Pendleton to Get New Commander
Maj. Gen. Robert Johnston will replace Lt. Gen. Walt Boomer as the commanding officer of the Camp Pendleton Marine Base, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
Johnston, 53, is Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf’s chief of staff at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla.
Johnston, who served two combat tours in Vietnam, will be promoted to lieutenant general when he takes over the base this summer, the Pentagon said.
Boomer, 52, assumed command at Pendleton last August, a week before going to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield. Marines under Boomer’s command led the allied ground assault against Iraqi forces and liberated Kuwait City during the Gulf War.
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