James G. Roche, who served as secretary of the Air Force during the early 2000s amid controversies involving the Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal and a major procurement dispute, died on August 4 at his home in Annapolis, Maryland. He was 86. The cause of death was vascular disease, according to Bill Bodie, a former Pentagon aide to Roche.

Roche had a distinguished 23-year career in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a captain in 1983. He later transitioned to the private sector, where as a senior executive at Northrop Corporation, he played a key role in the company’s 1994 acquisition of Grumman Aerospace, leading to the creation of the defense giant Northrop Grumman. Known for his unorthodox leadership style, Roche introduced innovative approaches including corporate Shakespeare workshops aimed at enhancing leadership skills, a practice he later extended to Air Force officers.

In April 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Roche as secretary of the Air Force, with the expectation that he would bring corporate management discipline to the Pentagon. His tenure was soon dominated by the fallout from revelations of widespread sexual assault at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. A 2003 report suggested that as many as half of female cadets had experienced sexual assault but often did not report incidents due to fear of retaliation within the academy’s predominantly male culture.

In response, Roche publicly condemned the tolerance of sexual assault among cadets and replaced the top leadership at the academy. He convened an Air Force panel to review the allegations, which largely defended the academy’s leadership but recommended limited changes such as assertiveness training for first-year female cadets and the removal of a motto reading “Bring Me Men.” This response was criticized as insufficient by an independent congressional investigation, which concluded that senior Air Force leaders had been aware of the problem since at least 1993 but failed to act effectively. The panel acknowledged Roche’s corrective efforts but described them as inadequate.

Despite the scandal, the Bush administration initially continued to support Roche. In May 2003, he was nominated to serve as secretary of the Army. However, his nomination was soon endangered by his strong support for a controversial $23 billion deal to lease and convert Boeing 767 aircraft into midair refueling tankers. The deal became embroiled in scandal after it was revealed that a senior Air Force procurement official involved in the transaction had steered contracts toward Boeing while seeking employment with the company; both she and a Boeing executive were later convicted and imprisoned.

Roche was not implicated in any criminal wrongdoing but remained a vocal proponent of the tanker agreement. His defense of the deal drew criticism from key congressional figures, particularly Senator John S. McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who accused the Air Force of mismanaging taxpayer funds. McCain placed a hold on Roche’s Army secretary nomination, which was ultimately withdrawn by the White House in March 2004. Roche resigned as Air Force secretary later that year, shortly before emails surfaced showing him enthusiastically endorsing Boeing and disparaging opponents of the tanker contract.

Born December 16, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York, Roche earned a humanities degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1960, the same year he was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy and married Diane Mikula. His naval career included leading search-and-rescue missions during the Vietnam War and commanding the guided missile destroyer U.S.S. Buchanan. He held advanced degrees in operations research and business administration, the latter from Harvard Business School.

After retiring from military service, Roche briefly served as Democratic staff director for the Senate Armed Services Committee before joining Northrop. He guided the company’s strategic expansions through acquisitions during the post-Cold War defense industry restructuring.

Roche was preceded in death by his wife, who died in January, and his son Sean, who passed away in 1987. He is survived by his daughter, Heather. Known for blending corporate leadership techniques with military culture, Roche’s legacy includes his efforts to introduce novel leadership training methods in the Air Force, reflecting his belief in the value of using classical literature to provoke strategic and ethical discussion among military officers.