commandos, and Navy helicopters piloted by Marines. The President approved the mission after General Jones informed him that the JCS believed that the plan was militarily feasible and had a good chance of succeeding. When mechanical problems and weather conditions caused failures or crashes of several aircraft, the mission was aborted. Congressional and Defense Department investigations found that lack of joint training and joint command and control at the tactical level had contributed to the failure. In response, the Joint Chiefs in August 1980 established a counterterrorist joint task force as a field operating agency to conduct extensive training in joint planning and command and control.

General Jones bore the brunt of criticism for the failure of the hostage rescue mission. When President Carter nominated him for a second term, congressional opponents attacked Jones both for the failure of the raid and for his support of the administration's defense and foreign policies. However, on 19 June 1980 the Senate voted overwhelmingly to confirm him. After Ronald Reagan's victory in the November 1980 presidential election, critics of Jones launched a campaign

to persuade Reagan to dismiss the Chairman. But President Reagan decided to retain Jones.

General Jones had become increasingly dissatisfied with the operation of the joint system. During his last year as Chairman, he conducted an extensive review of the system's structural problems. This resulted in a proposal for changes to the National Security Act to improve the quality and timeliness of military advice and the combined readiness and effectiveness of the nation's combat forces. His central recommendation was that the Chairman, rather than the corporate JCS, should be the principal military adviser to the President and Secretary of Defense. His proposal for JCS reform prompted the most active debate on defense organizational issues since the 1950s. After his retirement on 18 June 1982, General Jones continued to be an active participant in this debate. He saw his ideas come to fruition with the 1986 passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act. In retirement, General Jones served as chairman of the board of the National Education Corporation and on several corporate and public service boards.