MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- He has experienced deployments and duty stations around the world - assignments that would give Tom Clancy good material for a novel or two. Now, 34 years later, Maj. Gen. David F. Bice says one word sums up his favorite Marine Corps memories - camaraderie.
Most important are "the memories - a collage, really - of when you complete an exercise, finish a unit run, or finish the longest, fastest hump you've ever done," explained the commanding general of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. "You're with Marines, you've all done something together, and you're basking in the glow of your accomplishment with the other Marines. That camaraderie just fuels you."
Bice will retire July 24 with a parade. Looking trim and fit, with a light bronze tan from time spent running and touring various areas of the base, the mustang officer who went to boot camp at MCRD San Diego in 1968 spoke with The Scout for more than 40 minutes on a variety of topics.
As Base's top Marine since last July, he has seen his share of landmark events here, from the heightened security after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to the base's selection as the Department of Defense's top military base in winning the Installation Excellence Award.
"The Installation Excellence Award solidified what I already knew: The teamwork that goes on here goes across the board," Bice said. "Everyone is involved with what goes on here, and not just base personnel, but tenant units, contractors, family members - everyone. I've asked everyone to come by and have their photo taken with the award."
While the Installation Excellence Award marked a triumph, the Sept. 11 attacks marked a fitting irony -- that Bice, who pegged installation safety and security as his top priority upon arriving -- was the right man to oversee base security at a time when the need for heightened vigilance and precautions was indisputable.
Before Sept. 11, 2001, Bice was intent on keeping Pendleton secure.
After that infamous day, gridlock at base gates underscored his point, with long lines at the gates and blocked-off parking lots becoming the norm for a while.
Meanwhile, Bice was testifying before Congress about the security needs of military installations.
While he was making his plea in Washington, the most important element of security - the individual - was hard at work too, he said.
"Marines are always improving security. We should never be satisfied with what we have, because our potential adversaries shouldn't be able to pick up on a pattern," he said. "Interior guard has been added back to the lexicon. Security should never be static, and we train to be alert."
One example of that alertness, he pointed out, was when an off-duty sergeant reported unusual goings-on at a mess hall on base recently. As a result, several perpetrators were arrested by military police for trespassing and other offenses.
They wouldn't have been caught if the sergeant had simply passed by and said "it's none of my business," said Bice, who was commissioned through the Enlisted Commissioning Program in April 1969.
"We've got to remember that the gate isn't the first or last stop of security. It's the individual. That sergeant saw something that didn't look right and called the MPs."
Something that doesn't necessarily look right to the commanding general is the barracks situation aboard the base. Bice wants to give single Marines a place to live that they will be proud to call theirs.
"We've got bachelor-enlisted quarters that I moved my Marines into in 1976 as a company commander," he said. "They weren't the best even back then."
"We have a plan to get our BEQs right completely by 2009. The old flat-top barracks are going down. The ones I moved my Marines into in 1976 are going down."
The general paused, then smiled.
"I'm just sorry I won't be here to see it; I'd like to swing the sledge first."
Bice is forthright and direct. He's quick-witted and quick to answer questions. His voice is soothing like a patient teacher's yet conveys no-nonsense authority like Edward G. Robinson's.
Bice's simple, overarching credo: take care of the Marines. He has commanded units from platoon size to division, and continues to enjoy being around young Marines.
Much of that enjoyment stems from his mentors when he was a young Marine officer. Bice cited sergeants major and a legendary former commandant - the 26th, Gen. Louis Wilson - as major influences.
"The Marines who have influenced me the most are sergeants major," he said. "From the time I was a lieutenant, I have been in the counsel and guidance of sergeants major who showed me the ins and outs and what to look for as a leader. Several names jump out at me, categorically, sergeants major, because they know the ins and outs of their units."
One of the general's traits is high visibility around the base, something he learned from Wilson.
"I had a session with Gen. Wilson, and he told me that the footprints of a commander determine the quality of his command. I always ask myself, each night before I go to bed, where did I go? Who did I see? Who did I influence?
"I'd like to believe I have an influence on enlisted Marines. "My roots are in the enlisted ranks, and if I've influenced them properly, whether it's a Marine taking off-duty education or doing as much PME as possible, it makes me proud."
His greatest influence over Marines came as a battalion commander, he believes. Bice was the commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines at Camp Lejeune from 1986-1988. He called it "the epitome of command."
"The unit adopts the personality of the commander. Everyone privileged enough to have the opportunity to command a battalion - there's a magic there," Bice said wistfully.
Whether it's enlisted Marines, family members or civilians working aboard the base, Bice believes in people, he said. Every question about what he will remember or what he will think about during his retirement went back to people.
It starts and ends with the people you serve with, he said.
"The greatest part of being a Marine is the people," Bice said. "It has always been the people. I've never had a bad duty station. Whenever I go to a new duty station, I'd meet new friends, but the good thing was, I'd always see old friends."
Another constant in his life has been the individual Marine's essence. Bice said the basic Marines from 1968 and 2002 are one and the same.
"I sometimes chuckle when we try to determine the differences between Marines of different eras, especially now with all the technical skills required these days.
"The basic Marine, however, won't change. You see it on unit PT runs, on the rifle range, in the weight room or on humps. When Marines are doing what they joined the Corps to do, you're seeing the essence. Basic Marine qualities have never changed, and as long as the qualities don't change, we won't either."
With half his career spent overseas, Bice has seen the Marines' effect on foreign military personnel.
Basically, they want to know how they stack up against the world's finest, he said.
"The great part about being a Marine is that Marines are forward. We touch people. I've spent half my career overseas, traveled through Eastern Europe and Africa, and you see that people want to be just like us. I've been around some very elite units, and they ask how they measure against the U.S. Marines."
But after 34 years of assignments - jobs including an exchange officer with the United Kingdom's Royal Marines, graduating from the Royal Marines Commando Course, a platoon commander with 3/1 in Vietnam and commanding general of the nation's busiest base, Bice is prepared for a change.
He and his wife will settle in Virginia, where the general plans to influence his grandchildren and teach them how to fish, among other things. He will root for the Washington Redskins, and said he plans to attend some games.
"It's time to show the Cowboys something," he said.
Still, once a Marine, always a Marine.
"I will contribute to the Marine Corps in some capacity," he said. "I will always be a Marine. I'm understanding now why the eyes of retirees glisten when they see or hear something that reminds them of the Corps."
With a collage of memories 34 years deep, Bice certainly won't lack reminders.