Joint Chiefs Chair on Panetta, Petraeus

Government Executive was pleased to host Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the latest in our series of Leadership Briefings this morning.

Here's some of what he had to say (in case you missed it on Twitter):

• On the appointment of Leon Panetta to head the Defense Department and Gen. David Petraeus to take over at the CIA: "I've worked very closely with Leon Panetta as well as David Petraeus. I have great admiration for both men." He added that they're "wonderful public servants whose service in their current positions has been extraordinary."
• On the Defense budget situation: "I've been in a hollow military before and I won't lead a hollow military."
• On the situation in Libya: "I've been very impressed about how NATO has grabbed this mission and executed it." This prevented a "massive humanitarian disaster." He added that Qaddafi's "days are numbered."
• On Defense civilians: "We wouldn't be anywhere without the great civil service workforce that we have." Their "dedication and patriotism equals that of those of us in uniform." But Defense "has got to pay attention to refreshing our civilian workforce" as average age of employees creeps up.

Full video of the interview is available from C-SPAN.