WASHINGTON — A senior Navy officer has received a written reprimand and requested retirement after an investigation concluded that he lied about having an inappropriate relationship while working at the White House in 1990, the Navy said Monday.

Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem, a career naval aviator, was demoted in rank in March from three-star to two-star level and fired from his senior staff job, in connection with the matter.

Last Friday, Stufflebeem received a punitive letter of reprimand for having violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice by making a false statement during the investigation, said Navy spokesman Rear Adm. Frank Thorp. It will now be up to Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, to recommend at what rank Stufflebeem would be allowed to retire, Thorp said.

The final decision on rank, which will be made by Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter, will affect Stufflebeem's retirement pay.

The investigation by the Pentagon inspector general began on the basis of an anonymous letter accusing Stufflebeem of having an inappropriate relationship while serving as a military aide to President George H.W. Bush in 1990. The investigation's findings have not been made public.

Stufflebeem had submitted his request to retire as of July 1 before he received the written reprimand last Friday, Thorp said. He continues to serve as a member of Roughead's staff, the spokesman said.

Stufflebeem served as deputy director for global operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2001 and appeared before reporters at the Pentagon as a spokesman in the early months of the war in Afghanistan. He was promoted to three stars in 2005, and he was serving as director of the Navy staff in March when he was relieved of that job and demoted.

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