
WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department plans to shed one of its 10 major military commands as Defense Secretary Robert Gates tries to pare billions from the Pentagon budget, officials briefed on the plan said Monday.
Gates wants to eliminate the Joint Forces Command, long a presumed target for belt-tightening, and will also announce Monday that he wants to cut the Pentagon's use of outside contractors by 10 percent next year, The Associated Press has learned. The Virginia-based command trains troops from different services to fight together.
Military and other officials described the planned cuts on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss Gates' plans ahead of a Pentagon news conference Monday.
Joint Forces Command, with nearly 4,900 employees and annual salaries of more than $200 million, is the largest single cut to be announced Monday.
Gates is not expected to say how much money will be saved by shutting down the command, which holds more than 1 million square feet of real estate in Suffolk, Va., and Norfolk, Va.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/09/gates-cut-major-military-command-norfolk-officials-say/