Officer Denied Retirement Until Probe Is Completed

Col. Joseph Underwood, the former chief of staff of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, will not be allowed to retire until an investigation into allegations that he improperly used a military plane for golfing trips is completed, a Marine official said Friday.

“It’s not the colonel’s decision to retire,” said Capt. Betsy Sweatt, a Marine spokeswoman at El Toro. “His retirement is in abeyance until this matter is resolved.”

Underwood’s son, Joseph Underwood IV, said Wednesday that his 51-year-old father planned to retire in early March to avoid the threat of a court-martial and to hold onto medical benefits for his wife, who is suffering from a brain tumor.

Saying his father did nothing wrong, Underwood, 21, who lives in Houston, explained that the colonel used the plane to get enough hours to keep his flight status active and any golfing he did at the destination was purely secondary.

Sweatt said she did not know when the investigation of Underwood would be finished. Another officer named in the probe, Col. James Sabow, 51, Underwood’s close friend who headed air operations at the base, killed himself Jan. 22 with a shotgun on the patio of his base home, authorities said.

The investigation into Underwood and Sabow centered around their use of two Beechcraft aircraft, owned by the Marines and based at El Toro, for personal excursions. The probe is being conducted by the Naval Investigative Service.

When the investigation is concluded, Sweatt said, Underwood could retire if no improprieties are found or he possibly could stay in the Marines. He could also retire with a reprimand, she said, if only minor violations are found.

If the investigation finds serious violations, she said Underwood could be court-martialed.