Word: pentagonal
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...second time in his seven weeks as Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates has decided to shift a top-level commander from one post to another rather than promote a younger man. Pentagon sources say Gates will nominate Admiral Timothy Keating to be the new head of Pacific Command. Keating, a four-star admiral who ran the Navy's operations during the start of the Iraq war, is currently the top-ranking officer at Northern Command, which is responsible for defending the United States and was the primary military command that responded to Hurricane Katrina. He replaces Admiral William Fallon...
...four-star officer to replace another is not unusual, and Pacific Command has always been run by a Navy admiral. But by simply reshuffling top-ranking officers around the nine so-called "combatant" commands rather than bringing in up-and-coming officers is starting to raise eyebrows inside the Pentagon. Both Fallon and Keating were appointed by Gates' predecessor Donald Rumsfeld-a Defense Secretary known for strong-arming even the most senior commanders-and while continuity is useful in military circles, keeping the same leadership has a ripple effect: it keeps lower-ranking officers from moving up and, some critics...
...unlike his predecessor, the new boss at the Pentagon isn't into grandeur or ceremony, or so it seems. On Friday, in his first official press conference since taking over six weeks ago, Gates shunned the traditional Pentagon press briefing room, with its imposing stage, Pentagon seal, podium and klieg lights, opting instead for a casual get-together with the fourth estate at his dining room table. With some four dozen reporters crammed into the room, the session covered the gamut of defense issues; how the U.S. military will indeed chase and kill or capture Iranians if they threaten...
...once a week, and rather than go back on his word, he asked his staff to set it up. Gates didn't stop the presses with his comments, but he answered directly and, even, dare say, respectfully. There was one exception - Gates was unable to explain why the Pentagon misled reporters in the initial reports about an incident in Karbala, where the military initially said four soldiers had been killed on scene when in fact they had been captured by insurgents and killed later...
...getting it. U.S. forces have been extended in Afghanistan at the request of the senior commanders there, and Gates said today that the DOD is looking at ways to speed up the arrival of troops destined for Iraq. A senior military official said that behind the scenes the Pentagon is preparing in case the new Iraq commander, Gen. David Petraeus, asks for even more...