The 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. David H. Berger, visits (left to right) Col Michael J. Fitzgerald, Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Shrader, Gen. David H. Berger, Lt. Gen. Charles G. Chiarotti and Staff Sgt. Maj. Michael J. Rowan, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga., March 4, 2021. On Tuesday, the military installation and community celebrated the 70th anniversary of MCLB-Albany, which was established as the Korean War erupted. rage. (Kathryn Adams/US Marine Corps)
MCLB-ALBANY, Ga. (Tribune News Service) – Through conflicts and wars around the world, floods, a tornado and a hurricane near us, and base realignments and closures over the years, the base Albany’s Marine Corps Logistics has played a vital role in defending the country for seven decades.
On Tuesday, the military installation and community celebrated the 70th anniversary of the base, which was established as the Korean War raged.
“The basic fundamentals really haven’t changed, sustaining and nurturing the Marine Corps,” base commander Col. Michael J. Fitzgerald said in an interview after a ceremony on Tuesday. “What has changed is the technology.”
A small group of Marines moved into temporary buildings in Albany on March 1, 1952, with the establishment of the Marine Corps Depot of Supplies. After two name changes, it assumed its current name on November 1, 1978.
Today, MCLB-Albany is one of six commands under Marine Corps Installations East, headquartered at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The primary tenant command, Marine Corps Logistics Command, is headquartered at MCLB-Albany and is responsible for maximizing materiel readiness and sustainment during peace, war, and emergency operations.
“From the Korean War to today, what this base does matters around the world,” Fitzgerald said. “It has impacts all over the world.
“As recent world events have shown us, the world is not pretty. We have to be prepared for the future.”
Part of the job at the grassroots is to take a truck or Humvee that’s been through hard service, break it down into its individual components, and put it back together like new.
During the Iraq War, the base quickly mobilized to shield vulnerable vehicles with armor to protect the personnel operating them from improvised explosive devices.
“At first they had thin-skinned vehicles built for the Cold War,” Fitzgerald said.
Protective armor was produced and shipped to help protect the equipment in use and the military personnel using it, until more hardened vehicles were manufactured and deployed.
The base’s mission is done with a small contingent of active duty military and “civilian Marines” – local employees and contractors who make up the bulk of the workforce. In total, around 5,000 people work at the facility.
“Ninety-five to 98 percent of the workforce are civilian marines,” Fitzgerald said. “This base and the community are one. The community and the base have grown over the years into one unit.”
During the ceremony, the audience heard the recitation of congratulations from members of Congress, Department of Defense officials, and proclamations from Albany Mayor Bo Dorough and the Dougherty County Commission.
Some of these statements noted the natural disasters the base has faced and cited the base to continue its vital mission in the aftermath of these strikes while lending a helping hand to the community to save lives and aid in recovery.
MCLB-Albany is at the forefront of technology and innovation and is on its way to becoming the first “net-zero” base through partnerships with the Albany Procter & Gamble plant to provide power through a biomass generator and with Dougherty County, which provides methane released during the decomposition of waste in its landfill. The $20 million methane generating plant was completed in September 2011.
In another partnership, the base became home to a 44-acre solar farm, with 150 acres leased to Georgia Power Co. for power generation for the company’s customers.
The base also brings green cars and charging infrastructure and serves as the site of several pilot projects, including a 5G smart warehouse under development.
“The base’s one-size-fits-all, in that it’s smaller, allows the Marine Corps to invest in future technology to secure fiscal funds, and then it’s expanded to the rest of the Marine Corps,” Fitzgerald said. “It is efficient and effective with the least cost to the public.”
In fiscal year 2019, MCLB-Albany had an estimated $1.7 billion economic impact on southwest Georgia, and its 3,600 acres are home to some 40 tenant organizations, including the National Guard of the Georgia Army, Albany Veterans Community Outpatient Clinic, and Naval Facilities. Engineering Command.
“We have a rich history with the Navy base here,” Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas, who attended the ceremony, said in a telephone interview. “It’s one of our main assets. I’m very proud that it’s a major asset not only for the region but also for our nation. It’s quite important to see what it has been in terms of the status of the Ministry of Defence.”
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