Charles M . Gurganus Major General Charles Mark M . Gurganus was a U . S . Marine major general who commanded Regional Command Southwest and I Marine Expeditionary Force ( Forward ) in Afghanistan . Prior to that , he was commander of the I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton , California . Education . Gurganus graduated from the University of North Carolina , and was commissioned in May 1976 . After The Basic School , he served as a Rifle Platoon Commander and Company Executive Officer in 2d Battalion , 1st Marines ( 1977 – 1979 ) . Military career . Gurganus commanded both Special Purpose MAGTF - 8 in Haiti and Regimental Combat Team 8 in Anbar Province , Iraq in various capacities from 2005 – 2008 . From 2010 – 2011 , he was Commander , US Marine Corps Forces Korea and U / C / J - 5 ( Strategy ) of United Nations Command / Combined Forces Command / United States Forces Korea ( 2009 – 2011 ) at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul . His medals include the Defense Superior Service Medal , the Legions of Merit with V device , and a gold star ( in lieu of a second award ) . Following the September 2012 Camp Bastion Raid , General Gurganus and other members of the base ' s military leadership have come under investigation for negligence . Some guard towers at the base were manned by dummies . Two US service members , Lt . Col . Christopher Raible and Sgt . Bradley Atwell , were killed by enemy rocket fire in the attack . Raible was the commander of the Harrier squadron attached to the base . The entire Harrier squadron was destroyed or rendered combat ineffective as a result of the raid , making the attack the largest hit on US airpower since the Vietnam War . On September 30 , 2013 , Major General Gurganus was asked to retire , along with the Marine Major General who commanded the aviation arm at Camp Bastion , Gregg A . Sturdevant ( who was censured by the Secretary of the Navy ) , and both complied . They will both be honorably discharged and will receive full pay , pension , and benefits . Before the investigation , Major General Gurganus had been nominated for a third star as Marine Corps Chief of Staff at the Pentagon ; the appointment and the possibility of promotion to lieutenant general have now been rescinded . Other assignments . Other operational assignments included assistant Operations Officer , Rifle Company Commander , and Weapons Company Commander with 3d Battalion , 6th Marines ( 1984 – 1987 ) ; Commanding Officer , 3d Battalion , 6th Marines and G - 7 , 2d Marine Division ( 1995 – 1997 ) ; G - 3 Current Operations Officer , III Marine Expeditionary Force ( 2001 – 2002 ) ; Deputy Commander , 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade ( 2002 – 2003 ) ; Commanding Officer , 8th Marine Regiment ( 2003 – 2005 ) ; Commanding Officer , Regimental Combat Team 8 ( March 2005 – August 2005 ) in Al Anbar Province , Iraq ; Operations Officer , 2d Marine Division ; Assistant Division Commander , 2d Marine Division ( 2006 – 2008 ) . Supporting Establishment duties included Executive Officer and Commanding Officer , Marine Detachment , USS America ( CV - 66 ) ( 1979 – 1981 ) ; Aide de Camp to CG , MCB , Camp Lejeune ( 1981 – 1982 ) ; Company Commander at the Infantry Training School ( 1982 – 1983 ) ; Depot Training Officer , OIC of the Field Training Unit , and Operations Officer of Support Battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot , Parris Island , S . C . ( 1987 – 1990 ) ; OCS Company Commander ( 1990 ) ; and MAGTF Staff Training Program Instructor ( 1992 – 1995 ) . Joint assignments include Chief , Deployable Training Team , Joint Warfighting Center , U . S . Joint Forces command ( 1998 – 2001 ) .