Gates

This is coolbert:

“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.” - - T. Roosevelt.

From an interview with Secretary of Defense [SECDEF] Robert Gates in Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing magazine:

“Three elements of [a] support structure that I’ve [Gates] made my top management priority as [SECDEF]”:

1. “Sending more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets to Iraq and Afghanistan.”

2. “Providing troops the best possible protection on dangerous roads in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

3. “Improving outpatient care and support for our wounded.”

With regard to # 1 these are primarily assets of the UAV type.

“Since 2001, the total of UAV’s has increased 25-fold to more than 5000.”

With regard to # 2, these are primarily the MRAP vehicles. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle. Buffalo and variants thereof.

Additionally with regard to MRAP, according to Gates:

“In under a year, production has soared from 10 vehicles per month to over 1200 . . . In fact, the last time American industry moved from concept to full-rate military production of a major piece of equipment was World War Two [WW2]”

And finally, with regard to # 3, this of course was the scandal of outpatient care given to wounded returning troops at Walter Reed hospital. This too, has been addressed!!

Care of wounded has been a difficult task since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Wounded are suffering from traumatic head wounds of a severe nature and amputations of limbs on a scale not foreseen! The weaponry [IED, EFP] employed by the terrorist/insurgent has made this so! The use of advanced medical equipment and treatment options, prosthesis, etc., has gone a long way to ameliorate suffering and hasten rehab. Still, the task is difficult!

Robert Gates, surprisingly to some, has become more than a caretaker as SECDEF. Really has shown some moxie and gumption! So it seems.

"mox·ie - - 1. vigor; verve; pep. 2. courage and aggressiveness; nerve. 3. skill; know-how."

"gump·tion - - 1. initiative; aggressiveness; resourcefulness: 2. courage; spunk; guts: 3. common sense; shrewdness."

coolbert.