Now Hear This! (Contd.)

The father of the nuclear submarine was reacting again. Standing before Washington's National Press Club in a light grey business suit last week, the Navy's Vice Admiral Hyman George Rickover broke precedent by refusing to make a speech, instead fielded questions to get a few rancors away.

On the need for a single military service (which official Navy policy abhors):

"Depending on the color of your uniform, you follow a different party line. There is something fishy about that. I think we would be better off if we all wore the same uniform. You have three outfits that feel they must each defend the U.S. all by themselves." What if the Air Force got the Navy's strategic submarine-borne Polaris missile? "Immaterial . . I believe that one organization should be responsible for the offensive forces of the U.S."

On prospects for nuclear-powered commercial shipping:

"Dim."

For commercial nuclear submarines:

"Dimmer."

On the state of the U.S. educational system (Rickover's favorite extracurricular dragon):

"By and large, our teachers are paid what they are worth. [The late Philosopher John] Dewey is God, the National Education Association is his prophet, and all the teachers colleges are his disciples. This philosophy has been broadcast throughout our land for 40 years. It takes just about 30 or 40 years to change an educational system. We live in an era when it is very easy to get food and clothing. They come to us almost naturally. And so we believe that things of the mind can come that easily, too. This is where we fall down. This is the most serious problem facing the U.S."

On Russian competition:

"I can imagine a newspaper announcing that the Russians had organized a unit to send a man to hell. The next morning there would be two or three federal agencies around with budget figures, public relations staffs pounding on the walls of Congress saying, 'We can't let 'em beat us to it.' "

On the need for more Rickovers:

"Teamwork is not all that it's cracked up to be. I think we need a few heretics in our military service."

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