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Obama Awards Gates Presidential Medal of Freedom
(July 3, 2011) |
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President Barack Obama presents Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at
the Armed Forces Farewell Tribute to honor Gates at the Pentagon,
June 30, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad
J. McNeeley
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WASHINGTON, June 30, 2011 – The life of Defense Secretary Robert M.
Gates is a lesson to young Americans that public service is an
honorable calling, one that makes the nation better and stronger,
President Barack Obama said today.
During a farewell tribute
ceremony for Gates at the Pentagon, Obama reviewed Gates'
accomplishments during the past four-and-a-half years.
“I can
think of no better way to express my appreciation to someone I have
come to admire and whom I consider a friend,” Obama said. “I can
think of no better way to express the gratitude of the nation for
Bob Gates than with a very special recognition.”
With that,
he presented Gates the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest
honor a president can award a civilian. |
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“Robert M. Gates has selflessly dedicated his life to
ensuring the security of the American people,” the citation
read. “He has served eight presidents of both parties with
unwavering patriotism.”
During the ceremony, Obama
recounted the highlights of Gates' impact during his tenure
at the Pentagon.
When the outcome of the Iraq war was
in doubt, Obama said, Gates presided over the efforts that
helped restore order.
“Over the past two-and-a-half
years, we've removed more than 100,000 troops from Iraq,
ended our combat mission and are responsibly ending that
war,” the president said.
When the fight against
al-Qaida and the nation's efforts in Afghanistan needed a
new focus, Obama said, Gates helped the administration
devise the strategy that put al-Qaida on a path to defeat.
When institutional inertia kept funding systems the
troops didn't need, the president said, Gates launched a war
on waste, “... speaking hard truths and saving hundreds of
billions of dollars that can be invested in the 21st-century
military.”
Gates “made it his mission to make sure
this department is serving our troops in the field as well
as they serve us,” Obama added.
“We see the
lifesaving difference he made in the mine-resistant vehicles
and the unmanned aircraft, the shorter medevac times in
Afghanistan, [and] in our determination to give our wounded
warriors the world-class care they deserve,” Obama said of
Gates.
Gates' greatest legacy, the president said,
may be “the lives you saved and the confidence you gave our
men and women in battle,” who knew there was a secretary of
defense who had their backs, loved them and fought for them,
and did everything in his power to bring them home safely.
Gates' willingness to serve under presidents of both
parties is a measure of his integrity, Obama said, and “a
reminder, especially to folks here in Washington, that
civility and respectful discourse and citizenship over
partisanship are not quaint relics of a bygone era.”
As commander in chief, Obama said he is determined that the
U.S. armed forces, despite the need to make hard fiscal
choices, will always remain the best-trained, best-led,
best-equipped fighting force in history.
“In an
uncertain world that demands our leadership, the United
States of America and our armed forces will remain the
greatest force for freedom and security that the world has
ever known,” the president said.
“This is the
America, strong and confident,” Obama said, “to which Bob
Gates has devoted his life.” | |
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2011
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