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Gates urges grads to enter public service

ATHENS, Ga. — Defense Secretary Robert Gates told University of Georgia graduates they don’t have to join the military to serve their country and urged them Friday to consider careers in government.

Gates, clad in purple and gray robes, barely mentioned the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as he addressed more than 1,000 UGA graduates and their families.

Instead, the former CIA director expounded on the virtues of public service despite an often thankless public perception of government bureaucrats.

“These uncertain and difficult times also present singular opportunities to do the most good for our fellow Americans, to choose a life of service to your community and your country,” Gates said. “To serve our country, you don’t need to be deployed to a war zone or a Third World country.”

The most Gates commented on the wars overseas came later during brief remarks before he swore in eight ROTC cadets as new Army and Air Force officers during a commissioning ceremony at the campus chapel.

He noted that America has now been at war for almost a decade with an all-volunteer military.

“These are not easy times or safe times,” Gates said. “And very shortly you could be placed in harm’s way. Your leadership and your character will be tested.”

One man carried a sign that said “PEACE” outside the morning graduation ceremony Stegeman Coliseum, but otherwise there were no anti-war protesters as graduates and parents filed inside on a gray morning with chilly rain.

A looming football rivalry did, however, make Gates the target of a some good-natured teasing.

Before becoming defense secretary in 2006, Gates spent four years as president of Texas A&M University — and the Aggies happen to be facing the Georgia Bulldogs in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28.

Bobby Rowe, a graduating senior chosen as the student graduation speaker, couldn’t pass up the chance to direct a joke at Gates, who sat next to him on the stage.

“What’s the difference between an Aggie and a Rice Krispy?” Rowe asked the crowd. “A Rice Krispy knows what to do in a bowl.”

Gates laughed but didn’t return the taunt when he stepped to the podium after Rowe.

“When I was president of A&M,” he said, “I always arranged that I spoke before the student speaker.”