Captain Robert B. Sims, 1934-2003 Life member Captain Robert B. Sims,
USN (Ret.) 68, died Sept. 10 of cancer
in Jackson, Tenn. Word of his death was
passed to USNPAAA members via
email the next day, drawing responses
of shock and sadness over his untimely
passing.        The funeral service will be held at
the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer in
Arlington, Va., November 17 at 1:00
p.m., and burial at Arlington National
Cemetery. A reception will follow at the
Women in Military Service Memorial at
the entrance to Arlington. “He was twice selected early; maybe this is the third time,” said Ed
Castillo. Frank Manson said, “He was
truly a fine gentleman, one of the best
and brightest of our 1650s.”        Sims served as assistant secretary of
defense (public affairs) from 1985 to
1987, prior to which he worked at the
White House for two years as special
assistant to the president and deputy
press secretary for foreign affairs.
Before his White House service he was
special assistant to the president and
senior director for public affairs on the
National Security Council from 1982 to
1983. A former Navy public affairs
specialist, Sims was a senior research
fellow at the National Defense
University before joining the NSC staff.
While at the university he wrote The
Pentagon Reporters, a book about
journalists who cover the military. He
served as deputy chief of information
for the Navy Department from 1978 to
1981 and special assistant for public affairs to the Secretary of the Navy from
1974 to 1978. He retired from the Navy
with the rank of captain. His naval
career also included a tour in Vietnam.        Following his service as ASD(PA),
Sims joined National Geographic in
1987 as the Society’s first vice president
of communications. He was promoted to
senior vice president in 1989 and
became head of advertising in addition
to communications. He also served on
the Society's board of trustees. He
retired as executive vice president and
magazine group president of the
National Geographic Society in 2001.        Sims received USNPAAA’s
Significant Achievement Award in
1998. Continued Page 3     President
Jim Finkelstein Vice Presidents  Jim Mathews
Dave Thomas     Secretary
Christine Miller   Treasurer
Erick Kanter  Board Members
Deborah Burnette      Ed Castillo
Norma Connelly    Dave Cullen
Donald Dvornik    Bill Eibert
Jack Garrow  Brian Gray
Paul Hanley John Hoshko   Jim Mitchell
Harry Padgett Edward Shackelford   Greg Slavonic
George Vercessi Paul Weishaupt    Webmaster
Robert Skinner Membership Chair Tom Coldwell Sightings Editor John Hoshko United States Navy Public Affairs Alumni Association Volume 9 Issue 4 September 2003