Marine in Probe Opts to Retire : Military: The former El Toro base official does not want to risk a court martial and possible loss of medical benefits for his ailing wife, his son says.

EL TORO — The former chief of staff at the Marine Corps Air Station plans to retire early, on March 1, to avoid the threat of a court-martial and thus hold onto medical benefits for his ill wife, his son said Wednesday.

The former official, Col. Joseph Underwood, and his close friend and deputy at the base, Col. James Sabow, were relieved of their posts last month amid allegations that they used Marine planes for golfing jaunts and other personal trips.

Sabow, a 28-year veteran with a wife and two children, killed himself Jan. 22, authorities said.

In an interview Wednesday, Underwood’s son, Joseph Underwood IV, defended his father and explained why the veteran Marine has decided to step down.

“It’s not a question of was my father guilty--everyone knows that he was not,” said the younger Underwood. “My father couldn’t risk the insurance on my mother because the doctors’ bills are so high. . . .

“So that’s why he backed down. And I’ve never seen my father back down to anyone before.”

El Toro spokeswoman Capt. Betsy Sweatt said she could not say when Underwood would be retiring and said the investigation into his actions is continuing. But the younger Underwood said his father has been told that the matter will be dropped.

Underwood’s retirement may allow a quiet ending to a scandal that rocked the Marine base last month, even as people have been preoccupied with the fate of more than 5,000 personnel from the El Toro-based 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing deployed in the Persian Gulf.

With 29 years in the service, Underwood ordinarily would have come up for the standard three-decade retirement later this year. But the war has changed the ground rules, and Marine officials close to his case said Underwood would probably have been expected to stay on indefinitely were it not for the investigation.

Maj. Walter Bansley, defense counsel for Underwood, refused to comment.

Underwood, who has maintained in past interviews that he did nothing wrong, could not be reached for comment.

Sources told The Times previously that the investigation centered on allegations that Underwood and Sabow, both 51, used base C-12 Beechcraft planes to go on golfing trips to the East Coast, Nevada and elsewhere in the Southwest.

Underwood maintained that he used the plane to get in enough hours to keep his flight status active and that golfing was purely secondary.

A court-martial or lesser punishment for improprieties could expose Underwood to the loss of military benefits and family insurance. Jean Underwood, the colonel’s wife, said in an earlier interview that she has a brain tumor.

A colonel with Underwood’s tenure makes more than $63,000 a year, plus $250 a month in flight pay and variable allowances for food and housing. Underwood could expect to retain just under 75% of his salary in retirement pay, officials said, even though he is retiring early.