Pentagon press secretary to step down in November

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pentagon Press Secretary George Little announced on Friday he has decided to step down effective November 15 after two years as the Defense Department's top spokesman and four years in a similar role at the Central Intelligence Agency. Little said he was leaving so he could spend more time with his family, and that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had accepted his decision after they first discussed it last month. He said the search for a successor was under way. Little served as CIA spokesman under directors Mike Hayden and Leon Panetta. He moved to the Pentagon as chief spokesman when Panetta was named defense secretary to replace Robert Gates. Panetta stepped down as defense secretary earlier this year and was succeeded by Hagel. Little's announcement came a week after Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that he was leaving in December after four years in senior Pentagon jobs. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Eric Beech)