Community members will soon have a chance to hear former U.S. Secretary of Defense and current William & Mary Chancellor Robert M. Gates speak about his new book: “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War.”
As a part of the College’s Charter Day weekend, Gates will make brief introductory remarks at 1:30 p.m. at Swem Library on Feb. 8. before fielding questions from the audience. Gates will then be available to sign copies of his new book.
His book, published earlier this month, is a candid account of his time serving under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The memoirs, written from Gates’ lakeside home north of Seattle, gives detailed insight into important negotiations, iconic public figures and critical situations during his tenure.
“This is a book about my more than four and a half years at war,” Gates wrote in the introduction. “It is, of course, principally about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where initial victories in both countries were squandered by mistakes, shortsightedness and conflict in the field as well as in Washington, leading to long, brutal campaigns to avert strategic defeat. It is about the war against al Qaeda and Osama bin laden, those responsible for our national tragedy on September 11, 2001.”
To write the book, Gates used personal papers associated with his term as Secretary of Defense, materials he announced he will donate to the college along with personal papers from his time working for the CIA, National Security Council and Texas A&M. There is no classified information in the set, which includes handwritten notes, photographs and other accumulated materials.
Gates retired in 2011 as the only person in American history to serve as Secretary of Defense for presidents of two different political parties.
After his retirement, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama, the highest honor the president can give to a civilian. During his time working for the nation, Gates also received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, Presidential Citizens Medal, the National Security Medal and he’s a three-time recipient of the the highest award possible from the CIA: the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.
Gates started working for the CIA in 1966, continuing at the agency for nearly 27 years and becoming CIA Director in 1991. Gates left his post as director in 1993 to lecture at different universities around the country before becoming dean of the Bush school of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M, where he later became president. In 2006, he returned to Washington as the 22nd U.S. Secretary of Defense.
The Feb. 8 event is free and open to the public. A college press release says those wanting to attend must RSVP to [email protected] by Feb. 5.
