`Jane' steams ahead, but Navy plays no part: Film about female SEAL wounds reality.(A)

It may rank among the most evasive maneuvers: The U.S. Navy just said no to Demi Moore when she came looking for help with "G.I. Jane," which previews in theaters this weekend.

The film features Miss Moore as a warrior goddess in crew cut and camouflage, determined to be the first female SEAL despite "weeks of physical and emotional hell" and a conspiracy among higher-ups, according to production notes from Disney-owned Hollywood Pictures.

The film, said screenwriter-producer Danielle Alexandra, "was written by a woman, for a woman, about a woman." It "will inspire women inside and out of the military to be fearless, forgiving and committed to the limitless nature of their possibilities."

That's an interesting notion in the year of ousted combat aviatrix Kelly Flinn, questions over sex-integrated training, sexual harassment hot lines and a Pentagon survey that found only 22 percent of male officers believe that women should be treated as men in serving in combat.

The official "G.I. Jane" Internet site offers a history of women in the military, definitions of "combat support" vs. "combat" and an interactive "Sound Off" area.

But Navy blessings for "G.I. Jane"? No can do.

"We pride ourselves on the fact that individual dignity is primary in the U.S. Navy," said Rear Adm. Kendell Pease, the Navy's chief of information. "We felt that the script we reviewed didn't reflect today's military. Our objective, when we give cooperation with a film, is realism."

The reality is simple: There are no women in the SEALs.

"Top Gun," "The Hunt for Red October," "Air Force One" and even comedian Pauly Shore's "In the Army Now" won military cooperation, but "Jane" was left at the dock.

"Largely because of scenes involving harassment, the Pentagon blew off Demi Moore for her new project `G.I. Jane,' " Norma Meyer wrote in a dishy Copley News Service story about Hollywood and the military.

The project became more soap opera than action flick.

The "miffed" Miss Moore called President Clinton in March last year, hoping for White House muscle. The SOS call got as far as an aide in Cabinet affairs and was routed to the Pentagon.

White House spokesman Michael McCurry kept a happy face. The president, he quipped, was upset over the incident, particularly when he heard it involved Miss Moore "in a diving uniform."

"I've now given them my phone number," Mr. McCurry said.

What exactly did she want? Navy "cooperation" meant shooting the film at Navy facilities, with Navy personnel and equipment. It never happened. Miss Moore got a "visit of opportunity" to see SEALs training in San Diego last year and, according to a Navy source, technical advice by phone.

The production team eventually faked a "secret naval base" on a state-owned military reservation in Florida, complete with black-painted barracks, 50 tons of trucked-in sand and some ex-SEAL advisers.

"Remember, this is a movie," Adm. Pease said. "It is entertainment, not fact."

Bemused observers note that "G.I." is most often associated with foot soldiers.

"Navy people," a Navy retiree said, "get called `swabbies.' Hollywood probably couldn't deal with `Swabby Jane.' "

The Navy doesn't want hard feelings, though.

"We were impressed with Demi Moore's quest. Our dealings with her were pleasant," said a Navy officer who asked not to be identified. "But we really scratched our heads over some of their stuff."

The film had more troubles. Hasbro, the maker of G.I. Joe and, come October, G.I. Jane dolls, refused producers permission to use the name.

Writers bandied about alternatives such as "A Matter of Honor," "Pledge of Allegiance" and "Navy Cross," but they didn't have the same cachet.

Money finally talked. The production notes say: "The title `G.I. Jane' and all references to the name `G.I. Jane' are under license from Hasbro Inc."

If anything, audiences will remember the startling sight of Miss Moore in the one-eighth-inch-long regulation haircut of the special forces. She gets the big trim on camera.

"It's about neutralizing her sex to be matched with the men," she said last year before her close shave. "She knows she'll never be accepted if she bunks alone and looks too girlish. She has to shower with them and everything!"