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Subj: The Superintendent Steps Down
Refer to: Central Region Letter 16-03; June 5, 2003
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PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY TO E-MAIL ME. I WILL NOT GET IT. E-MAIL ME DIRECTLY
AT MY USNA ALUMNI CLASSMAIL ADDRESS, len.wass@1964.usna.com
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Chapter Officers - Please give this e-mail the widest possible distribution
among your members and other alumni in your area.
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The following message from the Alumni Association CEO, George
Watt ' 73, contains important information about VADM Naughton stepping
down as Superintendent, and I would urge all of you to read it. George
also forwarded the CHINFO release which I'm attaching to this Newsletter.
(It's a PDF file and cannot be copied and inserted here). Here is George
Watt's and the CHINFO attachment:
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"It is my unfortunate responsibility to inform all of you that effective
today, VADM Richard J. Naughton has resigned as Superintendent of the
Naval Academy. The attached MEMORANDUM FOR CORRESPONDENTS was prepared
by the Navy's Office of Information (CHINFO) and released this afternoon.
Unfortunately, the CHINFO release is in Adobe format and may not be readable
by all. Additionally, it may be far more than you want to know. However,
it lays out in some detail what led to VADM Naughton's resignation.
In short, VADM Naughton's decision to resign " . . . comes after an investigation
by the Navy's Inspector General (IG) into an allegation that he improperly
interfered with a Marine sentry at the Naval Academy by grabbing the sentry's
wrist."
The Navy goes on to state that " . . . the IG also investigated a number
of alleged interactions between Vice Adm. Naughton and Academy faculty
and staff, which were purportedly overly confrontational or demeaning
in nature. The IG substantiated both the allegation of improper contact
with the sentry and a general failure to promote good morale."
Additionally, the CNO and the Acting Secretary of the Navy have approved
VADM Naughton's request to retire from active duty. Vice Admiral Charles
W. "Willie" Moore, Jr., '68 will be assigned temporary duty as the Acting
Superintendent until a successor can be nominated and confirmed. Skid
Heyworth will provide Vice-Admiral Moore's biography on our website (www.usna.com).
VADM Naughton sent me a personal note this afternoon and requested that
I share it with all of you:
"The Naval Academy is a wonderful institution with superb Midshipmen,
staff and faculty. Its mission is training the warriors of the 21st Century.
Over the past few months, too much attention has been focused by media
and others on the Superintendent. Because of this attention, I have asked
the CNO to reassign me elsewhere and to bring in new leadership that can
take the Academy where it needs to go. It has been a privilege to be the
Superintendent this past year."
As I told our combined staff this afternoon, we will now press on at the
Alumni Association and Foundation. Our focus must be on our collective
mission, which is effectively all about the Naval Academy. We will continue
to work with, and provide support for, the Navy and the Academy while
keeping our alumni, our many friends and parents informed during transition.
Among Admirals Trost, Larson, Lynch and me, we intend to reach as many
of you as possible via telephone over the next 24-48 hours. We are referring
any queries on this matter from outside the leadership group to CHINFO.
As always, our point of contact is Skid Heyworth, Vice President, Communications
at extension 104 (skid@usna.com)."
George P. Watt, Jr.
President and CEO
USNA '73
The CHINFO release is attached.
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