WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said tough economic times require that he shutter a major command that employs some 5,000 people in Norfolk, Va., and eliminate other jobs throughout the military.

Gates told reporters at a press conference on Monday that getting rid of Joint Forces Command and other job cuts were
necessary so that the military has enough money to repair itself after several years of war.

He said that among his biggest priorities was trimming by 10 percent the number of contractors that support the military.