The Marine Corps Logistics Base is located in Dougherty County in southwest Georgia, approximately five miles southeast of Albany. Its mission is to rebuild and repair ground-combat and combat-support equipment and to support installations on the East Coast of the United States.
Albany was chosen as the site for the logistics base after a two-year search in the early 1950s for a level area convenient to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and serviced by road and rail. Albany was also attractive for its inland location, well away from the possibility of saltwater corrosion of the stored equipment, and its adequate workforce. Under construction for two years, the base opened in 1954 as the Marine Corps Depot of Supplies. In 1959, renamed the Marine Corps Supply Center, it was assigned the mission of rebuilding nonaviation equipment. In 1976 the base was redesignated the Marine Corps Logistics Support Base, Atlantic, and was finally given its present designation in 1978.
Photograph by Corporal Andrew Roufs
Today’s Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, comprises more than 3,300 acres and in 2002 employed more than 2,400 civilians along with a complement of 600 marines. The Albany Maintenance Center is also the home base for the commander of the Marine Corps Logistics Bases, which includes those located at Barstow, California, and Jacksonville, Florida.
During the Persian Gulf War (1990-91) the base’s workforce shipped more than 9 million pounds of equipment to air and seaports for rapid transport to troops abroad. Personnel also installed twenty-six “tractor protective kits” on bulldozers used to break through Iraqi barriers and minefields. The armored bulldozers helped open the way for coalition troops to overrun enemy defenses.
Preserving the environment and the wildlife in and around the base has been a priority since the early planning phases of the facility. Colonel “A” “E” Dubber, the officer who chose the Albany site, insisted early on that he wanted no wildlife disturbed unnecessarily and that as many trees as possible should be saved. Because of his policies the base is lined with pecan orchards and rows of oaks. The so-called Dubber Oak, upon which the base was aligned during construction, still stands near the main gate.
Photograph by Lance Corporal Kevin Ridlon
In 1973 more than 200 Indian artifacts were discovered on the base. Arrowheads, flint knives, scrapers, and other ancient tools estimated to be more than 8,000 years old were unearthed by archaeologists. Their presence suggests that the area may have been a trading or supply post for Native Americans.
Logistics training for employees of the base is offered through Albany Technical College.
