
DATE: Tuesday, June 10, 1997                TAG: 9706100236

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:  134 lines

RALSTON GIVES UP JOINT CHIEFS BID WITH LITTLE SUPPORT, GENERAL PUTS FIGHT BEHIND HIM

Air Force Gen. Joseph W. Ralston gave up his fight to become the nation's top military officer on Monday, his candidacy doomed by the clamor over his admission that he had an adulterous affair years ago.

Ralston, 53, mounted a last-ditch effort on Capitol Hill trying to save his once-bright chance to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But he took his name out of the running when it became apparent he had little backing.

He will, however, stay on as vice chairman of the joint chiefs, the nation's top group of military policy advisers, at the request of Defense Secretary William Cohen.

President Clinton said he was pleased that Ralston would be staying on.

Despite those endorsements, there was a sense of relief at the White House and on Capitol Hill that Ralston's withdrawal had averted a potentially bitter and divisive fight.

In recent days, lawmakers and women's groups had accused the military of following a double standard - allowing an adulterous general to be promoted while hundreds of lower-ranking service members faced severe disciplinary action for similar actions.

``The attempt to have one standard for a four-star general and another for a first lieutenant was bound to fail,'' said Rep. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., referring to Air Force 1st Lt. Kelly Flinn, the B-52 pilot who recently resigned after being threatened with a court-martial.

Rep. Tillie Fowler, R-Fla., a member of a congressional delegation visiting military bases to study sexual harassment, fraternization and related issues, said Ralston ``didn't have a chance to be confirmed. It was going be a media event every day.''

Now, she said, the Pentagon must carry through with Secretary Cohen's proposal to study the rules governing social contact in the military and come up with specific policies ``so that every member of the service, from the lowest level to the highest ranking leaders . . . is treated consistently.''

Cohen, in a statement issued at the Pentagon, said Ralston was fully qualified to be chairman and had ``served with distinction.''

But he added, ``General Ralston believes that a prolonged fight for Senate confirmation would be harmful to his family and would be a distraction from other serious national security issues.''

Administration officials had made it clear that the White House wanted the controversy laid to rest. Yet the general, in his own statement, said the decision was his.

``I make it with a sense of regret,'' he said. ``My regret is that the public discussion surrounding my potential nomination blurred the facts . . . and gave the appearance of a double standard regarding military justice. I don't believe there is a double standard.''

Cohen is expected to take several weeks to decide on a new choice to succeed Gen. John Shalikashvili. Top prospects include Gen. Wesley Clark, the Army commander of U.S. forces in Central and South America, as well as Adm. Joseph Lopez, currently in charge of NATO's southern flank.

Cohen met at the White House for lunch with Samuel ``Sandy'' Berger, the president's national security adviser. White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said the discussions followed ``conversations during the weekend'' between the two presidential advisers, in addition to discussions among White House and the Defense Department staffs.

The president is ``not directly'' involved in the search for a new chairman, McCurry explained, adding: ``But obviously the White House has had conversations back and forth with the Pentagon just to understand what the state of the situation is. We will await a report from Secretary Cohen.''

The White House spokesman sought to downplay the discussions between Cohen and Berger, portraying them as a routine weekly get-together.

Cohen has ``lunch with Berger and others on a regular basis, usually at the first of the week,'' McCurry said. Cohen is ``continuing to look at the matter'' of Ralston's replacement, McCurry said, adding that any additional details would come from the Pentagon.

Ralston had been traveling in Asia when news broke last week that he had had an adulterous affair with a CIA employee while he was a student at the National War College and separated from his wife in the mid-1980s.

Cohen said last week he did not think the affair disqualified Ralston from consideration as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The secretary then became a subject of criticism as some lawmakers cited the case of Flinn, who had faced a court-martial for adultery as well as lying and disobeying a direct order.

On Sunday, Ralston cut short his trip to discuss his situation with family and colleagues.

During a meeting Monday with Cohen and Shalikashvili, Ralston asked for time to talk face-to-face with members of Congress. Cohen agreed to give him the time.

``He's been getting letters and calls from old friends telling him to hang tough, that this would blow over,'' said a senior Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. But when Ralston began making phone calls seeking support on Capitol Hill, he got a cool reception, the official said.

Even at the end, a second official said, Ralston believed that he could win the fight for a nomination but felt it would be ``draining, difficult and distracting.''

Shalikashvili said Ralston's decision to withdraw his name from consideration as his successor ``makes this a very sad day for me.''

He called Ralston, who had been his pick for the job, a distinguished ``warrior, leader and a consummate professional'' as well as his ``most trusted adviser and a most valued friend.'' MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by The Associated Press,

Knight-Ridder News Service and Hearst News Service. ILLUSTRATION: Graphics

FACTS

What is the join chiefs?

The nation's top group of military policy advisers.

Possible candidates

Gen. Wesley Clark, the Army commander of U.S. forces in Central

and South America, and Adm. Joseph Lopez, currently in charge of

NATO's southern flank.

THE CONFLICT

Within the military

The Pentagon had been accused of a double standard in considering

the promotion of Ralston in the aftermath of the punishment of 1st