- Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:47 am
#39311
Chuck Hagel JapanThe room was full of very intelligent Army Officers, imagine their horror that their lives depend on Hagel's decisions. One Officer pointed out "It's almost as if he thought he was talking to a MSNBC reporter, not a senior U.S. military officer."
Photo - Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks to U.S. military personnel upon his arrival at the Yokota Air Base on the outskirts of Tokyo on Saturday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks to U.S. military personnel upon his arrival at the Yokota...
When a colonel at Yakota Air Base in Japan asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to identify his biggest challenge, Hagel replied with a politically-correct word salad that didn't exactly answer the question and left everyone in the room confused as to what he was trying to say.
"I think, as everyone in this room who has responsibilities for leadership, and you all do, at different levels, you know in the end, that's all that matters, is how you leave. Is the institution better and stronger than you found it, and that's why I have built the greatest Department of Defense, I think, in history," Hagel replied. "And I know every country feels the same way about their institutions."
"So when you ask the question about what is my biggest challenge, I see my job as — yes, a lot of challenges, yes a lot, but also a lot of opportunities, with challenges" he continued. "Challenges come with the territory, a lot of them. You all know that. I don't know of anyone's life that's without challenges, regardless of their professional career, but that's the history of our world. When you really isolate down on the responsibilities of the secretary of defense, first, the responsibilities and the challenges are large in scope. I hope I answered your question. "
