Quotes from Robert M. Gates

The Department of Defense is structured to plan and prepare for war but not to fight one.

The more frequently you intrude, implicitly reminding them it is your change, the less they will believe it is theirs. Successful implementation, in short, depends upon them. The leader cannot hold individuals accountable for driving change if he refuses to let go of the steering wheel. He must trust his subordinates, replace them if necessary. But he mustn't micromanage them.

Soon afterward I visited the U.S. military hospital at Landstuhl, Germany, where nearly all wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan were sent before returning stateside. I was told I was the only secretary of defense to visit that hospital since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

looked into Putin's eyes and, just as I expected, had seen a stone-cold killer.

others—angled for oil contracts and

the command and control "is ugly, but it works on the ground." Actually, it didn't. This problem would not fully be resolved until the summer of 2010, nearly nine years after the war started.

A final, and critical, technique for implementing change is ensuring follow-through.

It was one thing for the country and much of the executive branch of government not to feel involved in the war, but for the DoD—the "department of war"—that was unacceptable.

very size and structure of the department assured ponderousness, if not paralysis, because so many different organizations had to be involved in even the smallest decisions.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was explicit about the importance of presidents "persuading, leading, sacrificing, teaching always, because the greatest duty of a statesman is to educate.

Army had solicited ideas for a better armored vehicle—to sell to the Iraqis, not for U.S. use.

exhausted people do not make the best decisions.

I was offended by his suspicion that any of us would ever write about such sensitive matters.

Ultimately, we would buy some 27,000 MRAPs, including thousands of a new all-terrain version for Afghanistan, at a total cost of nearly $40 billion. The investment saved countless lives and limbs. Over time, casualty rates in MRAPs were roughly 75 percent lower than they were in Humvees, and less than half those in Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting

But I knew damn well that our troops were being burned and blown up in Humvees well before I became secretary and that had they been in MRAPs, many soldiers would have escaped injury or death.

I have always believed that firing someone or asking for a resignation should be carried out face-to-face by the one making the decision. (The only two presidents I had worked for who were willing to do this were Ford and Carter.)

Leaders can—and, when necessary, must—level tough criticism at individuals, but due regard for their dignity requires doing it in private, not adding embarrassment and humiliation to the equation. Criticism, done privately, is far more likely to bring about constructive change. "Praise in public, criticize in private," as the saying goes.

Russia had the opportunity to take a different path that would have been far better for its people and the world, but Vladimir Putin chose otherwise.

There was so much heat and so little light in the debate that I thought a cooling-off period would be beneficial. And so I punted the contract decision to my successor. To my great dismay, I would end up receiving my own punt.

To quote President Harry Truman, "Always be nice to all the people who can't talk back to you. I can't stand a man or woman who bawls out underlings to satisfy

One of the enduring lessons of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union is that lasting change in a country will come only from within, though it can be encouraged and hastened through the use over time of nonmilitary instruments of power.

The world knows nearly instantly of our military actions abroad, but we seem to think the selfless actions we take aren't worth publicizing effectively. That is not how a country best builds or exercises power.

A successful leader, and especially one leading change, treats each member of his team with respect and dignity.

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