The death of a retired major general whose body was found at a Marine base on Saturday is currently being investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
The San Bernardino County coroner’s office has confirmed that Maj. Gen. William Mullen, aged 59, was found deceased at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California.
According to Military.com, the coroner records indicate that the body was discovered in Building 1651, which houses the Marine Corps Communication-Electronics School as per the online base directory.
According to a statement provided by the Marine Corps to Marine Corps Times, Mullen was present at the base to attend the change of command ceremony for the Marine Corps Tactics and Operations Group.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Center in Twentynine Palms, California, had a retired major general as its commanding general. The former military personnel retired from the Corps in 2020.
According to the Marine Corps Times, the incident is being investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, as confirmed by the Marine Corps.
NCIS was unable to be reached for comment.
According to a spokeswoman, the autopsy is currently being handled by the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Department and the results are currently pending.
Mullen’s official biography shows that he served as the commanding officer of the Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team Company and deployed to Operation Desert Shield. He also participated in counter-narcotics missions alongside Joint Task Force-6. Later on, he served as the commanding officer of Fox Company and deployed with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to Operation Sea Signal. This military response took place in 1994 and aimed to address the issue of Cuban and Haitian refugees seeking asylum.
In 2005, he served as the operations officer for Regimental Combat Team – 8 and was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq. Two years later, he commanded 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines in the same location.
According to the Corps, Mullen retired while holding the position of commanding general of Training and Education Command, located in Quantico, Virginia.
According to the Marine Corps, Maj. Gen. Thomas Savage stated that Mullen’s unwavering commitment to the Marine Corps and our nation will always be honored. This statement was provided to Marine Corps Times by the Marine Corps.
Reached by phone on Friday, multiple members of Mullen’s family declined to comment to the media.