Female Officer to Lead El Toro Marine Unit

EL TORO — A female officer will take charge next month of a unit at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station whose previous commander was recently convicted of sexual harassment.

Lt. Cmdr. Lynn C. Reinbird on Monday was home packing and preparing to move to California after taking leave of her previous assignment at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida.

Reinbird, an aviation physiologist, declined to be interviewed until she assumes leadership of the Aviation Physiology Testing unit at El Toro and learns more about the sexual harassment scandal.

Two weeks ago, a court-martial panel found Cmdr. Steven Tolan, the previous leader of the unit, guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer in his treatment of a female sailor who reported to him. Tolan was found guilty of repeatedly making offensive comments of a sexual nature to Kathryn Sparre and paddling her on her 21st birthday.

During the military court proceedings, Tolan said that crude talk and bawdy behavior set the tone of the 20-person unit and that he joined in to promote a sense of camaraderie. The unit trains pilots in how to survive ocean crashes.

But two of Tolan’s accusers, Sparre and Carole Wiemert, a former civilian secretary at the unit, testified that they found Tolan’s behavior to be sexually harassing. Sparre said the discomfort she felt under Tolan’s command contributed to her decision not to pursue a military career.

Tolan was removed from command of the El Toro unit in late February, pending the criminal investigation, and was reassigned to the radiology department at Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital. He said in an interview last week that he intends soon to retire.

Gene Okamoto, public affairs officer at the Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital, which is in charge of the El Toro clinical unit, said Reinbird was selected for the vacant El Toro post by the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington.

William R. Rowley, the commanding officer of the hospital who will be Reinbird’s boss, knows very little about her background, Okamoto said. He said Rowley has no idea whether Reinbird’s reassignment order, which was issued in May, was influenced by the sexual harassment issue.

“He is not responsible for selection of an officer transferred to his command,” Okamoto said.