Pentagon Chief says he can't wait to leave his job

The US Acting defense secretary Christopher Miller has told a group of reporters that he cannot wait to leave his job, Dailymail reported.

Miller made the comments on Thursday with the entire transcript posted to the Defense Department's website.

'I cannot wait to leave this job, believe me,' Miller said, 'But part of me is like, I would have loved to have gotten involved in the acquisition process and try... and you know, talk about the wicked problem.'

Miller's comments came as he was being asked about flaws in various Pentagon acquisition programs, including the F-35 joint strike fighter and the Littoral Combat Ship.

Both programs faced a number of delays and saw the Department overrunning its budgets. 

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter still suffers from 13 serious flaws, including a gun afflicted with cracking and accuracy issues. The software that runs the jet also has nearly 900 bugs. The problem is complicated by the need to patch nearly 500 jets already built and in the wild. 

Meanwhile, the Navy is currently investigating a potential design flaw in its $500 million littoral combat ships that would require a huge engineering overhaul to fix the vessel's jet propulsion system that propels it through the water.  

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is also resigning on Jan 20, the same day President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.

In his resignation letter dated Jan. 12, Azar took a parting shot at President Donald Trump, mentioning the riot at the US Capitol last week, where a violent mob of Trump’s supporters breached the building, injuring dozens of police officers and causing five deaths, CNBC reported.

Earlier, US officials including Secretary of Homeland Chad Wolff, Secretary of EducationBetsy Davos, Secretary of Transportation  Elaine Chaw, and Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Putinger resigned following the attack.

RH/PR