Nomination Spigot for DoD Posts Goes Dry

[livvy]

Sorry if this is a repeat. It has a Friday post date at the site, but I didn't see it posted here.

Nomination Spigot for DoD Posts Goes Dry

By John T. Bennett - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 6, 2009 11:14:05 EST

The Obama administration has fallen behind its goal of filling two dozen Pentagon posts by the end of February, and sources say it was tripped up by several of its own decisions and a faulty nominee vetting process.

The White House has named no nominees for high Defense Department jobs since Jan. 8, when four nominations went to the Senate Armed Services Committee: William Lynn for deputy defense secretary; Robert Hale for Pentagon comptroller; Michele Flournoy for undersecretary for policy; and Jeh Johnson for Pentagon general counsel. All four were approved by the committee Feb. 5; at the time this story was posted, the nominations had yet to be brought to the Senate floor.

“The incoming administration set itself very high goals for rapid appointments,” one source said. “But they are now way behind.”

In the weeks following the November presidential election, sources say, the Obama transition team began filling Cabinet appointments and set its sights on filling 24 of the Pentagon’s 49 senior-level jobs by the end of February. But then came a series of vetting miscues, an unplanned appointment and the implementation of new stringent ethics rules.

The nomination express began to come off the rails in the weeks before the Jan. 20 inauguration, with the decision to retain Bush’s second defense secretary, the highly regarded Robert Gates. Several veteran Pentagon officials and analysts said at the time that retaining Gates would hinder the new administration’s effort to recruit nominees for other top Defense Department jobs.

more...

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/02/defense_dod_nominees_020609/%2e