CAMP KINSER, OKINAWA, Japan -- Units like Headquarters Regiment from 3rd Marine Logistics Group make it possible for the Marine Corps to be ready at a moments’ notice.
For their actions, Headquarters Regiment, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force won the maintenance readiness awards each quarter of 2014 and the fiscal year award.
“I’m very excited and proud of my Marines for taking the ball and running with it,” said Col. Edmund J. Bowen, the commanding officer for Headquarters Regiment.
“Our maintenance readiness directly affects the ability to fight – tonight,” said Lt. Natasha J. Holm, the regiment’s operations officer.
Maintenance readiness is having the necessary gear to fight at the will of the commanding general, according to Holm, from Zumbrota, Minnesota.
“The MLG not only provides its own internal organic maintenance capabilities, but we also provide the high echelon of maintenance capabilities across the whole MEF,” said Bowen, from Staten Island, New York.
One of the regiment’s most important goals is to aid in sustaining the Pacific, according to Lt. Mollie B. Hebda, a logistics officer with the regiment. Okinawa is a great starting point to go anywhere in the Pacific.
“If there is a crisis, disaster or just a training exercise that is happening in the Pacific we need to be ready to provide the MLG with the capabilities to move forward at all times,” said Hebda, from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
Being the most maintenance ready unit all year within 3rd MLG speaks to the readiness of the regiment.
“We have the highest level of readiness in the MLG”, said Hebda. “We maintained an overall readiness level above 90 percent throughout the entire year.”
Marines from the unit said they were proud to be so successful.
“We set a good example by keeping our readiness at a high level so the MLG can depend on us,” said Lance Cpl. Brandon R. Oneil, a motor transport mechanic with the regiment, from York, Pennsylvania. “It feels good to be part of something a lot bigger than I thought it was.”
The success of the regiment shows the unit is working together to get things done the correct way, according to Lance Cpl. Justin L. Hainline a motor transport mechanic with the regiment, from Quincy, Illinois.
“Our unit’s success gives me a sense of pride,” said Cpl. Andrew J. Sellers, a supply administration and operations specialist with the regiment, from New Brunswick, New Jersey. “It reminds you why you work so hard.”
Marines like Sellers carry a unit to success according to his leaders.
“My success is because of my Marines,” said Bowen, who has served for more than 40 years. “When I see their successes it’s a solid indicator we’re doing something right. It shows me that as Marines we have not changed, we’re just as good as the Marines in the past.”