CAMP FOSTER, Japan - Every year, thousands of Marines travel throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Whether they are changing duty stations or heading into a disaster stricken country to provide humanitarian relief, traveling plans for these Marines require careful and intricate planning. Luckily for the Marines with Marine Corps Installations Pacific, they have an award winning logistician Gunnery Sgt. Anabell Nevels to help them accomplish their mission.
Nevels first enlisted in the Marine Corps June 26, 2000. She graduated from recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. in September that same year. It was from here that the career of an exceptional Marine begun to take off. As a junior Marine, Nevels completed tours at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
According to Nevels, while many of her peers’ motivation slowly began to dwindle with time, hers continue to grow.
“I had good level of motivation and with more experience and leadership, it kept increasing,” said Nevels. “During that period from lance corporal and below I took away the good and the bad from my leaders that helped me determine what leader I would strive to be.”
In March of 2005, Sgt. Nevels volunteered to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving as the G-9, civil affairs, administrative clerk for II Marine Expeditionary Force Forward Command Element, Camp Fallujah.
“I wanted to get to the fight, support our deployed forces and make a difference in the Marine Corps,” said Nevels. “I still keep that same drive, to do my part for my Marines and the Marine Corps.”
After getting promoted to staff sergeant in 2007, Nevels was assigned to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. She spent three years there before being transferred to Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations West-Marine Corps Base, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, to become the staff noncommisoned officer in charge for the distribution management office. It was here where she truly began to shine.
While station aboard Camp Pendleton from November 2011 to December 2014, Nevels was responsible for directing more than 39,000 defense travel system requests and moving more than 90,000 personnel at a cost of over 23 million dollars while supporting more three Marine Expeditionary Units. Along with ensuring the transportation of vital personnel, Nevels also personally worked with the state department to improve passport and visa application processing for thousands of personnel, reducing document return times by 50 percent. For her efforts while stationed at Camp Pendleton, Nevels was awarded the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command 2013 Excellence in Traffic Management award, 2013 Marine Corps Enlisted Logistician of the Year award, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
According to Chief Warrant Officer 2 Harvey Lacanilao, a distribution management analyst with Logistics Modernization Team, Field Supply and Maintenance Analysis Office Western Pacific, Headquarters Marine Corps, these awards are not only a big deal in the Marine Corps, but the entire Department of Defense.
“The logistics community is a big community,” said Lacanilao. “The fact that she was named the logistician of the year in any service is a huge deal.”
According to Nevels, even though it’s her name on all the awards, her fellow Marines at Camp Pendleton should also receive recognition.
“If it weren’t for them, nothing would have gotten accomplished,” said Nevels. “Those were some stellar Marines. They worked extremely hard to make sure everything was done right and the mission could be completed.”
Due to Nevels’ accomplishments, she was handpicked to work as a distribution management analyst with Logistics Modernization Team, Field Supply and Maintenance Analysis Office Western Pacific, Headquarters Marine Corps, supporting MCIPAC a total of 30 different units through the MCIPAC area of operations. With thousands of military personnel moving in and out of Marine Corps Base Camp Butler and numerous other installation in MCIPAC, Nevels will play an important role in helping MCIPAC and III Marine Expeditionary Force strengthen America’s ability to respond quickly to crisis in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. This ability strengthens power projection with America's allies and partners; and enables operating force readiness to guarantee mission completion.