Pendleton Commander Bids <i> Semper Fi</i>

‘All I ever wanted to do in life was be a Marine. I tried to do that as best I could.’

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Haebel

Outgoing base commander at Camp Pendleton

After 42 years of service and two wars, Maj. Gen. Robert E. Haebel said a formal farewell Tuesday to the Marine Corps and found it not altogether easy to do.

“All I ever wanted to do in life was be a Marine,” Haebel, his voice breaking slightly, told several hundred officers, enlisted personnel and guests at a change of command ceremony at Camp Pendleton.

“I tried to do that as best I could,” he said. “To all of you, I say thank you and semper fidelis. “

At midnight, Haebel’s retirement became official and he moved off base to a permanent home in Vista with his wife, Barbara. He was succeeded as Pendleton’s base commander by Brig. Gen. Matthew T. Cooper, who had spent two years at the base as assistant commander of the 1st Marine Division.

“Remember,” Haebel jokingly told Cooper, “I’ll be sitting on my hill in Vista and if things go (wrong), I’ll come down here in my Corvette.”

Sentimental Comments

Before leaving, the 59-year-old Haebel provided the audience with a sentimental assessment of the modern Corps, its readiness and its spirit. The “sustainability and readiness” of the fighting troops, he said, is top-notch.

He singled out the service’s colonels (“Colonels run the Marine Corps, whether it’s Okinawa, Parris Island, or Camp Pendleton.”), its medical and dental personnel, its teamwork with the Navy, and its noncommissioned officers.

“NCOs have reasserted themselves,” he said. “We’ve been smart enough to get out of the way, so they can do their thing.”

Haebel also praised as inspirational the Marine Corps bands, such as the 1st Marine Division band, which was part of Tuesday’s ceremony.

“We get so much bang for the buck,” he said. “And some of those dummies in Washington say we should cut out bands.”

At a ceremony on the School of Infantry parade ground in the Camp San Onofre section of the 125,000-acre base, not far from where the Clint Eastwood movie “Heartbreak Ridge” was filmed, Haebel received a letter of congratulations from the Marine Corps commandant.

He also received a distinguished service medal authorized by President Reagan.

Improvements Cited

Haebel, who took over at Pendleton in July, 1984, was cited for improvements in housing for enlisted personnel, improved training, and maintaining good relations with surrounding civilian communities. The base has more than 38,000 Marines, making it the biggest Marine base west of the Mississippi.

“With the troops heading back to the barracks, the parade deck empty and the beat of the drums in your mind, I thought it appropriate to reflect on my years in the Corps,” Haebel said. “What an outfit, where you can go from private to general!”

A native of Marcus Hook, Pa., Haebel enlisted in June, 1945, and rose to the rank of sergeant before being commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1951. He commanded a rifle platoon during the Korean War and was an operations officer and a battalion commander during the Vietnam War.

His other assignments include being an adviser to the Republic of China Marine Corps, commanding general at Parris Island Recruit Depot, and commanding general of the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force and 3rd Marine Division on Okinawa. Among his decorations are a Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

Cooper, 53, Haebel’s successor, served on the faculty of the U.S. Naval Academy, was a rifle company commander and infantry battalion operations officer in Vietnam, and commanded the Marine Corps’ school for officer candidates.

“I pledge to you that I will give 100%,” Cooper said to Lt. Gen. Dwayne Gray, commander of Fleet Marine Force Pacific, based in Hawaii. “I will attack in every direction. I will not let you down.”