CHICAGO (NNS) -- The nation's senior military officer and adviser to the President spoke to a group of 250 Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) cadets about his 42 years of leadership experience in the military at the Union League Club of Chicago Aug. 25.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, was invited to speak to the cadets under the sponsorship of the Hyman G. Rickover Leadership Series, a collaborative youth leadership development program designed by representatives of the Chicago Public Schools Department of Junior ROTC and the Navy's Diversity Directorate, Outreach Division.
The Rickover Leadership Series was established in honor of the late Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, a graduate of Chicago's John Marshall High School in 1918. Adm. Rickover is known as the "Father of Nuclear Navy" and served 63 years on active duty, the longest-serving naval officer in U.S. history.
Mullen's visit to Chicago and engagement with the cadets was part of a three-day "Conversation with the Country" tour through the Midwest where he met with local civic and business leaders in Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit, to discuss the needs of returning troops, their families and how community leaders can support them.
Mullen expressed that among his various stops in Chicago, the opportunity to talk with the cadets, "our future leaders," was the most important event of the day.
"A once in a lifetime experience for our cadets to listen to the chairman and get his views on leadership.," said Rick Mills, Chief Area Officer for Chicago Public Schools. "His words will resonate with them for the rest of their lives."
Mullen's remarks to the cadets were focused of three themes: service, change, and leadership.
"All three of the themes reflected Adm. Mullen's professional and personal journey," said Cmdr. Mike Tooker, retired from the Navy and now commandant of the Hyman G. Rickover Naval Academy. "His story had some very powerful lessons that came across to our cadets."
At the beginning of his talk, Mullen discussed his experience with the current generation of young people serving in the military and remarked on their penchant to serve something bigger than themselves.
"Your generation has an appetite to serve and make a difference," said Mullen. "Whether it's here locally in your community, whether it's somewhere in the state, or whether it's nationally or globally, through continued education I expect that you'll give back."
Next, Mullen spoke about the inevitability of change, and the necessity to lead change—especially in the world of education and training, where updating skill sets is essential to gainful employment.
"The world is much more interconnected and we have to figure out ways to understand and interact with organizations and other lives we might not have been interested in or thought about," said Mullen. "Opportunities will present themselves that will allow you to enhance your education and future and these opportunities will be life changing events."
Mullen lastly stressed that change is unavoidable. He also mentioned that there are great technical challenges and academic problems that need attention and stated that all of the challenges can be solved and managed by no other means then leadership.
"A leader is someone who'll step forward, someone who takes risks," said Mullen. "A leader is someone who is bold, a leader is different from their peers, a leader challenges the status quo and a leader challenges existing assumptions. Most of all, a leader is courageous and at the same time holds to the values of honor, integrity, courage and loyalty the values you're learning early in life by participating in the Junior ROTC program."
Cadet Dolores Santillan, a senior at Albert G. Lane Technical College Prep, asked Mullen, "What is your most preferred style of leadership?"
"I have a passion for people and a passion for a team. From a leadership perspective, I have always depended on my people. In its simplest form, I take care of my people and my people will take care of me. When I say take care of me, in a leadership position, a position where we have a job or mission, we accomplish it together," said Mullen in response to the question.
Another cadet was interested in how Mullen made decisions under stress.
"I've found out a lot about myself over the years and found that as a situation gets tougher and chaotic, the calmer I get. As a leader, I don't want to contribute to the chaos that might exist in a crisis. I've found that I need to be a calming influence which tends to calm others down," said Mullen.
"I also try to anticipate what will happen in the future, and that's very difficult. Calmness in the eye of the storm is great strength."
Lt. Col. Kim Harrell, retired from the Army and director for Chicago Public Schools Department of Junior ROTC, hoped the cadets would take one thing away from Mullen's visit.
"Perseverance, that one must have a steady course of action, a purpose, a position in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement," said Harrell. "That this is an essential leadership skill when one must sometimes work past the difficulties that may arise from participating in Junior ROTC and/or personal commitments."
"Years from now, my peers and I will occupy seats of local, state, and national importance. Interaction and learning from leaders like Adm. Mullen will allow us to reach our potential," said Cadet Jai Hillard, a senior at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and commanding officer of her Navy Junior ROTC unit.
The purpose of the Rickover Leadership Series is to enhance the education, awareness and appreciation of Chicago Public Schools JROTC cadets in the social, political, and cultural dimensions of the nation and the world.
Invited guest speakers represent various walks of life—government, the arts, humor, literature, education, sports, politics, science and other major fields on the local, state, national and international level. Representatives discuss and examine topics regarding effective leadership within their respective field, including: defining good leadership, methods of practice and implementation, personal strengths needed to become an effective leader, and how to inspire, influence and create results.
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