Lieutenant General Herbert R. Temple, Jr. is the quintessential citizen soldier, a National Guardsman, having combined careers in business, government and military service.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, he enlisted as a private in the 1 60th Infantry Regiment (Los Angeles’ Own) in 1947. Forty-three years later he retired at the Pentagon as a Lieutenant General, United States Army.
A combat infantryman from the Korean War, he has led and commanded from platoon through brigade level organizations. His career is highlighted by over nine command assignments and a variety of staff assignments from battalion through division and Department of The Army. General Temple served twelve years on the U.S. Army General Staff and in 1986 was appointed by the President of the United States as the Chief of the National Guard Bureau. In this role, he was responsible for the Army and Air Force National Guard of the United States, at the time, the world’s tenth largest army and the fifth largest air force. With National Guard personnel and units training and serving throughout the world and in fifty- four states and territories, he managed an annual budget in excess of nine billion dollars, exclusive of major items of military equipment.
He was awarded an Associate of Art Degree from Los Angeles City College; a baccalaureate degree in management from Golden Gate University(Ca) and a Master Degree in public administration from Shippensburg State University(pa).
His military education includes graduation from the U.S. Army Armor School; U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College.
Among his U.S. and foreign decoration, he has been awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Army General Staff Badge.In addition to his military career, he was vice president and partner in a petroleum, chemical and ore trucking company in Long Beach, California.
Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him his military aide and subsequently appointed him Director, California Office of Emergency Services. As director, he was responsible for the state’s civil defense program and the California Mutual Aid Program in support of state and local government fire services, law enforcement and emergency services. He managed the state emergency communications system and was chairman of the Utilities Emergency Committee and a member of the California Emergency Council.
General Temple retired from the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C. on 1February, 1990.
Since retirement, he has served on committees, studies and task forces for the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Army and private industry addressing such diverse subjects as combat readiness of the armed forces, quality of life in the armed forces, extremist elements in the armed forces, civil disaster preparedness and civil-military planning related to weapons of mass destruction.
General and Mrs Temple and their miniature Dachshund ELKE reside in Palm Desert, California.
