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According to Carafano, the degree of Marshall’s influence actually lies in whether a given secretary of defense chooses to use the information and knowledge Marshall provides. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld echoed Carafano’s analysis.
“His value to the department depended on the interest people had in the kinds of work he did,” Rumsfeld told TheDC.
Rumsfeld noted that during his second stint as Defense secretary, Marshall was one of just two people he remembered from his first appointment, adding that he found Marshall’s work extremely useful.
“To have a person around who … could think about things, free of the pressures of someone pressing in to do this, that, or the other thing, or having to testify before Congress, or attend interagency meetings constantly back and worth with the White House — that is an enormous value,” Rumsfeld said.
“You knew when he opened his mouth, he was telling you what he and the bright people that he attracted thought, and not only what they thought, but what they thought was important for others to be aware of.”
Carafano also suggests another way to measure Marshall’s influence during the past four decades.
“One of the affectionate names of Net Assessment is ‘St. Andrews Prep,’” he said. “And that’s the people Marshall influenced, either working with him at Net Assessment or work[ing] for him at Net Assessment. And those people are all over Washington.”
According to many, Marshall’s continued relevance and influence are products of his low-key demeanor.
“If you want an opposite, negative polarity of a glad-hander type, that’s Andy,” Rowen, who has known Marshall since they worked at RAND together nearly six decades ago, said. “He avoids publicity. He avoided it very successfully.”
Indeed, through a Pentagon spokesman, Marshall declined TheDC’s request for an interview.
When asked why Marshall has stayed on the job for so long, far past when most people call it a career and head to Florida or Arizona, three people who know Marshall told TheDC, in almost the exact language, that it is due to his “intellectual curiosity.”
Both Rowen and Bracken have been in touch with Marshall recently and say he is as sharp as ever. When asked whether he could imagine Marshall working for another half-decade or even decade more, Bracken offered a story.
“I was with a right-wing strategist who I knew in 1980 who said: ‘Andy’s too old. I’m going to get his job because I supported Reagan.’ He didn’t get his job, and nobody’s ever heard of this guy since. And Andy’s still with us.”
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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