John Edward "Ted" Gordon (April 25, 1941 - January 22, 2023) was a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

who served as

Judge Advocate General of the Navy The judge advocate general of the Navy (JAG) is the highest-ranking uniformed lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy. The judge advocate general is the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of the Navy, secretary of the Nav ...

from 1990 until 1992.

Naval career

Raised in

Kingston, Pennsylvania Kingston is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the western bank of the Susquehanna River opposite Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. Kingston was first settled in the early 17 ...

, Gordon was educated at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

and joined the

upon his graduation in 1964. During the 1960s, he was posted on two different combatant ships, which included service during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He later served as a contracting officer at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

. Gordon attended the

Temple University School of Law The James E. Beasley School of Law (known as Temple Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Temple University, a public university, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls ...

, receiving his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1973. He then joined the

Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as the Judge Advocate General's Corps, "JAG Corps" or "JAG", is the legal arm of the United States Navy. Today, the JAG Corps consists of a worldwide organization of more than 1,000 commissioned offi ...

, in which capacity he held several military justice positions, including deputy officer in charge of the Philadelphia Navy Legal Service Office and as special court martial

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. Gordon next served as Deputy Navy Chief of Legislative Affairs (

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

). In the 1980s, he served for over four years under

United States Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On Mar ...

John Lehman John Francis Lehman Jr. (born September 14, 1942) is an American private equity investor and writer who was secretary of the Navy (1981–1987) during the Reagan administration in which he promoted the creation of a 600-ship navy. Lehman is o ...

as special assistant for legal and legislative affairs. In 1986,

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...

Caspar Weinberger Caspar Willard Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006) was an American politician and businessman. As a Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, most notably as Secretary of Defense under ...

named Gordon Deputy

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, or ASD(LA), is the head of the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, responsible for providing support to the United States Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Defen ...

, with Gordon being promoted to

flag rank A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

. In 1987, he became commander of the Naval Security Investigative Command (NSIC). In this capacity, he oversaw the work of the Naval Investigative Service (NIS), the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DON) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary of War James McHenr ...

Security Program, and the

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serv ...

(ONI). While Commander of NSIC, Gordon was concurrently Director of NIS and Assistant Director of ONI for Counterintelligence. During his time as Commander of NSIC, Gordon was responsible for the navy's response to Operation Ill Wind, and oversaw the prosecution of Clayton J. Lonetree, a member of the

Marine Corps Security Guard A Marine Security Guard (MSG), also known as a Marine Embassy Guard, is a member of the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group (formerly Marine Security Guard Battalion), a brigade-sized organization of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) whose de ...

who allowed a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

spy access to the

Embassy of the United States in Moscow The Embassy of the United States of America in Moscow () is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in the Russian Federation. The current embassy compound is in the Presnensky District of Moscow, across the street from the Russ ...

. In 1989, Gordon became Deputy

and commander of the

Naval Legal Service Command The Naval Legal Service Command is an Echelon 2 command of the United States Navy. Its stated mission is to provide legal services to the worldwide components of the fleet. The Region Legal Service Offices, Defense Service Offices, and Victims’ ...

. He became Judge Advocate General of the Navy in 1990. The

Tailhook scandal The Tailhook scandal was a military scandal in which United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps aviation officers were alleged to have assaulted up to 83 women and seven men, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" ...

broke in the wake of the 35th Annual Meeting of the

Tailhook Association The Tailhook Association is a U.S.-based non-profit organization supporting the interests of sea-based aviation, with emphasis on aircraft carriers. The word tailhook refers to the hook underneath the tail of the aircraft that catches the arresti ...

, held at the

Las Vegas Hilton The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and was ...

September 8–12, 1991. Over the course of this weekend, more than 100 Navy and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

aviation officers

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexua ...

87 women and seven men, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" conduct. In response to media reports about this meeting, on October 29, 1991, the Department of the Navy terminated all ties to the Tailhook Association, launching an investigation led by Rear Admiral Gordon and Rear Admiral

Duvall Williams Duvall McClellan "Mac" Williams, Jr. (born 6 February 1943) is a retired rear admiral of the United States Navy who was a commander of the United States Naval Investigative Service. His tenure included the time of the Tailhook scandal; he and Re ...

, director of the Naval Investigative Service. Williams' initial report blamed the incident primarily on the behavior of low-ranking enlisted men. However, when Williams subsequently made

sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

remarks in the presence of Barbara S. Pope,

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) The assistant secretary of the navy (manpower and reserve affairs) (abbreviated as ASN M&RA) is a civilian office in the United States Department of the Navy. The assistant secretary of the navy (manpower and reserve affairs) reports to the und ...

, Pope went to

Henry L. Garrett III and demanded that he re-open the investigation.Melissa Healy, "Pentagon Blasts Tailhook Probe, Two Admirals Resign," ''Los Angeles Times'', Sept. 25, 1992
/ref> As a result, Garrett re-opened the investigation under Derek J. Vander Schaaf, the Inspector General of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

. In September 1992, Acting Secretary of the Navy

Sean O'Keefe Sean Charles O'Keefe (born January 27, 1956) is a university professor at Syracuse University Maxwell School, former chairman of Airbus Group, Inc., former Secretary of the Navy, former Administrator of NASA, and former chancellor of Louisiana ...

revealed the contents of Vander Schaaf's investigation. Vander Schaaf concluded that the initial investigation had been a coverup more concerned with protecting the reputation of the navy than with discovering the role of high-ranking officers in the scandal. Gordon criticized Vander Schaaf's report as "flawed and factually incorrect" and continued to maintain that the initial investigation had been thorough. Gordon retired from the US Navy with full honors.

Later life

After leaving the navy, Gordon took a job at

Litton Industries Litton Industries, Inc., was an American defense contractor that specialized in shipbuilding, aerospace, electronic components, and information technology. The company was founded in 1953 and was named after inventor Charles Litton Sr., who was ...

as Vice President for

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Operations, overseeing the company's interactions with all branches of government. He left Litton in 2001, joining

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, arms manufacturer headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia. The company operated across 22 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally. ATK reven ...

as Vice President (Washington Operations). He retired from Alliant in 2007. From 2007, he was a senior fellow at the

Potomac Institute for Policy Studies The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is an independent, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit public policy research institute located in Arlington, Virginia. The institute was founded in , shortly after the Congressional Office of Technology Assessme ...

, where he sat on the

board of regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

Gordon died on 22 January 2023 in

Trappe, Maryland Trappe is a town in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. It is the site of one of the largest mixed-use developments on the U.S. East Coast called Trappe East or "Lakeside" with controversy arising ...

, and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

External links

Profile from the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, John E. 1941 births 2023 deaths People from Kingston, Pennsylvania United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni United States Navy rear admirals Judge advocates general of the United States Navy Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Pennsylvania