GENERAL EXPECTED TO GIVE UP ON TOP JOB; MILITARY PANELS WILL REVIEW SEX ISSUES.

Byline: Philip Shenon The New York Times

The Air Force general who was in line to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to withdraw his name from consideration as a result of his admission of adultery, Pentagon officials said Saturday.

Their disclosure came as Defense Secretary William Cohen announced that he had ordered Pentagon lawyers to review and possibly rewrite the military's legal manual to eliminate the possibility of a double standard in prosecuting adultery, and had created two panels to study sexual-misconduct and gender issues in the armed forces.

The Pentagon officials said that although the Air Force officer, Gen. Joseph Ralston, had initially hoped to fight for the Joint Chiefs post, they expected that he would withdraw his name during a scheduled meeting with Cohen at the Pentagon on Monday.

However, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon told the Associated Press, ``I have no indication that that is the case.'' He said Ralston had been in regular contact with Cohen's office and that the general had given no indication of dropping out.

Ralston, who is the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs and was reportedly traveling home Saturday from an official trip to Central Asia, acknowledged to Cohen earlier this week that he had an affair 13 years ago while he was separated from his wife.

Pentagon officials said that Cohen was considering several other candidates to replace the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. John Shalikashvili, who is scheduled to retire in September. Other candidates were said to include Gen. Charles Krulak, the Marine Corps commandant, and Gen. Wesley Clark of the Army.

Cohen, facing some of the most severe criticism of his career as a result of his initial decision to stand by Ralston, announced that one of the two new panels would be led by former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker and would review the integration of men and women in training. The other, he said, would be directed by the deputy secretary of defense and would study the rules of social contact among troops.

In a statement released at the Pentagon, Cohen acknowledged that recent cases involving adultery and other sexual indiscretions at all levels of the military had created ``perceptions that our system is inconsistent'' and that this could ``damage the morale of our troops.''

He continued, ``The actions I am taking today will assure that our training remains superb and that our rules are well understood at all levels of command.''

He said he had ordered the Pentagon's chief counsel, Judith Miller, to ``review the adequacy and clarity of existing guidance on the offense of adultery under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,'' the military's legal code.

The Pentagon said the goal was not to change the law, which makes adultery a crime if it disrupts military order or brings disrepute on the armed services, but to consider whether to rewrite the Manual for Courts-Martial, the legal guidebook given to military prosecutors, to clarify when adultery charges should be filed.

The issue of adultery has consumed the leadership of the Pentagon in recent weeks, starting with its handling of the well-publicized case of 1st Lt. Kelly Flinn, the Air Force's first female B-52 bomber pilot, who was forced from the military last month after confessing that she had lied to her commanders about an affair with a married man.

Tuesday, the commander of the scandal-plagued Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland announced that he had retired at a lower rank as a result of a ``relationship with a civilian'' five years ago. And then Wednesday, Ralston confirmed rumors that he had an affair 13 years ago with a civilian employee of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Afterward, Cohen's public support for Ralston's candidacy to lead the Joint Chiefs, a position that would make the general the nation's highest-ranking military officer, led to accusations that he had established a double standard both between men and women in uniform, and between high-ranking officers and those below them.

The Pentagon's announcement Saturday drew cautious praise from some of the same lawmakers who were most critical of the defense secretary last week.

``With Mr. Cohen stepping forward and taking these steps, there's a clear acknowledgment that the best judgment was not used,'' said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. ``I think this whole episode has just made a circus of the armed services. I just hope that these commissions that he will appoint will have a real cross-section of people.''

The adultery cases - and several other serious cases involving sexual harassment and rape in the military - have led to renewed calls in Congress to segregate men and women in training, a move that the Pentagon has strongly resisted.

The Pentagon statement said that Baker and her panel would be asked to ``study the training programs and policies of the armed services, examine the morale and discipline issues related to gender-integrated training and recommend any changes or improvements in training necessary to assure the readiness and viability of the all-volunteer force.''