U. S. Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow (Nebo)

 military, logistics company, United States Marine Corps

Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow
c/o Commanding Officer B505
Barstow, CA 92311-5013
(760) 577-6856
MCLB Barstow base headquarters as well as administrative, storage, shopping, recreational and housing facilities are located at Nebo, and employs approximately 300 active-duty Marines, sailors and 1,400 civilians.
Nebo is a Biblical word, and at one time, on the site where the base headquarters is now located, Mormon settlers organized the Nebo Sheep Company. Then the railroad came and when a name was needed for the railhead, Nebo was chosen. Thus, when the base was activated in 1942, its railhead name was Nebo, which has been translated to mean "Little Shepherd."
History tells us that at least 3 Indian tribes lived in and around the Barstow-Yermo area.
Located at a railroad hub, MCLB Barstow is ideally situated to accomplish its mission of supporting U.S. Marine Corps units along the west coast and in the Pacific. Barstow functions as the western division point for Santa Fe's Transcontinental mainline and is also served by the Union Pacific's mainline to Los Angeles. The $55 million rail classification center in Barstow is the largest rail reclassification operation in the world. Barstow is located at the crossroads of the national interstate highway system -- the intersection of Interstate routes 15 and 40 -- and the California State highway system as well.
MCLB Barstow itself possesses the largest Department of Defense railhead in the world. The outstanding rail and highway transportation network available to MCLB Barstow means that it is located within one day's travel time by road or rail of virtually all of the Marine Corps units which it serves.
Barstow is served by three major highways - Interstates 15 and 40, both of which pass by the Base, and State Highway 58. Barstow also intersects 2 of America's busiest cross-country railroads, the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe and the Union Pacific, all of which make possible the receiving and rapid shipment to vital supplies and equipment to any part of the United States.
In addition, emergency shipments can be airlifted from the Daggett Airport, located 14 miles east of MCLB-Nebo area and 7 miles east of MCLB-Yermo Annex. Daggett has 6,000 feet of runway, allowing large aircraft to land there. The base employs a combined military-civilian work force.
The desert site has excellent outdoor storage conditions (made possible by the absence of rainfall and low humidity) which limits mold, rust and mildew to the equipment. The outdoor cost of storage is minimal compared to the cost of erecting warehouses to store large items like tanks, cranes and other heavy equipment.