Secretary of Defense Robert Gates concluded his address by quoting Abigail Adams, who wrote to her son John Quincy during the American Revolution. Her words reminded him that great characters are not formed in calm and repose, but through the trials of necessity. Gates applied this directly to the graduates' moment in history. With America engaged in two wars, facing global terrorism, and navigating economic crisis, Gates argued that this was precisely the time when the nation's best and brightest needed to step forward. If America was to continue being a force for good in the world, for freedom, justice, and the rule of law, then the most able and idealistic young people had to accept the burden of public service.