Former Defense Sec. Gates injured in fall

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates fractured his first vertebrae on New Year’s Day after accidentally falling in his home in Washington state, his office said in a statement Thursday.

Gates was treated at hospitals in Mount Vernon, Wash., and Seattle, and is now back home.

{mosads}He is expected to make a full recovery, his office said.

Despite the injury, Gates plans to keep up his promotional schedule for his new memoir, “Duty,” while wearing a neck brace.

“He looks forward to the release of his new memoir ‘Duty’ on January 14th, which he will be promoting wearing a neck brace,” his office’s statement said.

Gates’s memoir, which is being published by Knopf, will recount his time as Defense secretary under both Presidents George W. Bush and Obama.

Gates was the lone Cabinet member to stay on when Obama took office in 2009. He stayed until 2011 when he was succeed by former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.