Team Hagel starting to assemble at Pentagon Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 02/28/2013 U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaking to service members and employees Wednesday, his first day on the job. (Jonathan Ernst - Reuters) Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel can now start moving in. We're hearing the new crew he's expected to keep close includes Marcel J. Lettre, who had been outgoing Secretary Leon Panetta's deputy chief of staff and is now acting chief of staff to the new SecDef. Word is that he'll get the "acting" removed very shortly. Also, Aaron Dowd, a former Hagel Senate staffer and his top aide at Georgetown University/Atlantic Council, is roaming the Pentagon these days and will likely get a staff job in the E-Ring. Eric Rosenbach, another former Hagel Senate staffer, has been deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy since September 2011. Best bet is he'll get a promotion, or at least will move closer to Hagel's office. And Liz King, the assistant secretary for legislative affairs is also expected to stay on. Meanwhile, chatter has it that the Pentagon will get a new press secretary, but that's not been decided. George Little is now dual-hatted as assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs. He'll keep the longer title and oversee the Pentagon's vast PR ops, but it may be the White House will want to handpick someone to be press secretary.