John Lehman - Military Career

Military Career

Lehman served in the Air Force Reserve for three years while at Cambridge, then in 1968 left the Air Force Reserve and joined the United States Navy Reserve (then known as the U.S. Naval Reserve) as an ensign, later rising to the rank of commander. Lehman worked for UBS AG, then later was president of Abington Corporation, from 1977 to 1981, when he was appointed Secretary of the Navy. As the 65th Secretary, 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 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.

According to Hedrick Smith, in his book The Power Game, Lehman, after losing a fight at the Pentagon with Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Thayer over lowering the number of aircraft carriers planned, played the Washington power game. He immediately went to the White House where they were unaware of Thayer's decision, then obtained a press release declaring President Reagan had named two of the ships USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and USS George Washington (CVN-73), thereby endorsing the "600 ship fleet" and protecting Lehman. Lehman was important in the forced retirement of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. Lehman resigned in 1987. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of captain 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.