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DepSecDef: ‘Time for me to leave’

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.

Experts said England, who held three senior posts during George W. Bush’s presidency, was linked to the outgoing commander-in-chief as much as almost any other political appointee. He also was Navy secretary and the first deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under Bush.

If asked by the new administration, England said, he would stay on “for some time” beyond Jan. 20 “to assure a smooth transition.”

The outgoing deputy thanked the two defense secretaries under which he toiled as the No. 2 civilian in the E-Ring, Gates and Donald Rumsfeld.

He also thanked the troops.

“I thank the brave men and women of our military, and their families,” England said, “for their service and sacrifice, and for the honor of serving them.”