Photo By Keith Hayes | Lieutenant Colonel Tarrell Giersch talks with Samantha Atkinson, management analyst,...... read more read more
Lieutenant Colonel Tarrell Giersch is a mustang who came up through the ranks to assume the directorship of Fleet Support Division aboard the Yermo Annex of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., Aug. 1.
He is a Milwaukee native who enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1992 and made it to sergeant before being picked for the Meritorious Commissioning Program and attending Officer Candidate School in 1997.
“After I’d been in for a while I saw things I wanted to influence or change, and I thought becoming an officer was the best way I could do it, so I went to OCS,” he said.
“I had already completed two years of college during my enlistment,” he said. “My first tour as an officer was Marine Corps Base Hawaii where I completed my degree in Computer Science.”
The lieutenant colonel came to FSD from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he initially worked for Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity, which is a supporting unit of Marine Corps Systems Command. He then went on to I Marine Expeditionary Force where he was the G-4 MEF supply officer.
MCLB Barstow was on his preferred list of places he wanted to be stationed at, but when he arrived he was almost overwhelmed by the seeming remoteness of the base.
“Now that I’ve been here a while I see it as a glass half full situation,” Giersch said. “This base is a good place to be because of its proximity to other attractions.”
In one of Giersch’s several deployments he was part of a ten person military transition team attached to an Iraq army battalion. The team trains the Iraqi soldiers up to U.S. military standards so that they can function autonomously.
“We were attached to an infantry unit and sent out on patrol, which was completely out of my usual military occupation specialty of supply. It was definitely a good experience, and it absolutely showed me why we do all the things we do in FSD in preparation for those times,” he said.
Fleet Support Division’s mission is to prepare equipment to be shipped to the Fleet or get it ready for long-term storage.
“Either way, it ultimately affects the Marine in the field if the equipment is not properly maintained,” Giersch explained. “We’re working for the Marine on the front line so that he doesn’t have to worry if the equipment is working properly so the he can concentrate on the fight.”
The lieutenant colonel is a geographic bachelor so during the work week he lives aboard base. During the weekend he drives home to be with his family.
The FSD director said the scope of work and the volume of equipment FSD deals with, combined with other issues, make this job unlike any other he has ever had.
“We’re working on preparing to put all of our equipment into a brand new computer system that has not been used here before but the operating forces currently use it,” Giersch said. “That itself is going to be a huge challenge. It’s going to give enterprise visibility to the equipment that previously didn’t exist.”
While he is impressed with the quality of work being performed at FSD and is looking forward to his tour, Giersch said he and his crew always keep in mind their ultimate customer. “As the sign hanging in the warehouse says ‘What you do here could save a Marine’s life.’”
| Date Taken: | 08.23.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.23.2018 12:15 |
| Story ID: | 289978 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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