CLINTON'S PICKS

LES ASPIN

* Born: Milwaukee, July 21, 1938.

* Education: BA, Yale University, 1960; MA, Oxford University, 1962; PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1965.

* Military Service: Captain, US Army, 1966-68.

* Career: Staff assistant, Sen. William Proxmire (D) of Wisconsin, 1960; campaign director, Senator Proxmire, 1964; staff assistant to Walter Heller, chairman of Council of Economic Advisers, 1963-66; unsuccessful candidate for Democratic nomination, Wisconsin treasurer, 1968; asst. professor of economics, Marquette University, 1969-70; US representative, 1970 to present; chairman, House Armed Services Committee, 1985 to present.

* Personal: Divorced.

* Assessment: A leading defense expert in Congress, Aspin is more conservative on military matters than most fellow Democrats; this led liberal members of the Armed Services Committee to stage an unsuccessful attempt to unseat him as chairman in 1987. His selection seems to indicate that Clinton will take a middle-of-the-road approach to military policy.