Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 20, 1994 TAG: 9404200031
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The 54-43 vote allows Kelso to retire as a four-star admiral with a pension of $84,340 a year.
Under federal law, the Senate must give consent for officers to retire at three- and four-star rankings. In Kelso's case, a two-star retirement would have meant a loss of $16,873 a year in his pension.
The women senators were given moral support by nine female members of the House, who marched into the Senate chamber as the debate began. As time wore on, several male senators also spoke against the four-star retirement, and tension in the chamber grew.
The Navy's 1991 Tailhook convention, attended by Kelso, was "a sordid, sleazy stain on the U.S. Navy" at which women were harassed and assaulted, said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who led the senators against Kelso.
In support of Kelso, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., accused the others of trying to "humiliate" the Navy chief and "force him from the service under a cloud which will stain and destroy his reputation for the rest of his life."
Sen. James Exon, D-Neb., praised Kelso for putting "real beef into the policy of zero tolerance" of sexual harassment.
The debate was as much about the Senate sensitivity to women's role in society as it was about Kelso. Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, urged his colleagues to "look beyond the symbolism."
"I believe [Kelso] would rather have physical mutilation than have the U.S. Senate vote, in effect, that he is responsible for Tailhook," he said.
The women fought back by reading the government's Tailhook report detailing the demeaning way women at the convention were treated.
"This is the first time the seven women of the Senate have pulled together [on one issue]. It should be noted. It should be heeded. It is important," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
As a House member in 1991, Boxer had marched with other congresswomen to the Senate to protest the confirmation vote of Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court after he was accused of sexually harassing Anita Hill.
A key supporter of Thomas in that debate, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., spoke out against Kelso, saying too many questions existed about Tailhook.
Kelso is retiring after a 38-year-career in which he rose to be a popular and well-respected chief of naval operations. But his final years have been clouded by questions about his role in Tailhook.
Kelso, who was at the convention, denied knowledge of the sexual misconduct.
But a Navy judge in February cast doubt on Kelso's innocence and suggested he was manipulating the inquiry to deflect blame from himself and other senior officers.
by CNB