thedrifter
11-20-08, 05:25 AM
Last modified Wednesday, November 19, 2008 5:09 PM PST
MILITARY: Marines invite region to do business
By BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer
OCEANSIDE ---- The Marines and the local business community will be working even more closely together as the service enlarges its regional presence, a top Marine colonel told business leaders Wednesday.
Col. Dave Myers, Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Installations West outlined an ambitious expansion in a luncheon speech before the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce:
-- The service has appointed a liaison to guide small businesses through the contracting process with the Marines. The small business specialist will begin work in a couple of weeks. For more information, contact John Cavadias at (760) 725-8456.
-- Civilian support jobs are opening up to take the place of Marines so they can be sent to fight.
-- Businesses can best sell to Marine units by becoming familiar with their needs and establishing a relationship.
Besides Camp Pendleton, Myers oversees the Marine Corps Air Stations at Pendleton, Miramar and Yuma, and bases at Twentynine Palms and Barstow. As the Marines build up their forces to meet the demands of war, they will be searching for partners in the local business community, he said.
"We're going to grow out here in San Diego County to about 6,000 more Marines," Myers said. "Of that 6,000, 3,700 are going to be parked right here in Camp Pendleton ... They're going to need cars, they're going to need housing, they're going to need things on the base."
About 1,000 of these Marines have already arrived at Camp Pendleton, he said.
"In addition to that, we're hiring more civilians," Myers said. "We're hiring civilians to free up Marines to go fight ... All that means growth for the base, and growth for the economy outside the base."
Over the next five years, Camp Pendleton alone will be spending more than $3 billion on expanding its capabilities, Myers said. That includes high-tech fighting vehicles such as new Cobra gunships.
"All of that new technology has a logistics train that comes with it, that's going to require civilians to build things," Myers said.
The audience at the luncheon included business owners eager to learn how the military does business. One of them was Richard Peat-Hanna, owner of Creata Computer Network, an information technology company in Oceanside.
"It's difficult for the military to bring in computer services, because there's a lot of security involved," Peat-Hanna said. "What I'm interested in learning is how we can connect and give support to people on base."
Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com. Fikes blogs at http://bizblogs.nctimes.com.
Ellie
MILITARY: Marines invite region to do business
By BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer
OCEANSIDE ---- The Marines and the local business community will be working even more closely together as the service enlarges its regional presence, a top Marine colonel told business leaders Wednesday.
Col. Dave Myers, Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Installations West outlined an ambitious expansion in a luncheon speech before the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce:
-- The service has appointed a liaison to guide small businesses through the contracting process with the Marines. The small business specialist will begin work in a couple of weeks. For more information, contact John Cavadias at (760) 725-8456.
-- Civilian support jobs are opening up to take the place of Marines so they can be sent to fight.
-- Businesses can best sell to Marine units by becoming familiar with their needs and establishing a relationship.
Besides Camp Pendleton, Myers oversees the Marine Corps Air Stations at Pendleton, Miramar and Yuma, and bases at Twentynine Palms and Barstow. As the Marines build up their forces to meet the demands of war, they will be searching for partners in the local business community, he said.
"We're going to grow out here in San Diego County to about 6,000 more Marines," Myers said. "Of that 6,000, 3,700 are going to be parked right here in Camp Pendleton ... They're going to need cars, they're going to need housing, they're going to need things on the base."
About 1,000 of these Marines have already arrived at Camp Pendleton, he said.
"In addition to that, we're hiring more civilians," Myers said. "We're hiring civilians to free up Marines to go fight ... All that means growth for the base, and growth for the economy outside the base."
Over the next five years, Camp Pendleton alone will be spending more than $3 billion on expanding its capabilities, Myers said. That includes high-tech fighting vehicles such as new Cobra gunships.
"All of that new technology has a logistics train that comes with it, that's going to require civilians to build things," Myers said.
The audience at the luncheon included business owners eager to learn how the military does business. One of them was Richard Peat-Hanna, owner of Creata Computer Network, an information technology company in Oceanside.
"It's difficult for the military to bring in computer services, because there's a lot of security involved," Peat-Hanna said. "What I'm interested in learning is how we can connect and give support to people on base."
Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com. Fikes blogs at http://bizblogs.nctimes.com.
Ellie