COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Former Texas A&M President and U.S. Secretary of Defense, Dr. Robert Gates, returned to campus to speak at the Memorial Student Center Student Conference on National Affairs.
Gates addressed cadets and others about growing challenges facing America and why he thinks young leaders are more important than ever.
“I think we actually are living in the most perilous time the country has faced in its entire modern history, and for several different reasons,” Gates said.
He pointed not to foreign enemies, but to challenges at home. He said America’s biggest problems are domestic- like national debt and immigration- with the government’s own limitations preventing solutions.
“The weakness of the Congress and the inability of the Congress to tackle these big issues that really have huge consequences for the future of our country,” he said.
Gates added to recent headlines about military affairs, saying tension between presidents and military leaders is nothing new.
“The relationship between the president and his senior military officers is always a delicate dance,” Gates said.
With an ever-changing political environment, his message to students wasn’t one of fear, but a call to action.
“I think in a world as complicated as the one we are in now, and it’s only going to get more so, having young people come into public service who have fresh eyes, fresh perspectives, and technical skills that their elders don’t have is critically important,” Gates said.
He ended the fireside chat on a personal note, saying he has no regrets except having left Texas A&M.
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