NATION : Armitage to End Pentagon Career

Richard L. Armitage, a top Defense Department official throughout the Reagan Administration and tapped by President Bush as the next secretary of the Army, has decided to leave government service, the Pentagon said today.

Armitage, assistant defense secretary for international security affairs, wrote in his letter of resignation that he could “no longer accommodate the needs of my ever-growing family with the time and travel demands of public service.” It was not known whether Armitage, who has eight children, had found a job in private industry.