Mullen to address departing Vt. guardsmen

[unhappycamper]

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen will speak to departing Vermont National Guard troops on Jan. 8 in Burlington, Vt.


Mullen to address departing Vt. guardsmen
By Sam Hemingway - Burlington (Vt.) Free Press via Gannett News Service
Posted : Wednesday Jan 6, 2010 10:19:14 EST

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen will fly to Burlington on Friday to speak at a farewell ceremony for 200 of the nearly 1,500 Vermont National Guard soldiers being deployed to Afghanistan

Mullen’s trip was confirmed Tuesday by Jennifer Harrington, a Defense Department spokeswoman.

Richard Schneider, president of Norwich University, said Mullen’s decision to speak to the Vermont Guard troops would be a “huge deal.”

“Short of the president himself coming here to speak, this is the highest honor these troops can get,” said Schneider, a retired Coast Guard rear admiral. “It means a lot that the nation’s top military officer would take time out of his busy schedule to come here. It says a lot about the man.”

Harrington said the decision by Mullen, 63, to speak to the Vermont soldiers reflects the heightened importance of the Guard’s year-long mission in the war-torn country.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/01/gns_guard_vermont_mullen_010610/

[Captain Hilts]

1. Good on him. VT has done more than its share and had a lot of casualties. nt