MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. -- The mission of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow is to provide the tenants of the base with the support they need because “It’s all about the warfighter.”
That was t he main thrust of the message delivered by Col. Daniel P. Ermer, commanding officer, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, during his all-hands 2011 – 2015 Campaign Plan rollout address at the Major General James L. Day Conference Center Aug. 22.
Karen Gray, strategic planner, MCLB Barstow, and a key architect of the Strategic Campaign, told
the audience of Marines and Civilian Marines that the five-year plan explained what role the huge storage and depot capacity, dry climate and access to all major forms of transportation played in making the base a highly desirable asset to the Department of Defense.
After being introduced, Ermer agreed with Gray’s comments about the ideal conditions that make MCLB Barstow a truly unique location, but he cautioned, “ … there are countless others competing with us to do our jobs better in the future.”
The colonel went on to explain that his vision of how MCLB Barstow would remain competitive was through implementing three Wildly Important Goals, or WIGs:
Improve customer relations and communications (Inside the Wire)…
Expand our strategic partnerships and community engagement (Outside the Wire)…
…and maximize infrastructure and capacity aboard the base.
“We have got to do it better, faster, cheaper, and safer than our competition,” Ermer said.
“The way to stay competitive is to relentlessly look for areas in need of improving and keep training the work force…Training must be continuous because if you stop training, the results can be catastrophic,” he added.
The formula for staying competitive starts at the grass roots level.
“I’m giving you the plan (for success) from the top-down, and you as employees are empowered
to execute it from the bottom-up. We must continually strive for excellence.” Ermer said.
Gray said a lot of work went in to the Strategic Campaign.
“MCLB Barstow has spent two years developing the plan to align our efforts with Headquarters Marine Corps and Marine Corps Installations-West Strategic Plans. As staff we will focus our daily efforts on excellence of service and track progress through a scorecard,” Gray said.
“Next steps in the Base Planning Process will include presenting our Campaign Plan to tenants, collaboratively developing action plans and measures with departments.” she said.
“When these tools are in place we won’t just think we’ve improved results, we’ll be able to watch the progress through the scorecard.”