WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized the Air Force's performance in Iraq and Afghanistan Monday, saying the service needs to do more.

In a speech at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., he said asking for extra support from the Air Force for war efforts had been "like pulling teeth" and accused some air force leaders of being "stuck in old ways of doing business."

The Pentagon chief said he wants the air force to deploy more reconnaissance aircraft that provides real-time surveillance footage in war zones, but the air force did not respond well.

"I've been wrestling for months to get more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets into the theater," Gates said.

"Because people were stuck in old ways of doing business, it's been like pulling teeth," he said.

Gates, who had served in the air force in the 1960s, said he had set up a Pentagon taskforce last week to address his concerns.