Depot Facilities Maintenance keeps Parris Island 'afloat'

8 Aug 2003 | Lance Cpl. Jennifer Brofer Marine Corps Training and Education Command

It's 3 a.m. and your toilet is clogged; you don't have a plunger and the water is filling up fast. Before you, like your toilet, go over the edge, remember that there is always someone on standby equipped for these kinds of emergency situations.

When residents aboard the Depot have a problem with their plumbing, air conditioning or electricity, they can count on one group of individuals who are ready to tackle any maintenance situation, day or night.

Depot Maintenance personnel, which includes Marines and civilians, perform multiple tasks that contribute to the recruit training mission, as well as improving Depot support functions.  However these unsung heroes do much more than simply unclog toilets.

"Facilities Maintenance performs a variety of services, from co-generation of electrical power to controlling nuisance pests," said 1st Lt. Suzanne Wadsworth, operations officer at Facilities Maintenance.

They're also responsible for the daily operations of electrical, structural, mechanical, air conditioning, pipefitting, grounds maintenance and the power and wastewater treatment plants, she added.

"Facilities Maintenance is an extremely crucial part of the everyday workings of Parris Island. Most of the facilities on this base are more than 50 years old and need special attention on a daily basis," she said.
Throughout the years, maintenance personnel have been responsible for the success of numerous construction projects. They do everything from building new and improved physical training fields, to installing the cable that brings power to every building on the Depot.

One of the most recent projects completed was the replacement of the underground cable to the Peatross Parade Deck. Maintenance crews replaced more than 700 feet of cable that was damaged by lightning. A project that could've taken a lot longer had it been done by an outside agency, took less than a week due to the arduous efforts of both Marines and civilians.

Several other construction projects are also currently underway, such as the replacement of poles and boards to the Rapell Tower and the replacement of the Recruit Chapel's air conditioner system, said Wadsworth.

Numerous other projects are in the making as well, including building a new Disaster Control Center in Building 144, on the third floor above H&S Bn. offices, which will be the command post for all emergency operations, said Wadsworth. There are also plans to replace all drainpipes located underneath the 3rd RTBn. Mess Hall.

Facilities Maintenance also saves the Depot money.

"The air conditioning shop in conjunction with the power plant plays a major role in energy consumption by administering an automated electrical load shedding program," said Wadsworth.

The load shedding program is a system that automatically turns down the temperature one or more degrees from the set point when the peak electricity level is reached.

"This program has saved the Depot major dollars in electrical costs," she said.

As if maintaining the Depot during the day isn't enough, there's also a Marine ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to calls for emergency maintenance, she said.
"For years, the men and women of maintenance, whether civilians or Marines, have taken pride in their work and have kept this Island afloat," she said.

Whether it's a busted water line or a broken air conditioner, Maintenance employees have all the tools needed to keep the Depot running, unclogged.

For more information, or to contact emergency maintenance, call 228-2191 or 228-3020.

Marine Corps Training and Education Command