Charles M. Gurganus

Charles Mark Gurganus is a retired U.S. Marine major general who commanded Regional Command Southwest and I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) in Afghanistan and was relieved because he and General Gregg A. Sturdevant oversaw "the worst loss of U.S. airpower in a single incident since the Vietnam War" during the September 2012 raid on Camp Bastion. The Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James F. Amos, requested that General Sturdevant and General Gurganus retire in the aftermath of the incident and its investigation, commenting that it was the "...hardest decision I have had to make as commandant of the Marine Corps," and that he had served with both men in combat, calling them "...extraordinary Marine officers." Prior to that, Gurganus was commander of the I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, California.