Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Visits El Salvador
January 18, 2008

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On January 18, Admiral Michael G. Mullen arrived in El Salvador to conduct a visit in which he met with the Salvadoran Minister of Defense Gral. Jorge Molina Contreras and other high ranking military officers.  Admiral Mullen comes to El Salvador after visiting Colombia.  During his stay he will also meet with the soldiers of the Cuscatlan Battalion’s 10th contingent, which will leave for Iraq in February. El Salvador is the only country in the hemisphere with troops in Irak.

Adm. Mullen was sworn in as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Oct. 1, 2007. He serves as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council.

A native of Los Angeles, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968. His last operational assignment was as Commander, NATO Joint Force Command Naples/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe.

Ashore he has served in leadership positions at the Naval Academy, in the Navy's Bureau of Personnel, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and on the Navy Staff. He was the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 2003 to October 2004.