Top Admiral Assails Press ‘Trivia’ Stories on Navy Supply Abuses

The chief of naval operations blasted the media for their recent coverage of Navy supply abuses in a San Diego speech Friday, saying that outstanding military service aboard aircraft carriers should not be allowed to sink under the “over-bloated and unbalanced criticism of relative trivia.”

Adm. James D. Watkins, who holds the Navy’s highest command, said, “To paraphrase Will Rogers, ‘If all I knew is what I read in the papers,’ I would think Navy performance was all about a defense procurement system on a supermarket shopping spree buying as much as it could for as much as it could.”

Watkins noted that the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, which has received much publicity since an aviation storekeeper on the ship was arrested in July in connection with an international theft and military parts smuggling ring, achieved operational records on its last major deployment, including 8,500 successful landings and launches without losing a single pilot or aircraft.

“This sure doesn’t sound to me like the performance of a crippled ship or a floating horror story of scandal and crime,” Watkins said. “Nor should responsible Americans allow her to be so libeled.”

Watkins’ comments came during an upbeat ceremony held aboard the aircraft carrier Ranger during which Vice Adm. Crawford A. Easterling was officially relieved by Rear Adm. James E. Service as commander of the Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet.

The change of command, which began with a Navy band playing “Anchors Away” and ended with hundreds of guests munching on jumbo shrimp and cheeses, was tempered by Watkins’ booming remarks.

In his speech, titled “Let’s Keep Our Perspective,” Watkins:

- Said that if President Reagan had not reversed a decade of neglect in 1980 by padding the defense budget with billions of dollars, “we would still have crippling readiness . . . problems that had us on our knees by last decade’s end.”

- Claimed that Navy investigators--not the media or congressional committees--have been responsible for uncovering cases of fraud, waste and abuse. He said that at any time about 700 major investigations are initiated by the Navy to ferret out inefficient supply practices.

“The sensationalists give us no credit for shaking our own trees. But instead they heap criticism on the few rotten apples we find in their apparent trivial pursuit of whistle-blower glory. I call it a bum rap. Yet it seems to be the case far too often today.”

(In a meeting Thursday with the editors of the San Diego Union and Tribune, however, Watkins applauded whistle-blower Robert Jackson, a former Kitty Hawk auditor, for coming forward with alleged purchasing abuses. He also credited Rep. Jim Bates, D-San Diego, for “listening to people who tried to get their message through the system and couldn’t.”)

- Said that exorbitant supply purchases such as $600 ashtrays and similar prices for one claw hammer, two diodes and several toilet seats account for a total of $750,000 compared to a $180 billion Navy budget.

“What worries me about this overplayed negativism paraded about each day is this: Americans are getting sidetracked by discussions about the price of a handful of toilet seats and ashtrays when national leaders should be marshaling their intellects to find a steady course for defense of the free world.”

Later, at a San Diego Chamber of Commerce luncheon to honor community work by military personnel, Watkins called for the country to celebrate “Enlisted Recognition Day” each year with fireworks and ticker-tape parades.

“Let’s remember that America’s greatest victories are achieved by men and women in uniform who seek no guarantees or special rewards, but just a little recognition and a pat on the back for a job well done.”

During the change of command ceremony aboard the Ranger, Service became the 23rd commander of the Pacific Fleet’s Naval Air Force. From 1982 through last month, Service was president of the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.

Easterling, who has been commander for the last three years, will retire from the Navy and spearhead fund-raising efforts for construction of the National Fitness Academy in Laguna Niguel.