When Defense Secretary Robert Gates picked Adm. Mike Mullen to be the next Joint Chiefs chairman, he not only was promoting his Navy chief, he was promoting his neighbor.
In a break with tradition, Gates lives in military housing, in this case a single-family home in Northwest D.C. owned by the Navy. Next door is the official residence of the chief of naval operations, who currently is Mullen.
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Most, if not all, secretaries of defense have been creatures of Washington and owned a home in the area.
In Gates’ case, he is in town just to serve during President Bush’s last two years in office, then plans to leave the capital. Gates became secretary in December, leaving his post as president of Texas A&M University to succeed Donald Rumsfeld.
Gates already owns two homes, one in Texas and one in Washington state, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
Whitman told The Examiner in response to questions that Gates is leasing quarters “on a local military installation” at fair market value under a federal law that allows such transactions.
Another defense official said the location is a Navy home next to the chief of naval operations in a tony Foggy Bottom neighborhood that includes the State Department and George Washington University.
Gates, an unpretentious Cabinet member, could be seen unpacking his own boxes when he moved in earlier this year.
The chief of naval operations did not always live across from the State Department. The chief used to reside in a mansion at the Washington Navy Yard. But after Adm. Jeremy Boorda killed himself there, his successor, Jay Johnson, chose the Foggy Bottom property as the chief’s new home.
Gates decided not to recommend Marine Gen. Peter Pace for a second term as Joint Chiefs chairman to avoid a contentious Senate confirmation process over the Iraq war. Last month, President Bush nominated Mullen as the next chairman.
