EL TORO : Marine Commander Retires With 1 Regret

Against a colorful backdrop of fluttering flags and rigid rows of troops in camouflage fatigues, Brig. Gen. David V. Shuter turned over command of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to Brig. Gen. Wayne T. Adams on Friday.

Shuter, 53, retiring after 31 years--which included flying combat missions in Vietnam and piloting a presidential helicopter--also relinquished command of the Marine Corps Air Bases Western Area to Adams in ceremonies on the El Toro Tarmac.

The western area command oversees Marine operations in El Toro, Camp Pendleton, Tustin and Yuma, Ariz.

“The one thing that I hold most important in this command is our legacy,” Shuter told about 200 spectators. “I’m giving up a wonderful command, and it is significant that it ends here. Every air station is unique. In the Mideast crisis, the toughness and skill of these teams has come to the fore.”

In the last two months, El Toro has been a center of activity in the deployment of troops, helicopters and other cargo to Saudi Arabia.

After the ceremonies, which were punctuated with cannon fire to mark Shuter’s retirement and the installment of Adams, the outgoing general said his only regret was that he did not go to Saudi Arabia in Operation Desert Shield.

“I volunteered to stay on,” Shuter said. “I told ‘em I was ready. That’s what we train for. I would have liked to have been involved in that, but it was time to go.”

Shuter will live in Laguna Niguel.

Adams--50 and former director of the Marine Corps Facilities and Services Division, Installations and Logistics Department in Washington--said one of his challenges will be to maintain good relations with community leaders and local governments.

Adams was promoted to brigadier general in April, 1989. He is a native of southern Florida and received a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of Alabama. He has also accumulated more than 3,600 hours as a pilot of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters and had two tours of duty in Vietnam.

Lt. Gen. Robert Milligan, commanding general of Fleet Marine Force Pacific, told the crowd that he had just returned from Saudi Arabia. He praised what he described as a spirited group of soldiers “poised to execute whatever order is given.”

Milligan said he toured the Persian Gulf staging area with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Alfred M. Gray Jr., who was the subject of news reports when he dealt with the question of declining troop morale.

After the ceremonies, Shuter said he asked Milligan to comment on troop morale in light of Gray’s visit.

“It’s tremendous . . . the attitude, morale, spirit, desire and dedication of these young Marines and sailors,” Milligan said.