Chuck Hagel calls Tim Howard from Pentagon, acknowledges defense secretary joke
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Version 0 of 1. Never let it be said that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel doesn’t have a sense of humor. One day after U.S. soccer goalkeeper Tim Howard had a record-setting 16 saves in a heartbreaking 2-1 World Cup loss against Belgium, the Pentagon chief called Howard on Wednesday to offer his congratulations and acknowledge a joke that spread over the past day. In praise of Howard, someone changed the Wikipedia entry for Hagel to show that Howard is the U.S. secretary of defense, and it exploded all over the Internet. The Pentagon released this statement with the photo above this afternoon: “Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard to thank him for defending the United States of America at the World Cup. Secretary Hagel congratulated Howard on his record-breaking game and a great run in Brazil. He invited Howard and the entire team to come to the Pentagon later this year. He told Howard that with some training, he could someday become the real secretary of defense.” The In the Loop blog outlined some of the other wacky efforts out there to recognize Howard for his heroics on the field. It seems clear that Hagel thinks it best to be in on the joke. From 1 SecDef to another: Hagel calls @timhowardgk to say thanks for defending USA. We (USA) are proud of @ussoccer! pic.twitter.com/M8nsYdlXFn — U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) July 2, 2014 From 1 SecDef to another: Hagel calls @timhowardgk to say thanks for defending USA. We (USA) are proud of @ussoccer! pic.twitter.com/M8nsYdlXFn — U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) July 2, 2014 |