The following are excerpts from a news conference yesterday at which President-elect George W. Bush named Donald H. Rumsfeld as his choice for secretary of defense, as recorded by The New York Times:

PRESIDENT-ELECT BUSH

It is my honor to announce that I'm submitting the name of Donald Rumsfeld to be secretary of defense.

I — there's no question in my mind that his record of service to the country is extraordinary: former chief of staff, C.E.O., former secretary of defense. This is a man who has got great judgment. He has got strong vision. And he's going to be a great secretary of defense, again.

Our mission for the next four years will be to build a durable peace. This will require strong alliances, expanding trade, advancing our ideals and interests with a clear and consistent diplomacy. With General Powell serving as the secretary of state, that mission is in very good hands.

But the foundation of peace is to have a military ready to keep the peace — ready for every danger, equal to every challenge. Today, American armed forces have an irreplaceable role in our world. They give confidence to our allies; they deter the aggression of our enemies.

I've set three goals for our nation's defense. One is to strengthen the bond of trust between the American president and those who wear our nation's uniform. Secondly is to defend our people and allies against missiles and terror. And thirdly is to begin creating a military prepared for the dangers of a new century.

Strengthen the bond of trust between the president and the military, rebuilding morale, means never forgetting that ours is a military of volunteers. Whether someone is in the active forces or Reserves or Guard, they're there at their own choosing. And we must honor that service by better pay, better training and clear missions with attainable goals. We hope to never send our troops into combat. But if deterrents were to fail, we must send them fully prepared and equipped for the dangers that they will face.

Secondly, to defend our forces and allies in our own country from the threat of missile attack or accidental launch, we must develop a missile defense system. I was most impressed by the chairman of the national commissions of ballistic missile threats' work. That chairman was Don Rumsfeld. I felt he did an extraordinary job with a delicate assignment. He brought people who — together to understand the realities of the modern world. In picking Don Rumsfeld we'll have a person who is thoughtful and considerate and wise on the subject of missile defense.

And finally, we must work to change our military to meet the threats of a new century. Effective military power is increasingly, increasingly defined not by size or mass but by mobility and swiftness. Influence is measured in information; safety is gained in stealth. We've got a great opportunity in America to redefine how wars are fought and won and, therefore, how the peace is kept. Our nation is positioned well to use technologies to redefine the military. And so one of Secretary Rumsfeld's first tasks will be to challenge the status quo inside the Pentagon to develop a strategy necessary to have a force equipped for warfare of the 21st century. It's going to take a lot of cooperation and close work with the Congress. Both of us pledge to do just that.

And so it is my honor to bring forth a man who would be an integral part of the national security team, a national security team that I'm confident will serve America's interests well. A good man, an honorable man, Mr. Don Rumsfeld.

MR. RUMSFELD

President-elect Bush and Dick Cheney, I thank you for those very generous words and for your confidence in asking me to return to public service, which I am delighted to do. I look forward to serving our country again, and under your leadership, working with the very fine national security team you are assembling: my former associate and colleague, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Condi Rice and your director of central intelligence, whoever that may be. And I guess we can confirm today, Mr. President-elect, that it's not me.

I've admired your leadership in Texas. I have valued our discussions on defense issues over the many months. I have studied carefully your address and blueprint for defense that you outlined at The Citadel, and I support it enthusiastically.

In your address there you called for America's capabilities to be designed to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It is clearly not a time at the Pentagon for presiding or calibrating modestly. Rather, we are in a new national security environment. We do need to be arranged to deal with the new threats, not the old ones — as you point out, with information warfare, missile defense, terrorism, defense of our space assets and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction throughout the world.

History teaches us that weakness is provocative. The task you have outlined is to fashion deterrents and defense capabilities so that our country will be able to successfully contribute to peace and stability in the world. I look forward to building a team at the Defense Department that, as you mentioned, can help to develop bipartisan support for the many tasks ahead. It's a great institution, the Defense Department, with a proud heritage, with enormously talented and courageous people. I look forward to serving with them again and, under your leadership, serving with you and your team.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q. Mr. President-elect, much has been made about how long it took you to make this decision. I wonder if you could comment on that? And also tell us whether you have target for completing your cabinet?

MR. BUSH I thought I moved pretty quickly. I can't remember the exact date the election was finally certified, but I know it was 35 days or 36 days after it was supposed to have ended. . . . I hope to have the cabinet completed by the first week, at the end of the first week of January. Don't hold me to it, though.

Q. . . . What priority will you give rebuilding the military in your first 100 days?

MR. BUSH Sure. I — well, first in my budget I can assure you there's going to be a military pay raise greater than the pay raise which was enacted a year ago.

Secondly, I've always believed that, that we're going to have a selling job to do on Congress as to how to modernize the military. And that requires, first and foremost, a top to bottom, a bottom to top review of what exists today and what the military ought to look like tomorrow. And that's going to be one of Don Rumsfeld's first jobs. As to missile defense, there's a selling job to do there as well. But as a good place to start is the report that he put out, which was a compelling argument for the need for the United States to develop a missile defense system that will work.

And so, part of our job is to make sure the budget is right for the military. But part of our job in the executive branch is to provide a blueprint for change, a strategy, and then go to the Hill and sell it. I'll work with Don and Dick to do just that. . . .

Q. Can you address what kind of influence Powell and a vice president like Cheney will have over at the Pentagon given, certainly, his experience and Powell's ——?

MR. BUSH Well, I think, little. Because I've picked a strong leader who is willing to take, to listen to others. But is a decisive leader.

And secondly, inherent in your question is the arrangement's going to be, you know, inside the national security apparatus of the White House. I think that those who follow American diplomacy and politics understand that I've assembled a team of very strong, smart people. And I look forward to hearing their advice. . . .

General Powell's a strong figure and Dick Cheney's no shrinking violet. But neither is Don Rumsfeld. And I view — nor Condi Rice — I view the four as being able to complement each other. There's going to be disagreements. I hope there is disagreement because I know the disagreement will be based upon solid thought. And what you need to know is that if there is disagreement, I'll be prepared to make, to make the decision necessary for the good of the country.

Q. Mr. Bush, you talked about the need for missile defense and the pay raise. Where is all this money going to come from?

MR. BUSH Well, the pay rise is a billion dollars. And I think it's easily attainable in the budget.

The missile defense — there's money being spent now on missile defense. But one of the things Secretary Rumsfeld would do is to present, to work with our O.M.B. director to make sure that the missile defense receives the priority we think it must receive in future Pentagon budgets. . . .

Q. Mr. President-elect, are you having trouble getting a Democrat to join your administration?

MR. BUSH Ah, that's an interesting question. I'm not having any trouble getting Democrats to return my phone calls.

Q. That's a different question.

MR. BUSH Yes it was. But the same answer. You know, we've talked to some Democrats. I've talked to Democrats about their willingness to work with us in Congress. I've talked to some Democrats about whether or not there may be an interest of leaving their current positions. And most people want to stay in place.