Reporter's Notebook

Scott airmen applaud Gates

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Not until reaching Scott Air Force Base, Ill., did Defense Secretary Robert Gates receive any type of reaction from the nervous airmen who sat and listened to him speak about why he fired the Air Force’s two service chiefs and who he nominated to replace them.

Airmen simply nodded in approval or slumped their shoulders with disappointment during Gates’ first two stops during his three base tour. But, the Scott airmen packed into the base’s joint officer/enlisted club erupted into applause once Gates announced one of their own would be the next to lead the service.

Gen. Norton Schwartz, head of Transportation Command who Gates nominated to become the next Air Force chief of staff, calls Scott home, so I’m sure he had a few friends in the audience.

I was hustled out of the club before the Q&A session started, but could hear Gates receive another couple rounds of applause through the thick wooden doors where the press corps feverishly tried to file their stories.

Again, Gates stuck to the script he delivered to airmen at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and Peterson Air Force Base., Col. Gates planned to meet with Schwartz at Scott to speak about the confirmation process and his future as the next chief. However, it was cut short once Gates got word a thunderstorm was moving into the Washington D.C. area.

Gates’ motorcade was rushed to his plane, but someone forgot to tell the press corps. We drew the defense secretary’s ire as he was forced to wait five minutes before the plane took off.

“I didn’t want us to get diverted to BWI or Philadelphia to , so I wanted to get us out of there,” said Gates on the plane headed back to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. visibly invigorated by the positive response he received at Scott.