WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, following a whirlwind few days in which he resigned as Pentagon chief, carried through on a holiday tradition of his own Thursday: Making phone calls to a handful of U.S. service members who are overseas.
Hagel made the phone calls from his home in Northern Virginia, four days after President Barack Obama announced Hagel’s resignation, a Pentagon official said. The secretary was not available for media interviews, but wanted to wish the troops a happy Thanksgiving despite the recent controversy, the official said. He has quietly made phone calls to rank-and-file troops on holidays throughout his tenure in the Pentagon.
Hagel called a Marine in Liberia, a soldier in Afghanistan, an Air Force pilot in Kuwait and a sailor aboard the USS O’Kane, a Navy destroyer, the official said. They were selected by their services to take the call.
“With everything going on with him, him even taking the time out of his day to call was awesome,” said Marine Sgt. Matthew Ohler, 24, who has been in Liberia since the summer maintaining MV-22B Osprey aircraft, which are being used to ferry medical supplies around as part of the effort to control the Ebola virus.
