When she asked Chafee the helmet question, he flew into a rage. He said that was Top Secret, and demanded to know who leaked it. Don't believe what you hear about reporters protecting their sources. She immediately said, "Frank told me." He ordered me to turn off the camera, and to reveal my source. I told him I just read about in Leatherneck and Marines Magazine, on his coffee table. He had his secretary bring them in. He had unequivocally rejected that helmet design, but had mistakenly believed the Marine Corps generals in Quantico understood the meaning of the word "no."

What they really didn't understand was that in America, the military is under civilian control. War is too important to leave to the generals. They were doing an end-run around him, by publishing and promoting it in their own magazines.

Since the generals had leaked it, Chaffee decided to go on the record, that their proposed helmet would never be worn by our troops, so long as he was Secretary of the Navy. Then he held up a picture if it. It was nearly identical to the German Nazi helmet of World War II. He didn't like what this helmet stood for. For the time being, they'd have to contunue looking like American troops. The helmet John Chafee rejected over forty five years ago, is now being worn by the Marine Corps today.