Robert M. Gates. Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014.
When Robert Gates stepped down as U.S. Secretary of Defense in 2011, he claimed that he was worn out: “…too tired for this stuff.” [Actually, he didn’t say “stuff.”] He had served two consecutive administrations in that position for a total of 4 ½ years, and every day of that period he was engaged in some form of warfare. Certainly the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan drew the most notoriety, but Gates felt that he was constantly battling with the Pentagon, Congress, the White House, and even his own Department of Defense. “…getting anything done was so damnably difficult….From the bureaucratic inaction and complexity of the Pentagon to internal conflicts with the executive branch, the partisan abyss in Congress on every issue…, the single-minded parochial self-interest of so many members of Congress, and the magnetic pull…of the White House and the NSS…to bring everything under their control and micromanagement … made every issue a source of conflict and stress.”
This memoir, focusing almost entirely upon Gates’s tenure as Secretary of Defense, exudes powerful emotions. He reluctantly left his comfortable and fulfilling position of president at Texas A &M University, unable to resist the call to duty—the obligation to serve his nation disturbingly enmeshed in two conflicts which it was neither winning nor losing. He gives the impression of having constantly held back his true feelings as he raged inwardly at managerial incompetence and self-service. Throughout his tenure, he passionately and steadfastly focused on two areas: the overall mission and the welfare and support of our services’ men and women.
Even in his confirmation hearings, Gates was “dismayed that in the middle of fighting two wars,…parochial issues were…high on [both parties’] list.” The government’s atmosphere was darkened by very personal attacks by senators from both sides against President Bush ’43 and his administration. “Washington had become a war zone, and it would be my battle space.” Highest on his list of challenges was streamlining or bypassing the bureaucratic obstacles that restricted support for our troops. Even though it was clear to Pentagon and Department of Defense officials that Humvees were deathtraps because of their vulnerability to landmines and i.e.d.’s, nothing was happening with the pleas for improvements. Gates pushed through the previously stalled orders for 27,000 MRAP’s (mine-resistant vehicles), thus greatly reducing the number of casualties. When he learned that military leaders had determined it acceptable that medevac pickups averaged an hour longer in Afghanistan than they did in Iraq, he demanded that procedures be upgraded. He cut ruthlessly into the military establishment responsible for not addressing the deplorable accommodations for the wounded at Walter Reed Hospital.
Gates discusses the strained relationships between the military and both the legislative and executive branches. Mistrust was evident on all sides as military and political objectives often did not dovetail. Problems worsened when, much to Gates’s chagrin, some top-level military men turned to the news media and magazines to air their criticisms of and frustrations with the White House and the Department of Defense. Gates airs his frustrations with congressmen who disrupt the annual budget process as they lobby for “cash cows” which might benefit their states economically, but which have minimal use for the unconventional wars being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of the weaponry needed in the Cold War years is of little use in the present conflicts. Also, the White House staff was given to micromanaging, often leaving military experts and the Defense Department out of the decision-making.
The former cabinet member assesses many of the people with whom he worked; of course, his evaluations are colored by the extent to which he and the various individuals agreed on policies, philosophies, funding, strategies, and tactics. Though President Bush was a prime target for critics in the legislature, the media, and the general public, Gates found him to be a deep-thinking, courageous man-of-action, especially when he overruled military leaders and both political parties by ordering the surge into Iraq, which finally turned the tide of the war. Gates’s observation of President Obama is that the leader is an intelligent man who is too easily swayed by those around him—because he lacks passion for the missions in the two wars. Gates laments having to be heavy-handed in dealing with several high-ranking officers in each of the services. Politics squelched many of his recommendations for special appointments, such as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He fired commanders ruthlessly—though sometimes with pangs of conscience—if they failed to support the armed forces’ overall mission, or if they lacked the imagination and initiative to develop tactics to fight non-traditional warfare. Gates’s harshest words are for the Congress. He dreaded the annual battle of the budget. He hated arguing over necessary items that should have been obvious, and he objected to the continuation of funding for many projects which were obsolete in non-conventional fighting. He was bitterly disappointed by the rudeness and incivility with which he was grilled by senators and representatives on the appropriations committees. He found the majority of congressmen to be “…uncivil, incompetent in fulfilling basic constitutional responsibilities (such as timely appropriations), micromanagerial, parochial, egotistical, thin-skinned, often putting self (and re-election) before country….”
Having joined the Bush administration as Secretary of Defense, Gates’s first fight had been over Iraq. His last fight during the Obama administration was over Afghanistan. “My entire tenure was framed by war.” In retrospect, he believes that his greatest accomplishment was upgrading the situation of men and women in uniform. He insured that they had better and safer equipment; he set up channels to bypass the bureaucracy which caused disgraceful delays in equipping our troops; he fought to improve the treatment of wounded warriors both by expediting medevac procedures and by upgrading the environment of hospitals for the convalescing wounded; he strove to insure that the survivors of deceased warriors received compassionate, considerate, respectful care and support.
Time will allow historians to judge the extent of Gates’s accomplishments and admitted failures or shortcomings. What cannot be called into question is his patriotism. He could not ignore his call to serve his country; he left the comfort of an exciting, energizing, and rewarding position to be placed in one of Washington’s hottest seats, pressured by the tensions of two failing wars, political hostilities, bureaucratic roadblocks, and general administrative inefficiency. He served because it was his duty.
Ted Odenwald and his wife, Shirley have lived in Oakland for 43 years. He taught HS English at Glen Rock High School for all of those years plus one more. Now he is enjoying time spent with his family, singing in the North Jersey Chorus and quenching his wanderlust. Ted is also the Worship Leader at the Ramapo Valley Baptist Church in Oakland.