[2] He was the first civilian to hold the position of chief of the military office; to make it appear the president's staff was smaller than it was, Gulley was placed on the United States Postal Service payroll.

[2] According to Col. Stephen Bauer, who worked in the White House during Gulley's tenure, Gulley had a reputation as the "big, bad wolf" and wielded such influence that no one below sub-Cabinet rank dared question his decisions, though many people resented a former NCO having virtually unchecked power.

[5] After retirement, Gulley went into business with Brent Scowcroft, Marvin Watson, Jack Brennan, Omar Zawawi (the brother of the Omani foreign minister), and former Lyndon Johnson aide Haywood Smith.

According to a Washington Post article from the time period, "the nature of their business, investing or consulting is not something they choose to discuss".

[7] In 1980, Simon & Schuster published Gulley's book, Breaking Cover, which detailed "the questionable or illegal practices of his superiors" during his years at the White House.

[8] Among Gulley's allegations was that vast sums of "black budget" money earmarked to build emergency bunkers for the President of the United States had been diverted to finance improvements to the personal property of Lyndon Johnson, including the installation of swimming pools and movie theaters; that the United States Secret Service was the "worst, most inefficient, badly run, highly political outfit in the United States government"; and that Lyndon Johnson had given several of his mistresses clerical jobs in the U.S.

Gulley also claimed that he received a high school diploma while in the United States Marine Corps through correspondence courses.