Posted on: Friday, October 8, 2004

EDITORIAL
Pacom failure falls at Rumsfeld's door

A presidential appointment that comes unglued after a few pointed questions in a Senate hearing is an appointment that should never have been made.

Hours after being skewered by Sen. John McCain, Air Force Gen. Gregory "Speedy" Martin asked that his name be withdrawn from nomination to the crucial post of commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, headquartered here at Camp Smith.

Martin's nomination was not tripped up, as many might have predicted, by the annoyance of Hawai'i Sen. Dan Inouye and others over an Air Force general being named to what traditionally has been a Navy admiral's post.

Indeed, we support in principle that portion of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's transformation policy that calls for service branches to find ways to integrate the military while outgrowing their culture of competitiveness.

That said, however, running the Pacific Command is arguably one of the toughest military/diplomatic jobs anywhere, even without the additional burden of coming aboard as an outsider. We voiced concern when Martin was nominated that his only Asia-Pacific experience decades ago when he was in the cockpit of fighter planes.

And the added hint of scandal disqualifies Martin entirely. His intimate involvement in Air Force acquisition issues has tarred him, fairly or not, in the controversy over Air Force plans to spend billions to acquire new refueling aircraft. Martin had worked closely with a senior civilian Air Force official who has been sentenced to prison in that mess.

It's not clear whether Rumsfeld overlooked this problem or ignored it. Either way, it's cause for dismay.