On Aug 27 the New York Times covered Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen’s recent essay to military personnel.

“‘To put it simply, we need to worry a lot less about how to communicate our actions and much more about what our actions communicate,’ Admiral Mullen wrote in the critique, an essay to be published Friday by Joint Force Quarterly, an official military journal.”

The Times article also emphasized Adm. Mullen’s views on the effectiveness of current efforts: “American messages to counter extremist information campaigns ‘lack credibility, because we haven’t invested enough in building trust and relationships, and we haven’t always delivered on promises,’ he wrote.”  Adm. Mullen’s words go a long way, acknowledging and reminding military and policymakers that the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words” is true.