Remarks of Robert M. Gates
Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets | Nov. 13, 2026
Howdy!
It is good to be back home. I may live far away, but no matter where I go, my heart is always here in Aggieland.
It is always a privilege to speak to the Corps. Thank you for being here although, as I would tell the cadets and midshipmen at the service academies, I am fully aware your presence is not entirely voluntary! Bearing in mind that it is late on a Friday afternoon, there is Yell Practice tonight and tomorrow is a big game, I will keep my remarks to about 20 minutes.
I am on campus for the announcement tomorrow of the Texas Armed Services Scholarships you have just heard about. I am honored beyond words to have these scholarships named for myself and my longtime great friend and Corps of Cadets advocate Neal Adams, ’68.
Much has changed in the twenty years since I stepped down as president of A&M to become secretary of defense overseeing two wars. Over nearly five years. Change here has been pervasive, as it should be in a great university.
While Texas A&M is always changing, what is it that stays the same? A&M is a unique American institution because its excellence is built on the firm foundation of time-honored and proven values – and treasured traditions.
The Aggie culture is grounded in patriotism; religious faith; love of family; loyalty to one another; excellence; an old-fashioned work ethic; leadership and a sense of duty; the importance of service to others and to our country; respect for others; and a shared belief in the supreme importance of character and integrity. It was because of these values and Texas A&M’s extraordinary service to the nation, that I came here to be president in 2002.
Aggies treasure tradition even while leading in shaping the future of America. Texas A&M’s future is bright because it is anchored in a magnificent 150-year history. This great American university was built by men with rough hands, most from poor families, men who came here, often with little more than the shirts on their backs. But with the determination and grit to succeed.
As the decades passed, they developed traditions that would forever keep alive the deep bond with each other cemented by hard work, sacrifice, sweat and camaraderie. Those 19th century traditions – Corps of Cadets traditions – remain the foundation of the Aggie Spirit in the 21st century.
Virtually all Aggie traditions have a common theme: the Aggie Family. Silver Taps, the 12th Man, Midnight Yell, “Howdy”, Aggie Ring, the Big Event, Fish Camp, until the tragedy in 1999, Bonfire and, above all, Muster. All these traditions are about keeping alive the deep bonds of friendship and affection born here during student days. The same bonds so important to Aggies from the university’s first days. Bonds that link the newest fish to the oldest former students, bonds that link all the generations of Aggies who walked these treasured grounds over the past 150 years.
While the Corps of Cadets comprises only a small percentage of students at Texas A&M, it took me no time at all to understand that it is the Corps and its traditions that represent the beating heart of this university; it is the Corps that even in 2026 makes A&M a unique American institution.
And so, one of my highest priorities during the years I was president here was to protect the Corps, to find money to enhance recruitment and to fund scholarships. From my first days as president until the present, the Corps has always had a special place in my heart.
When I first arrived at A&M, I was given a board with the words “Return with Honor” burned into it. I gave it to the then corps commander and for the last nearly quarter of a century it has hung in the corps commander’s office, and every succeeding corps commander has signed it. I was deeply touched when the Corps Arches were rebuilt that those words were embedded on one of the pillars — ensuring that every day when leaving the quad, you cadets would see those words “Return with Honor.”
Having been the president of Texas A&M made being secretary of defense in a time of war more difficult. I presided over my last commencement here on December 15, 2006. Four days later I was in Iraq as secretary of defense. I could not help but contrast walking this campus and seeing thousands of students 18 to 25 years old in t-shirts and shorts and backpacks on the way to class and then, days later, walking a forward operating base in Iraq and seeing thousands of young Americans the same age as the students here but in full body armor, carrying assault rifles and putting their lives on the line. Or seeing them in hospitals grieviously wounded or receiving them home one last time. There were more than a few to whom, as president of A&M, I handed them their diplomas and watched them get commissioned here, and then only a short time later, as secretary, I would sign the orders deploying them to war zones and finally too often write condolence letters to their parents or spouses.
As in all of our nation’s wars since 1876, Aggies have served and are serving with distinction in today’s wars. They remember where they came from. I want to share with you an email an Aggie on the front lines in Kuwait sent to a friend here on campus just prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He was class of 2000 and serving as a first lieutenant in the 101st Airborne. He wrote the following to his friend in Aggieland:
“There are several reasons why I am here, now, getting ready to do what I am about to do. I have talked to my family; I have talked to my friends; I haven’t yet talked to anyone at my school. There is something different about being here after having gone through those experiences unique to Aggieland…
He continued, “A&M has a special way of putting you in your place. I certainly don’t mean that in a bad way. You truly become part of something bigger than yourself, you realize the dependence each of us has on one another…going through the Corps of Cadets is, to this day, the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. And, to this day, it is the most valuable experience of my life. Learning that leadership is all about relationships, and trust, and values, things many young people don’t learn in other places. These are valuable lessons. As I come to understand the ramifications of what I do, that is, train to commit violence on behalf of the American people, I realize that it is exactly those values I learned at Texas A&M that I can rely on.
“As sophomores in the Corps, we were always told to love our fish. If I had one thing to say to the commissionees in this year’s graduating class, I would tell them, above all else, love their soldiers, marines and airmen. My soldiers are my heroes. They come from across the country. They grew up without the benefits I had in my life. For one reason or another, they serve the people of the United States of America every day. Their routine and sacrifices are the bedrock and foundation of what makes this country safe. I am humbled every day by the sacrifices they make…
He concluded, “So, as this campaign gets set to begin, I would like to thank you for what Texas A&M has gifted me. I pray that, as things begin, the prayers of the faculty, staff and students are with the brave young men and women who serve in the armed forces. A&M, as an institution, has done a great service to this country in the manner in which it serves the nation.
“Again, I ask for your prayers for my heroes. Lord willing, we will all be home soon. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing my buddies on the high ground.”
Twenty-three years after that email was sent, I must tell you, the Corps of Cadets, that I believe Americans today face a more perilous world than perhaps we have ever confronted. There are two major wars underway; for the first time we face nuclear-armed aggressive adversaries in both Europe and Asia, which soon together will have nearly twice as many deployed strategic nuclear weapons as we do; for the first time in our modern history, in China we confront an opponent with far more manufacturing capacity than we have, technology that is comparable to our own, is the largest trading partner with more than 120 countries, and has a formidable and growing military. And all this at a time when our country is deeply divided.
In short, we live at a pivotal moment in history. While many witness history, those of you who will be commissioned as officers have a place in history. Soon, you will join the long line of Aggie patriots in a noble calling. By your service, you will have a chance to leave your mark on history. But all of you in the Corps, whether you commission or not, need to make your mark on history. Because of your experience in the Corps, you will all be leaders whatever your walk of life.
Sixty-one years ago, I graduated from college and committed to public service. In the decades since – in the Air Force, at CIA, in the White House and at the Pentagon – I served under eight presidents and had the opportunity to observe many leaders along the way. From this experience I have learned that real leadership is a rare and precious commodity, and requires qualities that many people might possess to varying degrees but few exhibit in total.
So, as you carry out leadership roles on campus and in the Corps today, and assume leadership roles after you graduate, I would like to conclude my remarks with some thoughts on the necessary qualities of leadership for you to consider.
First, a leader must have vision, be someone who acts as a guide, someone who shows the way. Be someone who sees possibilities and looks for opportunities. Be someone who sees past problems and is always looking for ways to take your outfit to a higher level of excellence. A leader must see what others do not or cannot and then be prepared to act on that vision.
An additional quality necessary for leadership is deep conviction. True leadership is a fire in the mind that transforms all who feel its warmth, that transfixes all who see its shining light in the eyes of a man or woman. It is a strength of purpose and belief in a cause that reaches out to others, touches their hearts and inspires them to follow.
Self-confidence is still another quality of leadership. Not the chest-thumping, strutting egotism we see and read about all the time. Rather, it is the quiet self-assurance that allows a leader to give others both real responsibility and real credit for success. The ability to stand in the shadow and let others receive attention and accolades. A leader is decisive but then delegates and trusts others to make things happen. A self-confident leader doesn’t cast such a large shadow that no one else can grow.
A further quality of leadership is courage, not just physical courage as on the battlefield, but moral courage. The courage to chart a new course; the courage to do what is right and not what is popular; the courage to stand alone; the courage to speak truth to power.
Another essential quality of leadership is integrity. Without this, I believe real leadership is not possible. Nowadays, it seems like integrity – or honor or character – is kind of quaint, a curious, old-fashioned notion. We read and hear about too many successful and intelligent people in and out of government who succumb to the easy wrong rather than the hard right, whether from inattention or a sense of entitlement, or they believe the rules are not for them. But, for a real leader, personal virtues – self-reliance, self-control, honor, truthfulness, morality – are absolute. These are the building blocks of character, of integrity – and only on that foundation can real leadership be built. Only on those building blocks can a leader develop the moral authority that makes people want to follow you, even at significant personal risk.
A final quality of leadership, I believe, is simply common decency, treating those around you – and, above all, your subordinates – with fairness and respect. An acid test of leadership is how you treat those you outrank, or as President Truman once said, “how you treat those who can’t talk back.”
Whatever your organization, use your authority over others for constructive purposes, to help them – to watch out and care for them and their families, to help them improve their skills and advance, to ease their hardships whenever possible. All this can be done without compromising discipline or authority or mission. Common decency builds respect and, in a democratic society, respect is what prompts people to give their all for a leader, even at great personal sacrifice.
I hope you will keep these thoughts with you as you begin your careers, in or out of the military.
A further piece of advice. Just to complete your experience in the Corps and to graduate from Texas A&M, you likely will have succeeded – in many cases brilliantly –at pretty much everything you have done – in the classroom, on the playing field, in the corps, or in other activities. I know Texas A&M has challenged you in new ways. But from here on out, it just gets harder. The risk of failure or setbacks will only grow as your responsibilities grow, and with them the consequences of your decisions.
So, know this. At some point along your path, you will surely encounter failure or disappointment of one kind or another. We all have. If at those times you hold true to your standards, then you will always succeed, if only in knowing that you stayed true and honorable. In the final analysis, what really matters is not the failures and disappointments themselves, but how you respond. If you do so with determination and perseverance, by improving yourself – and your institution – you will succeed in all your endeavors.
A final thought, the qualities of leadership I have described this afternoon do not suddenly emerge fully developed overnight or as a blinding revelation after you have assumed important responsibilities. These qualities have their roots in the small decisions you make here at Texas A&M and will make early in your career and they will be strengthened along the way to allow you to resist the temptation of putting self before service.
If history teaches us anything, it is that every generation is tested at some point. As Donald Kagan, author of the book “On the Origins of War” has written, “The current condition of the world…where war among major powers is hard to conceive because one of them has overwhelming military superiority and no wish to expand, will not last.”
You have been given much. One day, much will be asked – as it has been asked of your fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers – and, indeed, of every generation in our history. The great legacy of the Corps is that when leaders are needed, they will be found among you. Men and women of vision, self-confidence, integrity, deep conviction and common decency – true leaders with moral authority. With such leaders, I believe the future of our country is truly in safe hands.
But wherever you go, whatever you do, always “return with honor.”
Thank you. And Gig ‘em.
