Holy Moly!  Yesterday I heard something that I thought I would never hear coming from the mouth of a person in charge of the Defense Department.

Major overhaul plans laid out by the Obama administration’s Pentagon chief would slash several giant weapons programs — and thousands of civilian jobs that go with them. With recession unemployment rising, Congress may balk at many of the cuts in Gates’ proposed $534 billion budget for the coming year.

Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, said he is gearing Pentagon buying plans to the smaller, lower-tech battlefields the military is facing now and expects in coming years. He also said he hopes lawmakers will resist temptations to save outdated system that keep defense plants humming in their home districts.

Gates says the Pentagon won’t continue the F-22 program beyond 187 planes already planned. Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed, the nation’s largest defense contractor, has said almost 95,000 jobs could be at stake.

Gates also said no to a new fleet of Marine One presidential helicopters — with a price tag of $13 billion, more than double the original budget. He said new helicopters would be needed at some point but he wants time to figure out a better solution.

A $160 billion Army system of combat vehicles, flying sensors and bomb-hunting robots would be reduced, too, as would plans to build a shield of missile interceptors to defend against attacks by rogue countries. The Navy would revamp plans to buy new destroyers.

If one listened closely one could have heard the CEOs of various defense contractors hitting the floor and the asses of congress slamming shut.

The amazing part for me is that Gates has finally axknowledged something that I have been calling for ….since my days in Vietnam….

“I’m not trying to have irregular capabilities take the place of the conventional capabilities,” Gates said. “I’m just trying to get the irregular guys to have a seat at the table.”

I have been saying the days of conventional warfare have been gone for years…….unconventional should be the focus or we are destined to be handed our heads on many levels.

And then Gates did something few DOD leaders have ever done….he said that the budget had to be cut if the people of the country were to be looked after first (a paraphrase).  A refreshing view from someone that I doubted would be on board with the Obama plan.  Apparently, I was mistaken.