Secretary Of Defense Gates Unleashed

LUNCHTIME WAVE - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates gives a wave to Air Force Academy cadets having lunch break in Mitchell Hall after he taught classes as part of the Capstone Seminar at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 4, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison

Not Mincing Words -- Slate

On his way out the door, Robert Gates gives the military some refreshingly frank advice.

And so it seems, Robert Gates really will be leaving the Pentagon soon.

He's been going around to the military academies—West Point last week, the Air Force Academy today, Annapolis sometime soon—bidding farewell to the cadets, pointedly noting at the start of each speech that it will be his "final" address to them as secretary of defense. But Gates is not indulging in valedictory bromides. He's using the occasions to lay out his vision of what each branch—and each future officer—of the U.S. armed forces must do, and not do, to meet the threats of the 21st century.

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My Comment: It is obvious that he is on the way out, and unless the president tells him otherwise .... he will be gone by the end of the year. But for the moment .... he is being very frank and blunt in his speeches, and for me that is a refreshing experience.