By Marina Malenic

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked some 160 Bush administration political appointees to stay on in their positions at the Pentagon until replacements are installed.

Service officials confirmed that Army Secretary Pete Geren and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley have accepted Gates’ invitation to remain in their jobs past Inauguration Day. John Young, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, and Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Sue Payton have also agreed to stay on, according to Pentagon officials.

Navy Secretary Donald Winter has been asked to stay on, but has not given a final answer yet, according to an official.

An official with knowledge of the transition said 90 Defense Department political appointees were told last month that they would be dismissed as soon as Obama takes office. The remainder of Bush’s 250 appointees have been asked by Gates to stay in an e-mail sent in November, officials tell Defense Daily.

Other names on Gates’ list include Mike Vickers, the Pentagon’s top special operations official, and John Grimes, the department’s chief information officer. Their offices did not return calls by press time.

Political appointees normally resign at the conclusion of a president’s term. However, because Gates was asked to stay at the helm, the Obama team gave him leeway to keep crucial members of his team–at least temporarily.

“Given that our nation is at war, we have asked several political appointees at the Department of Defense to stay in their jobs past January 20th to help ensure a smooth transition,” the Obama transition team said in an e-mail statement. “We are grateful for the cooperation and professionalism of the men and women at the Department of Defense in support of our men and women in uniform.”