(OT) No. 2 Pentagon Official Resigns

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http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000110/pl/pentagon_resignation_5.html

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Monday January 10 1:37 PM ET

No. 2 Pentagon Official Resigns

By ROBERT BURNS AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - John Hamre, the deputy secretary of defense, is resigning to become head of a major Washington-based think tank, Defense Secretary William Cohen announced today.

Cohen said he recommended that President Clinton nominate Rudy de Leon, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, to replace Hamre in the No. 2 Pentagon post.

``John Hamre has been my friend and partner in running the department,'' Cohen said in a written statement. ``He approaches all issues with extreme confidence and an extraordinary sense of humor.''

Cohen said Hamre's biggest achievements were increasing the Pentagon's computer security and improving its business practices.

Both Hamre and de Leon came to the Pentagon during Les Aspin's tenure as defense secretary in 1993.

Cohen credited de Leon with tackling many of the Pentagon's toughest problems, including most recently a growing controversy over the way the services implement the administration's policy on gays in the military.

De Leon also has been overseeing an Army investigation of allegations that American troops killed hundreds of South Korean civilians during the opening weeks of the Korean War in 1950.

De Leon was undersecretary of the Air Force from 1994-97. Before becoming Aspin's special assistant in 1993, de Leon was staff director for the House Armed Services Committee, which Aspin had chaired.

Cohen said Hamre will leave March 31 and become president and chief executive officer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Hamre has held the No. 2 job since July 1997. Before that he was the Pentagon's comptroller for four years and he spent 10 years as a staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Cohen accepted Hamre's resignation last week, and Hamre informed his staff today.

Hamre took the lead role in preparing the Defense Department's far-flung computer networks for the Y2K rollover.

In his new job at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Hamre will oversee one of the nation's most prominent public policy research institutions. Founded in 1962, the center's current president is Richard Fairbanks, former ambassador-at-large in the Reagan administration.

-- (in@the.news), January 10, 2000

Answers

Y2K related I assume:

-- Notforlong (Fsur439@aol.com), January 10, 2000.

Probably failed the gays in the military administration policy test.

-- Squid (ItsDark@down.here), January 10, 2000.

``He approaches all issues with extreme confidence and an extraordinary sense of humor.'' !!!!

I know this is a Democrat administration but I would like to believe there was some competent person somewhere in this administration. Just wishful thinking I suppose.

LDD

-- Larry Dreadon (larrydd@worldnet.att.net), January 10, 2000.


But Larry, wouldn't you rather have a confident and funny incompetent than a pessimistic, dour one, regardless of their politics? I mean, this is still the government we're talking about...

-- harl (harlanquin@aol.hell), January 11, 2000.

Another article on this topic adds this little tidbit:

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1009-200-1519938.html?tag=st

[snip]

Under Hamre's leadership, U.S. military computers and weapons were ready for the Y2K rollover by Dec. 16, 1999, after an 18-month readiness effort costing taxpayers $3.6 billion.

[snip]

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), January 11, 2000.



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