Photo By Cynthia McIntyre | Col. Michael L. Scalise, base commander for Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow,...... read more read more
BARSTOW, Calif. - When you meet Col. Michael L. Scalise, commanding officer of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., and his wife Anne, you are immediately struck with how much alike they are. Their sense of humor is both disarming and genuine; they use their positions to empower others and are proud to give them credit; and they want, above all, to leave a positive legacy that will live on long after they're gone.
As Scalise likes to say, "We make our fighting hole better than it was. That's what Marines do."
On July 1, Col. Scalise will hand over command to Col. Sekou S. Karega, and the Scalise family will then travel to their new home at Camp Lejeune, N.C. to assume duties as the G-4 for Marine Corps Installations East at the general staff level.
When he arrived here in June 2012, Scalise knew he had big shoes to fill following former base commander Col. Daniel Ermer.
"The reason Col. Ermer was so highly thought of is because he talked to the mayor and chamber of commerce," he said, "and I needed to do the same thing."
Scalise emphasized that his role as installation commander was to continue to develop partnerships and embrace the needs and concerns of the community.
"We're the number two employer in the region, (Fort) Irwin being number one. We (all) have the same goal, and that is to have an economically viable Barstow," said Scalise.
According to Julie Wilbanks, Family Readiness Officer and director of Marine Corps Family Team Building, the Scalises have a gift of building community, both on and off base.
“The relationship with the outside community feels healthier and vibrant," she said, noting that base events hosted by the Scalises for the Barstow community were very well attended.
On base, however, there was a cloud hanging over the residents at Desert View Housing. "Anne felt it immediately when she came here," said Scalise. "She got a true sense of the atmospherics because they didn't know who she was."
The residents didn't realize she was the new commander's wife. Even the idea of being stationed in Barstow, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, without the benefits of a large base or big city enticements, didn't appeal to many who received orders here, said Scalise.
The colonel and his wife decided to do something about these "negative atmospherics." He said, "It was by taking very positive people and putting them up front. Julie Wilbanks was one of them. She's a gem, a very positive person. I didn't know at the time she'd been in the billet only four or five months."
Anne Scalise worked with Wilbanks to reach out to the families and single Marines on base. She borrowed a saying from the Single Marine Program, and decided that the mantra would be "Barstow is in the middle of nowhere. Barstow is in the middle of everywhere."
"Julie had to work from nothing to build up that program," said Anne. The housing area was only about two-thirds full when Col. and Mrs. Scalise arrived.
"I wanted to be sure MCLB was inclusive, not exclusive," said Col. Scalise. "The Army has been welcomed aboard. They've been a great partner on this installation."
Housing was opened up not only to the Fort Irwin Army personnel stationed at Barstow-Daggett Airport, but to anyone stationed at Fort Irwin. The Navy corpsmen assigned to MCLB Barstow also live in base housing.
Jill Crumpler, administrative assistant for MCFTB, and her husband, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Crumpler from Barstow-Daggett Airport, were glad they decided to live aboard base.
"I was a little nervous," Crumpler said of being an Army spouse on a Marine Corps base. "But some of our best friends here are Marines. One of the Marines is getting promoted and asked my husband to do his promotion ceremony."
Crumpler said they enthusiastically recommend that other Army families choose to live here.
"Everybody is supportive and helpful to each other," she explained. "You feel safe sharing (personal issues)." She said when she had a personal crisis recently, one of her Marine neighbors brought over meals and comfort, adding "That's what family does."
When Brig. Gen. Edward D. Banta, commanding general of MCI West-Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, and MCI West Sgt. Major Scott Helms visited MCLB Barstow for the Commander's Cup Golf Tournament this past March, their wives took a tour of the base with Anne Scalise. When they met with the military wives at the Desert View Housing Community Center, Anne was a little nervous, she revealed.
"I remember what it was like when I first came (here)," she recalled. Now that she is leaving, the Marine and Army wives were getting teary-eyed, but not for the same reasons they did when they first arrived.
At that meeting, Scalise brushed away her own tears at the prospect of leaving a community she saw transformed and welcoming.
"All of you, especially Julie, have made this a good place to live," she said to the women in the room. "One person strives to make things better, and others join in. That's a success, and you all did it, so pat yourselves on the back. You're rock stars, making things better for people who come here in the future. "
"This really is a Cinderella story," Scalise concluded. "It will be a hard place to leave."
Wilbanks said that all military families have similar needs, such as how to handle separation during deployment, finding out what schools are best, and where to find good medical care. So she initiated a monthly Barstow Military Spouse Network meeting to bring all the families together.
Getting more information about local schools into the hands of families was also a priority, said Col. Scalise.
"First thing (families) do when they've got orders is go on a website and (find out) what the schools are like."
Deborah McGough-Fuller, School Liaison Program manager, created a database of school rankings and offerings so families could make fact-based choices.
"There are so many civilian gems that work on this base," said Col. Scalise. "We have people that are passionate about their work and passionate about the mission, and it shows. That passion is going to insure the longevity of this installation."
One of the most important contributions to Scalise's legacy is the transformation of the Rail Operations facilities at the Yermo Annex from a place for arrival and departure for military equipment and personnel, to a Department of Defense strategic asset.
"It is being briefed at the highest levels of TRANSCOM (U.S. Transportation Command) and SDDC (Surface Deployment and Distribution Command)," said Scalise. "This is at the three-star level in charge of TRANSCOM, and he knows about the capabilities of Barstow's rail line."
He continued, "We have the only rail operations training in the Marine Corps. To date we've trained 150 Marines, soldiers and sailors. It's a new capability on this base that we didn't have before Chad Hildebrandt."
Scalise also praised Karen Gray, base strategic planner, and the base operations personnel.
"(They) have made our ranges more flexible in support of the MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force). We've expanded some capabilities in areas that historically were not ranges. We've done all of that in an environmentally responsible way. That's where our environmental department with Jon Aunger has worked well, that partnership between the (S-3) shop and environmental."
He said Joe Dunn, base inspector general, has helped change the way the COIP (Commanding Officer's Inspection Program) is done.
"We're the only O-6 installation in the Marine Corps that meets the Marine Corps Order." Base inspections were formerly done by MCI West, but now they are executed by MCLB Barstow personnel, with augments from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and MCB Camp Pendleton. "You get a superior product instead of coming in for 10 days, here's your report, I'm leaving."
Another change is the expanded training opportunities.
"We upgraded the barracks 177 to offer the MEF a larger foot print aboard the base to train," he said. "It was used as the American Embassy for the Special Purpose MAGTF."
Not wanting to leave anyone out, Scalise ticked off a list of people heading up various departments. He wanted to be sure everyone knew what a good job they are doing.
"I was fortunate to have some superb Marines serve with me," he emphasized. "It's a challenge to get stationed at Barstow when you're a Marine. These are Marines (who) are designed and built to go to war. While we've had some opportunities to deploy individually, the opportunity to deploy as a unit isn't there. This is not your traditional amphibious base, yet they come together. They're a very close unit as Marines. They take care of each other. I just can't say enough good things about them from the sergeant major down to the PFC (private first class)."
He and Anne, who is trained as an interior designer, also revamped the Gen. James L. Day Conference Center. Using discarded pallets, the base commander made shelving, a wine rack, and other fixtures to "church it up a little bit, to quote the sergeant major." He added, "My time is not any more valuable than anyone else's. We had good people looking in Indiana Jones' warehouse for some of the old things on the base. Some of that stuff I polished, some of it is at PAO (Public Affairs Office) in the historical gallery."
Scalise said his participation in the Mounted Color Guard will be one of his fondest memories.
"I never rode a horse in my life," he said, "and they set me on the grumpiest, biggest, orneriest horse they have - Norman - but I really enjoyed that and I'm going to miss it." He said he's already made arrangements to continue riding horses with his daughter in their new home.
He added, "I knew nothing about installations until I got here. The skill set I will use at Camp Lejeune (is what) I've learned here at Barstow in its entirety. So, I'll be thinking about this base every day."
Even more, he said, he's going to miss the people.
"I've had a lot of fun living here," said Scalise. “We've had a great tour."
| Date Taken: | 06.25.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.25.2015 13:54 |
| Story ID: | 168122 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Hometown: | HAMPTON, IA, US |
| Web Views: | 303 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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