California IN BRIEF : CAMP PENDLETON : Schwarzkopf Aide to Command Base

The Pentagon announced that Maj. Gen. Robert Johnston will replace Lt. Gen. Walt Boomer as commander of Camp Pendleton Marine Base. Johnston, 53, is Army 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 northern San Diego County base this summer, the Pentagon said. Boomer, 52, took command of the base last August, a week before going to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield. Marines under Boomer led the allied ground assault against Iraqi forces and liberated Kuwait City during Operation Desert Storm. The Pentagon has not said where Boomer will be assigned.