Officials noted that Mr Panetta is required to travel by military aircraft for
purposes of security and to have access to secure communications, a practice
instituted by the George W Bush administration in 2001.
“No one wants the secretary of defence making decisions on classified
military operations from the middle seat on a crowded JetBlue flight,”
a senior defence official said.
“The secretary asked for guidance on the use of government aircraft from
the DOD (Department of Defense) general counsel soon after taking office. He
has followed that guidance to the letter,” the official said.
Since taking office last year, Mr Panetta has made 27 trips to California,
generally around the weekend. That’s more frequently than the travel home by
his predecessors, Robert Gates and Donald Rumsfeld.
“He returns to California because that’s where his family lives. It is
his home,” Little said, adding that spending time away from Washington “helps
him focus on the job and recharge.”
Mr Panetta also works while in California or in flight.
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