CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – For the Marines here who work long hours driving on combat logistics patrols and posting security, the last thing on their mind, should be wondering if they got paid or not.
For the Marines and sailors of the 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), minds are at ease because the group G-1 is responsible for administration support.
Staff members in the G-1 office ensure service members are getting paid. Their responsibilities also include Marine and sailor accountability, basic administrative assistance, casualty tracking, notification of Red Cross messages, and scheduling emergency and rest and recuperation leave.
“We are the administrative side of the Marine Corps,” said Maj. Rhonda Martin, assistant chief of staff, G-1, Headquarters, 1st MLG (FWD).
In addition to making sure their fellow comrades are taken care of, they also assist the commanding general of 1st MLG (FWD), which provides logistics support to units throughout Helmand province.
“We are in a war zone, and the commanding general needs to know where his [sailors] and Marines are at all times,” Martin said. “We are a part of giving the general the big picture on how to support the mission.”
Supporting the mission includes making sure there are enough explosive ordnance disposal Marines, mechanics, security personnel and medical personnel on deck to be able to support the warfighter on the front lines.
Not only is administration important for supporting the mission, but it is also supporting the warfighter.
The administrative personnel in the G-1 take care of service members by making sure their military records are up to date and personal affairs are taken care of while they are conducting counterinsurgency operations, said Martin, 46, from Trotwood, Ohio.
“Information gathered by G-1, enables the (Installation Personnel Administration Center) to formulate/enhance procedures to better support each deployed unit,” said Gunnery Sgt. William Challenor, G-1 chief, Headquarters, 1st MLG (FWD). “G-1 forward submits all information to IPAC on Camp Pendleton.”
Without G-1 forward, IPAC would not be able to ensure that all Marines service records were up to date. It would not allow IPAC to provide support to deployed Marines with any administrative requests, pay, promotions, training, emergency contact information and awards, explained Challenor.
“[We] make sure they don’t have anything to worry about while they are out there completing a mission or job,” said Challenor. “[We help them] focus on the mission at hand instead of worrying if they are going to get the message of their wife having a baby.”
Service members receive Red Cross messages at any duty station as a communication service to keep military personnel in touch with their families following the death or serious illness of a family member or other important events, such as the birth of a child.
“If they get a Red Cross message,” said Lance Cpl. Samantha Gibson, adjutant clerk with G-1, Headquarters, 1st MLG (FWD). “Their admin is going to be there to make sure they get the message.”
The G-1 personnel are dedicated to supporting and taking care of their brothers and sisters who are on the front lines, added Gibson.