MCPD aboard MCLB Barstow celebrates 10 years as a civilian force

Photo By Laurie Pearson | Ten years ago, Marine Corps Police Department aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow transitioned from military police to a civilian force and ten of the employees hired on in that first wave, still work on base, Dec. 2015. Then, they hired on as GS-03, 05 or 07 positions. Look where the are now!  

BARSTOW, CA, UNITED STATES

12.14.2015

Story by Laurie Pearson  

Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow

MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. - The Marine Corps Police Department acknowledges its 10 year anniversary as a civilian police force aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., this year.

In 2005, MCLB Barstow became the first Marine Corps base to transition from military police to a civilian police force paving the way for the next two bases, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany located in Albany, Georgia and Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island in Jacksonville, Florida, to follow suit. The transition from military to civilian personnel was part of an ongoing effort to reduce military staffing on bases and ended up allowing for more military police to serve overseas, said Darwin O’Neal, MCPD police chief.

There was a great deal of collaboration with Head Quarters Marine Corps in Washington D.C. during the transition to ensure that proper regulatory requirements were met, processes were in place and entitlements were clear, said Luciana Wais, personnel operations branch head for MCLB Barstow.

The first civilian police employees came on board as GS: 03 interns and GS: 04 employees promotable to GS: 05 then 07 positions. These initial MCPD employees began their academies in 2006, then went through the standard hands on training with Field Training Officers before serving in their hired roles.

Ten of those employees hired in that first wave of hiring for MCPD still work aboard MCLB Barstow in leadership roles.

“The officers are doing doing an outstanding job with providing security and law enforcement to the employees and family members who work and live aboard the installation,” said Darwin O’Neal, chief of police with MCPD on MCLB Barstow. “I see nothing, but great things. Some officers will move on to other things, but some will remain and progress up through the ranks,” he continued.

As these ten employees demonstrate their loyalty to the base and to supporting the Marine Corps mission, they set an example for new employees to follow. The MCPD has 21 open positions at this time, which Chief O’Neal expects to fill within the next year. Anyone wishing to secure a position as a law enforcement officer may initially accept an entry-level position, but may rest assured that with hard work and dedication to training, doors to promotions may open.

• Date Taken: 12.14.2015
• Date Posted: 12.18.2015 16:10
• Story ID: 184941
• Location: BARSTOW, CA, US
• Hometown: LOS ANGELES, CA, US
• Hometown: PITTSBURG, CA, US
• Hometown: SACRAMENTO, CA, US
• Hometown: SAN DIEGO, CA, US
• Hometown: STONYFORD, CA, US