would have been on the past, rather than the future. And further, that there was the very real prospect the process would be quite contentious.

    “I am no stranger to contentious confirmations,” Gates continued. “And I do not shrink from them. However, I have decided that at this moment in our history, the nation, our men and women in uniform and General Pace himself would not be well-served by a divisive ordeal in selecting the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

    Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich, the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, said it would indeed have been hard for the Senate to separate the debate about Pace from the fate of President Bushs Bush Iraq policy.

    “In response to a request from Secretary Gates, I solicited the views of a broad range of senators,” Levin said in a statement. “I found that the views of many senators reflected my own, namely that a confirmation hearing on General Pace’s reappointment would have been a backward-looking debate about the last four years.”

    Gates said he did not consider the congressional feedback to mean that support for the Iraq war, even among Republicans, is waning.

    Levin called Mullen “well-qualified” to take over as Joint Chiefs chairman.

    Sen. John Warner, R-Va., the former committee chairman, also gave an early endorsement to the Navy chief. “In Admiral Mullen, we will have a new hand on the helm, a steady, well-trained hand that will guide and protect the men and women of all of our Services, and their families,” Warner said.

    Gates also announced he will recommend that President Bush nominate U.S. Strategic Command chief Marine Gen. James Cartwright as the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He would replace Navy Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, who earlier this week announced his intention to retire in the summer.

    Gates said “no decision has been made at this point” on Mullen’s replacement as chief of naval operations. Defense analysts quickly floated the names of Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Adm. Timothy Keating, the chief of U.S. Pacific Command; and Adm. Robert Willard, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, as potential candidates to replace Mullen.

    Gates said that, as with Pace, he had intended to ask Bush to re-nominate Giambastiani as the vice chief but that such a move became impossible once he’d decided on Mullen because by law, the chairman and vice chairman cannot be members of the same service.

    Gates said he asked Giambastiani to take “another senior position” but that the admiral decided to retire instead.

    Gates vehemently denied that his decision anything to do with the way Pace had performed as chairman, and he also declined to characterize the two high-level moves as a “shakeup.”

    “I think that this is an effort to do what I think is in the long-term interests of the services and the country, as well as the individuals involved,” he said.

    In fact, he gave Pace high praise, saying the general “has served our country with great distinction, and deserves the deepest thanks of the American people for a lifetime of service to our country, and for his leadership.”

    Gates said he didn’t think making such major changes at the top of the Joint Chiefs, with only 1½ years remaining in the Bush administration, would complicate his job.

    “The people I’m recommending to the president are very experienced,” he said. “We have three other chiefs of staff who are experienced people. We have, I think, a ‘deep bench’ in the Department of Defense.”

    Mullen, who has served as CNO since July 2005, is a 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy that associates have described as “dynamic” and a technical, analytical sort, yet an officer who also is a “people person.” Gates noted that Mullen has broad experience, having served in allied, joint and Navy positions, overseas, and both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets.

    “I have become well-acquainted with Admiral Mullen over the past six months,” Gates said, “and believe he has the vision, strategic insight, experience and integrity to lead America’s armed forces.”

    Cartwright has commanded StratCom since July 2004, where Gates said he is responsible for global command and control of U.S. strategic forces, computer network operations and Defense Department information operations. That experience, on top of his previous job as director for force structure, resources and assessment on the Joint Staff, make him “exceptionally well-qualified” for the vice chairman position, Gates said.

    Pace, who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and grew up in Teaneck, N.J., graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967 and served as an infantry officer with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, in Vietnam. In the years since, according to his official biography, he “has held command at virtually every level.”

    He has been a relatively low-key Joint Chiefs chairman, although he made headlines in March when, during an editorial board meeting with the Chicago Tribune, he referred to homosexual acts as “immoral” when asked about the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve in uniform only if they keep their sexual orientation secret and do not engage in homosexual acts.

    “I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts,” Pace told the newspaper. “I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way.”

    He later expressed regret — but did not apologize — for his comments after coming under fire from gay rights activists.


    Staff writers Rick Maze and Philip Ewing contributed to this report.
    Past JCS Chairmen

    General of the Army Omar N. Bradley, 1949–1953

    Adm. Arthur W. Radford, U.S. Navy, 1953–1957

    Gen. Nathan F. Twining, U.S. Air Force, 1957–1960

    Gen. Lyman L. Lemnitzer, U.S. Army, 1960–1962

    Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, U.S. Army, 1962–1964

    Gen. Earle G. Wheeler, U.S. Army, 1964–1970

    Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, U.S. Navy, 1970–1974

    Gen. George S. Brown, U.S. Air Force, 1974–1978

    Gen. David C. Jones, U.S. Air Force, 1978–1982

    Gen. John W. Vessey, Jr., U.S. Army, 1982–1985

    Adm. William J. Crowe, U.S. Navy, 1985–1989

    Gen. Colin L. Powell, U.S. Army, 1989–1993

    Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, U.S. Army, 1993–1997

    Gen. Henry H. Shelton, U.S. Army, 1997–2001

    Gen. Richard B. Myers, U.S. Air Force, 2001–2005

    Gen. Peter Pace, U.S. Marine Corps, 2005-2007

    Ellie


  6. #6
    Peter Pace bio box

    By The Associated Press


    NAME: Peter Pace.

    AGE-BIRTHDATE: 61; Nov. 5, 1945; New York City.

    EDUCATION: U.S. Naval Academy, 1967; master's degree in business administration from George Washington University; attended National War College, 1985-86.

    EXPERIENCE: chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, September 2005-present; vice chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, October 2001-August 2005; commander, U.S. Southern Command, 2000-01; commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Atlantic, 1997-2000; deputy commander/chief of staff, U.S. Forces-Japan, 1994; commanding officer, 2nd battalion, 1st Marines, 1983-85; operations officer, 2nd battalion, 5th Marines, Camp Pendleton, Calif., 1976; Rifle platoon leader and assistant operations officer, Vietnam, 1968-69.

    FAMILY: Wife, Lynne, two children.

    QUOTE: "Emotions on the battlefield are intense. It's good to stop and check your moral compass."

    Ellie


  7. #7
    Top US military officer replaced under shadow of Iraq war

    by Jim Mannion
    12 minutes ago

    US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Friday he is replacing General Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to avoid a divisive showdown in Congress focusing on the Iraq war.

    The surprise shakeup removes a general who has been at the center of US military decision-making for the past six years, from the war in Afghanistan to the US-led invasion of Iraq.

    "I am disappointed that circumstances make this kind of a decision necessary," Gates said of the loss of Pace, who has held the country's top military post since September 2005.

    The moves comes amid persistent difficulties in Iraq and sharpening political tensions at home with Congress already gearing up to receive a key progress report from US military commanders on the Iraq war in September.

    Gates said he had intended to name Pace to a second two-year term as chairman in September, but changed his mind after consulting members of Congress, who also already have an eye on the 2008 presidential polls.

    "I have decided that at this moment in our history, the nation, our men and women in uniform and General Pace himself would not be well served by a divisive ordeal in selecting the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," he told reporters.

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the president's chief military adviser and the most senior US military officer.

    In deciding to replace Pace with Admiral Michael Mullen, who is currently the chief of naval operations, Gates also had to replace Admiral Edmund Giambastiani as vice chairman so that the top two military positions would not both be held by naval officers.

    Giambastiani will be replaced by Marine General James Cartwright, currently the head of the US Strategic Command, which is responsible for US strategic nuclear forces.

    Gates insisted that his decision was no reflection on either Pace's or Gambastiani's performance, only of the political realities of getting them confirmed to a second term.

    He said he had spoken with Democratic and Republican senators over the past several weeks and came away convinced that "there was the very real prospect the process would be quite contentious."

    "I wish that that were not the case. I wish it were not necessary to make a decision like this. But I think it's a realistic appraisal of where we are," he said.

    Both officers were closely associated with former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, leading analysts to conclude Gates is clearing the decks to make way for officers with less baggage and a fresh perspective.

    "Almost everybody who is getting a top job in the Pentagon now is in the mold of Bob Gates, meaning they are not ideological and they are oriented more to management excellent than to visionary ideas," said Loren Thompson, director of the Lexington Institute, a research group.

    Pace will step down in September after a distinguished 40 year career in the marines that has ended under the cloud of a protracted and unpopular war.

    "Bottom line is Pace was vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when we prepared the worst war plan in the last 35 years in this country, and probably one of the two or three worst in our nation's history," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution.

    Gates had only high praise for him on Friday.

    "I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him, trust him completely and value his candor and his willingness to speak his mind," he said.

    Pace's military career began in 1968 as the leader of a rifle platoon in Vietnam, another divisive and unpopular war.

    He commanded US troops in Latin America, served as director of the Joint Staff, and was deputy commander of US forces in Somalia during an ill-fated intervention in the early 1990s.

    He was named vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff just weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, becoming the first marine in history to hold the post.

    Pace quickly became a favorite of Rumsfeld, who raised his profile by sharing the podium with him at press conferences and Pentagon "Town Hall" meetings.

    Gates said he consulted Pace and Giambastiani in selecting their successors.

    Mullen, a surface warfare commander who studied at Harvard Business School, served as commander of US naval forces in Europe and was in charge of NATO operations in the Balkans, Iraq and the Mediterannean.

    He became the chief of naval operations in July, 2005.

    Gates called him "a very smart strategic thinker, and I think he has a view of the interests of the services as a whole."

    "So as we try to look to the future, in terms of where we need to be five years from now or 10 years from now, I think Admiral Mullen will bring a tremendous perspective," he said.

    Ellie


  8. #8
    Marine Free Member 10thzodiac's Avatar
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    Bye Bye Perfect Peter
    Opinion
    Written by Larry C. Johnson
    Friday, 08 June 2007
    by Larry C Johnson

    Let there be no doubt — Perfect Peter Pace has been shown the door because of his letter to Judge Walton pleading on behalf of Scooter Libby. That letter was the final straw demonstrating his incompetence and political tin ear as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. How can you call call upon troops to conduct themselves with honor and integrity when you make lame excuses for the conduct of a convicted perjurer and obstructer of justice like Scooter Libby. Pace's Libby letter was the tipping point. His status, already shaky with the debacle of Iraq and a six year record of failure, became toxic with that letter.

    "Perfect" Peter Pace and I share one thing in common. We both worked, at one time in our careers, for a crusty old Marine Colonel, Dominick (Dick) R. Gannon. Dick Gannon is like a second father to me and has been a critical mentor in my life. Dick is a warrior's warrior, not afraid to fight, but would not put troops in harm's way unless there is a good reason and clear objective. During the invasion of Grenada in 1983, Dick reported to Senior State Department officials that a team of Navy SEALS, who had been dropped into the ocean to infiltrate the island, had drowned and that a new mission was being organized. The State Department officials said, "never mind, it is not that important".

    When Dick recounted this incident to me in 1989 he still boiled with anger. How dare U.S. officials send military personnel on a mission where their lives were at risk that was not important or critical. I learned from Dick that a leader — military or political — should not ever do such a thing. Unfortunately, Peter Pace did not listen closely enough to Dick.

    I believe that Perfect Peter has dishonored himself and dishonored the Marine Corps by his conduct — his weak, vacillating leadership and his craven pandering to political masters. Pace's nickname, "Perfect Peter", is not a term of endearment. It is an acknowledgment that Peter has been more willing than others to sell his soul for political expediency. He leaves in September. Good riddance.



  9. #9
    Marine Free Member 10thzodiac's Avatar
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    Bye Bye Perfect Peter
    Opinion
    Written by Larry C. Johnson
    Friday, 08 June 2007
    by Larry C Johnson

    Let there be no doubt — Perfect Peter Pace has been shown the door because of his letter to Judge Walton pleading on behalf of Scooter Libby. That letter was the final straw demonstrating his incompetence and political tin ear as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. How can you call call upon troops to conduct themselves with honor and integrity when you make lame excuses for the conduct of a convicted perjurer and obstructer of justice like Scooter Libby. Pace's Libby letter was the tipping point. His status, already shaky with the debacle of Iraq and a six year record of failure, became toxic with that letter.

    "Perfect" Peter Pace and I share one thing in common. We both worked, at one time in our careers, for a crusty old Marine Colonel, Dominick (Dick) R. Gannon. Dick Gannon is like a second father to me and has been a critical mentor in my life. Dick is a warrior's warrior, not afraid to fight, but would not put troops in harm's way unless there is a good reason and clear objective. During the invasion of Grenada in 1983, Dick reported to Senior State Department officials that a team of Navy SEALS, who had been dropped into the ocean to infiltrate the island, had drowned and that a new mission was being organized. The State Department officials said, "never mind, it is not that important".

    When Dick recounted this incident to me in 1989 he still boiled with anger. How dare U.S. officials send military personnel on a mission where their lives were at risk that was not important or critical. I learned from Dick that a leader — military or political — should not ever do such a thing. Unfortunately, Peter Pace did not listen closely enough to Dick.

    I believe that Perfect Peter has dishonored himself and dishonored the Marine Corps by his conduct — his weak, vacillating leadership and his craven pandering to political masters. Pace's nickname, "Perfect Peter", is not a term of endearment. It is an acknowledgment that Peter has been more willing than others to sell his soul for political expediency. He leaves in September. Good riddance.



  10. #10
    http://www.blackfive.net/main/2007/0...eral_pace.html

    Cassandra offers a toast, which I am proud to join. Let us all raise a glass to the man today. He has served well and long -- forty years an officer, next year; the first Marine to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. There aren't many who can say they've done all he has done. Semper Fi, sir.


  11. #11
    jetdawgg
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    I don't know of any JCS that was fired before. General Pace was keeping us out of Iran. He served well as a Marine should. He led the pushback against the politicos in DC that want to jump full steam ahead into Iran.

    I think that this is also the first time that the JCS has not been reappointed.

    General Pace we stand behind you sir


  12. #12
    Marine Free Member bigdog43701's Avatar
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    jet,

    finally you have said something that i agree with 100% (don't let it be known or i'll denie it). i too stand 100% behind General PACE/


  13. #13
    jetdawgg
    Guest Free Member
    bigdog General Pace is a very intelligent Marine and speaks his mind. He upset some homos a while back. He is a Marine and people will be upset with him. It is just part of being a Marine.

    These hacks in DC have run their course with me. It is unprecedented what has happened here


  14. #14
    10z I think you are full of BS on your take on this one. Gen. Pete went were no Marine has gone before. He lead the Marine Corp and the rest through some of the worat worst waters this country has ever seen. I am proud to say I wish that I could have served under him. With 2 sons making the service there life job they say he is the best. S/F Gen. Pace.


  15. #15

    Navy?

    It's all a bunch of political crap. Since when does the Navy have ground pounder's 'cept the Corps? What does he know about War? I think I heard this right, but almost all the chief's now are Navy. Iran? Some say we don't need to take care of them?...better look at who's behind all this mess!! Now who's got the guts to finish the job? Some Naval Admiral? Will he stick to his own way's, or be another "politician" instead of a "Military" for the troop person? I think it flat sucks. Afraid of some fight about his nomination? Give me a break.
    The US and other countries didn't ask for these terrorist to come in and start attacking us, so don't blame The Marine General.....the terrorists brought the fight to Iraq, mostly supplied by Iran, as there is too much proof of this. No matter what, we need to finish the job. Look at what happened to Isreal, when it was pressured to pull back out of Lebanon? The exact same thing is going to happen to America, if we don't eliminate, as long as it takes these evil people. Look at the Lebanese Army? They pushed them terrorists into a corner, and wiped many out. And, Hesbulah? You're next you filth.
    Now carry on you worm destined Maggot's.



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