THE DEATH OF JOHN F. BLAKE (Senate - April 24, 1995)

[Page: S5568]

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, the CIA, the Senate Intelligence Committee and our country lost a loyal servant on March 27 when Jack Blake passed away after a long illness. Jack was an OSS veteran who became one of the CIA's premier managers, serving as its director of logistics, Deputy Director for Administration and acting Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. He also served as president of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers.

In 1981, when Senator Barry Goldwater became the first Republican to chair the Select Committee on Intelligence, he chose Jack Blake to be staff director of the committee. Together, Senator Goldwater and Jack Blake established the principle that the transfer from a Democratic to a Republican majority would not mean an end to the Senate's bipartisan oversight of sensitive national security matters. They also made the point that the intelligence community's best friends were capable of examining its activities with a critical eye, for the sake of improving this vital function and safeguarding the liberties of our citizens.

Jack Blake went on to become a professor at the Defense Intelligence College and frequently brought his classes back to the Hill to meet with congressional overseers and see for themselves that we were not monsters, but people of good will. His tremendous good humor and perseverance served him and his country well. We will miss Jack Blake, but we will also continue to profit from his life of good works. The Senate was fortunate to have known him.

END