Gates moving to replace top political appointees at the Pentagon underneath him

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. . . and below Petraeus and Adm. Mike Mullen, joint chiefs chairman and Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command who will continue to advise Pres. Obama.


WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates is moving to replace virtually all of the top political appointees at the Pentagon, and a number of centrist Democrats are expected to take their places.

Those slots will be filled by Democratic stalwarts, with some announcements expected as early as this week. Among the names circulating as top defense officials are Obama transition team co-chairwoman Michele Flournoy - possibly for policy undersecretary; Raytheon executive Bill Lynn, and former Clinton administration Navy Secretary Richard Danzig.

Other prospects being mentioned for the service secretary positions include former Air Force Secretary Whit Peters; retired Marine Corps Gen. Arnold L. Punaro, who recently chaired a commission on the National Guard and Reserves, and Kurt Campbell, a former senior policy adviser at the Pentagon.

It is expected that Army Secretary Pete Geren, Navy Secretary Donald Winter and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley will leave. But since the deputy secretary in all three services has either moved on or is preparing to leave, those three top officials could be asked to stay on for a brief time until their replacements are on board.

Four of the most coveted slots are the three service secretaries and the deputy secretary of defense. The civilian heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force are the public faces of the services and help set policy and priorities.

Ray DuBois, a former acting undersecretary of the Army and manpower adviser under former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, said it would be wise to keep the current service secretaries until replacements are named. Because there will be no deputies in place by then, he said, the military service chiefs would take on the roles of acting secretary.


. . . while Obama's views on the war in Iraq differ sharply from the current Bush administration, he will continue to get guidance from the same cadre of military advisers. Sitting around the table in the Pentagon's vaunted Tank - the secure room where the Joint Chiefs of Staff gather - will be the same four-star generals and admirals who are there now . . .


read: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1152ap_pentagon_new_team.html

[Taverner]

1. Wow - maybe he'll go with quality over loyalty

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2. Gates is "transitioning to himself"

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is "recalibrating" President-elect Barack Obama's transition team efforts at his department in light of the fact that he will be "transitioning to himself," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said today.

"This is no longer transitioning to a to-be-determined secretary of defense. This is transitioning to himself. And there are certain things he needs," said Morrell, who will be staying on as Gate's press secretary for "the forseeable future" as part of the unusual handover effort.

Specifically, Morrell said, Gates "needs greater insight into the national security agenda of President-elect Obama" as he seeks to restock the department's array of top positions and build "an Obama-Gates Defense Department."

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/12/09/at_dod_gates_works_on_transiti.html