Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen, a North Hollywood Native, Retires

Adm. Mike Mullen's four-year tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Armed Forces ended Friday, Sept. 30. Mullen is now retired after 43 years of military service.

Mullen, who grew up in North Hollywood, attended School and graduated from in Sherman Oaks.

Patch caught up with the admiral last November when he was the grand marshal of the in Pacoima. (See the attached video).

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the highest ranking position in the U.S. military. Mullen was appointed to the position in October 2007 by President George W. Bush for a four-year term. According to his website, Mullen graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968. He obtained a master of science degree in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, and also graduated from the advanced management program at the Harvard Business School.

During his tenure, Mullen has overseen Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan in December 2009, the end of combat operations in Iraq in 2010, the bombing of Libya and the successful raid on Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan by the Navy SEALs.

But Mullen's impact and tenure may perhaps be remembered most for his testimony in February of 2010 before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he spoke in favor of homosexuals serving openly in the military. This was in stark contrast to his predecessor, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, who said, "I don't believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way." Pace also told the Senate Appropriations Committee that he believes gay sex is immoral and that sex between unmarried heterosexuals is wrong.

Mullen took the opposite view and spoke out during his testimony, which was a rare occurrence of a high-ranking military officer taking a stand on a social issue. "It's the right thing to do," Mullen said of allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military. "No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity—theirs as individuals and ours as an institution."

Mullen also said: "I have served with homosexuals since 1968. Everybody in the military has, and we understand that."

Mullen raised many eyebrows with his testimony. AOL News quoted University of Cincinnati historian James Westheider, who said Mullen's stand was very rare in the history of the armed forces.

"The uniformed military usually are advised to not make policy statements," he said. "They're more worried about implementation."

The "Dont' Ask, Don't Tell" military policy was repealed by the Senate in December. A recent HBO documentary, The Strange History of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, credited Mullen's testimony as being the key moment in turning the tide toward repealing the policy.

The admiral also made waves in his final week in office and set off a "political firestorm," as the New York Times put it, when he told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that the Haqqani network in Afghanistan ia “a veritable arm” of Pakistan’s spy agency. The Haqqani network is accused of conducting an assault on the American Embassy in Kabul last month.

Mullen again raised the issue of Pakistan Friday at his retirement ceremony in Fort Myer, Va.

“I continue to believe that there is no solution in the region without Pakistan, and no stable future in the region without a partnership,” Mullen said at a ceremony where he stood down and handed his post over to the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey.

“I urge Marty to remember the importance of Pakistan to all of this, to try and do a better job than I did with that vexing and yet vital relationship,” Mullen added in remarks.

President Barack Obama lauded Mullen at the ceremony.

"Be assured, our military is stronger and our nation is more secure because of the service that you have rendered," the president said.