Gates Takes On Marines' Dirty Laundry

I delight in Defense Secretary Robert Gates' focus on the troops when he visits them in combat zones, as evidenced by his comments to the 3rdBattalion, 5th Marine Regiment in Afghanistan yesterday.

He said that during his visit to a Forward Operating Base he discovered that all the clothes dryers worked, "but four of their five washing machines were out. Got that fixed."

Gates also was distressed to learn that the wireless Internet service for Marines at another FOB had been down for weeks, but the troops were still being charged for it.

He emphasized that he did not visit the Marines to give a speech but "just to thank you for your service, for what you've done; and then to get an individual photograph with each of you and hand out a bunch of coins."

This is a man who understands that an attaboy -- and a coin from The Boss -- means much more than another speech.