Letters

Z-Grams

"Z-Grams" were a series of directives issued by Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., while he was chief of naval operations of the United States Navy.  Adm. Zumwalt issued the Z-grams in an effort to modernize Navy regulations and make the Navy more attractive to recruits.

After his retirement, Adm. Zumwalt became famous for his advocacy for cancer treatment and those exposed to Agent Orange, which he ordered sprayed during the Vietnam War.  Both Adm. Zumwalt and his son, Elmo R. Zumwalt, III, believed that Agent Orange caused his son's cancer due to his exposure while he served in the Navy.  His son died of cancer at 42.

How It's Used

"As chief of naval operations in Washington from 1970 to 1974, Zumwalt was noted for his 'Z-Grams,' directives designed to reform and modernize the Navy. He ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic for the U.S. Senate in Virginia in 1976."

"Zumwalt worked to improve the re-enlistment rates through a series of plain-talking memos called 'Z-grams.' One of the 121 memos lifted the restrictions on long hair and casual clothing, while others raised controversy for insisting that blacks and women enjoy equal opportunities. The reforms never sat well with the Nixon administration. When his four-year tenure was over, Zumwalt was grateful to move on."

"In July 1970, when Admiral Zumwalt, at age 49, became the youngest man to serve as the Navy's top-ranking officer, re-enlistments were plunging in the face of the war in Vietnam. Hoping to again make naval service an appealing career, Admiral Zumwalt over the next four years issued 121 directives known as Z-Grams, which sought to change the way the Navy had done things for almost two centuries.

"Critics, including many retired admirals, asserted that Admiral Zumwalt had created a permissive atmosphere endangering discipline, accusations that were fueled by racial incidents on the aircraft carriers Kitty Hawk and Constellation in 1972."

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