U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Adm. Mike Mullen on Wednesday told Air Force Academy graduates to be open to the ideas of others, hold themselves accountable for their mistakes and stay ahead of technology.
Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered the keynote address to the 1,001-member academy class of 2010.
“We have been a nation at war for one-half of your young lives,” Mullen said. “Yet here you are, ready to step into the breach, ready to take enemy fire. . . . Some of you will be tried by war.”
He also told them they would be the “leading edge of change.”
Air power is not only crucial to the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan but also underpins American diplomatic efforts, he said.
America needs allies to maintain its status as a world power, he said. “No one military, no one nation, can do it alone anymore.”
In a 20-minute address to the first class in recent memory that will not rotate directly into combat, Mullen told the graduates he has traveled to Pakistan frequently and sat cross-legged at tribal meetings in Afghanistan to gain trust in those countries.
“Trust can’t be won over the phone,” he said.
He told them great ideas are born in the “ease of quiet.”
“You must listen to yourself, to your instinct,” he said. “But you must also listen to others.”
In order to gain the respect of those they will lead, the graduates must be willing to admit mistakes, he said. “If you have erred, correct it, seek responsibility and hold yourself accountable.”
We live in a world where attacks on the nation can come through cyberspace, he said. “You need to be open to new ideas in cyberspace.”
After the speech, Mullen shook hands with each of the graduates as they received their diplomas.
What Mullen said “was very accurate to the situation we face today,” said Merriex Avery, 22, of Denver.
Avery, who grew up in Five Points, will be on leave this summer and then report to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for training as a missileer.
The newly minted second lieutenants have committed to five years of service — 10 if they become pilots.
Steven Mudrinich, 21, of Atlanta said he isn’t concerned by Mullen’s prediction that some of the graduates would soon be at war.
Mudrinich, who will study satellite imagery and other intelligence courses in San Angelo, Texas, after his 60-day leave, said he feels prepared for action.
“I think we have been instilled with good leadership and training,” he said.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
