Obituary

Navy secretary nominee has died, Pentagon says

WASHINGTON - New Mexico oilman Colin R. McMillan, nominated by President

Bush submitted Mr. McMillan's nomination to the Senate in May to fill a post left vacant since January, when Gordon England left to become deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department. Hansford T. Johnson has served as acting secretary since Feb. 7.

A Pentagon spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Mr. McMillan's death but had no details of when or where he died.

Mr. McMillan, 67 at the time of his nomination in May, lived in Roswell, N.M. He ran Permian Exploration Corp. and was chairman of Bush's New Mexico presidential campaign in 2000.

He was nominated at a time of upheaval in the military's top ranks. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld had just fired Army Secretary Thomas White over disagreements on modernization, particularly White's support for the Crusader artillery program, canceled by Rumsfeld.

Bush nominated Air Force Secretary James Roche for the top Army job on the same day, May 7, that he nominated Mr. McMillan. Neither man had yet been confirmed by the Senate.

Mr. McMillan served in the Marine Corps from 1957-72 and was an assistant defense secretary in the early 1990s when Vice President Dick Cheney was the defense secretary. Mr. McMillan ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1994 against Democrat Jeff Bingaman.

Mr. McMillan was born in Texas and graduated from the University of North Carolina. He served in the Marines in active duty from 1957 to 1962, when he switched to the Marine Corps Reserve.

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