If confirmed by the Senate, they will succeed Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, vice chairman.

President Bush noted today that the nominations come at a critical time for the United States.

"America is at war, and we are at war with brutal enemies who have attacked our nation and who would pursue nuclear weapons and would use their control of oil as economic blackmail and intend to launch new attacks on our country," he said. "At such times, one of the most important decisions a president makes is the appointment of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

As the country's highest-ranking military officer, the chairman serves as the principal military advisor to the president, the defense secretary, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council, President Bush noted. He also is responsible for ensuring the readiness of U.S. military forces.

President Bush called Admiral Mullen uniquely qualified to take on this job. A 1969 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he went on to pursue an "illustrious military career" during which he received an advanced degree from the Naval Postgraduate School and commanded three ships, a cruiser destroyer group and an aircraft carrier battle group, he noted.

Admiral Mullen also served as commander of NATO's Joint Forces Command in Naples, Italy, with responsibility for alliance missions in the Balkans, Iraq and Mediterranean, and as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe.

At the Pentagon, Admiral Mullen served as the Navy's director of surface warfare; deputy chief of naval operations for resources, requirements and assessments; vice chief of naval operations; and, since July 2005, as chief of naval operations.

"Mike is a man of experience, of vision and high integrity," the president said. "He is the right man to lead America's armed forces."

The president extended similar praise to General Cartwright, noting his broad educational and military experience.

The general graduated from the University of Iowa, earned his advanced degree from the Naval War College and completed a fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the president noted.

A Marine aviator, General Cartwright has commanded deployed Marines at all levels. He also has broad experience on the Joint Staff, where he served twice as the director of force structure, resources and assessment before taking the reins as head of the U.S. Strategic Command in 2004, the president said.

At STRATCOM, General Cartwright has been responsible for America's nuclear arsenal; missile defenses; space operations; information operations; global command and control; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and efforts to combat weapons of mass destruction, President Bush said.

He has met these responsibilities "with honor, skill and integrity," the president said, noting that he will apply these same principles in his position as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Admiral Mullen said he is honored to be nominated to the chairman's position to lead the U.S. military at an important time in its history.

"Clearly, we remain a nation at war against formidable enemies," he said. "The way forward in Iraq and Afghanistan, the path we take now and in the future, will shape the character of the longer, larger struggle against terror."

Admiral Mullen emphasized that success depends on more than just military might.

"It cannot be a military path alone. That much is clear," he said. "We must continue to focus on the broad range of America's defense and security commitments around the world and on the many instruments of national power needed to safeguard those commitments."

Admiral Mullen praised the members of the armed forces who understand these complex challenges and are finding new ways to overcome them every day.

"Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and their families are the most dedicated, talented and courageous people with whom I have ever been privileged to serve," he said. "Representing them, serving them in turn as chairman of the Joint Chiefs would be my great honor."

With two children deployed overseas, General Cartwright acknowledged his personal as well as professional commitment to U.S. military operations.

"If confirmed, I will focus all of my effort on the whole of government's efforts to prevail in this global war on terrorism and to support our people in all of their phases of service, and also to try to move forward and look to the future for the capabilities that we're going to need to prevail as we move into the future as a nation," he said.

Source:http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123058977