Carl Epting Mundy, Jr.

Carl Epting Mundy, Jr.

Carl Epting Mundy, Jr. (born July 16, 1935 in Atlanta , Georgia , † April 2, 2014 in Alexandria , Virginia ) was an American general in the US Marine Corps (USMC), who was last Commandant of the Marine Corps and during this time became known for its conservative attitudes towards homosexuals , women and minorities . For his bravery during the Vietnam War in 1966 and 1967, he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart .

Life

Training as an officer and participating in the Vietnam War

Mundy joined the US Marine Corps Reserve after attending school in 1953 and became an officer in the USMC in 1957 after attending an officer training program and studying at Auburn University .

He then worked in the 2nd Marine Regiment and on board the aircraft carrier USS Tarawa and the light cruiser USS Little Rock . After serving as an instructor at The Basic School , the basic school for all newly commissioned Marine Corps officers, he was the recruiting and selection officer for the USMC in Raleigh .

During the Vietnam War, between 1966 and 1967, Mundy was initially an operations and administrative officer in the 3rd Marine Battalion and then an intelligence officer in the headquarters of the III. Marine Expeditionary Force . For his bravery and services there, he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

After the end of the Vietnam War he was aide-de-camp of the assistant commandant of the USMC ( Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps ) , instructor inspector at the 4th Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company in Miami and commanding officer of the 2nd Marine Battalion. After training at Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , he was a planning officer at Headquarters of the Marine Corps and then vice chief of staff for intelligence in the 2nd Marine Division stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune .

Mundy, who was also a graduate of Naval War College , Newport , also served as chief of staff of the USMC's 6th Amphibious Brigade and commanding officer of the 2nd Marine Regiment and the USMC's 36th and 38th Amphibious Units.

Promotion to general

After his promotion to brigadier general in April 1982, Mundy initially served as director of recruitment at Marine Corps Headquarters before he was commanding general of the US Atlantic Fleet Forces Command (USFLTFORCOM) landing training command and commanding general of the 4th Amphibious Brigade of the Marine Corps.

In April 1986, Mundy was promoted to major general and appointed director of operations at USMC Headquarters.

After being in March 1988 lieutenant general was promoted, he was deputy chief for planning, policy and operations at the headquarters of the Marine Corps and as such was also deputy for operations in the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( Joint Chiefs of Staff ) , the governing body of the United States Armed Forces . He then acted in personal union as the commanding general of the Fleet Marine Force (FMF), the II. Marine Expeditionary Force and the Allied Command Atlantic Marine Striking Force and was also the commander of the naval infantry intended for Europe - Associations (Fleet Marine Forces) designated.

Commandant of the USMC

General Carl E. Mundy, Jr., as Commandant of the USMC

On July 1, 1991, Mundy was promoted to general, replacing General Alfred M. Gray, junior Commandant of the Marine Corps. He held this position as Commander-in-Chief of the USMC until June 30, 1995 and his subsequent replacement by General Charles C. Krulak on July 1, 1995. He was also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during this time.

As a Commandant of the USMC, after the end of the Cold War, he advocated averting fundamental cuts in the budget of the Marine Corps. On the other hand, he was known in the US armed forces for his conservative stance towards homosexuals, women and minorities .

Attitude to women in the armed forces

Shortly after his appointment as Commandant of the USMC, he was asked questions about the degree to which women could be used in combat missions. In a used speech to a female officer gathering, he stated that killing the enemy is "a very dirty, distasteful and physical business". He also stated the following:

"I'm not prepared to tell you this is something I want American women to be involved in."

'I am not prepared to tell you that that is something I would want to see American women involved in.'

In the same speech, he stated that women will be uncomfortable on DropShips because the men would walk around in their shorts and t-shirts and smell bad.

Attitude towards homosexuals in the USMC and the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy

Mundy was one of the United Chiefs of Staff's most ardent opponents of President Bill Clinton's plan in 1992 to allow homosexuals to enter the military. After an initially complete rejection, he finally agreed to compromises. At one point he and other military leaders considered separating homosexuals or serving heterosexual members to allow separate accommodation.

When it appeared likely in 1993 that the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff would adopt the Don't ask, don't tell policy - a deliberately ambiguous policy that does not dismiss homosexuals, if they kept their sexual orientation a secret - Mundy told journalists that it would be extremely difficult to include open homosexuality in the Marine Corps or any other armed force. When this policy finally came into effect in July 1993, he said the military would not actively seek to remove homosexuals from service. He justified this as follows:

“We don't recruit, train and lead people with the hope that one day we will expose them and fire them at high cost. We try to lead people and understand people. We talk to people about their problems. "

'We don't recruit people, train them and lead them with the hope one day we can ferret them out and discharge them at great cost. We attempt to lead people and understand people. We talk to people about their problems. '

Contrary to this representation, Mundy issued an order a few weeks later, which should represent the entry of married people and stated:

“The weight of family-related issues can ultimately disrupt an individual's level of concentration and, as a result, reduce performance and require commanding attention. Unfortunately, this has become an all too familiar pattern. "

'Eventually, the weight of family-related problems can disrupt the individual's concentration level, result in decreased performance and require command attention. Unfortunately, this has become an all too familiar pattern. '

The statement led to further criticism and was eventually overturned following the intervention of President Clinton and Secretary of Defense Les Aspin .

Controversy over attitudes towards minorities

In the fall of 1993, another controversy over Mundy arose over its 60 Minutes show on CBS News . During a section on allegations of racism in the Marine Corps, he was asked to comment on data showing that minority groups are more likely than other candidate officers to drop through Marines officer training programs. Mundy performed on the October 1993 show.

“When it comes to military capabilities, we find that officers from minorities shoot worse than those who are not from minorities. They don't swim that well either. And if you give them a compass and send them off on a nightly terrain reconnaissance exercise, they won't do that well either. "

'In the military skills, we find that the minority officers do not shoot as well as the non-minorities. They don't swim as well. And when you give them a compass and send them across the terrain at night in a land navigation exercise, they don't do as well at that sort of thing. '

The comment was criticized by the United States Department of Defense , and Mundy apologized. During a Marines parade in November 1993, Mundy stated:

“My words on other occasions have created the impression that I believe that some Marines are not as suitable as others because of their skin color. However, these were not my thoughts in my head, just as they are not or never have been the thoughts of my heart. "

'My words on another occasion have given the impression that I believe that some Marines, because of their color, are not as capable as others. Those were not the thoughts in my mind, nor are they or have they ever been the thoughts of my heart. '

He then hired Lieutenant Colonel Alfonse G. Davis, a colored USMC officer, to advise him on how to improve the recruitment and promotion of officers from the minority group. In 1999, four years after his resignation, 60 Minutes reported again on the subject and noted an increase in the number of members of the minorities in the senior officer ranks.

Last years of life and family

Mundy (center) with the then Commandant of the USMC, General James F. Amos (right) and his wife Bonnie Amos, on the occasion of a breakfast in honor of Mundy (May 2013)

After his retirement, Mundy served from 1995 to 2001 as President and Executive Director of United Service Organizations (USO), a non-profit organization dedicated to the support and welfare of the United States Armed Forces and their families. He was also chairman of the Marine Corps University Foundation .

Even after retiring from active service, he was an opponent of the use of homosexuals and last wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama in 2010 against the open admission of homosexuals to military service, which is planned for 2011.

Mundy died of complications from Merkel cell carcinoma , a very rare malignant skin tumor. His marriage to Linda Sloan Mundy in 1947, who died in 2013, resulted in a daughter and two sons, who also became members of the USMC: Brigadier General Carl E. Mundy III and Colonel Timothy Mundy.

Web links

Commons : Carl Epting Mundy, Jr.  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Gene. Carl E. Mundy Jr., Outspoken Marine Corps Leader, Dies at 78 . In: The New York Times, April 9, 2014