Army Secretary-Designate Leaving Government

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

Armitage, currently the assistant defense secretary for international security affairs, “has asked that the President withdraw his name from consideration for Army secretary,” said Peter Williams, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, who added:

“Mr. Armitage also has asked to be relieved of his (current) duties effective June 5. Rich Armitage has been one of the mainstays of the Department of Defense since 1981 . . . he will be greatly missed by his colleagues in the government.”

Williams quoted Armitage as writing 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.

“The Army needs full-time, dedicated leadership. I regret to say that I find myself, at present, after over eight years of 80-hour work weeks, unable to face that challenge,” Armitage wrote.

Armitage has eight children and Williams said his “family priorities . . . were certainly unassailable.”

Bush told Armitage in a written statement that he was withdrawing the nomination with regrets. “Your years of work to build strong defenses for America and its allies and friends around the world has earned the gratitude of the nation. You have helped to renew the bonds of America’s alliances and bring freedom and democracy to people who have never enjoyed them before,” Bush wrote.

Williams had no information on whether Armitage already had found a new job in private industry.

The 43-year-old Armitage early this year had been slated to leave the Pentagon for an executive position at the State Department.