BARSTOW, Calif. -- On Dec. 1, 2009, President Barack Obama unveiled a plan to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in support of combat operations. His nationally televised announcement sent the first wave of approximately 1,500 Marines overseas, and presented Marines around the Corps with a new opportunity to deploy.
“With the surge in Afghanistan, I envision more [individual augment] billets coming down from Marine Corps Installations West, or from higher headquarters to Barstow,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Keoni Kim, the personnel officer for Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, Calif.
An individual augmentation is a Marine who’s been indentified to serve temporarily assigned duty from one unit to another, in support of either operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, added Kim.
“Units submit shortfall lists to Headquarters Marine Corps, because they don’t have the Marines for a certain occupation,” he said.
According to Kim, HQMC can then identify different units and Marines that are eligible to fill the deficit.
“I deployed to Al’Taqaddum, Iraq in January 2009 through an individual augmentation,” said Cpl. Jacob McDonald, the noncommissioned officer in-charge of the Fleet Support Division’s weapon warehouse on the Yermo Annex.
“I made it clear to my superiors that I wanted to deploy and they did what they could to get me what I wanted,” said McDonald, who spent six months in Iraq filling an IA billet with Marine Corps Logistics Command.
McDonald’s deployment came because of the needs of the Corps, but it was his motivation and job performance that made him a perfect candidate for his IA billet, he said.
“I filled a corporal’s billet while I was there, and before I went I picked up meritorious lance corporal, while keeping a first class [physical fitness test] the entire time,” said McDonald, who was excited to go, but was hesitant about a being in a new unit.
“At first I was afraid to be with Marines I didn’t know, but in the end it was really cool meeting Marines from around the Corps,” said McDonald. “I would highly suggest it to any Marine, because you can experience a whole different side of the Marine Corps.”
“I think a lot of Marines in Barstow would jump at the opportunity to deploy and experience the Marine Corps,” said Kim, who urged Marines to stay deployment ready.
“It’s not if you’re deploying, but when,” he added.
To be a viable candidate for an individual augmentation, Marines should have a first class PFT, be up to date with annual and semi-annual training requirements, while having their personal and financial matters squared away.
“If you’re thinking you’re not going to deploy, it’s going to happen,” said Kim, who served with an MCLBB Marine during a deployment to Iraq in 2005.
“I always wondered how we got a Marine from Barstow and we were from Camp Lejeune, but now I see the other end of it after being here,” he added.