Beirut still haunts the Marine Corps, perhaps even more than Vietnam. But Johnston, now 55 and a lieutenant general in command of the First Marine Expeditionary Force in Somalia, seems well suited to ensure that it won’t happen again. Officers who’ve served under him say he’s a first-rate tactician and diplomat made to order for this mission. “All his skills will come together for Somalia,” said one former aide. “He’s the right guy in the right place.”
Just as he did in Beirut, Johnston faces a country where civil authority has evaporated. While Somalia’s armed gangs seem driven more by greed than by ideology or faith, he’ll have his hands full just sorting out the belligerents, much less pacifying them. Colleagues say he’s well prepared. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell revealed last week that Johnston has spent the last year quietly planning for the kind of humanitarian mission he’ll command in Somalia.
Precisely how Johnston plans to disarm the Somalis isn’t yet clear. One suggestion under consideration is to offer bounties for unnecessary weapons. To backstop Johnston’s efforts, the administration has called veteran diplomat Robert Oakley out of retirement and dispatched him to Mogadishu. If friendly persuasion fails, Johnston won’t hesitate to get tough. He enjoys an edge he didn’t have in Beirut: explicit and aggressive rules of engagement. He is authorized to launch preemptive attacks if he believes the safety of his troops is at risk.
Television audiences may remember the square-jawed leatherneck from the crisp press briefings he delivered as Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf’s chief of staff during the gulf war. But this is no talking head. Johnston also handled important behind-the-scenes assignments and exerted a calming influence on the mercurial Schwarzkopf. The son of an Edinburgh jam-factory worker, he emigrated at 18 and, after graduating from San Diego State College, did two tours in Vietnam. He also spent three years as head of the Marine Officer Candidate School, mentoring many of the officers now commanding the corps.
His reputation is that of a tough taskmaster who can outrun troops half his age. A scrappy 5 feet 8 inches and 155 pounds, he continues to max the Marine Corps physical-fitness test. Johnston may also have a special affinity for his young troops: his 24-year-old Marine son served in the gulf. On at least one occasion, Schwarzkopf wrote in his recently published memoirs, he granted Johnston permission to fly to the front lines and spend the night with him. “Everything you can imagine about a field Marine, that’s him,” says a Senate aide. “He’s not a hail-and-farewell fellow or a backslapper. He’s a topnotch and straightforward commander of forces.” Should he succeed in Somalia, colleagues expect that he might someday bring his warrior’s mettle, diplomatic polish and human touch to a new job: commandant of the Marine Corps.
