Defense: Strongest & Longest

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Nuts & Bolts. When he first hove into Washington, McNamara left congressional committees speechless with his matchless grasp of detail. Said Pennsylvania's Democratic Representative Daniel Flood: "I had the impression that if we would ask the secretary for the number of nuts and bolts in Warehouse No. 1, drawer 7, Fort Dix, he most probably could tell us." But Congressmen soon became resentful of overwhelmingly documented proposals that left little room for debate; nor was McNamara's popularity on Capitol Hill burnished by his abrasive style and transparent impatience with congressional dillydallying.

In retribution, powerful adversaries such as the House Armed Services Committee's F. Edward Hebert began to question McNamara's programs, this year launched a full-scale bombardment that threatened the secretary's previously excellent legislative record. Over McNamara's violent objections, the committee pushed through a 10% military pay raise instead of the 5% he had asked, blocked his proposal to merge the Army Reserve and the National Guard, and nearly upset his plan to close military bases.

Planes & Missiles. To placate his opponents, McNamara has used some of his precious time to learn statesmanship. Before he announced plans last week to create a new, highly trained 145,000-man Army backup force from existing Army Reserve and National Guard units, he conferred respectfully with Hebert's subcommittee, asked and got its approval—even though the new force will have almost the same effect as his previously rejected proposal to merge the Army Reserve and National Guard.

As Secretary McNamara set the tenure record last week, his shop churned out a series of announcements that suggested the massive size and shape of his operation: the Defense Department 1) announced that Lockheed Aircraft had won the hotly contested $2 billion contract for the new C-5A military transport plane (see U.S. BUSINESS), 2) awarded to Western Electric a $21.5 million contract for development of an advanced Zeus anti-missile missile, and 3) promised a decision within 90 days on whether to begin production of an anti-missile system that could cost between $7 and $20 billion. The department also took on a new Air Force secretary, New York-born Physicist Harold Brown, 38, who succeeds retiring Eugene Zuckert. A brilliant McNamara protege who has been directing the Pentagon's research and engineering program, Brown is reputed to be the one man who can stump the boss.