Vows ‘to Defend Dream’ of Freedom, Racial Equality : Powell Honors Blacks Who Served

Gen. Colin L. Powell, in his first public comments since he was chosen to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff last week, paid a moving tribute to the black servicemen and women who preceded him and said his job as the nation’s most senior military officer will be “to defend the dream” of freedom and equality among races.

“The real story is that, yes, I climbed well and I climbed hard, but that I climbed over the cliffs on the backs of those that went before,” said Powell in a speech to the National Assn. of Black Journalists.

“But now that we’re on top and looking over that cliff, there are still more rivers to cross,” Powell said.

If his appointment is confirmed by the Senate, Powell will become the first black to hold the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The 52-year-old officer, now the commander of all U.S.-based American military forces, was the Ronald Reagan Administration’s sixth national security adviser.

Spirited Applause

Powell’s tribute to black soldiers and sailors received spirited applause. He said that his appointment “never would have been possible without the sacrifices of those black soldiers who served this great nation in war for nearly 300 years previously.”

He lauded also the more than 4 million American servicemen and women he will lead. “They protect the dream. They deserve our support,” he declared.

But the general signaled that, like his predecessors, he may be conservative in advising the dispatch of U.S. forces.

“We must never send them forth to freedom’s defense unready or to the call of an uncertain trumpet,” Powell said, referring to the prospect of flagging public and governmental support for future military commitments.

At the same time, Powell offered qualified praise for the Soviet Union and words of caution about prospects for immediate success in the efforts of Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to reform his nation’s economic and political systems.

“Except for in Central America, we even see Soviet foreign policy being more responsible,” Powell said. “The Soviet Union has contributed in its own way to this quieter world.”

But he added that Gorbachev’s “desperate effort to revitalize their economy so they can play in the next century” faces daunting obstacles. “What we are seeing is a process that will take years and decades, not months, to unfold,” Powell said.

However, Powell stopped short of echoing the controversial views of Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, who predicted earlier this year that Gorbachev would fail in his reforms and be replaced by a more hard-line Soviet leader.

A Key Voice

Powell would be the principal military adviser to Cheney and to President Bush, and a key voice in a presidential decision to commit forces to trouble spots abroad. His Senate confirmation hearings are expected to begin in early September. He would succeed Adm. William J. Crowe Jr. on Oct. 1.

Powell, who became an Army officer 10 years after a presidential order ended segregation in the military, applauded the role that the armed forces have played in breaking down racial barriers.

“If you look at the military, you will see the kind of opportunity for advancement that doesn’t exist in every part of our society,” he said.