THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505250521
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CAMP LEJEUNE LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Lt. Gen. Robert B. Johnston, commander of Marines based on the East Coast, will end his military career on Aug. 1.
His replacement at Camp Lejeune will be Lt. Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm, 53, a native of North Carolina. He is commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command at Quantico, Va.
Johnston, 57, is commanding general of U.S. Marine Forces, Atlantic; II Marine Expeditionary Force; and Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. He will retire at the change of command ceremony at Lejeune on Aug. 1, said Krista Green, a spokeswoman at Marine headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Wilhelm, who is from Edenton, served as the commander of Marine forces in Somalia from December 1992 to March 1993 as part of the U.S.-led coalition in Operation Restore Hope. Wilhelm was confirmed for promotion to major general and assumed his current duties on July 15, 1994.
Johnston was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and immigrated to the United States in 1955. He is a veteran of two tours in Vietnam and was chief of staff for the U.S. Central Command led by Army Gen. Norman H. Schwarzkopf during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Gulf War.
Johnston headed the military's United Task Force relief effort in Somalia for several months in 1992 and 1993.
KEYWORDS: RETIREMENT U.S. MARINE FORCES by CNB