Poindexter Seeks to Retire With ‘Head Held High’

Former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter has asked to retire from the Navy, wanting to leave “with his head held high” and before any Iran- contra indictments are returned, a friend said Thursday.

Poindexter requested that he be allowed to retire at the rank of vice admiral, which he held while working at the White House, rather than rear admiral. That is the rank to which he was reduced when he left his post after details of the affair were disclosed last November, Pentagon sources said.

Such a request would have to be approved by President Reagan and then confirmed by the Senate.

During the congressional hearings to investigate the Iran-contra affair, Poindexter testified that he kept Reagan in the dark about the diversion of Iranian arms-sales profits to the U.S.-backed Nicaraguan rebels. He also said he destroyed a presidential document authorizing the Iranian arms sales as a weapons-for-hostages transaction, fearing political embarrassment if it became public.

Protecting Navy’s Image

Retired Rear Adm. Clarence A. Hill, a friend of Poindexter’s and trustee of his legal defense fund, said Poindexter “is very concerned about the image of the U.S. Navy.”

He said Poindexter wants to leave the service before independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh obtains grand jury indictments, which Hill said he expected would name Poindexter.

“He said he left the hearings with his head held high,” Hill said of Poindexter. “He’s in the position to do that from the Navy now. . . . I think it makes good sense.”

Hill also said Poindexter faces an “extremely difficult” prospect of trying to win a Navy job carrying three-star vice admiral status now, given his role in the affair and the possibility that Senate members could block his appointment.

Poindexter has no job lined up and will probably spend a year or so before deciding what sort of work he wants to pursue, Hill said.

The Navy refused to discuss the matter in detail Thursday, but did confirm that “Adm. Poindexter has announced his intention to retire.”

Pentagon sources said Poindexter disclosed his decision to request retirement to top officials on Wednesday, specifying a desire to step down effective Oct. 1 after nearly 30 years service.

Poindexter made the request to retire at the higher rank “as a matter of principle,” believing he is entitled to the extra star in retirement because of his service in a three-star job at the White House, one official said.