WASHINGTON -- Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett III resigned under pressure Friday, accepting 'full responsibility' for the 'Tailhook' incident that involved the sexual assault of Navy women by drunken naval aviators.
President Bush, described as 'very upset' by the celebrated case, accepted Garrett's resignation following a briefing on the matter by Defense Secretary Richard Cheney.
'Sexual harassment will not be tolerated,' presidential press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said in announcing the surprise action.
The resignation came just days after one of the two dozen victims of last fall's assaults in Las Vegas talked about the matter publicly, complaining that the Navy had failed to adequately investigate.
There had also been growing calls on Capitol Hill for Garrett to step down as part a sweeping investigation.
At the Pentagon, a Navy official said Garrett 'decided on his own to resign. But he was clearly under pressure -- pressure from the media, pressure from Congress and elsewhere.'
The official said the case had become a distraction and Garrett felt it was impossible to conduct other Navy business.
'He made it clear, as he did all along, that he neither saw nor engaged in any inappropriate conduct, but was tendering his resignation to accept responsibility for the Navy,' the official said.
The official read to a reporter a message that Garrett sent to all Navy and Marine personnel around the world shortly before his resignation was announced by the White House.
In it, Garrett said: 'The tradition of the Navy mandates that senior officials accepts ultimate responsibility for their command.'
'This afternoon, I tendered my resignation to the president. In doing so, I accepted full responsbility for the handling of the Tailhook incident and the leadership failure which allowed such misconduct to occur.'
'It has been a great honor to have led the finest Navy-Marine Corps team in the world. The Navy has been central to my life since the day I signed up as a fireman-apprentice in 1961.'
He closed saying, 'Despite the recent trying times, my faith in the quality and ability of our people remains unshaken.'
'God bless you.'
Fitzwater said in his statement, 'The president seeks a full, thorough and expedited investigation that will result in actions to ensure the highest standards of equality and conduct among all members of the Navy.'
Garrett's tenure as navy secretary has been troubled since last September's Tailhook incident, in which at least 26 women, half of them Navy officers were sexually molested at a convention of naval and Marine aviators in Las Vegas.
The women were forced to run a 'gauntlet' of drunken aviators who fondled them sexually as they passed.
Investigations by the Naval Investigative Service and the Navy's own inspector general failed to reach a conclusive resolution of the incident.
Their reports last April complained that this was because of a lack of cooperation by most of the 1,500 officers interviewed in the course of the investigation.
Last week, Garrett asked the Defense Department's inspector general to intervene in the investigation to ensure that it was conducted adequately.
Some 70 naval or Marine officers have been implicated in the incident, either for taking part in the sexual assults or for tolerating them or interfering with the Navy's investigation.
The Senate Armed Services Committee, headed by Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., has been holding up that body's required approval of more than 4,000 naval and Marine Corp officer promotions until the service could assure it that none of the promotion candidates had been involved in Tailhook.
The Tailhook Association, a grouping of active and retired naval and Marine Aviators, takes its name from the arresting gear which permits their aircraft to land on carrier decks.
Fitzwater told reporters that Bush had not talked directly with Garrett Friday, and said, 'to my knowledge the resignation was voluntarily offered.'
The press secretary described Bush as being 'very upset' about the incident, 'both for the integrity and conduct of the Navy and sexual harassment and equality in the Navy.'
'He wants it cleared up and straightened up,' Fitzwater said.
'Sexual harassment will not be tolerated,' Fitzwater said in a statement announcing what was seen as the pressured resignation of the Navy'stop officer.
The action came just days after one of the alleged victims of the assault talked about her case publicly, complaining that the Navy had failed to adequately investigate.
'The president seeks a full, thorough and expedited investigation that will result in actions to ensure the highest standards of equality and conduct among all members of the Navy,' Fitzwater said.NEWLN: more
A second investigation of the matter, following an earlier one by the inspector general of the Navy, was ordered last week by the inspector general of the Defense Department.
In a brief statement, Fitzwater said, 'President Bush accepts the resignation of the Secretary of the Navy, H. Lawrence Garrett, III. Secretary Garrett today submitted his resignation, accepting full responsibility for the Tailhook incident.'
Fitzwater told reporters that Bush had not talked directly with Garrett Friday, and said, 'to my knowledge the resignation was voluntarily offered.'
But the Navy secretary was clearly damaged by the incident, which brought into the question the integrity of his branch of the armed services.
Fitzwater described Bush as being 'very upset' about the incident, 'both for the integrity and conduct of the Navy and sexual harassment and equality in the Navy.'
'He wants it cleared up and straightened up,' the press secretary said.NEWLN: more
Garrett's tenure as Navy Secretary has been troubled since last September's Tailhook incident, in which at least 26 women, half of them Navy officers were sexually molested at a convention of naval and Marine aviators in Las Vegas.
The women were forced to run a 'gauntlet' of drunken aviators who fondled them sexually as they passed.
Investigations by the Naval Investigative Service and the Navy's own inspector general failed to reach a conclusive resolution of the incident. Their reports last April complained that this was because of a lack of cooperation by most of the 1,500 officers interviewed in the course of the investigation.
Last week, Garrett asked the Defense Department's inspector general to intervene in the investigation to ensure that it was conducted adequately.
Some 70 naval or Marine officers have been implicated in the incident, either for taking part in the sexual assults or for tolerating them or interfering with the Navy's investigation.
The Senate Armed Services Committee, headed by Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., has been holding up that body's required approval of more than 4,000 naval and Marine Corp officer promotions until the service could assure it that none of the promotion candidates had been involved in Tailhook.
The Tailhook Association, a grouping of active and retired naval and Marine Aviators, takes its name from the arresting gear which permits their aircraft to land on carrier decks.
