Posted on: Friday, May 3, 2002

'Fine sailor' Blair leaves command

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

Above: Adm. Dennis C. Blair, left, congratulates his successor, Adm. Thomas B. Fargo. Behind them is Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard Myers. Below: Yesterday's ceremony took place at at the Marine Corps Base at Kane'ohe Bay. Photos by Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

With Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coast Guard units behind him, and more than 1,000 assembled guests in attendance, Adm. Dennis C. Blair bowed out of the top military job in the Pacific and a 34-year Navy career yesterday at the Marine Corps Base at Kane'ohe Bay.

F-15 Eagle fighters, C-130 Hercules transports and helicopters swung past the flightline ceremony, and diplomatic and military leaders from more than 20 nations were present to laud the commander in chief of the Pacific Command credited with setting a new standard for military-to-military relations around the globe.

Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, assumed the job as the 20th CINCPAC at Camp Smith. Blair, who leaves Hawai'i today, has taken a position as senior fellow with the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Va.

Blair, 54, pointed to successes in the more than three years he has headed the largest of nine unified commands. Those included the stabilization of East Timor and annual exercises such as Cobra Gold in Thailand with U.S. and Singapore forces.

The Pacific Command includes 308,000 U.S. military personnel and encompasses more than half the Earth's surface and 43 nations from the West Coast to Madagascar.

"Thanks to the work of many of you who are here today, and others who are not here, the Asia-Pacific region has grown significantly more secure in the past three years," Blair said.

Blair also said he is "extremely proud" of Pacific Command combat operations carried out in Operation Enduring Freedom by forces including the Vinson, Kitty Hawk and Stennis aircraft carrier battle groups.

Among those who spoke highly of the job Blair performed were Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, and Fargo, a close friend of Blair's. Adm. Vernon Clark, chief of naval operations, also was present.

"Despite those that said it couldn't work, Adm. Blair's vision led this command away from the old paradigm of bi-lateral relationships," Wolfowitz said. "He developed a new model — a multi-lateral security approach that encourages countries in the region to talk and train together."

Wolfowitz likened Blair to Teddy Roosevelt, who was a warrior, but helped end the Russo-Japanese war.

"He understood the relationship between peace and strength," Wolfowitz said. "He was a warrior, leader and diplomat, cut from the same cloth as the fine sailor that we honor today."

Myers, who received the job as joint chiefs chairman that Blair was among the finalists for, said Blair "always gave those of us back in Washington the right vector check on what we needed to do to enhance cooperation and enhance security in the Asia-Pacific region."

Myers noted that a month ago, Sen. Dan Inouye, D-Hawai'i, told Blair, "We pray that your successor will read the book that you wrote."

"Fortunately, Adm. Fargo not only read the book, he helped Denny write a large portion of it," Myers said.

Fargo told of Blair's staff making a discreet inquiry last fall.

"The question — 'Is there a destroyer that might be exercising in the local operations areas in the next few weeks?'" Fargo, 53, recalled. It turned out Blair wanted a last return to sea duty — without the usual fanfare and entourage that usually accompanies him.

"I think that says more about Denny's motivation, his spirit and his character, than any other backroom insight," Fargo said.

Blair noted two crises on his watch — the sinking of the Ehime Maru by the submarine USS Greeneville, and the mid-air collision of an EP-3 surveillance plane with a Chinese fighter jet.

The Greeneville incident — including the U.S. Navy's recovery effort — led to a sustained and successful effort to keep the Japanese-American relationships strong, Blair said.

Following the EP-3 incident, meanwhile, "the first days were dark," Blair said. "(But) the net effect of that incident, I believe, has been positive."