DoD Honors Rumsfeld, Bids Farewell

By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON,

Dec. 15, 2006 – The Defense Department bid farewell to the 21st secretary of
defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld, in a full honors parade at the Pentagon today.

PresidentBush; Vice President Richard B. Cheney; Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff; and many other DoD leaders joined employees and servicemembers to honor Rumsfeld, who has led the department for six years.

“Because of Don Rumsfeld’s determination and leadership, America has the best equipped, the best trained, and the most experienced armed forces in the history of the world,” Bush said during the ceremony. “This man knows how to lead, and he did, and the country is better off for it.”Bush praised Rumsfeld for preparing the military for the threats of the 21st centuryand for his determined leadership after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,2001. When the Pentagon was hit, Rumsfeld’s first instinct was to run toward dangerand help the wounded, and afterwards he launched one of the most innovativecampaigns in history going after al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Bush said. Rumsfeld then led Operation Iraqi Freedom, driving Saddam Hussein from power in 21 days and helping the Iraqi government form a free democracy in the heart of the Middle East.

So long Don. It's been interesting.

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