Gates, on eve of retirement, is sent off in fashion

Gates, on eve of retirement, is sent off in fashion
By Jason Ukman

President Obama surprised Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Thursday with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, paying tribute to his four decades of public service at a regal farewell ceremony outside the Pentagon.

The honor came on Gates’s last day as defense secretary after four and a half years in the job. The citation for the medal — the highest civilian honor the commander in chief can bestow — said that Gates had “selflessly dedicated his life to ensuring the security of the American people.”

The secretary appeared humbled by the honor, and genuinely surprised.

“We should have known a couple of months ago that you were getting good at this covert ops stuff,” he told the president with a smirk.

Gates, who served in various roles under eight presidents and as secretary of defense under two, will retire to Washington state on Thursday. He will technically remain defense secretary until his successor, Leon Panetta, is sworn into office on Friday morning.

In a written farewell message distributed to troops this week, Gates said it had been the highest honor of his life to serve as defense secretary. Speaking to an audience that included Obama, Vice President Biden and others, he said Thursday that the commitment of U.S. forces would always stay with him.

“I’ll just say here that I will think of these young warriors — the ones that fought, the ones that keep on fighting, the ones that never make it back — until the end of my days,” he said.

The military has gone to unusual lengths to honor Gates in his final days, in part because he has been held in such high regard both at the Pentagon and most other quarters in Washington. In addition to the ceremony, he was honored at separate dinners hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and by Obama and the first lady. The Defense Department set up a special retrospective Web page listing his accomplishments.

“I believe the life of Bob Gates is a lesson,” Obama said, “especially to young Americans – a lesson that public service is an honorable calling, that we can pass our country better and stronger to those who follow.”

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also paid tribute to Gates, saying of Gates’s service: “To say that we are grateful is to vastly understate our emotions on this day.”

By Jason Ukman | 11:12 AM ET, 06/30/2011

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LineInTheSand said:

Not totally sure why he warrants a Medal of Freedom...


...it's an end of tour award at the national level.

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LineInTheSand said:

Total of how many years? I forget. I guess it's important to remember that the Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award, by no where near the Medal of Honor.

How do you think Gates has shown more dedicated service than past secretaries of any kind? Past Sec. of Transportation and Commerce served two presidents, was a Congressman, and served in the U.S. Army...don't remember him getting an award. They both manage policy, personnel and budgets.

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Dr. Robert M. Gates was sworn in on December 18, 2006, as the 22nd Secretary of Defense. Dr. Gates is the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly elected President. President Barack Obama is the eighth president Dr. Gates has served.

Before entering his present post, Dr. Gates was the President of Texas A&M University, the nation's seventh largest university. Prior to assuming the Texas A&M presidency, on August 1, 2002, he served as Interim Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001.

Secretary Gates joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, The White House, serving four presidents of both political parties.

Dr. Gates served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. He is the only career officer in CIA's history to rise from entry-level employee to Director. He served as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser at the White House from January 20, 1989, until November 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Bush.

Secretary Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has twice received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA's highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.

He is the author of the memoir, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insiders Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996.

Until becoming Secretary of Defense, Dr. Gates served as Chairman of the Independent Trustees of The Fidelity Funds, the nation's largest mutual fund company, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc. and Parker Drilling Company, Inc.

Dr. Gates has also served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Council on Education, the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. He has also been President of the National Eagle Scout Association.

A native of Kansas, Secretary Gates received his bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary, his master's degree in history from Indiana University, and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University.

In 1967 he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served as an intelligence officer at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

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LineInTheSand said:

Total of how many years? I forget. I guess it's important to remember that the Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award, by no where near the Medal of Honor.

How do you think Gates has shown more dedicated service than past secretaries of any kind? Past Sec. of Transportation and Commerce served two presidents, was a Congressman, and served in the U.S. Army...don't remember him getting an award. They both manage policy, personnel and budgets.

Click to expand...