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Kerry Eaton, tractor operator, has worked moving heavy equipment for the Yermo Annex, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif. for 10 years. She is one of eight women heavy equipment operators currently on base. She is hooking up a truck to be moved for repairs.

Photo by Cindy McIntyre

Women Do Heavy-Lifting MCLB Barstow

2 Apr 2015 | Cindy McIntyre Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow

Forget the stale jokes about women drivers, or the hard-scrabble tales of women proving themselves in a "man's world." These women push around tanks and personnel carriers just like one of the guys, and make good money doing so.

Kerry Eaton has been working at the Production Plant Barstow, Marine Depot Maintenance Command doing just that for a decade. Sure, some of the guys were taken aback at first by a woman in a man's job. "But the women would stop and say, 'You make us look good,'" said Eaton. 

And now she sees them as family. "When my husband died 18 months ago, they all helped me through it. I am very grateful to everyone for that."

"Remember how scared Kerry was of running the equipment when she first came here?" asked work leader Jim Dodd, speaking to one of his co-workers. "Now don't stand in her way!" he laughed. "She's a professional.  That's what we say here:
'Be a professional.'"

Dodd said of the women heavy equipment operators in the Material Handling Equipment section, "They do their work like anybody else. They're hard workers." Seven women are forklift operators, one is a rigger (directing the crane operator), and Eaton is a tractor operator, riding high on the huge tractor that moves tanks and large vehicles.

Eaton said moving an M1 Abrams tank for the first time was unnerving. "We had an older (tractor), and when I tried to turn it, the tire rims went right to the ground. But I learned how to maneuver them." Moving the big stuff is easier than you think, once you learn how, she added. 

Denise Orebaugh, material coordinator, drives a forklift capable of lifting around 5,500 pounds. She worked at a warehouse on the Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., Yermo Annex for six years, taking inventory, and stocking and cleaning equipment. Once the employees were all required to obtain forklift operator licenses, she decided she may as well drive one for a living. "The money's good," she said of the job. "And the people are great."

"They call me 'momma' out here," she said of her co-workers. "They'll say 'momma' you're working too hard. But that's just my work ethic. I like to get the job finished."

Orebaugh said moving big vehicle engines, such as those for Humvees and mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles, is one of the more challenging tasks she does. "They're heavy, and worth lots of money."  

The downside of the job for her is the weather, since much of her work is outdoors. "Hot weather doesn't bother me," she said. "It's the cold, rain, and especially the wind." 

Her young co-worker Loren Forsythe said of Orebaugh, "She's a really hard worker.  Even though she's older than me, she's strong. She out-powers me. When I'm working with her I'm trying to keep up. It's nice to work with someone who wants to work as hard as you do."

Forsythe grew up in Silver Lakes, and like many in the Barstow area she knew there were good jobs to be had at MCLB Barstow. She kept applying and began working as a forklift operator a year-and-a-half ago. "I have horses and I couldn't afford to keep them by working at the mall," she said. 

Originally, she worked as an expediter but that contractor lost the bid, so she moved into the forklift job through contractor URS (now AECOM). She hopes to train her two quarter horses in barrel racing, and to become good enough to join the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. "You have to win at least $1,000 to qualify for membership," she said. 

A visit to the busy PPB reveals a number of women working in many jobs previously considered "men's work." Considering that women in the military have long been performing well in many traditionally male jobs, this should not be surprising. However, it is nice to see the feminine touches these civilians bring to their job, from pink and purple hardhats, to earrings and colorful scarves.  

But any woman who can push around a tank or an assault amphibious vehicle is a woman who can hold her own, pink hardhat or not.