--- title: Obama's Hagel Farewell: Awkward description: The President pushed his Pentagon chief out, then praised him. canonical: https://time.com/3687389/obama-hagel-farewell-awkward/ author: Mark Thompson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-29T14:15:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:58.428Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama's Hagel Farewell: Awkward og:description: The President pushed his Pentagon chief out, then praised him. og:url: https://time.com/3687389/obama-hagel-farewell-awkward/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7b7d16b92f70158/69877c84e53aba11f54d749f/462426550.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Obama Attends Armed Forces Farewell Tribute To Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama's Hagel Farewell: Awkward twitter:description: The President pushed his Pentagon chief out, then praised him. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7b7d16b92f70158/69877c84e53aba11f54d749f/462426550.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama's Awkward Farewell to Hagel by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Jan 29, 2015 2:15 PM UTC  President Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at the defense chief's formal farewell ceremony Wednesday. President Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at the defense chief's formal farewell ceremony Wednesday.Win McNamee / Getty Images by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Jan 29, 2015 2:15 PM UTC Wednesday afternoon marked another one of those painful spectacles, where someone being forced out of the national spotlight was forced to grin and bear it as the person responsible for forcing him out publicly sang his praises. This time it featured President Obama hailing the brief, two-year [tenure](http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2015/0115%5Fhagel-farewell/) of Chuck Hagel, his third defense secretary. Hagel—who will hang around the Pentagon for weeks until his successor, Ashton Carter, is confirmed—has spent recent days prowling the bowels of the Pentagon, thanking the unseen and unheralded for their work.  Hagel has been saying goodbye to Pentagon workers in recent days. DoD photo While the two men haven’t spelled out precisely what went wrong, disagreements over policies involving Syria and the detainee camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are [often](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/25/uk-usa-military-hagel-disputes-idUSKCN0J900O20141125) [cited](http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/us/hagel-said-to-be-stepping-down-as-defense-chief-under-pressure.html?referrer=&%5Fr=0). And Hagel’s body language since the White House shoved him out Nov. 24, made Wednesday’s formal sendoff in an Army hall not far from the Pentagon particularly awkward. --- > “” --- At least some observers found Obama’s “joke” about Stingers off-key, given the fragging that went on in Vietnam. Hagel, who declined to attend the White House ceremony at which Obama announced Carter as his successor, however, dutifully took the podium and was gracious. --- > “” --- In the end, everyone was glad it was over. ### Photos: What Obama's Hugs Meant  You can see it by Obama’s bowed head and Hagel’s sorrowful face – this is an “I’m sorry” hug, plain and simple. Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  This hug between Obama and former Press Secretary Jay Carney may have been commemorating Carney’s departure, but all people will remember is its awkwardness. Susan Walsh—AP  Here’s where Obama’s hug game is the strongest: with Michelle. The peaceful smile on his face, the warm, full-body embrace – this is clearly an “I love you” hug. Consider it the antidote to the Carney debacle. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  Obama’s hug with nurse Nina Pham after her battle with Ebola was a way to signal to the public that the disease is not as scary as some had thought. This is the hug as public health awareness. Olivier Douliery-—Getty Images  Critics charged that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "hugged" the president, but the Republican claimed it was just a handshake. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images  The photo of Obama hugging a victim of Hurricane Sandy went viral- his solemn face and her tear-stained one, his arms protectively around her shoulders – this is a presidential hug in its purest form. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP  Though Obama’s peck on Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s cheek was a pro-democracy smooch, her visible recoil from the kiss indicates that he may have been better off with a handshake. Jason Reed—Reuters  Obama was literally swept off his feet by pizzeria owner Scott Van Duzer. The now-famous bear hug was a “celebrities are just like us” moment, when Obama showed he could still joke around in a regular ol’ pizza joint. Sept. 9, 2012. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3687389/obama-hagel-farewell-awkward/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3687389/obama-hagel-farewell-awkward/"},"headline":"Obama's Awkward Farewell to Hagel","datePublished":"2015-01-29T14:15:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:58.428Z","description":"The President pushed his Pentagon chief, then praised him.","url":"https://time.com/3687389/obama-hagel-farewell-awkward/","keywords":["Military","White House","National Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7b7d16b92f70158/69877c84e53aba11f54d749f/462426550.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Thompson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7b7d16b92f70158/69877c84e53aba11f54d749f/462426550.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Obama Attends Armed Forces Farewell Tribute To Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel","caption":"President Obama Attends Armed Forces Farewell Tribute To Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel","creditText":"Win McNamee / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/military/","name":"Military"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3687389/obama-hagel-farewell-awkward/","name":"Obama's Awkward Farewell to Hagel"}}]}] ```