WASHINGTON — William J. Crowe Jr., the Navy admiral who held the nation's top military job as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the Cold War neared its end and who in retirement publicly criticized military and presidential decisions, died of cardiac arrest yesterday at suburban Bethesda Naval Medical Center. He was 82.

Crowe also served as commander-in-chief of the Hawai'i-based U.S. Pacific Command from 1983 to 1985.

Crowe (pronounced like 'brow'), a nonconformist whose background combined political skills with military experience, led American troops through crises ranging from the 1986 air raid on Libya to the showdown with Iran over control of the Persian Gulf.

He also shortened the military chain of command, broke down inter-service rivalries and developed an unprecedented relationship with the head of the Soviet military that helped prevent military confrontations between the two superpowers.

Crowe also quickly defused a brink-of-war situation with an immediate apology in 1988 after a U.S. warship in the Persian Gulf mistook a civilian jetliner for an Iranian F14 attack fighter and blew it out of the sky, killing 290 civilians.

Those performances and others led The New York Times to call him "the most powerful peacetime military officer in American history."

One of the few joint chiefs who had never led his own branch of service, Crowe was appointed by President Reagan in 1985. The year before, Reagan had stopped in Hawai'i en route to China for a briefing from Crowe on the military situation in the Far East.

As Crowe spoke for 90 minutes without notes, charts or maps, Reagan was reported to have whispered to his defense secretary, Caspar Weinberger: "If we're ever going to need a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs, here's our man."

Former Hawai'i Gov. George Ariyoshi remembered Crowe as "a very caring, eloquent and knowledgeable person."

Ariyoshi said Crowe responded to suggestions to make a special effort to include the leaders of small and emerging Pacific-area nations in discussions on defense issues.

"Prior to that, the smaller nations were often overlooked. But when Adm. Crowe would have briefings, he made it a point to invite smaller nations, and that did so much to boost their morale by being included in those discussions," Ariyoshi said.

Some of the good relations the U.S. enjoys today with various Pacific nations are the results of efforts Crowe set in motion during his time as commander-in-chief of Pacific forces, Ariyoshi said.

Crowe declined a request from President George H.W. Bush to serve a second four-year term as Joint Chiefs chairman and retired in 1989. But unlike the MacArthurian generals who quietly fade away, Crowe made his retirement years strikingly public.

He condemned the military's anti-gay bias and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, the first officer of his stature to do so. He criticized the buildup to the first Gulf War, endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton when others questioned his lack of military credentials, served as chairman of two boards charged with investigating the bombings of the embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, then warned about insecure U.S. embassies a year after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Three years ago, Crowe was among 27 retired diplomats and military commanders who publicly said the administration of President George W. Bush did not understand the world and was unable to handle "in either style or substance" the responsibilities of global leadership.

Advertiser reporter David Waite and the Associated Press contributed to this report.