Reagan Asked to Clear Name of Admiral in Ashtray Purchase

In what they call “an unprecedented action,” all 19 members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have asked President Reagan to clear the name of Thomas J. Cassidy Jr., the retired Navy rear admiral who was fired 16 months ago and then later reinstated over his role in the purchase of $659 aircraft ashtrays.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) charged Thursday that the Navy has still not fully explained why Cassidy was “fingered” by Secretary John F. Lehman Jr. The senator criticized Lehman for a “rash and unwarranted action that has unfairly turned a distinguished naval officer into an unjustified political scapegoat for Pentagon waste and abuse.”

A Navy spokesman reached in Washington on Thursday said Lehman would have no comment on the Cassidy case.

Cassidy, who retired a year ago as commander of the Pacific Fleet’s Airborne Early Warning Wing, was ousted from his command May 30, 1985, along with two other officers who were removed from their jobs at Miramar Naval Air Station for buying two ashtrays for the E-2C Hawkeye from Grumman Corp. at such expensive prices.

Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger publicly announced the firings at the time by saying, “There was no excuse for it . . . the item was identified specifically, and the outrageous price was identified, and there were two signatures on it. Nobody paid the slightest attention to the basic idea that the price bore no relationship whatever to the value of the item procured, or indeed the need for that item.”

The Navy launched an investigation into the firings after Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego) and others claimed that the officers were not responsible for the purchases. Despite the probe’s findings that all three officers performed “superbly” and should be exonerated, Lehman decided to reinstate Cassidy and uphold the firing of Capt. Gary Hakanson and Cmdr. Jerry Fronabarger.

Hakanson has since retired and Fronabarger was transferred to the Navy International Logistics Control Center in Philadelphia.

Cassidy remains in San Diego doing independent consulting work for defense contractors, but has been unable to land a full-time job. Cassidy said Thursday he had no way of knowing whether the negative publicity has hurt his chances of finding employment.

Cassidy declined to say whether he had asked Kennedy or any other members of the Armed Services Committee to write the letter to Reagan. The senators who signed the letter include Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), Gary Hart (D-Colo.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), John W. Warner (R-Va.) and John Glenn (D-Ohio).

The letter, dated Oct. 8, asks the President to “rehabilitate the reputation and standing” of Cassidy. It lists Cassidy’s “long, distinguished career” of 34 years as a naval aviator, in which he accumulated 5,000 flight hours, was commanding officer of a fighter squadron during the Vietnam War and won numerous flying decorations.

“We believe that the unfavorable publicity surrounding Adm. Cassidy’s relief was unfortunate, and we hope that, with this letter, we are able to undo some of the damage that was done to him in the eyes of his fellow officers and in the eyes of the American public,” the senators wrote.

The letter does not ask Reagan to do anything specific.

Kennedy, who was responsible for putting together the letter, was with Cassidy during a visit to Miramar last year when Lehman called to inform Cassidy about the firing. Kennedy has pursued the issue since then, said one of the senator’s aides.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Cassidy said, “The implication was that wrong was done. Nobody bothered to say, ‘Hey guys, we made a mistake.’

“I didn’t do anything wrong at Miramar . . . I think an apology is in order. That is what I would expect to see.”