“Chuck spent his time in the service as an enlisted man (in combat) and I think that gives him a perspective that is not that common in members of the Cabinet, and certainly former secretaries of defense,” Hagel told the Dayton Daily News. “I think his view of the military and priorities and what have you is going to be a little bit broader, a little bit more down to earth, a little bit more people-oriented than possibly some prior secretaries.
“I think he’s a good choice,” Hagel added. “Chuck will give him the proverbial 110 percent.”
The two brothers spoke Monday morning before the president announced the nomination of the 66-year-old Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska whose selection attracted mixed reactions to replace retiring Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.
Thomas Hagel said a Democratic president appointing a Republican to the post “hopefully will help the atmosphere in D.C.”
Hagel described his brother’s attitude as “serious” during their morning conversation.
“I think he’s glad the suspense is over with and he has some direction now,” the younger Hagel said.
Chuck Hagel is expected to face heightened scrutiny in his Senate confirmation hearing. Among other issues, observers have criticized him for voting for the war in Iraq, but opposing a later troop surge; questioned his commitment to support Israel militarily; and criticized a comment he made in 1998 that a nominee for an ambassador’s post was “openly, aggressively gay.” He later apologized for the remark, according to The Associated Press.
Thomas Hagel said it wasn’t his position to respond to the criticisms, but added he was confident Chuck Hagel would.
“They fired all these shots at him when, of course, he was not in a position to respond,” Thomas Hagel said. “It would have been inappropriate for him to respond until he was the nominee. Actually, it would have been irrelevant.”
Thomas Hagel said his brother’s job as a senator was likely the top challenge in a professional career that has spanned business and politics. “But what he might tell you is that maybe the most challenging job he’s ever had is carrying a loaded M-16 slugging through the jungle of the Mekong Delta when it’s about 115 degrees out there and somebody’s trying to kill you,” he said. “I think he might put that up there, too.”
The brothers’ experience in Vietnam, where each saw the other wounded in combat when they served in the same platoon, has shaped Hagel’s world view “in very significant” ways, the law professor said.
“I’m certain that Chuck would be the last one to be the one who would advocate as a first option going to war because he has seen the consequences of it. I think that experience in Vietnam shaped him in a lot of ways that will be reflected in how he runs the Defense Department,” Hagel said.
The two served together about 10 months in the jungles of Vietnam. Serving in combat with a family member was both good and bad, Hagel said.
“The downside is at any time you might be confronted with the possibility of your brother getting killed or wounded right in front of you…(he) was wounded right in front of me twice and I was wounded in front of him three times,” Hagel said.
The two had opposing views on the Vietnam war for years. Thomas Hagel opposed the war when he returned.
Hagel said his brother’s views changed over time as he listened to a taped conversation of former President Lyndon Johnson’s position on continuing the conflict, despite his doubts about finding victory, to avoid becoming the first president to lose a war.
Over the years, the two brothers resolved their differences and found peace, Hagel said.
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