From Pentagon to Boy Scouts, Robert Gates speaks of change

EVERETT — Cub Scout Jake Miller of Pack 16 in Mukilteo knew the white-haired man in the well-pressed suit was a prominent person.

But the 8-year-old greeted former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates as he did everyone else attending Thursday morning’s Friends of Scouting breakfast in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center at Xfinity Arena.

“I said, ‘Good morning, sir. Free breakfast down the hall,’” Jake recalled.

And Gates’ response?

“He laughed,” Jake said.

Gates, the national president of the Boy Scouts of America and the event’s keynote speaker, told the crowd he wants to help modernize and transform an organization he considers a “national treasure” and a critical force for developing future leaders.

“Scouting had the greatest influence, together with my parents, of shaping my basic character and my outlook on life,” he said. “It is the finest organization for building character, teaching leadership, cultivating a sense of the importance of service to others and inculcating the stern virtues by which a civilization is made and sustained.”

The event, which drew an estimated 330 people, raised money for the Mount Baker Council, which supports scouting programs in Snohomish, Island, Skagit, Whatcom and San Juan counties.

Gates, who resides in Skagit County, has an illustrious resume of public service, beginning with a job at the Central Intelligence Agency at age 22. He rose to become director of the CIA and worked with eight presidents. He left as leader of Texas A&M University to become defense secretary in 2006 and retired from that post in 2011.

He said growing up in Kansas, where life revolved around family, school, church and Boy Scouts, and attaining the level of the Eagle Scout “gave me the confidence to believe that I could achieve whatever I put mind to,” he said.

Now, he said, he wants to be an “agent of change” to “take a great organization and make it even better.”

He said he’s pursuing a reform agenda to transform the organization so it can meet the “very different” demographic realities of America than existed when he grew up.

In an interview after the speech, Gates elaborated on his plans. He said he wants to reinvigorate a program known as Scoutreach to bring scouting into minority communities and neighborhoods, where families facing financial hardships cannot afford to buy uniforms.

“I think we have a big opportunity to do some real service” in those communities, he said.

Gates also wants to boost the organization’s presence online and through electronic devices to which today’s young people are tethered.

“We need to make better use of social media,” he said. “We need to be as smart in our programs as these Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts are every day on their electronic devices.”

Gates’ reform agenda won’t, however, extend to lifting a ban on gay troop leaders.

He said the organization took “a major step” in 2013 by welcoming gay youth into scouting, and it isn’t the right time to tackle the leadership question.

“I was very candid at the national meeting when I became president that to take the next step at this point would irrevocably split the movement,” he said, noting that two-thirds of scout troops in the U.S. are supported by churches.

Gates said he knows people inside and outside the organization want action and view him as the best person to lead the change because of what he accomplished while in government service.

When Gates ran the CIA, he changed the rules to enable the hiring of gays and lesbians. As secretary of defense, he oversaw the end of the military’s use of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on sexual orientation.

“I think my bona fides in terms of welcoming everyone are pretty well established,” he said. “But I think for scouting right now I want us to be a welcoming place for gay youth. It’s a place where we can protect them from bullying and make them part of the larger movement.

“I think we have some significant opportunities there,” he said. “I think right now we need to focus on our programs.”

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.