MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Station Ordnance here began the moving process to their new compound June 4. The move is slated to be completed at the end of June.
The new ordnance compound will be located near the station harbor, and the old compound will be leveled in preparation for construction of the new commercial airport, which is scheduled to be complete by 2014.
The old ordnance compound contained 26 storage magazines where all of the ordnance equipment was organized, but the width of the magazine doors were smaller than the ordnance crates, making it difficult to extract and store crates.
In the new compound the width of the doors and the size of the storage units are twice the size of those of the old compound, making forklift mobility less cumbersome.
“The door width is way better for moving in and out of. Instead of zig zagging back and forth, you can just drive right in and right out,” said Cpl. Mitchell Baade, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron aviation ordnance systems technician.
“Some of the magazines were starting to get worn out. The doors are small, where it took a little extra work getting certain assets in and out,” said Chief Thomas Mckinnie, H&HS ammunitions stock record section staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge.
Not only are the new storage magazines more spacious, but some of the ordnance Marines believe the new compound has a more secure and organized structure.
“We’re not spread out like we were on our old compound,” said Mckinnie. “With our new compound, everything is uniform, looks the same and just feels more professional.”
“It’s more organized, and it’s higher security,” said Baade. “It actually feels like a military establishment.”
Marines, sailors and civilians all assisted in helping station ordnance Marines with their move.
Sailors from Navy Munitions Command East Asia Division unit Misawa, Japan, came down to the station to assist the ordnance Marines.
Civilian contractors from Motor Transportation also assisted by providing trucks and drivers for the move.
The ordnance Marines have been working more diligently than expected, said Mckinnie.
The initial expectation was to empty and move one magazine a day, but with everyone’s hard work, two magazines have been getting moved daily.
“The support we’ve gotten from Motor T and the Misawan sailors have made it a really smooth move,” said Mckinnie.
The move will be challenging with long hours, but the ordnance Marines think the new compound will remain the station ordnance compound for generations to come.