GATES'S OPENING.

The article presents a conversation with Robert Gates, who was appointed by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to stay as secretary of Defense. Empowered by a mandate from Obama, Gates is turning his attention to the issues of acquisition reform and tradeoffs involving the size of the military services' fleets. During a press conference, Gates said that he does not intend to be a caretaker secretary. As the country is dealing with a recession, the U.S. Department of Defense will spend its budget of more than $500 billion annually.