Posted: 03/17/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has quietly reviewed, and revised, the sequence in which Pentagon civilian officials would take command should Defense Secretary Robert Gates die unexpectedly, say in a surprise attack.
An executive order published without fanfare this month does away with a system for succession instituted by President George W. Bush that played down the service secretaries and elevated positions held by trusted aides to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as he wanted.
Obama's executive order, published March 1, re-establishes the Army secretary in the No. 3 slot, behind the deputy defense secretary.
