DATE: Friday, November 14, 1997             TAG: 9711140624

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   74 lines

IN SPEECH, ARMY OFFICAL CALLS MARINES "EXTREMISTS" DEFENSE CHIEF SCOLDS HER; GOP SEEKS OUSTER

The Army's personnel chief apologized to the Marines Thursday for calling them ``extremists,'' but not before her comments brought a scolding from Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and a demand for her ouster from Republican lawmakers.

In an incident that hinted at cultural tensions within the military, Assistant Secretary of the Army Sara E. Lister apologized for her comments to a Harvard-sponsored seminar on relations between the armed forces and the civilian world.

Lister told the group, which met in Baltimore on Oct. 26: ``I think the Army is much more connected to society than the Marines are. The Marines are extremists. Whenever you have extremists, you have some risks of total disconnection with society. And that's a little dangerous.''

In a letter to Marine Commandant Charles Krulak, Lister said her use of the word ``extremism was inappropriate and wrong.'' But she insisted her thoughts had been ``taken out of context'' in a news report.

``My point - ineptly put - was that all the services had different relationships with civilian society, based in part on their culture, the size of their force and their mission,'' she wrote Krulak.

On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and other Republicans demanded that Lister be fired immediately. Gingrich said her remark had damaged the morale of the entire military.

``Nothing less than her dismissal and a full apology on your part'' will suffice, Gingrich wrote in a letter to President Clinton.

Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., urged that she be fired.

``This is not an incident that should be brushed aside,'' Coverdell wrote in another letter to Clinton. ``Those who would pose a threat to our interests, like Saddam Hussein, will undoubtedly take notice of whether you will stand with our armed forces.''

The House passed a nonbinding resolution calling for Lister's removal.

Lister announced last month that she intended to leave her post on Nov. 21.

In her comments, Lister also seemed to make fun of the Marines' uniforms, saying that the Marines ``have all these checkerboard fancy uniforms and stuff,'' while the Army ``is sort of muddy boots on the ground.''

The remarks brought a fiery reaction from Krulak, who said in a statement that the comments would ``dishonor hundreds of thousands of Marines whose blood has been shed in the name of freedom. Honor, courage and commitment never are extreme.''

Cohen ``agrees with her 100 percent that the remarks were inappropriate and wrong,'' said Kenneth Bacon, the chief Pentagon spokesman. ``He's satisfied that this has been handled the proper way, with an apology to the commandant.''

The Army and the Marines, both with ground combat missions, are sharply divided by some aspects of their cultures.

The Marines cling fiercely to the corps' traditional ``warrior culture,'' and continue to train men and women separately in boot camp. The Army talks more about cooperation and mutual support to get the mission accomplished, and for the past three years has put men and women together in basic training.

Lister has been a strong advocate of that change and has also pushed to open more jobs near the front lines to women. She has sometimes been outspoken on gender issues. Last week, she criticized the Association of the U.S. Army, the Army's chief professional organization, for putting up $20,000 to support a group that espouses a conservative view of the military's role. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by The Associated Press and

The Los Angeles Times. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

Assistant Secretary of the Army Sara E. Lister says her comments

were taken out of context.

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