President Picks ‘Real Warrior’ to Head Marine Corps

WASHINGTON — President Reagan has selected Lt. Gen. Alfred M. Gray Jr. to become the next commandant of the Marine Corps, the White House said Tuesday.

Gray is a field commander who is looked on as a “real warrior” and leader, Pentagon officials said. He is a former enlisted man who came up through the ranks.

Pentagon sources had disclosed earlier that Gray was the hand-picked choice of Navy Secretary James H. Webb and that Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger had endorsed his nomination.

Gray, 58, would replace Gen. P. X. Kelley, who has served as the Marines’ top officer since 1983 and who is required by law to step down on June 30.

As commandant, Gray would automatically become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest military body and the principal military advisers to the defense secretary and President.

Gray, who holds three-star rank, was selected by Reagan over three senior Marine generals, including the corps’ assistant commandant, Gen. Thomas R. Morgan. If confirmed by the Senate, Gray will automatically receive his fourth star as a full general.

He is a combat veteran of Korea and Vietnam and now commands the Marines’ Atlantic Fleet forces. He is said to like to wear combat fatigues and drink his coffee from a canteen cup, qualities that contribute to his rough-hewn reputation.

Gray would assume his post at a time when the Marine Corps has been rocked by allegations of espionage among its elite embassy guard force and when the investigation of the Iran- contra affair has focused a spotlight on the activities of Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North.