Grounding a Boondoggle Base : USMC resort at Big Bear raises troubling questions in era of tight budgets

One California military facility spared from the Pentagon’s recent hit list of bases to be closed is so little-known that a Marine Corps spokesman in Washington said he never heard of it. The USMC recreational facility near Big Bear Lake has been conveniently out of sight and out of mind, providing cozy respite at bargain-basement prices for military personnel for the past 20 years.

The secluded retreat, leased free from the Forest Service by the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, and run on a $100,000-operating budget, has A-frame chalets, government-owned powerboats and ready access to Snow Summit ski resort. But it has moved to the front and center of attention because it was a destination on a questionable flight involving the use of base aircraft by Brig. Gen. Wayne T. Adams, the Marines’ western air base commander. He is fast becoming a symbol of past military excess despite the glowing aftermath of the Persian Gulf War.

The Marine Corps inspector general’s office is investigating whether Adams violated a ban on the use of planes for personal trips. Now, Cheryl Gurule, a civilian administrator at El Toro who takes lodge reservations, says an aide pulled rank to get Adams to the camp. Elizabeth Walters, a former lodge manager, says such things go on all the time there.

What’s especially grating about this tale is that the stated mission of the resort is to provide affordable getaways for low-paid enlisted personnel. But in every military generation, the old truism that “rank has its privilege” shows remarkable durability.

Adams says there was business done; he conducted an inspection while there with his fiancee. But that explanation strains credibility. The image of a spit-and-polish general putting a white glove to the chalet countertop is a bit much. More than likely he was there to have a good time, and pulled rank to do it.

At a time when the military is being forced to do without some other secret places, such as those spy-proof control centers for military shuttle missions, it’s going to be very hard to justify the existence of an R & R ski and powerboat center for the Marines--especially if they don’t all get the same access to it.

And since the government is trying to save money by closing bases that can be sold off, one can’t help wondering what other uses might be made of a prime, 6.5-acre wooded campground in Big Bear.