MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- It begins with a phone call informing the unit commander of their impending visit. Once they get there, it’ll take them only a few days to inspect every function of a unit.
“Basically, we are the eyes and ears for the commanding general,” said Lt. Col. Loren D. Barney, base inspector. Alongside his deputy, Master Sgt. Sheldon A. Comer, he serves as the custodian of the Inspector General’s Office, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.
To assist with, and establish the unit’s level of readiness, they conduct informal staff assist visits on a recurring basis and the formal Commanding General’s Inspection biennially. The duo leads a group of about 25 Marines — each an expert in his or her field — armed with checklists from Headquarters Marine Corps as they tour all sections.
“The inspections and investigating any fraud, waste or abuse, are our main focus of effort,” said Comer, a Detroit native.
But their to-do list is comprised of much more.
The IG office is composed of six Marines: Barney, Comer, Master Sgt. Milton White, Staff Sgts. Petronella Williams, Shama Hernandez and Lance Cpl. Phillip M. Cox. Collectively, their mission is to handle complaints, give permissions and help foster peace and harmony — but that’s only a portion of what they do.
“We often mediate when there’s a contention with customer service, nuisances or the use of inappropriate language,” added Comer.
Permissions are reviewed for those wanting to run a small business from base housing and when someone wants to post signs to announce events like garage sales, birthday parties and homecoming celebrations. In addition, they assist with domestic disturbances, which are treated with confidentiality — unless there’s a criminal act involved. From time to time, they also aid with request masts from Headquarters Battalion and Marine Corps Air Facility to the commanding general.
Base beautification and maintenance of Building 216 are top priority for Hernandez and his temporary group of six to eight working party Marines and Sailors. Of that group, Hernandez is the only permanently assigned member of the IG office. The others are assigned for one-month stints before returning to their sections, and a new group of temporarily assigned Marines replaces them.
“I like to call ourselves; the catch all or on-the-spot fix-it crew,” said Hernandez, a Hereford, Texas native. Removing items that wash up on shore, cleaning up rubbish and downed tree branches from the common roads and parks, handling recyclables, fixing doors, repairing windows, making display cases and doing spot landscaping for the commanding general’s building are some of the things they face everyday.
Even with a plethora of tasks, the members of this shop say they are confident they can take care of just about any situation.
More information about the Base Inspector’s office is available at www.mcbh.usmc.mil/inspector/isdir.htm.