Word: vessey
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...defense-related project in his or her state where a reduction of expenditures could be made." The request was met with nervous laughter. Many members criticized the only substantive cut the Administration has proposed, freezing military pay for a year, an objection that was tacitly endorsed by General John Vessey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told the lawmakers he would prefer cuts in weapons procurement instead...
...production battle moved to the Senate, Weinberger and Joint Chiefs Chairman John W Vessey Jr. ran into a cold reception from the Senate Armed Services Committee. Most of the Senators reaffirmed their support of the MX but badgered the Pentagon witnesses about all of the zigzags on basing the missile. Scolded Washington Democrat Henry Jackson: "The public's got the idea that this is a boondoggle, a Rube Goldberg." Georgia Democrat Sam Nunn, one of the Senate's most influential defense experts, warned: "I don't think you realize the trouble the MX basing model...
Then Nunn drew a remarkable admission from General Vessey. He asked whether the Joint Chiefs all supported Dense Pack. With a rueful half-smile, Vessey conceded that three of the five did not. That confirmed the rumor circulating in the House. Vessey, an Army general, later clearly implied that only he and Air Force Chief of Staff Charles A. Gabriel had favored going ahead with Dense Pack. Opposed to Dense Pack until there is greater technical evidence of its ability to survive a Soviet first strike were Army Chief of Staff Edward C. Meyer, Chief of Naval Operations James...
...commander of U.S. forces in Korea in 1977, General John W. Vessey Jr. courageously told a House committee that he was against then President Jimmy Carter's plan to withdraw American troops from that nation. Carter retaliated when the time came to pick an Army Chief of Staff; he reached past Vessey to elevate General Edward C. Meyer to the top post. The Pentagon buzzed with rumors that Vessey's career was finished. But last week President Ronald Reagan surprised everyone by revealing that Vessey, 59, was his choice for the highest uniformed post...
...Vessey, whom Reagan called "a soldier's soldier," was a 21-year-old sergeant when he won a battlefield commission for his heroics on the Anzio beachhead in Italy in 1944. Described by colleagues as "cool," "articulate," "meticulous" and possessing "a fantastic memory," he was executive officer of the 25th Infantry Division Artillery during combat in Viet Nam. "It's good to have a guy in there who has been shot at," said one officer in praise of Vessey's selection. Instead of pouting over the snub from Carter, Vessey has served loyally as Army Vice Chief...