John F. Lehman
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John Francis Lehman Jr. (born September 14, 1942) is an American private equity investor and writer who served as Secretary of the Navy (1981–1987) in the Ronald Reagan administration where he promoted the creation of a 600-ship Navy. From 2003 to 2004 he was a member of the
9/11 Commission The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", includin ...
. Lehman serves on the board of trustees for the think tank Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). Lehman was also a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly called the
9/11 Commission The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", includin ...
, and has signed some policy letters produced by the Project for the New American Century. He also served as an advisor to Sen.
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
for the 2008 presidential race, and for
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
in his 2012 bid.


Education and family

Lehman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Constance (Cruice) and John Francis Lehman, an industrial engineer and decorated United States Navy veteran ( Lieutenant Commander). He graduated from La Salle College High School and received a B.S. in international relations from
Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...
in 1964, gained a B.A. from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (later elevated to an M.A.) and went on to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a first cousin, once removed, of the late Grace Kelly ( Princess Grace of Monaco), and is Chairman of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, a public charity established after Princess Grace's death to support emerging artists in film, dance, and theater. He led the American delegation to the funeral of Prince Rainier. He and his family live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Manhattan. He is a long time Republican.


Military career

Lehman served in the
U.S. Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...
for three years while at Cambridge, then in 1968 left the Air Force Reserve and joined the United States Naval Reserve as an ensign, later rising to the rank of
commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...
as a Naval Flight Officer, serving in the A-6 Intruder as a bombardier/navigator. He served on the staff of the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
under Henry Kissinger. In 1977 Lehman founded the Abington Corporation, a consulting company with clients including defense companies such as Northrop Corporation. He remained its president and director until 1981, when he was appointed by Ronald Reagan to be Secretary of the Navy.


Secretary of the Navy (1981–1987)

As the 65th secretary, appointed by
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
in 1981, Lehman launched the idea of building a " 600-ship Navy". He became Secretary of the Navy at 38, a young age that he was conscious of in his dealing with admirals. He was unique in still serving as a commander in the Naval Reserve and on active flight status while being Secretary of the Navy. He developed a strategic concept to counter the threat of Soviet incursion into Western Europe known as the "Lehman Doctrine." The plan called for a military response to any Russian invasion in Europe by attacking and invading the Soviet Far East along the Pacific, a much less defended front. Forces would sever the trans Siberian railroad and fight westward toward Moscow. Lehman, a naval aviator, was a massive supporter of carrier power. His works as a lobbyist and author in the 1970s led him naturally to support a resurgence of US Naval aviation under Reagan. His support for the 600 ship navy and promotion of the US Maritime Strategy are hallmarks of this. As are his reactivation of the Iowa Class battleships. Both the carriers and the battleships were to announce America's overcoming of recent Soviet potential superiority by taking a war to their doorstep. According to
Hedrick Smith Hedrick Smith is a Pulitzer Prize-winning former ''New York Times'' reporter and Emmy award-winning producer and correspondent. After serving 26 years with ''The New York Times'' from 1962-88 as correspondent, editor and bureau chief in both Mosc ...
, in his book ''The Power Game'', Lehman lost a fight at the Pentagon with Deputy Secretary of Defense
W. Paul Thayer William Paul Thayer (November 23, 1919 – May 6, 2010) was an American test pilot, flying ace, aviation executive, and United States Deputy Secretary of Defense during the Reagan Administration. Biography W. Paul Thayer was born November 23, 19 ...
over lowering the number of future aircraft carriers planned. He immediately went to the White House where they were unaware of Thayer's decision, and obtained a press release declaring President Reagan had named two of the ships and , thereby implying that Reagan had endorsed the "600-ship fleet." Lehman was instrumental in the forced retirement of Admiral
Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986) was an admiral in the U.S. Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors offic ...
. Lehman sided with General Dynamics after they falsified inspection records to hide welding flaws on submarines and pushed a settlement that paid them over 600 million dollars for what Rickover called shoddy work. Lehman engaged in a sexual act with a stripper in front of 50-100 spectators in a hospitality suite at Tailhook in 1986, and had been seen cavorting with
stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...
s at earlier Tailhook conventions. Lehman resigned in 1987. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1989, later retiring from the U.S. Navy as a reserve officer in that rank after 30 years of service. On October 13, 2020, the U.S. Navy announced it was naming the next Arleigh Burke class (DDG-137) destroyer after former secretary of the Navy, John F. Lehman. The USS ''John F. Lehman'' is under construction.


Later career

Lehman is a former investment banker with UBS AG, Paine Webber, and president of Abington Corporation. , Lehman is chairman of the private equity investment firm J. F. Lehman and Company, as well as chairman of the
Hawaii Superferry Hawaii Superferry was a Hawaii-based transportation company that provided passenger and vehicle transportation between Honolulu Harbor on the island of Oahu and Kahului Harbor on Maui. Legal issues over environmental impact statements and prot ...
. Lehman is chairman of the board of OAO Technology Solutions Inc. He is also an honorary member of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. , he is a member of a number of influential conservative American think tanks, including the Project for the New American Century, The Heritage Foundation, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the
Center for Security Policy The Center for Security Policy (CSP) is a US far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The organization's founder and current president is Frank Gaffney Jr. who is known for promoting falsehoods about former U.S. President B ...
, and the
Committee on the Present Danger The Committee on the Present Danger (CPD) is the name used by a succession of United States, American neoconservative and Anti-communism, anti-communist foreign policy interest groups. Throughout its four iterations—in the 1950s, the 1970s, the ...
. After his work in the 9/11 Commission in 2002, there was increased speculation that Lehman might be named to a chief security post within the Bush Administration. Positions suggested included
Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...
,
Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Commu ...
and
Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
when
Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
stepped down. During the 2008 presidential election, Lehman was named a possible Secretary of Defense pick in the case of a McCain victory over Democratic nominee Barack Obama. He currently serves as Chairman of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and as a director of the OpSail Foundation. He is also a member of the board of overseers of the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a trustee of La Salle College High School. He has served on the board of directors of the Ball Corporation since 1987. Lehman is also an advisory board member for the Partnership for a Secure America, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy. On June 26, 2012, Lehman revealed to the staff of the United States Naval Institute and in a speech given in Portsmouth, UK, the Reagan Administration secretly offered the use of the amphibious assault helicopter carrier as a replacement in case either of the two British carriers, the and the , had been damaged or destroyed during the 1982
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
. This revelation made headlines in the United Kingdom, but except for the U.S. Naval Institute, not in the United States.


Bibliography


Books

* ''On Seas of Glory: Heroic Men, Great Ships, and Epic Battles of the American Navy'' (2002) ** Winner of the 2003
Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature The Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature is for literature about the United States Navy. The award was created in 1982 by the New York Commandery of the Naval Order of the United States, who administers and chooses the winner which is ...
* ''Making War: The 200-Year-Old Battle Between the President and Congress Over How America Goes to War'' (Naval Institute Press, 2001) * ''America the Vulnerable: Our Military Problems and How to Fix Them'' (1992) * * "The Executive, Congress, and Foreign Policy: Studies of the Nixon Administration" (New York: Praeger, 1974). * ''Command of the Seas: Building the 600 Ship Navy'' (Naval Institute Press, 2001) ** Winner of the 1989
Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature The Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature is for literature about the United States Navy. The award was created in 1982 by the New York Commandery of the Naval Order of the United States, who administers and chooses the winner which is ...


Critical studies and reviews of Lehman's work

;Oceans ventured *


References


External links


Short Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehman, John Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge American investment bankers American military writers Living people Military personnel from Philadelphia People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Philadelphia Reagan administration personnel Saint Joseph's University alumni The Heritage Foundation United States Air Force officers United States Navy officers United States Secretaries of the Navy University of Pennsylvania alumni Foreign Policy Research Institute 1942 births