Air Force Academy commencement

US Department of Defense Speeches, May 30, 2007

Remarks as delivered by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Colorado springs, Colorado, Wednesday, May 30, 2007.

Thank you, Secretary Wynne.

General Moseley, Senator Bunning. Distinguished guests, members of the public, leaders of the Air Force--past, present, and future.

One of the great advantages of being Secretary of Defense is that I have many opportunities to interact with our military's top leaders--and I even have quite a few opportunities to pay tribute to them publicly when they retire of move on to new commands.

I don't, however, have nearly as many chances to pay tribute to our nation's youngest leaders--to thank them for their service. So I am grateful for the chance to thank the Class of 2007 [applause] for their choice.

And I am particularly honored to be able to say to the Class of 2007 [applause]: Congratulations on this achievement! You've certainly earned it.

I presided over 39 commencement ceremonies as president of Texas A&M University. One thing I learned from 39 commencement addresses: keep it short. [Laughter, applause] Because to paraphrase President Abraham Lincoln, "you will little note nor long remember" what is said here today.

George Bernard Shaw once told a speaker he had 15 minutes to speak. The speaker replied, "15 minutes? How can I tell them all I know in 15 minutes?" Shaw responded, "I advise you to speak very slowly." [Laughter] I'11 try to speak quickly.

On the way out here, my Air Force pilots had a chance to give me a few minor suggestions for my speech.

They said that I should definitely mention Billy Mitchell and Curtis LeMay and Hap Arnold.

And Eddie Rickenbacker and Dick Bong and Steve Ritchie.

And the Doolittle Raiders and the Flying Tigers and the Tuskegee Airmen.

And even Old Chicago's and Phantom Canyon and Hap's Place. [Applause] I told them I wasn't sure if I could work them all in, but I'd do my best. They responded by telling me they weren't sure if they could avoid heavy turbulence on the flight home, but they'd certainly do their best. [Laughter]

I was commissioned as an Air Force second lieutenant in 1966. By that time, the importance of air power was an accepted fact. But people forget that it wasn't always so.

In the early 1900s, right after the dawn of flight, other services had no great love of airplanes. The cavalry in particular was opposed to their use, because they were afraid the planes would scare the horses.

The intellectuals weren't much better. In 1908, one of the nation's leading astronomers wrote in the trade magazine Aeronautics that--and I quote--"another popular fallacy is to suppose that flying machines could be used to drop dynamite on an enemy in [a] time of war."

Even the guys who invented the airplane had their share of trouble. On a test flight for an Army contract, Orville Wright took to the skies with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, who served on the Army's contract board.

After a few minutes in the air, disaster struck and the plane crashed to the ground. Lieutenant Selfridge's last words were, "Take this damn thing off my back." [Laughter]

I should note that the Wright brothers eventually got the Army contract.

Since then and throughout the 60-year history of the Air Force, Americans have stood in awe as airmen pushed the limits of technology and courage. Airmen have crashed through the sound barrier many times over, and extended the range, scope, and nature of air missions beyond what anyone could have imagined--to the point of running 7,000-mile B-2 bombing sorties in Iraq from Whiteman Air Force Base, where I was assigned to a Minuteman missile wing more than 40 years ago.

It is upon this great tradition of technological innovation that the Air Force was formed, and it is this great legacy of personal courage that lives within each and every graduate of this institution.

Four years ago you joined the Air Force Academy as lowly fourth classmen. Today you leave as officers in the United States Air Force the sword and shield of the United States [applause], its sentries and its avengers.

So it's not an easy path. You are one of the first classes to begin the arduous process of application to the Academy since September 11th. You knew the dangers of the world you were entering, but you still chose to step forward. You still chose to embark on the journey that brings us here today.

Along the way, you learned a tremendous amount about the Air Force--its history, its traditions, its great personalities, its evolution, its future.

But, just as important, you learned a tremendous amount about yourselves. About your commitment. About your endurance. About what it takes to be a leader.

There were also many successful ventures outside the classroom from setting a world record for a free-fall formation, to having the best basketball season in the Academy's history [applause], to learning about the dangers of dancing alone in your dorm room [laughter, applause] if your roommate happens to own a video camera. And yes, I've seen the video. Don't give up your day job.