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Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., has received the 2016 Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence.
The award, announced May 10 by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s office, named MCLB Barstow as the best in the entire Marine Corps and one of the five best installations in the United States military.
Colonel Sekou Karega, commanding officer, MCLBB, gave credit for the award to the Marines and Civilian Marines aboard base.
“This a great honor. I’m extremely proud of it and I‘m looking forward to accepting the award on behalf of this installation.” Karega said. “This command always does a great job but this is the first time that MCLB Barstow has been recognized with this specific award.”
Applying for the CINC Installation Excellence (CINC IE) Award required Sheri Smith, business manager, Business Performance Office, MCLBB, and her staff to prepare a four-page letter extolling the virtues of MCLBB in 24 required categories.
“We (BPO personnel) got input from all of the departments and Special Staff Offices on their major accomplishments. We then edited, condensed and formatted all of the submissions into the four-page narrative that was submitted as the first step of the selection process,” Smith said.
The award application letter noted that among the stand-out accomplishments of MCLB Barstow was the innovative use of the largest rail head in the Department of Defense, located at MCLBB, to move more than 400,000 tons of military equipment using less than 8,500 rail cars. The equipment was used in training by not only the Marines but the Army and Air Force in the Mojave Desert region. This resulted in an estimated savings of $7.5 million for the year compared to using trucks to transport the equipment.
Anthony Mesa, the Installation Energy Manager aboard MCLB Barstow said energy conservation and management and the use of alternative energy production methods also put MCLB Barstow at the head of all other Marine Corps installations by creating 32 percent of the base’s energy requirements. Mesa said this exceeded Marine Corps requirements that 25 percent of an installation’s energy must be produced by the base itself. This was accomplished by using the Marine Corps’ only wind turbine; which is capable of generating one megawatt of electricity, two solar farms, solar street lighting and light-emitting diode lights in the base gymnasium. The award application letter noted those energy creation and conservation tactics saved the base about $335,000 in energy costs annually. Plans are also in the works for a two megawatt cogeneration plant that is projected to save another $1.7 million annually. MCLBB has also reduced its water usage by nearly seven percent over the previous year, according to Mesa.
Expansion of MCLBB’s Qualified Recycling Program earned the base more than $197,000. This was accomplished by recycling more than 530 tons of tires, oil filters, batteries, aerosol cans, fluorescent lights, vehicle batteries, and other items as well as more than 15,500 gallons of oil products. The base has also diverted 75 percent of nonhazardous solid waste from the landfill with no adverse impacts to the environment.
An excerpt from the application submitted by BPO also outlined some of the 35 quality of life services offered by Marine Corps Community Services considered vital to all base personnel including: “… child care, health promotions, fitness programs, recreational golf and bowling programs, counseling and family advocacy, transition assistance, family member employment assistance, library and education services, school liaison program, Marine Corps Exchange retail operations, restaurant and special event catering, family readiness, financial and retirement planning, social gatherings for spouses and deployment support.”
Safety was also at the forefront of MCLBB’s accomplishments considered outstanding by the evaluators of the CINC award. The award application letter noted “an astounding 96 percent reduction in lost time mishaps” since 2002. MCLB Barstow was also awarded the Navy League of the United States, “General James L. Jones Safety Award," for the installation's superior performance in safety and occupational health, as well as the Marine Corps’ highest level safety award, the “Commandant’s Warrior Preservation Award”. The DoD Safety Management Center of Excellence estimated a cost savings of $6.3 million since MCLBB became the first Marine Corps installation to achieve the coveted Occupational Safety and Health Administration Voluntary Protection Program Star Status in 2008 and recertification in 2012.
Marine Corps Fire Department Chief Paul Purdy, aboard MCLB Barstow, said the base’s fire department added to the goal of putting safety first by being named the 2014 USMC Medium Fire Department of the Year. Purdy confirms that the MCLB Barstow Fire Department responded to more than 1,300 emergency incidents on and off the base including automobile accidents on the two major roadways in the area. Mutual aid agreements with surrounding communities and Strike Team support fighting wildfires throughout California enabled MCLB Barstow to become the first in the Marine Corps to successfully go through the Center of Public Safety Excellence Commission’s accreditation process for a second time.
Purdy noted that the MCLB Fire Department is also the first to develop and implement a Unified Response to Violence Incidents Program (Active Shooter) with police, fire and dispatch. The program allows first response medical evaluators to accompany armed police in to an active shooting scene aboard an installation enabling immediate triage of wounded individuals. The program developed by the MCFD aboard MCLB Barstow is now being implemented throughout Marine Corps Installations West. The MCLB Barstow fire department has sent trainers to other Marine Corps installations within MCIWEST to train fire and police responders in the program. The Active Shooter program is being hailed as a model program which will save lives in these types of incidents
The Department of Defense letter announcing the award summed up why MCLBB and the other award winning installations were chosen:
“The Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence recognizes the outstanding and innovative efforts of the people who operate and maintain U.S. military installations. The five recipients of this highly competitive presidential award were selected for their exemplary support of Department of Defense missions.
“Excellent installations enable better mission performance and enhance the quality of life for military men and women and their families. Each winning installation succeeded in providing excellent working, housing, and recreational conditions.”
Ted Devlin is the director of Manpower Department for Marine Corps Installations West, who submitted the applications from the bases under MCI West’s control.
"We had four bases apply for this award under MCI West,” Devlin said. He explained the award comes with bragging rights, a flag from the Department of Defense, a letter from the President of the United States and monetary consideration.
| Date Taken: | 06.24.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.24.2016 18:27 |
| Story ID: | 202447 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 149 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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