MCLB Albany

Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany is a military base operated by the United States Marine Corps in the immediate proximity of Albany, in the southern part of Georgia. It mostly supports the actions taking place on the eastern coast of the United States of America. The base is famous for the local Logistics Command’s Maintenance Center. The interesting fact is that there are not more than two such centers in the country. One of them is located in Albany, while the other one is located in Barstow, California. In fact, the two bases are almost identical in size, build and mission. The base spreads over 13 square kilometers and employs more civilians than military troops. There are less than 1,000 military troops hosted on site, with almost 3,000 civilian personnel and contractors.

Mission

The primary mission of MCLB Albany is to deal with all the combat equipments on the eastern coast of the country. The mission implies the development, reparation and rebuild of combat equipments. The base supports the entire eastern coast, just like its sister base from California deals with the western one. Other than that, it also supports the operations and missions directed by the Department of Defense.

While trying to make its inhabitants feel like home, the officials of MCLB Albany aim to provide some of the most advanced facilities for the permanent troops. Such facilities imply housing opportunities, entertaining activities, recreational areas and a lot of other centers and services people can find in a civilian community too. If the military troops don’t have such a hard time adopting to a military lifestyle, things are significantly harder for civilian workers or families.

History

MCLB Albany was established on March, 1-st, 1952, as a depot. It was established under R. P. Coffman’s command. A few Marines joined the installation right away. The logistics base was set up later that decade. It took the officials quite a while to find a perfect place. They were looking after an inland location to avoid the corrosion problems, but also at a decent distance from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Other than that, the access was just as important. The authorities wanted access by both rail and road. Albany seemed like a great place that covered all these requirements, therefore they got to work immediately. The construction went on pretty fast. By 1954, the base was operational, although some work was still required. There were plenty of administrative buildings and warehouses to support this new mission.

The current name was given in 1978, after a previous change in 1976, soon after the logistics center became fully operational. During the same year, the Supply Activity and all its additional units, services and facilities were relocated to MCLB Albany.

In January, 1990, the base became the mother installation of multiple similar facilities. The command at MCLB Albany gained control over Barstow and Jacksonville too. These days, they are all led by the same commander. However, since their locations vary, they still function as independent facilities.