DepSecDef: ‘Time for me to leave’

[unhappycamper]

DepSecDef: ‘Time for me to leave’
By John T. Bennett - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Dec 2, 2008 17:58:01 EST

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England announced Tuesday that he will leave his job when the Obama administration takes office, clearing the way for the new president to fill the key Pentagon post.

President-elect Barack Obama on Monday unveiled his national security team, which includes one holdover from the Bush Pentagon: Robert Gates, the incumbent defense secretary. In a late-afternoon statement, England made it clear Gates soon will have a new No. 2.

England applauded Obama for asking Gates to stay on, and said it is a good time for him to step aside for several reasons.

“It’s time for me to leave. When I came into government in early 2001, I anticipated serving for two to four years,” England said in the statement. “After almost eight years, it’s now time for me to turn over the reins to a successor. Also, it’s most appropriate for the new administration to name its own deputy.”

A number of defense experts have predicted England’s departure since Obama’s election victory. These sources, from both sides of the political aisle, said the new president — even if he retained the popular Gates — likely would move swiftly to populate most top-level Pentagon offices with his own appointees to break with the unpopular Bush administration.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/defense_england_goes_120208/%2e