Q&A with Secretary Leon Panetta
A Public Service Giant
FALL 2020
Secretary Leon Panetta began his long and distinguished public service career in 1964 as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army. He later served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as the President's Chief of Staff, Director of the CIA, and U.S. Secretary of Defense, among others. In 1997, Secretary Panetta joined with his wife Sylvia to establish The Panetta Institute for Public Policy. Reflecting Secretary Panetta’s own ideals, the nonpartisan, not-for-profit study center seeks to attract thoughtful men and women to lives of public service and prepare them for the policy challenges of the future. Q: How did your military service prepare you for the many leadership roles you have since filled? I'm the son of Italian immigrants who came to this country like millions of others in the early 30s. Because of the opportunity that this country gave them, my parents always stressed it was important to get involved in public service and give back. I served for two years in the military as an intelligence officer. Those were the days of the draft. There were men from all over the country, of every creed, every belief and every race. I saw how all of them could come together in a common mission, and that gave me tremendous inspiration in terms of duty to country. Q: How do you see education working as an equalizing force for good in the U.S.? I was the first in my family to go to college. I believe that the key to enjoy equal opportunity is education. I also think education is critical to whether or not our democracy can survive. I am a believer in the importance of education as the great equalizer in terms of giving everybody the chance to enjoy the American Dream. Tell us about the role of your family during your years of public service. I used to fly on a red eye, work in Congress all week, and fly back home on Friday night. My wife was my chief of staff in the District, on a volunteer basis. We had three young kids and they were all involved in athletics. And she made sure I went to every game they had on Saturdays. It was on my schedule, and my wife made sure of that. Sunday, I'd try to reserve for the family, and then I'd jump on a plane to go back to Washington. It was a punishing schedule. As anyone in the military knows, you cannot do it without the support of your family and the love of your family. Q: Can you expand on the long and short term risks to military families in regards to the lasting effects of COVID-19. We know that this pandemic is striking every part of the country. Millions are out of work, including military family members who were already experiencing high unemployment rates. This is a national emergency. If our men and women are willing to put their lives on the line, there's every reason to look to their families and say we owe them something special because of the sacrifices they are making. We wouldn't be able to protect our national security were it not for the support of these military families. It's time we recognize that we owe them at least the opportunity to be able to get a job and a good education. Q: Where do you feel you made the most impact and why? I thought it was important to always set goals, no matter what job I was in. Probably the most satisfying experience I had was the mission to go after Osama bin Laden. We were able at the CIA to locate bin Laden and we worked with Admiral Bill McRaven to put together a strategy for how we would go after that compound. We came up with two teams of Seals going in on helicopter 150 miles into Pakistan at night. They breached the wall and went in and completed the mission. I couldn't have been prouder of both the intelligence people and the military Seals who accomplished that mission. |
Secretary Leon Panetta as keynote speaker during ThanksUSA's virtual Military Family Gala in October
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