Marine General Will Be Reprimanded

In a rare rebuke to a high-ranking officer, the former commander of the Marine Corps’ western air bases will be given a formal letter of reprimand and cited for improperly using a base plane and other abuses, it was decided at a hearing in Virginia on Friday.

Brig. Gen. Wayne T. Adams, 51, the former El Toro-based commander who was reassigned to Quantico, Va., amid allegations he had used base planes for personal purposes, said he would appeal the decision to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Carl E. Mundy Jr.

“I’ve always maintained my innocence and still do,” he said.

In the military hearing held Friday at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, it was found that Adams improperly filed an expense claim for a trip to Big Bear with his fiancee last year, and had given false information to military investigators about the trip.

But the officer who delivered the ruling at Quantico, Lt. Gen. Ernest T. Cook Jr., found that other unspecified allegations of wrongdoing against Adams were “unsubstantiated.”

The rebuke comes four months after the Marine Corps began exploring reports, first raised in The Times, that Adams had been using a military-owned C-12 Beechcraft for personal purposes.

In January, Adams fired two of his top aides at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station because of similar allegations. One of those relieved of his duties, Col. James Sabow, shot and killed himself at his base house in January. The other officer, Col. Joseph E. Underwood, was forced into early retirement.

In May, Adams was relieved as commander of the Marines’ western air bases at El Toro, Tustin, Yuma, Ariz., and Camp Pendleton. He had faced the possibility of fines, a court-martial or even criminal prosecution.

But the letter of reprimand and the official finding of wrongdoing could be enough to end any career advancement for Adams, some military officials said.

“It’s not gonna help him, there’s no doubt about that,” said retired Gen. J. K. Davis, a former commanding officer at El Toro. “In this day and time, (a reprimand) is more serious than it was in the past.”

“I can’t find any record of any general officer, as a general, having gone before an Article 15 (the hearing held Friday), at least from 1978 to now,” said Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Jim Vance. “It’s a rare occasion, an extremely rare occasion.”

In the incident for which he was cited, The Times found that Adams had taken a trip to Big Bear in late 1990 with his fiancee, and, while conducting an official inspection of a Marine recreational facility, had a Marine plane shuttle him to El Toro to attend a military funeral and back to Big Bear to complete a vacation weekend.

Military officials have refused to say what other incidents they were investigating. Other cases raised in The Times included a cross-country training flight during which Adams made a 552-mile side trip to Florida to sign his divorce papers, and a training flight to Washington state during which he visited with his fiancee.

Adams has steadfastly maintained that what he did was correct, and that any trips he took on military aircraft were taken in accordance with regulations and to maintain his status as a pilot.