Admiral Assails News Stories of Supply Abuses

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

Adm. James D. Watkins, 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.”

The aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, which is based here, has received extensive publicity since an aviation storekeeper on the ship was arrested in July in connection with an alleged international military parts smuggling ring. However, Watkins noted that the carrier 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.”

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 aboard the carrier. 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.”

Watkins’ comments Friday came during a 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.