DATE: Friday, September 19, 1997            TAG: 9709190840

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   67 lines

COMMANDER'S MESSAGE: NATO MUST BUILD TRUST AS IT EXPANDS

Only a ``lack of trust'' prevents America and the NATO alliance from creating the truly modern, integrated force it will need in the future, said the retiring Marine Corps general who tried to nurture that effort for the past three years.

Developing that trust won't be easy, Gen. John J. ``Jack'' Sheehan said Thursday, during a ``departure ceremony'' aboard the carrier John C. Stennis that was attended by some of the nation's - and NATO's - highest-ranking defense leaders.

But it won't be impossible, he added, as former Soviet republics join NATO's fold and begin working as ``partners for peace'' with their new allies.

``We are moving in the right direction,'' said Sheehan, retiring after 35 years of service. ``But these young men and women cannot do it without your active encouragement and leadership.

``Leadership in today's military is not an intellectual exercise, but rather a contact sport . . . encourage people to think . . . care about people

Sheehan has served since October 1994 as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic and commander-in-chief of the U.S. Atlantic Command, both commands based in Norfolk.

Army Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lauded Sheehan for his tireless efforts as the premier trainer of 1.8 million active-duty and reserve American forces, plus his work with the NATO alliance in Bosnia and in the Caribbean during Haiti's crisis.

``He has had an extraordinarily full plate,'' said Shalikashvili. ``He is an innovator and visionary without fear. . . . He is an accomplished soldier and diplomat able to move with assurance in alliance capitals and the corridors of Washington, D.C.''

Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, noting that Sheehan was the first to jump Monday from a C-17 transport during a NATO paratrooper exercise in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, said he wasn't surprised the 57-year-old four-star general attempted such a feat three days before his retirement.

``For Jack Sheehan, the extraordinary of long ago becomes the ordinary,'' he said.

Top NATO leaders also lauded Sheehan, among them Dr. Javier Solana, the alliance's Secretary General, and German Army Gen. Klaus Naumann, chairman of NATO's military committee. Several hundred allied officers and staff, plus a few Russian officers, also attended.

Absent, however, was the Navy admiral nominated to take Sheehan's place - Adm. Harold W. Gehman Jr., previously Sheehan's deputy at the Atlantic Command and now vice chief of naval operations.

Gehman's confirmation to his new post has not been completed by the Senate, which dampened festivities since it could not include a change of command. It was an event Sheehan did not let go unnoticed.

``I was called at 11 a.m. . . . and (told) I was having a departure ceremony instead of a change of command, because the Senate failed to vote on Adm. Gehman,'' Sheehan said.

``I must admit this is the first time in 35 years I ever attended a departure ceremony. Unlike a change of command, I guess my role today is not unlike that of a body at an Irish wake. The only difference is, I get to hear what the distinguished guests say.'' ILLUSTRATION: BILL TIERNAN photos/The Virginian-Pilot

Above, Marine Corps Gen. John J. ``Jack'' Sheehan finishes his

remarks Thursday at his departure ceremony aboard the carrier John

C. Stennis. At right, Petty Officer 3rd Class Alyssa Kirk, part of

the color guard for the ceremony, gets some help with her hat from

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Dennis Wolterding. The ceremony took place under

gray skies, punctuated by wind gusts.

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