In 1984–1985, Navy petty officer Robert W. Jackson audited the USS Kitty Hawk’s supply records and reported that more than $1 million in equipment was missing, while later congressional estimates put unaccounted-for parts at roughly $20 million. Jackson submitted about 2,000 pages of documents alleging forged records, kickbacks, manipulated computer entries, and the diversion of F-14 Tomcat parts and Phoenix missiles to Iran, then told the Los Angeles Times that Navy officials had ignored his warnings. He also reported threats after naming sailors allegedly involved in the ship’s supply fraud.
On October 1, 1985, Jackson testified before the House Sea Power Subcommittee. The source says an FBI investigation subsequently led to seven arrests, including Navy personnel and civilians, in a broader smuggling network involving multiple carriers. The Navy’s own investigation reportedly attributed approximately $10 million in discrepancies to accounting errors and computer problems and found no fraud, waste, or mismanagement, a conclusion contradicted by the federal probe and congressional scrutiny. A court gag order issued by Judge Earl B. Gilliam in August 1985 restricted discussion of the case, limiting public access to Jackson’s allegations. The episode preceded the 1986 exposure of the Iran-Contra arms operation, though the source does not establish that Jackson’s specific case was formally incorporated into that conspiracy.
