ACCESSION NUMBER:260143 FILE ID:POL104 DATE:12/28/92 TITLE:CROWE KNOWN FOR ANALYSIS, STRATEGIC PLANNING SKILL (12/28/92) TEXT:*92122804.POL CROWE KNOWN FOR ANALYSIS, STRATEGIC PLANNING SKILL (Profile: Clinton foreign intelligence nominee) (630) By Jacquelyn S. Porth USIA Security Affairs Writer 1ashington -- President-elect Clinton chose a man with a reputation "for insightful geopolitical analysis and a broad grasp of strategic planning" when he selected retired Admiral William Crowe to be chairman of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Crowe also acquired a reputation in the past year as one of Clinton's key election campaign advisers on defense issues. Crowe, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the nation's highest military post, from 1985 to 1989, publicly endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate in September. Crowe's endorsement reportedly was prompted by his dissatisfaction with the Republican candidate, George Bush. The retired JCS chairman also reportedly considered criticism against Clinton for avoiding the Vietnam draft to be unfair. Since Crowe retired from the navy in September 1989 after 43 years of service, he has been a professor of geopolitics at the University of Oklahoma and a counselor for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He also sits on the board of directors of General Dynamics Corporation. Earlier this year, a top aerospace executive described Crowe as "a military statesman with a rich diversity of experience in national defense, government and diplomacy." A former defense official of the Carter administration described him in Current Biography Yearbook as "an untraditional, independent thinker with unusually broad-gauge political as well as military experience." It was also the yearbook that noted Crowe's growing reputation toward the end of his career for geopolitical analysis and strategic planning. For an admiral, Crowe spent relatively little time at sea. Instead, he pursued command experience on land and honed his academic skills. Crowe spent a year at the University of Oklahoma before accepting an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1943. He graduated in 1946, in the same class as former President Jimmy Carter. After his first tour at sea, Crowe attended the Naval Submarine School. He served on several submarines through 1955 and then took a leave of absence to earn his master's degree in education from Stanford University in 1956. Crowe commanded a diesel-attack submarine from 1960-1962, his only sea command. Then he earned his doctorate degree from Princeton University in 1965 writing his dissertation on "The Policy Roots of the Modern Royal Navy 1946-1953." In the ensuing years, Crowe held many interesting and unusual posts. In 1970 he became a senior adviser to the South Vietnamese Riverine Forces and the following year he was deputy to the special representative for Micronesian status negotiations. In the late 1970s, Crowe served as commander of the Middle East Joint Task Force based in Bahrain and gained a keen interest in Persian Gulf affairs. He later was named commander-in-chief (CINC) of NATO forces in southern Europe and then in the early 1980s as CINC for Pacific and Indian Ocean forces. Before becoming JCS chairman in October 1985, Crowe went with then-JCS Chairman John Vessey and others on an historic trip to the People's Republic of China. During his tenure as chairman he set as his key objective the elimination of inter-service rivalry and an emphasis on joint operations, thinking and leadership. The 67-year old chairman was born in La Grange, Kentucky. He speaks French 1nd German. He is an avid reader and story-teller. The six-foot Crowe likes to eat gourmet food, play tennis, and chess, and is known for his extensive international hat collection. He is married and has two sons and a daughter. NNNN .