[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 51 (Monday, December 25, 2006)]
[Pages 2179-2180]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Swearing-In Ceremony for Robert M. Gates as Secretary of 
Defense in Arlington, Virginia

December 18, 2006

    Thank you all. I'm pleased to join you here at the Pentagon. We're 
here to congratulate Bob Gates on becoming our Nation's 22d Secretary of 
the Defense.
    Bob Gates entered public service 40 years ago. He is an experienced 
and thoughtful leader. He has got a track record of steering large 
organizations through change and transformation. I know Bob Gates will 
be an outstanding Secretary of the Defense.
    I want to thank Bob's wife, Becky, and their family and their many 
friends who are with us here today. I appreciate the fact that the Vice 
President is here to administer the oath. I want to thank the members of 
my Cabinet who have joined us in welcoming a new member to the Cabinet. 
I appreciate so very much Senator John Warner and Senator Carl Levin for 
joining us. I thank the other Members of the United States Congress who 
are with us today, not the least of whom is my Congressman, Chet 
Edwards, from central Texas. [Laughter] I suspect he's here because of 
the Texas A&M connection. [Laughter]
    I want to thank Deputy Secretary England for joining us. I thank Dr. 
Harvey and Dr. Winter and Michael Wynne, Secretaries of the Army, Navy, 
and Air Force, for joining us here today. I appreciate so very much 
General Pete Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and his wife, Lynne, as 
well as the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I thank our 
distinguished guests.
    Most importantly, I thank those who wear our uniform. This has got 
to be an exciting

[[Page 2180]]

time for Bob Gates. I can't tell you what an honor it is to be the 
Commander in Chief of unbelievably fine people, and I suspect he will 
share that same sense of enthusiasm as the Secretary of the Defense.
    The job of Secretary of Defense is one of the most important 
positions in our Government. The Secretary must understand the 
challenges of the present and see the threats of the future and find the 
best ways to prepare our Armed Forces to meet them.
    We are a nation at war. And I rely on our Secretary of Defense to 
provide me with the best possible advice and to help direct our Nation's 
Armed Forces as they engage the enemies of freedom around the world. Bob 
Gates is the right man to take on these challenges. He'll be an 
outstanding leader for our men and women in uniform, and he's going to 
make our Nation proud.
    Bob is a man of vision, integrity, and extensive experience. In 
1966, Bob began his rise from an entry-level position at the Central 
Intelligence Agency to become its director. During his years of public 
service, Bob Gates has worked under six Presidents from both parties. He 
spent nearly 9 years at the White House working on the National Security 
Council staff. He's amassed nearly 30 years of experience in national 
security matters. Bob Gates's lifetime of preparation will serve him 
well as the Secretary of Defense.
    Bob follows a superb leader at the Department of Defense. For nearly 
6 years, Don Rumsfeld has served with exceptional strength and energy at 
a time of challenge and change, and he produced impressive results. 
During his tenure, he developed a new defense strategy, established a 
new command structure of our Armed Forces, helped transform the NATO 
Alliance, took ballistic missile defense from theory to reality, and 
undertook the most sweeping transformation of America's global defense 
posture since the start of the cold war. He led our Armed Forces with 
determination and distinction. And on Friday at the Pentagon, the men 
and women he led showed their admiration and devotion to him. I want to 
thank Don Rumsfeld for his service, and I wish him and his family all 
the very best.
    As Bob Gates raises his hand and takes the oath of office, he does 
so at a time of great consequence for our Nation. He knows the stakes in 
the war on terror. He recognizes this is a long struggle against an 
enemy unlike any our Nation has fought before. He understands that 
defeating the terrorists and the radicals and the extremists in Iraq and 
the Middle East is essential to leading toward peace.
    As Secretary of Defense, he will help our country forge a new way 
forward in Iraq so that we can help the Iraqis achieve our shared goal 
of a unified democratic Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself, and 
defend itself and be an ally in our struggle against extremists and 
radicals.
    Bob Gates is a talented and innovative leader who brings a fresh 
perspective to the Department of Defense. I'm pleased that he's answered 
the call to serve our Nation again. He has my trust and my confidence, 
and he has the gratitude and the prayers of the American people.
    And so I look forward to working with Bob Gates. I congratulate you, 
sir. I appreciate you taking on this job. And now I'm going to ask the 
Vice President to administer the oath of office for our Nation's 22d 
Secretary of Defense.

Note: The President spoke at 1:22 p.m. at the Pentagon. The transcript 
released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks 
of Secretary of Defense Gates. The Office of the Press Secretary also 
released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.