New River opens new IPAC building

Photo By Cpl. Mark Watola | Cpl. Vyacheslav Rakhminov, an administrative specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, works at the new installation personnel administration center on Marine Corps Air Station New River July 20. Before moving into the new building on July 18th, IPAC was worked in two separate buildings. The new 17,000 square foot building serves as a centralized location for Marines stationed at the air station. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Mark Watola /Released)  

NC, UNITED STATES

07.20.2016

Story by Cpl. Mark Watola 

Marine Corps Installations East       

Marine Corps Air Station New River opened a new Installation Personnel Administration Center located on White Street across from the air station medical branch.

The new 17,000 square foot building was the first new multimillion dollar building in the Marine Corps built specifically for the IPAC mission.

The old air station IPAC was split between the air station headquarters building and an adjacent trailer, with a combined space of only 7,400 square feet, keeping the sections separate and adding a level of unnecessary stress to the administrative Marines.

"It was really a pain being separated between two buildings; customers would come in and they wouldn’t realize that there’s a whole other section of the IPAC in a different building," said Cpl. Georgy Kinyaevsky, noncommissioned officer in charge of separations section of IPAC. "It definitely increases unit cohesion because we’re all together now. Now we’re all a big team now, instead of being between the trailer and headquarters building."

The new building opened its doors July 18, bringing together the entire IPAC into one central location.

"It’s what most units have, all their Marines in one place. Better communications," said Master Sgt. Sam Carodine, New River IPAC quality control chief. "It’s been great. We can see Marines and how they’re doing. From a leadership standpoint, it’s what you want."

Not only do the Marines who work at the IPAC benefit from the new building, but Marines who need administrative assistance save time at the new IPAC.

"Marines who were going through a permanent change of assignment used to go to the outbound section at the HQ building and then they would have to go the trailer and get in another line with customer service and inbounds. It became time consuming," said Carodine. "Now we take those PCA Marines and put them in a classroom, the outbound section does their thing and they just call the inbound section, and they’re right there. It’s a much smoother process for us."

IPAC’s mission is to support Marines and sailors with administrative needs such as pay, orders, travel claims and checking in and out of a unit.

"The Marines are happy; morale is up. It’s the building that the air station deserves," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Nicole Hershman, IPAC director. "We’re proud of having Marines come here to get their needs taken care of."

• Date Taken: 07.20.2016
• Date Posted: 07.28.2016 08:32
• Story ID: 205304
• Location: NC, US