THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604270368
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ANNAPOLIS, MD. LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
Former Navy Secretary James Webb has offered a scathing indictment of the top leadership of the Navy, an institution he said is run by admirals whose main interest is advancing their careers.
Over time, ``an increasing percentage of naval leaders who have been promoted into the highest sanctums of government somehow lost their way,'' Webb said Thursday at the annual meeting of the U.S. Naval Institute, a private organization whose members include many current or retired officers of the Navy and the Marine Corps.
Webb did not single out anyone by name for criticism, and said there are many outstanding leaders. But he said the Navy's leaders have not defended its traditions or culture when such actions were most needed.
Among the leaders Webb praised Thursday was Adm. Charles Larson, superintendent of the Naval Academy. Larson was brought in 20 months ago to restore the academy's image, but has been struggling with problems including a drug scandal and criminal charges filed against several students.
Webb said Larson ``inherited the results of years of politically oriented leadership that threatened the very fabric of this institution.''
``He and the senior officers he put into place have truly begun to bring the academy back to its rightful place as the heart of naval leadership, the cradle of its values,'' he said.
An audience that included several hundred members of the institute and several hundred midshipmen sat through the speech in virtual silence, but gave Webb a standing ovation when he finished.
Retired Vice Adm. Robert Dunn joined Webb at the microphone to tell him that ``the retired community feels pretty much as you do.''
But Dan Howard, acting secretary of the Navy under President Bush, told Webb that his view ``is more in the nature of fiction than history.''
Howard tried to rebut the criticism, but Webb cut him off. After the speech, Howard refused to discuss Webb's criticisms.
Webb is a 1968 graduate of the Naval Academy who was wounded twice and earned four medals in Vietnam. Always outspoken and frequently controversial, he was secretary of the Navy for two years under President Ronald Reagan before resigning to protest cutbacks in the Navy in 1988. by CNB