“I was often jealous because he had four enlisted people helping him all the time.”— Former defense secretary Robert Gates explaining the perks of military rank that he witnessed while living next door to Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He told a Chicago conference Thursday that he would complain about it to his wife: “Mullen’s got guys over there who are fixing meals for him, and I’m shoving something into the microwave. And I’m his boss.”