Brings to the job: Already has been serving in the position. In a show of bipartisan continuity in a time of war, President-elect Barack Obama has decided to keep Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in his post. It will be the first time a Pentagon chief has been carried over from a president of a different party.
Mr. Gates has served as President George W. Bush's defense chief for two years. The moderate Republican with long-standing ties to the Bush family fulfills an Obama pledge to include a Republican in his cabinet.
While Gates will stay at the Pentagon, Mr. Obama said the military's new mission will be "responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control."