European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 17, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday december 17, 1993 Pentagon transition the stars and stripes Page 5 Aspin had the resume but not the fire Power major events in Aspin career As Dod chief by the associated press a Jan. 23. A memo by Les Aspin to president Clinton is leaked and suggests giving the defense Secretary six months to draft an executive order lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military. Clinton a Public position was that he would lift the ban immediately upon taking office. A Jan. 24. Aspin meets with the joint chiefs of staff to try to a head off a revolt Over Clinton a plan to lift the Gay ban. A feb. 21. Asp is hospitalized after suffering shortness of breath linked to a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy a thickening of the heart muscle. He says he will get a pacemaker. A March 12. Aspin announces Clinton a first round of base closures and realignments. The proposal would shut 31 bases and scale Back 134 others. Republicans criticize the plan As politically motivated. A March 16. Aspin is hospitalized again this time with a Chest infection. A pacemaker is installed two Days later. A May 18. Aspin says he will repay Only $390 of the $3,105 it Cost to repair the roof on his Washington House. The repairs performed in january by the defense department were to protect $165,000 Worth of government communications and Security equipment being installed in the attic. A May 25. Aspin travels to Europe to discuss the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina with nato officials. He spends the last several Days of the european trip vacationing at an expensive Venice hotel with a woman Friend. While Aspin and Sharon Sharton of Lake Geneva wis., paid for the personal part of the trip taxpayers footed the Bill for several aides and a doctor who accompanied them. A july 13. Aspin recommends to Clinton that homosexuals be allowed to serve in the military As Long As they make no Public or private declaration of their orientation. Gay leaders react angrily. A aug. 13. After weeks of being pressed for an accounting the Pentagon reveals that Aspinw a five night vacation in Venice Cost taxpayers $35,941 in food and lodging for his entourage. A sept. 21. Travel vouchers show Aspinw a Venice vacation Cost taxpayers $42,000, including hundreds of dollars in water taxis a a Security control room Quot and cellular phones. A oct. 3. Aspin rejects suggestions that the United states immediately withdraw from Somalia amid reports that . Marines were wounded in a mine blast. A oct. 4. Aspin overrules his new Navy Secretary and decides not to fire adm. Frank b. Kelso ii the Navy Slop officer Over his handling of the Tail Hook sex scandal. A oct. 3. Eighteen americans die in a firefight with forces Loyal to somalian clan Leader Mohamed Farrah aided. A oct. 7. Reports surface that Aspin twice rebuffed Gen. Colin l. Powell chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in september when Powell recommended sending tanks and armoured vehicles along with additional troops to Somalia. Sen. Alfonse m. Do Amator a. Y., demands that Aspin be fired. Aspin says he regrets his decision but has no plans to resign. A nov. 9. Aspin s spokeswoman denies he plans to resign and says Clinton is satisfied with is performance. A nov. 23. Aspin apologizes for crossing a flight attendants picket line to catch a flight for a Caribbean vacation. A dec. 12. Aspin says the Pentagon May need $50 billion More than budgeted for the next five years because inflation was underestimated and a military pay raise was not figured in. He indicates differences with budget director Leon e. Panetta Over the matter. A dec. 15, Aspin puts the troubled c-17 cargo plane program on two year probation and threatens to buy Only 40 of the Long Range transports unless the manufacturer improves the program. ,. Hours later Aspin resigns citing personal reasons. By Norman Kempster and Robin Wright los Angeles times Washington a in 22 years in the House Les Aspin slowly turned himself into one of the most pow Erful Barons of Congress on military issues and National Security. But in the 12 months since he accepted president Clinton a offer to become Secretary of defense the position for which his whole career in Washington seemed to have prepared him Aspin lived a Nightmare a a year from hell that ended with his resignation under pressure on a cold and Rainy evening wednes Day. A. Starting with the Pentagon a rebellious Battle Over Gays in the military and stretching through the grinding frustrations of Washington a inability to apply its super Power status to such trouble spots As Somalia Bosnia and Haiti Aspinw a year at the Pentagon bore Little re semblance to the exercises in grand strategy and Mill tary Reform that were dear to his heart. Intellectually impressive but chronically disorganized Aspin was sorely miscast at the Pentagon an institution that prizes organization Over intellect. Moreover he tried to run the Pentagon a the nations largest bureaucracy a the same Way he ran his office on Capitol Hill instead of building an All embracing network of appointees who could see that his wishes were followed a and provide crucial warnings of impending trouble a he worked almost exclusively with a Small group of aides Many of them from his old congressional staff. They knew Aspin and they knew the issues but they did not know a the building As Pentagon veterans Call it. Often impatient with its ingrained ways the Aspin team tended to get swords crossed with the institution on matters Large and Small. Even when he was reflecting a consensus Aspinw a shambling professorial manner made him a less than commanding spokesman at least in the military a eyes. As a result the Secretary a relations with the uniformed services a strained from the beginning a never jelled. A folks at the Pentagon never took to him which was part of his problem a a former High ranking Pentagon official said. A the was always a poor advocate on behalf of the Pentagon a in front of cameras in front of Congress or in Public a in naming the former chairman of the House armed services committee Clinton clearly hoped to gain credibility on Capitol Hill. But in Aspinw a troubled year some of his worst defeats were suffered in Congress. Within Days of Aspinw a arrival in office administration defense policy was overshadowed by a bruising fight Over Clinton s Campaign Promise to allow Gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces. The services rebelled publicly. Aspin tried to cobble together a Compromise that Washington a retired adm. Bobby Ray Inman president Clinton a Choice to be the next defense Secretary is a military intelligence expert who has advised Republican and democratic administrations. If confirmed Inman would succeed defense Secretary Les Aspin who announced wednesday that he would resign Jan 20., now a computer company executive in Texas Inman became the youngest director of the super secret National Security Agency and was chief Deputy to the late Cia director William j. Casey for 18 months in 198182 until he resigned because of differences with Reagan administration policies. He s also Well known to some prominent Washington outsiders. After Inman returned to private life in Texas business tycoon and former presidential candidate Ross Perot another former Navy Man used him to get a private message to president Reagan a National Security director during the Iran Contra arms for hos tages affair. His last big splash in Washington was As a staunch defender of Robert m. Gates a one time assistant to become Cia director in the Bush administration. Inman was a frequently mentioned candidate to be Clinton a defense Secretary when the newly elected president was putting his Cabinet together last year. Inman said at the time that he did not want another full time Washington Job. Before that he had been widely reported to be Onles Asp inane birth Date 55 july 21,1938. Education Yale University a 1960 Oxford University a 1962, Massachusetts Institute of technology ph.d., 1965. Experience staff assistant id . San. William Proxmire 1960 staff assistant. Council of economic advisers 1963 army 1966-68 assistant professor Marquette University 1969-70 . House of representatives 1971-93 House armed services committee chairman 1985-93 Secretary of defense 1993. Family divorced. Quote Quot in a shocked shocked politics is going on hers Quot Tongue in Cheek remark during House hearing on base closings. A a _ Quot. A s4s would keep Clinton a Promise. But ultimately the administration had to go along with the a a done task done to Tell plan advocated by sen. Sam Nunn a a. The controversy damaged the relationship of Clinton and Aspin with the uniformed services. Then there was the october episode in Somalia when . Army rangers were caught in an ambush and commanders did not have the tanks and heavy armaments they needed for a prompt Rescue. Eighteen rangers died. When it was Learned that the commanders had requested such equipment and warned that they could not protect american lives under some circumstances a communications that Aspin had not acted upon a the Secretary acknowledged that he had made  mistake of his tenure at the Pentagon. Aspin also Drew widespread criticism from the defense establishment for slowness in getting a team in place. In part he was Hamstrung by White House insistence on playing a major role in personnel decisions a a tendency that has plagued the whole administration. And some of the choices proved controversial in Congress. Many senior officers also said they believed Aspin and his inner Circle were too Busy worrying about strategy to focus on the needs and views of the armed forces. All this added up to an unforgivable abdication of the defense Secretary a first responsibility to protect the armed services. President Bush a Short list for the Pentagon Job that went to Dick Cheney. Inman told a Senate panel in 1989 that immediate action was needed to Stem erosion of the defense Industrial base. A i should have put my Money into to Bills instead of defense production a he said in a Light vein but advised against legislation under consideration at the time to restrict the ability of the . Military to make purchases from foreign suppliers. Inman is familiar to Many Capitol Hill veterans especially senators dealing with defense and intelligence issues. A Admiral Inman arrives As a career naval officer a Cheney noted thursday in a television interview conducted before Clinton a announcement. A the knows the department extremely Well and i think he already has a Well established set of relationships with Many of the senior military peo ple hell be working with a. Inman is president and chief executive officer of microelectronics and computer technology corp. In Austin Texas. A Law barring uniformed military personnel from serving As defense Secretary for at least 10 years after they leave the service would not be a problem for Inman since he retired in 1982 when he left the Cia. Born in Rhonesboro Texas on april 4, 1931, Inman was graduated from the University of Texas in 1950 and was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy two years later rising to Admiral by 1981. Inman Well known in defense circles