WASHINGTON (AFPN) --   Robert M. Gates will take over as defense secretary Dec. 18, and the department will wish current Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld farewell at a Pentagon ceremony Dec. 15, a Defense Department spokesman announced today.

Mr. Gates and Secretary Rumsfeld have met a couple of times to handle transition issues and will meet again in the coming week, spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters this morning.

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