Chairman of the Joint Chiefs visits L.A. recruiters Published Sept. 25, 2008 By Master Sgt. Alfred Morehouse 369th Recruiting Squadron LOS ANGELES -- Members of the 369th Recruiting Squadron, headquartered in Encino, Calif., attended a question and answer session to discuss recruiting with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, at the University of Southern California Sept. 22. More than 100 recruiters from all branches of service, including the U.S. Coast Guard, attended the event. Admiral Mullen started the session by praising recruiters for their success, and said that recruiting was one of the most difficult, yet most important occupations in the Department of Defense, especially in major cities like Los Angeles. The Chairman discussed how each branch of service should focus on retention as a way to help with the recruiting process, reducing the number of accessions required each year. The admiral acknowledged the difficulties of recruiting during times of war, the burden of the wartime rotation rates of each service, and the importance of putting families first. The Chairman said putting families first was the key to better retention for the services. In response to a question about future budgetary concerns, Admiral Mullen said "We usually get what we need, but we could always use more." He also stressed that people are our most valuable resource, highlighting that an enormous percentage of the DoD budget is for personnel costs with a smaller amount available for discretionary spending on equipment each year. Admiral Mullen praised today's military as being the best at any time in our history and attributed it to the fantastic job done by each branch's recruiting effort. The Air Force has reached its enlisted recruiting accessions goal for the past eight years and is on track to meet it again this year. (Lt. Col. James Hunsicker, 369th RCS commander, and Master Sgt. Richard Dimson, 369th Training non-commissioned officer, contributed to this story.)