by Larry Berman
Rickover told Nitze he did not know the executive branch’s reasoning. Nitze spent the weekend working on a memo, and sent it to Rickover. On Monday the secretary called Rickover asking if there was anything technically incorrect in the memo. “Mr. Secretary, no. There is not a word in it that is technically incorrect. It is totally incorrect.” Rickover attacked Nitze for basing his logic on cost-effectiveness, an improper test. Rickover favored the best possible ship regardless of cost and “the best propulsion unit for a destroyer is a nuclear propulsion unit. The fact that it costs more, the fact that you can demonstrate that per dollar, the gas turbine unit is more effective, is beside the point. It is not the best. Furthermore, I believe that Congress will support me, that they believe the Navy should have the best. What I am going to do if I am asked about this—and I will be—is first of all present your memorandum verbatim; then I will present my chain of reasoning, and I will beat you.”
A vice admiral was telling the secretary of the navy “I will beat you.” Rickover introduced the memo with denigration and personal attacks, telling the committee that neither McNamara nor Nitze had ever been elected, that they were self-anointed. “It was the most revolting insubordination you can imagine,” recalled Bud. Nitze was incensed but could do nothing.
Admiral Rickover was still trying to pry Bud from Nitze, suggesting him for command of the Long Beach, a nuclear-powered ship. This time the plan almost worked because Bud felt the tug of institutional obligation to his fellow black shoes to accept the command. It was important that a destroyer man have this type of command. Nitze hit the ceiling when Bud told him about Rickover’s offer, seeing it as a plan to separate Plato from Socrates. “Bud, that’s one of the stupidest statements you ever made. I know, from what you’ve told me, that the Bainbridge would have dragged you down into a four- or five-year command. And now you’re proposing to go do the same thing to yourself as a four-striper.”
“That’s right, but I have got a moral problem here,” replied Bud. “Every destroyer man is looking to that as being a former destroyer man’s command. I’ve had at least ten or twelve of my fellow destroyer men come around and tell me that I’m the only guy that can head out the submariners, and I think, therefore, I owe it to my group to do that.”
“That’s so damn stupid,” shouted Nitze. “I’m going to call Dave McDonald right now.” He picked up the phone. “Dave, I’ve got Bud in here, and he’s just done a very dumb thing, and I wonder if you’d have him over and talk to him.”
Bud walked into the CNO’s office with a sheepish demeanor. McDonald asked, “What the hell’s going on?” Bud repeated what he had told Nitze, that he wanted to command the Long Beach and that Nitze said it was the stupidest thing he could ever do.
McDonald asked, “Well, why do you want to command it? You can have another surface ship, any surface ship you want.”
Zumwalt again repeated what he had told Nitze.
McDonald said, “I can understand that. That makes sense. Suppose I commit to you that the next skipper of the Long Beach will be a destroyer man. Will that satisfy your problem?”
“Yes, sir.”
“OK, get the hell out of here and get back to work.”55
Paul Nitze did not want to lose his protégé to Rickover’s nuclear navy. Nitze thought that anyone who had had command of two or three destroyers had sufficient command experience of ships. Paul Nitze had other plans for Bud.56
Bill Thompson’s office was in the E ring across the corridor from Paul Nitze’s office.57 Thompson’s job was in public affairs, charged with making Nitze accessible to the press and promoting his positions. On his first day of work, Thompson, like all new staff, was instructed to see Captain Zumwalt. “He told me that the Navy was fortunate to have the likes of Paul Nitze as its Secretary.” Nitze was concentrating on a few select programs, such as positioning himself as the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) czar, and wanted to move the navy into a better position to combat the Soviet Union’s submarine threat. He was also trying to develop a Forward Deployed Logistics Ship (FDLS) concept that would reduce the cost of building ships, and he wanted to modernize shipyard capabilities in the United States so as to reduce the cost of building new ships. The problem was that Nitze did not like claiming credit or being in the spotlight. Thompson’s job was to devise a public relations program that got the navy credit and improved its image, even if Nitze chose to be a reluctant player. Thompson needed Bud’s help in convincing Nitze to sit for interviews with media representatives.
Thompson was intrigued by Zumwalt, especially watching him operate in his normal daily activities. “It wasn’t an exhibition he gave occasionally; it was his normal behavior. One could perceive a growth he favored extending from his ear but on closer inspection, it was a telephone that was omnipresent. It seemed that he was always talking into a phone that was cradled between the side of his head and shoulder, thus freeing his hands to enable him to shuffle the stacks of papers on his desk or to write. Additionally, he was a juggler, keeping more balls in the air than anyone I had ever been with and constantly maintaining a level head. His demeanor was extraordinary—never wasting a minute, not forgetting anything and always conscious of those with whom he was working. . . . I also learned that he was a delegator and didn’t harbor many tasks to himself but remembered all the cards he had dealt and didn’t forget all those who were involved in his projects and issues. He seemed to get more out of his small staff than even they thought they were capable of performing. But, that is the basis of leadership—getting others to do things, some of which they didn’t think they were capable of doing or didn’t care about doing. In addition to all the other interesting things going on about me, I was participating in a Leadership 101 Lab Course, and enjoying it!”58
At the encouragement of Zumwalt, Nitze initiated a weekly meeting each Friday comprising the secretaries, CNO, Marine Corps commandant, VCNO (vice chief of naval operations), and deputies. This was the leadership of the Navy Department crammed into the SECNAV office, awaiting Nitze’s debrief of his weekly meeting with Secretary McNamara. In turn, each was asked to address the major concerns of his shop. Nitze and Zumwalt espoused a duumvirate (two-man power) in the navy, with the secretary of the navy and the chief of naval operations reading from the same text and acting in concert.59 The system worked because of the relationship between Nitze and CNO Admiral David McDonald, who had replaced the insubordinate George Anderson. Neither Nitze nor McDonald was a grandstander, and they were committed to the process. On matters involving navy weapons systems or strategic political questions involving the Soviets or allies, McDonald tended to defer to Nitze. On matters involving the mix of congressional political considerations and bureaucratic politics within the navy and the Pentagon, Nitze deferred to McDonald. Bud played an absolutely indispensable role in keeping the two men united. “He has helped to foster the closest collaboration between the CNO and me, thus enhancing our mutual effectiveness,” wrote Nitze. Bill Thompson could see that “this concept made for better harmony, a feeling of teamwork and accomplishment.” Zumwalt used the duumvirate term and philosophy whenever describing the relationship between Nitze and the CNO.60
In the normal rotation of senior officers, especially those considered front-runners, it was Bud’s time for assignment to a major sea command as commanding officer. Bill Thompson was the first to hear, as he usually did, the rumor that Bud was getting the cruiser USS Chicago. Bill started preparing for staging the public relations aspects of both the send-off and the welcome events. “One day in April of 1965, I was getting ready to present a full plan to Bud about the Chicago visit. There was the usual organized chaos about the office that morning, but something was a little out of character and I couldn’t identify it.” It turned out that the Flag Section Board was meeting that morning in the Pentagon. “I approached Bud at his desk. He seemed to be having a difficult time in the usual realm of activity and I started the conversation with an opener, ‘Bud, about taking you to the Windy
City, we have to come to grips with some firm dates and when we can make the announcement that you will be in Chicago. As you realize, I can’t do this thing right by making last minute arrangements. We have to get down to details.’ ”61 Bud gave him a sheepish grin, looking nervously around, and said in a low voice, “Looks like we will have to postpone Chicago for a while.” Before Thompson could ask why, he realized that “the Son-of-Gun was on the list! I stuck out my congratulatory hand and he grabbed it, and said, ‘We can’t say anything yet.’ ”
Bud had been deep selected, designated for promotion before normal time. Bud was selected two years before his class would normally come before a selection board. At forty-three years of age, he would be the youngest officer ever promoted to flag rank in the history of the U.S. Navy.62 Paul Nitze had punched Bud’s ticket, validating all the choices Bud made years earlier. Nitze rated Zumwalt “1 in 100,000” with respect to both action officer roles and leadership at the policy level. “He has achieved a status in Washington circles unique for one of his rank. He has both the singular capabilities and background of unusual experience to mark him for acceleration, now, to flag rank. . . . Perhaps most important, he has been the one whom I have looked to within the Secretariat for overall continuity of the administration and to insure that no management gaps exist. In this capacity, his performance has left nothing to be desired; he has maintained a sure hold but with the finesse required of his relatively junior rank. I credit him with major contributions to whatever success is judged to accrue to my administration. . . . He has the forthrightness to speak up when he thought I was wrong and to provide sound advice on these occasions.” Nitze urged that an exception be made to the tradition that an officer have a major sea command and then be selected in due course. “I would suggest that Captain Zumwalt’s three previous commands, one of which was a prototype missile ship (DLG), together with his exceptional capability to serve Navy and country in positions of highest responsibility, indicate accelerated promotion to prepare him for rapid movement into highest military positions.”
Bud often used the analogy of Plato and Socrates to describe his relationship with Paul Nitze. Bud considered his mentor to be “a man of brilliant intellect” and became almost lyrical when discussing him.63 “He is a man who has absolutely no personal hang-ups. He doesn’t mind reversing his opinion when a better argument for a better alternative position can be given. He doesn’t hesitate to have anything that he has written be used by others. He doesn’t hesitate to adapt things that others have written to papers on which he is working. More than any man I have ever known, he is a sincere seeker of the truth, and he is willing to get there by a series of the best known approximations, using his own and others’ minds to generate these truths. He is deeply patriotic and has chosen to devote himself to public service, whether in or out of Government, ever since coming to Washington as a young man in the early war years. He does not enjoy small talk in the normal sense. However, he will sit down and converse for intense periods with people of all levels of sophistication, age, and background, if they appear to have interesting experiences or insights from which he can learn. He has read all the great philosophers and can converse at length about them.”64
Bud’s apprenticeship under Nitze was nothing less than the equivalent of a PhD in foreign policy. From Nitze, he learned the art of breaking down foreign-policy problems into their several parts, analyzing them in detail with great care, examining and questioning assumptions, integrating subsets of problems into the overall whole, and then examining them again to ensure that the very best available light had been brought to bear on the subject. “From him I learned the importance of increasing the breadth of one’s observations by going beyond the conventional intelligence of the day and talking to informed persons at all echelons in and out of Government and the various nations with whom we must deal. From him I learned the importance of checking the original, first material to insure that secondhand judgments had been properly derived. And from him I acquired a depth of historical background of the previous twenty years of close Government service and observation that made it possible for me to get the running start of continuity toward that moment in history when I would be called upon to lead.”65
By coincidence, on the same evening Bud learned of his selection to flag rank, he and Mouza attended a cocktail party with Paul and Phyllis Nitze, Robbie and Trish Robertson, and Bill and Zum Thompson. Bud’s promotion was still a secret, but rumors swirled that Bud was on the list. The host, Rear Admiral Bill Mack, kept at Bud, saying, “Ah, come on, Bud, get off of it. You know and everybody here knows.” Bud broke down and admitted he was on the list. After a few more drinks, the close friends gravitated to the lower level of the Mack home, finding a niche under a staircase where they gathered to slap Bud’s back and laugh. At some point, Bud said, “Well, when I get to be CNO, Robbie, you are going to be the Judge Advocate General and Bill, you are going to be the Chief of Information.” He punctuated the statement by poking each of his friends in the chest. They laughed at the ludicrous statement. Here was a captain, early selected, not even in an admiral’s suit and already predicting that he would one day be the CNO. After a few more jokes, Bill Thompson countered with, “Hey, Captain, I can’t wait around very long for that to happen. How long do you think it will be before you are knighted as CNO?” Bud scrunched up his face, pursed his lips, tilted his head, and after a few seconds came out with, “Give me five years.” 66
Fate would make a drunken boast come to pass. In an “Ode to Captain Zumwalt,” Bud’s friends offered the following farewell:
As a young lad with a scratched knee,
He was always hopping from tree to tree.
One day he slipped, and as he fell
The woods resounded with a Tarzan’s yell.
When he joined the black shoe Navy,
With this I’m sure you’ll all agree,
The dulcet tones of Tarzan’s call
Oft shattered the quiet of Bancroft Hall.
A dashing Navy Captain is he,
An Aide to the Navy Secretary.
He is one who is hard to fault,
Known to us all as Bud Zumwalt.
From ISA in DOD
He came to us with Mr. Nitze
To teach that the finest perfume
Is found on a DDs engine room.
He often says, “Mr. Nitze I wish you’d learn
That front is bow, rear is stern.
A better Secretary will you be
If you’d learn our vocabulary.
Soon he’ll breathe the salty air
Sitting in the “Admiral’s” chair,
But when the winds begin to wail,
We’ll see who’s leaning over the rail.
A new kind of WAVE soon he’ll see,
One he can’t bounce on his knee,
But when she’s wearing caps of white,
He’ll know he’s heading for quite a fight.
The greatest fighting machine ever built
Is the greyhound destroyer, regardless of tilt.
He leaves the destroyers, does this young fella,
To take command of a CRUDES Flotilla.
Again he will have his own command,
A staff to rule with a strong hand,
A hand that’s firm—but always fair—
A Flotilla he’ll have beyond compare.
“Now hear this”—and to all tell:
Again through the fleet comes Tarzan’s yell.
CRUDESFLOT 7—take up the slack.
Gangway, you lubbers, Bud Zumwalt’s back!67
CHAPTER 7
PATH TO VIETNAM
Rear Admiral E. R. Zumwalt, Jr., fighter pilot, 270 F-111Bs killed.
—PLAQUE PRESENTED BY F-111B STUDY TEAM1
Paul Nitze wanted his new rear admiral to remain with him in Washington, but Bud had other ideas. “I persuaded him that I could do more for him and do more for myself if he let me go promptly and I got a sea tour
checked off.”2 The obvious one for an ex–destroyer man like Bud was to go to a cruiser-destroyer flotilla. He requested a flotilla that was scheduled to deploy within a year so that he would have a chance to do the workups through fleet exercises and then take it overseas. “I figured that’s as far as I would have a chance to get before Paul would send for me. As it turned out, I only got the 11 months in and out of San Diego, and didn’t get the deployment.”3
Bud took command of Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Seven with the cruiser USS Canberra as flagship on July 24, 1965.4 Based in San Diego, Bud found the job “more like running a good Boy Scout troop than running a ship.”5 With the change of command being held in San Diego, Bud’s entire family, along with a large entourage of friends from Tulare, attended the ceremony. The job of flotilla commander involved devising ways of improving the training and readiness of twenty individual ships by dealing with their skippers and working to solve problems involving personnel shortages or schooling quotas. Bud described it as being “a kind of a big daddy. . . . I saw my job as a flotilla commander as one of avoiding getting into the commanding officer’s business. . . . I saw my job as one of doing everything I could to improve the training and readiness of individual ships by dealing with the skippers, working to solve the problems they thought they had of personnel shortages or of the need for schooling quotas, where they’d been turned down, that sort of thing. So I tried to operate as a kind of big daddy to get a reclama in where they got turned down on something. And then of, with my own staff, perfecting an ability to manage ships that might come under my command, either in fleet exercises or if I deployed.”6