Supply no longer belongs to Marines

[thedrifter]

Supply no longer belongs to Marines
Submitted by: MCAS Miramar
Story Identification Number: 200419105356
Story by Sgt. J.L. Zimmer III



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif.(Jan. 8, 2004) -- For some Marines and Sailors here, checking out supply gear is only something done before deploying or going to the rifle range for annual qualifications.

But in reality, servicemembers need supply gear more than they think. Thanks to the recently opened Consolidated Issue Facility, located in building 6001, Marines and Sailors can check out the gear they need to perform military training. Thomas Raleigh, CIF manager, said the changeover from a Marine supply warehouse to an independent company contracted by Headquarters Marine Corps went quickly and smoothly.

More than 9,000 Marines and Sailors here need supply gear at one time or another, added Raleigh, and the staff at CIF are constantly working and striving to provide rapid service while achieving a high level of customer satisfaction.

?We are here to support anyone on this base,? he said. ?We are not here to give Marines a headache, (we?re) here to support them when they need us.?
For Mariano Lopez, shipping and receiving clerk, working at the CIF is gratifying.
?It feels good because I know we are helping the Marines,? said the 27-year-old San Marcos, Calif., native.

Raleigh explained that the I Marine Expeditionary Force actually maintains the CIF, including those at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., and here.

?(I MEF) is the deciding factor in everything that is issued to a Marine, Sailor or authorized civilian,? he said. ?Anyone that comes in to receive an issue of gear is require_ to maintain it until their obligated service is over or they receive permanent change of duty station orders (to bases outside the west coast).?

The gear issued does not stay with the Marine or Sailor for their entire enlistment, explained the 15-year-Marine veteran, but ?is more of a regional issue within the West Coast bases.?

Not only is CIF responsible for all the 900 sets of gear in their warehouse, but for all the gear that does not return from a combat zone.

?We have to maintain combat loss and have it signed off by I MEF and the commanding officer of the unit,? he said. ?We have to maintain accountability of everything in the warehouse, and if something is not accounted for, the company writes a check to the government for the lost items.?

For more information about CIF, contact Raleigh at 577-0221 or visit their Web site at www.usmccif.com.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2...0A?opendocument

Sempers,

Roger