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COPYRIGHT 2008 U.S. Department of Defense Speeches
As Delivered by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Fort Bliss Officers' Club, Fort Bliss, TX, Thursday, May 01, 2008
Thank you, General Bromberg, for that kind introduction. Mayor Cook and Mayor Reinhardt, I appreciate your joining us this evening as well.
Let me begin by thanking Congressman Reyes for the invitation to speak here. I am told he could not be here this evening and has sent a representative in his place. Nonetheless, I wanted to recognize the congressman, who has been and continues to be a long-time friend to those in uniform.
It is great to be back in Texas. We are exactly 691 miles from College Station - although a good part of El Paso may be in College Station--where I spent a few days. I spent four-and-a-half wonderful years as president of Texas A&M. I have a feeling that there are some Aggies with us today.
One of the many things I've missed is the fact that out here, football--whether it's Aggies, Miners, Long Horns, or other teams--is practically a form of organized religion. One of my first acts as president of Texas A&M was to fire the football coach. I later told the press that as CIA director, I had overthrown the governments of medium-sized countries with less controversy.
Being the president of a huge university is its own challenge. I used to wonder while I was there whether it was scarier to be responsible for several thousand clandestine agents operating around the world, or 45,000 18- to 25-year olds with too much time on their hands. Now of course, I lead nearly a million...
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