Gates looks to ease eventual SecDef change

[unhappycamper]

Gates looks to ease eventual SecDef change
By Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 11, 2008 13:02:24 EDT

WASHINGTON — Anticipating the first wartime change of presidents in 40 years, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he has begun laying the groundwork to enable his Pentagon successor to manage the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — and other challenges — from his or her first day in office.

Gates said Tuesday that over the past two decades, it has become more difficult and time-consuming to get key officials into Pentagon jobs early in a new administration. Doing it faster will be even more important this time, he said, in light of the complexities of the wars and difficult security issues elsewhere.

“I’ve been through a lot of these and I’ve seen them up close and I want to see if we can improve on the past,” he said. Gates’ national security career dates to the Nixon administration and includes the transition in January 1993 from President George H.W. Bush to President Clinton.

“I think it’s a real problem and it’s gotten worse with every presidential transition over the last 20 or 25 years — how long it takes to get the teams basically in place” at the Pentagon, he added.

Gates said he has asked one of his advisory groups, the Defense Policy Board, to make recommendations this month on what “the new secretary is going to have to know about and be ready to deal with on Day One — obviously Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan,” and also budgetary and other issues, he said.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_transition_061008/