Poindexter to Receive Demotion Automatically to Rear Admiral

Vice Adm. John M. Poindexter, who resigned as President Reagan’s national security adviser soon after the Iran- contra scandal began unfolding, will receive an automatic demotion today under a law requiring White House action for him to retain his three-star rank.

As a two-star rear admiral, Poindexter will be assigned to the long-range planning staff of the chief of naval operations, a desk job in the Pentagon complex. Officials said that Poindexter, who at age 50 has 29 years of military service, decided against retiring from the Navy.

“I think that it’s the right decision for him and for the Navy,” Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr. told a news briefing. “And keeping him here in Washington keeps him available to continue to resolve the issues that have been raised from his prior duty over at the White House.”

Poindexter was sharply criticized last week by the presidentially appointed commission that investigated events surrounding the sale of arms to Iran and the alleged diversion of some of the proceeds to the Nicaraguan rebels.

Panel’s Criticism

As director of the National Security Council staff, the commission said, Poindexter “apparently failed to appreciate or ignored the serious legal and political risks presented” by the covert operations.

Poindexter’s role has become a target of investigations by congressional committees and by independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh. He has refused to testify, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

Poindexter received his third star in 1985 while serving at the White House. He resigned from the NSC staff in November and received orders to return to Navy duty. Under the law, a three- or four-star admiral or general must continue working in a job designated for that rank to retain his stars. If he moves to a position that is below his rank, he automatically drops a grade after 90 days unless the President nominates him for a new assignment carrying three- or four-star rank.

Such a nomination requires Senate confirmation and, Administration officials acknowledged, Poindexter would be unlikely to get it because of the Iran-contra controversy. Pentagon officials also said that there currently are no vacancies in the Navy’s 30 authorized slots for three-star admirals.

Served Aboard Destroyers

Poindexter, a 1958 Naval Academy graduate, rose through the Navy’s officer ranks during sea duty aboard destroyers before joining the NSC staff. He was deputy national security adviser when he was named in December, 1985, to replace departing National Security Adviser Robert C. McFarlane.

At the Pentagon, Lehman said, Poindexter’s new assignment is one “where his unique experience and expertise can really be of genuine help in the strategic planning of the Navy.”

Lehman declined to speculate on Poindexter’s future in the service. “It really depends on the final resolution of all the issues raised by the various investigations,” he said.

Another NSC staff aide, Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, was fired from his White House job the same day Poindexter resigned. Since then, North has been assigned to the Marine Corps headquarters at the Naval Annex near the Pentagon.