The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, addressed Navy SEALs candidates in Coronado on Thursday, according to a feature on Sign On San Diego. Mullen talked after watching a training session at the Coronado amphibious base, and the SEAL audience received much-deserved praise from the Admiral.

Mullen said: “You serve at an extraordinarily challenging time in a very difficult fight that’s going to be around for a while… We are extraordinarily dependent on your success. I know that, and the leaders right through the president understand that. You’ve executed mission after mission successfully, and we have great faith that you will continue to do that.”

The Admiral also spoke, among other things, of his support for allowing gay service members to serve openly as well as of the fact that the fight in Afghanistan will move on to Kandahar, which is known as the political center of the Taliban’s stronghold.

The Coronado boot camp is trying to “build their numbers by 500 people by 2013”. A federal report cites, however, the camp has not been able to generate enough graduates to meet their goals. The article shared that Adm. Mullen praised the SEALs present for lowering the high boot camp attrition rate. Coronado base officials clarified, however, that this is “recent trend and there are no statistics yet to back that up.”

When asked about the status of “don’t ask, don’t tell”, the Admiral also clarified that his vocal support was a “personal stance” and is in no way “the last word on the subject.”