Gates Recommends Admiral Michael Mullen to Replace General Pace as Commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Robert M. Gates is fairly new to the U.S. Defense structure himself: well, new and old. Under George Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, Dr. Gates was the Director of Central Intelligence. Then he took several years off to become the president of Texas A&M University. And now he's back, serving as the younger Bush's Secretary of Defense ever since December 18, 2006, when he replaced the increasingly unpopular Donald Rumsfeld.

Now it's Gates' turn to have a say in the future of America's defense structure. According to Reuters AlertNet, Marine Corps General Peter Pace, who has served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since 2005, is finishing his term in September of this year. Gates at first wanted to re-nominate Pace to serve another term. But on Friday he announced that he is recommending Navy Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations Michael Mullen to take his place.

"I concluded that because Gen. 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," Gates said. Re-nominating Pace may have dragged him through a difficult and critical re-nominating process in the Senate, where opposition to the Iraq War is at an all-time high. Since Pace has been involved in the Iraq war for the past several years, Gates thought he should recommend someone new to fill the position.

"There was the very real prospect the process would be quite contentious," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon, according to the Defense Department's website.

Pace's term ends September 30, 2007. Pace is the first Marine Corps General to ever hold the office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Joint Chiefs of Staff is composed of the top-ranking officers from each of the U.S. military's five branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The Joint Chiefs of Staff advises the President and the Secretary of Defense on all military matters directly in Washington. The Chairman is the spokesperson for the group.