Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ADM Mike Mullen spoke to officers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Thursday. He said the military alone can’t solve the world’s conflicts.

Admiral Michael Mullen says U.S. and NATO troops will shift their focus to southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province following their current offensive against the Taliban in Marjah.

Commander of U.S. Central Command GEN David Petraeus says it is vital for coalition troops to avoid civilian deaths whenever possible.

As more soldiers head from Iraq to Afghanistan, proper training for different circumstances becomes vital for their success.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is calling for a better balance between military and non-military approaches in Afghanistan.

Five crew members of a Coast Guard helicopter are safe following a crash in the Rocky Mountains.

The 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade commander talks about gains in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province.

Testimony on Capitol Hill concerning the upcoming policy review on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ADM Michael Mullen speaks as part of the Landon Lecture series at Kansas State University.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ADM Michael Mullen speak with reporters at the Pentagon.

Below is the most recent posting from Navy Admiral Michael Mullen’s blog:

I just returned from a trip to the Middle East where I visited with civilian and military leaders in Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. It was a trip I wanted to make for some time now, given the scope of our security commitments in the region and the mutual challenges we all still face. At each stop and in each meeting, I was encouraged to find, though perspectives certainly vary, the desire for stability and security is as common as it is vigorous.

I was also struck by two other overarching themes.

First, where the United States has military relationships in the region, they are strong and getting stronger. Our partners want to engage, exercise, and operate with us. They also want to pursue new and innovative ways to tackle common challenges there and around the world.

The Egyptians were proud of their participation in this year’s Bright Star exercise, and want to make it even more vibrant in the future. The Israeli’s, of course, remain a vital ally and a cornerstone of our regional security commitments. I was delighted to meet with more than 100 Israeli doctors and nurses who deployed to Haiti to help with international relief efforts. To a person they were proud of the impact they made and of the speed with which they made it.

In similar fashion, the Jordanians, long a key contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, walked me through the medical support they continue to provide in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also showed me a Special Operations Training Center that has tremendous potential for how modern militaries can best prepare for counter-terrorism operations in a harsh environment.

The Saudi’s shared with me valuable lessons they learned working with the Yemeni government to deal with the Houthi issue and in the UAE I was very impressed to see an air coordination and advanced training center that not only provides virtually unimpeded training opportunities to regional air forces, but also improves real-world tactical air coordination issues.

The second overarching theme was, of course, Iran.

If there is one great concern shared by all the nations I visited, it is over the direction they believe Iran is going and what that means for them and for their citizens. I maintain my conviction that Iran remains on a path to achieve nuclear weapons, and that even this very pursuit further destabilizes the region. Like us, it isn’t just a nuclear-capable Iranian military our friends worry about; it’s an Iran with hegemonic ambitions and a desire to dominate its neighbors. This outcome drives many of the national security decisions our partners are making, and I believe we must be mindful of that as we look to the future post-Iraq and post-Afghanistan.

Let me be clear: we owe the Secretary and the President a range of options for this threat. We owe the American people our readiness. But as I have said many times, I worry a lot about the unintended consequences of any sort of military action. For now, the diplomatic and economic levers of international power ought to be the levers first pulled. Indeed, I would hope they are always and consistently pulled.

No strike, however effective, will be in and of itself decisive.

During a week-long tour through Southwest Asia, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spent time focusing on what he calls his No. 1 priority: servicemembers and their families, reports AFPS’ Carmen L. Gleason.

“No matter what happens in the world, no matter what equipment I buy, no matter what concepts I adopt for the future, it’s really you that make the difference,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told troops during a town hall gathering Feb. 17. “You are the center of gravity for the adjustments that must be made as we move to the future.”

And families, the admiral said, have emerged as more important than ever.

“Families were critical before, but I’ve watched what families have been doing since 9/11 in supporting multiple deployments. That service and sacrifice is special at a really critical time,” Mullen said, noting that many families have gone through as many as five deployments within a 10-year period.

“We couldn’t do it without you and your families,” the admiral told members of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing during a town hall yesterday. “You couldn’t be here, deploy and rest easy if things weren’t going well at home and for the support that your families have given.”

Family support, Mullen said, “is vital to everything that we do.”

“And what our families have done and our extended families have done that make it possible for us to serve at this extraordinary time has truly been exceptional,” he added. “So I am extremely grateful for that as well.”

Mullen said that he hasn’t seen a more challenging time in his 42-year military career, and the current force is the best he has ever seen.

“We move forward into the future in better shape than we’ve ever been,” he said, “and whatever the challenges are there that are to be met, they will be met because of you, because of our people and our families.”

Speaking passionately about another of his priorities, Mullen encouraged troops at all levels to be good leaders. “I focus on [speaking about] leadership wherever I go,” he said, “because I believe anything is possible with great leadership.”

Mullen emphasized that leaders are present at every pay grade, and aren’t necessarily the most senior members of the organization.

“I have been greatly influenced throughout my career by courageous leaders that made a difference when things really got tough,” he said. “I have seen the toughest problems we’ve ever had be solved by nothing else than … individual leaders who are willing to take risks in the toughest kinds of situations.”

Leading during a time of change is the toughest time for a leader, Mullen said. Nothing, he added, is more important to military success than good leaders.

“I have great expectations for … everybody wearing a uniform to continue to lead,” Mullen said. “Take care of those around you, take care of those who are in your charge, take care of your peers, and also take care of your seniors.”

The admiral reminded the servicemembers that everyone who has experienced success has had leaders who contributed to that success. “We got here because somebody made a difference in our lives,” he said, “whether it was a coach, a teacher, a command sergeant major, a senior chief petty officer, a second lieutenant.”

Mullen urged servicemembers to try to make that same difference in someone else’s life. “We are a growing institution that depends on that,” he said. “This extends across the full spectrum of who we are, how we take care of ourselves [and] how we treat each other, which should be exactly like we want to be treated.”

Coalition forces continue their offensive against Taliban holdouts in Afghanistan’s South, as part of Operation Moshtarak.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen visits Israel to discuss Iran and the nuclear issue.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen visits Cairo, Egypt where he discusses Iran’s nuclear issues as well as the drawdown of US forces in Iraq.

Coast Guard helicopters and ground crews are supporting efforts to rescue a climber who fell into a crater Monday on Mount Saint Helens in Washington State.

Military leaders say Taliban resistance to the latest coalition offensive in southern Afghanistan has been lighter than expected.

As coalition forces continue their major offensive against insurgents in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, officials hope to gain the trust of the local population.