DATE: Saturday, November 15, 1997           TAG: 9711150274

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   72 lines

CIVILIAN ARMY OFFICIAL RESIGNS OVER COMMENTS

A day after apologizing to the Marines for branding them an ``extremist organization,'' the Army's top personnel chief resigned Friday in an effort to extinguish a firestorm of criticism before it engulfed the Clinton administration.

Sara E. Lister, the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, submitted a letter of resignation to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, who immediately accepted it, Pentagon officials said.

Lister had been scheduled to retire on Nov. 21, but her abrupt resignation brought an unexpected end to the career of one of the most influential civilians in the Army. Officials offered no details on whether her early departure would affect her benefits or whether Cohen had asked for her resignation.

``You can say she was basically forced out a week early in a display of the military's deep unhappiness with her comments,'' one senior Army officer said.

In a brief statement issued Friday evening, the Army quoted Lister's resignation letter as saying she quit ``because I have finished all the remaining tasks that I had set for myself.'' It did not release the full letter.

Lister's opportunity to leave the military with glory evaporated after the publication of comments she made at an Oct. 26 seminar in Baltimore.

``I think the Army is much more connected to society than the Marines,'' she said, speaking of relations between the armed forces and the civilian world. ``The Marines are extremists. Whenever you have extremists, you have some risks of total disconnection with society. And that's a little dangerous.''

Faced with mounting criticism and calls for her firing, Cohen tried to put the issue behind Lister by embracing her apology and issuing a stern rebuke of her comments.

``We live in a world where people make mistakes, and they apologize for the mistakes and move on,'' Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said Thursday, describing Cohen's view at that time regarding Lister's comments.

He added: ``I think he's satisfied that this has been handled in the proper way with a formal apology. I think this issue is over.''

But Republican lawmakers were not appeased and continued to demand her firing. On Thursday, after several GOP House members took to the floor to lambaste the Clinton administration for tolerating anti-military views, the GOP-led House passed a nonbinding resolution urging the administration to fire Lister.

Within the Marine Corps there was, mixed with the anger over Lister's remarks, a certain pride about the unique role of the corps.

Radio talk show host and former Marine Oliver North said Lister should have referred to the Marines as ``extremely brave, extremely dedicated, extremely fit, and extremely faithful.''

Described by one Army officer as ``imperious,'' Lister had made many enemies at the Pentagon with her ardent support for reversing the current Army and Marine Corps policies against allowing female ground troops in combat.

For example, some military leaders were offended by her role in advocating that Army Secretary Togo West adopt a bold plan to open more jobs near the front lines to women - without consulting the uniformed leaders. When Gen. Gordon Sullivan, then Army chief of staff, found out, he angrily demanded that West rescind the order.

Nevertheless, Lister continued to press for greater responsibilities for women in combat, arguing at times in the media that opportunities for women to serve in combat and other roles were slow to come. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by The Los Angeles Times and

The Associated Press. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Sara E. Lister called Marines ``extremists.''

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