During air-combat missions over Vietnam, Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) became more and more lethal. Stan Arthur, then a lieutenant commander flying in A-4 Skyhawk squadrons, describes the challenge:
You always wanted to see the SAM. So the first thing was if anyone saw the SAM, make sure that you got it broadcast so that people knew where the right place to look was. Because the sooner you could see it, the more opportunity you had to evade it. Basically what you tried to do is get the SAM “nose-on” if you could, because if you lost trail of it behind you, you didn’t know when to make a hard right.
You would try to get it in your front quarter view so that you had it on either side of your nose. Basically, you would watch it until you thought you had to make a move. Then you had to make a dramatic move, and usually it was down, rather than up and away. If you went up, you’d let off too much airspeed, so you needed as much energy because the SAMs could pull more Gs than you could. But they were going a lot faster, and so even though they could “out G” you, they couldn’t always out turn you.
Later on, the SAM shooters changed tactics. They ended up firing two. They fired one low with a normal low profile coming up at you. And, hoping that you’re paying attention to “it” they would launch a second one up and then bring it down on you.
These adrenaline-pumping words are captured in the new oral history of Admiral Arthur published by the Naval Institute Press. During tours that included commanding officer of Attack Squadron 164 on board the USS Hancock (CVA-19), Arthur flew more than 500 combat missions during the Vietnam conflict, received 11 awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross and more than 50 awards of the Air Medal—a single chapter in his distinguished 38-year naval career. Naval Institute interviewer Dr. Edward J. Marolda, former senior historian, Naval Historical Center, follows Arthur from his birth, through his childhood, high school and college years, to commissioning, on to his culminating four-star active-duty tour as Vice Chief of Naval Operations, and distinguished onward career in industry.
Arthur commanded the U.S. 7th Fleet from December 1990 to July 1992 and was on board his flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) when he received the unexpected call from the Bureau of Naval Personnel advising that he had been nominated to be Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO). He assumed the VCNO duties on 6 July 1992 and would serve until 1995 under two Chiefs of Naval Operations, Admiral Frank B Kelso II and Admiral Jeremy M. “Mike” Boorda.
Coming to the new post, he understood three key points. One, his duties were to make sure the Navy Staff was doing the best work for the CNO—“I was the XO to the squadron skipper, and I had to make sure that everything worked right.” Second, based on his joint/ “J” learning curve, he knew that the Navy Staff had to be reorganized if it was to function more effectively in the Defense Department with the other services, and he made changes as an early order of business. Three, the aftermath of the naval aviators’ scandal-plagued 1991 Tailhook conference would be a big problem.
As VCNO he was a highly skilled member with his fellow vice chiefs on the Joint Staff’s Joint Requirements Oversight Council arbitrating each service’s sought-after programs, as they move toward decision by the Secretary of Defense and his staff. As he pushed ahead following Admiral Kelso’s retirement, one event in the snarled world of Washington played a fateful hand. He confirmed the detailed findings of lower-level review boards that had failed Lieutenant (junior grade) Rebecca Hansen as a naval aviator:
She had failed. The training command had failed her out, and she went to Congress. Now, Congress was interested. Why did she fail? What are we going to do? She should be back flying. [Seeing this push back from the Senate, Arthur decided he should take the lead in the case to protect the CNO and Secretary of the Navy John Dalton.]
You know, I’m the senior aviator. I’ve been an instructor pilot. I’ve got 30-plus years of watching people fly airplanes. I’ve seen a lot of accidents. I know what can happen.
I will go back through every one of her flights. You know, each flight is written up; everyone is graded per episode. I will go through all her flight records. Although the reason she’s not flying is the fact that she claims she was sexually harassed and that she’s not happy with how that finally ended, even though the guy got bounced out of the Navy.
So, sure enough, I called for all of her records. I brought them in. There were lots of interesting things. Some that I didn’t pick up at the time, but I found out later. One of the things that was never really mentioned in all of this was the final, final, final, final check ride that she finally had—this is the last opportunity ever to get the chance to go fly an airplane. Her instructor for that flight was the squadron’s ops officer, a female. Hansen’s instructor was the one who said absolutely this girl should not fly.
While this and other issues were in play, Arthur was nominated to be Commander in Chief U.S. Pacific Command (CINCPAC) by President William J. Clinton. A hold was put on the nomination in the Senate. The decision was taken that the CINCPAC billet had to be filled promptly. On 1 June 1995, the 38th anniversary of his entry into service, Admiral Stan Arthur retired from the Navy. His oral history is fascinating, valuable reading—an autobiography, primary-source history with details and dimensions never before available—the words and deeds of a most remarkable and distinguished sailor, aviator, and leader.