Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin announced Friday the 2023 recipients of the Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence, or CINC Award. Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany was named this year’s U.S. Marine Corps recipient. 

The CINC Award recognizes outstanding and innovative efforts of the people who operate and maintain U.S. military installations. The six recipients of this highly competitive presidential award were selected for their exemplary support of Department of Defense missions. 

The award recognizes the military installation whose leaders and workforce have made the most outstanding contributions to increased productivity and overall excellence. 

“This award highlights MCLB Albany's premiere installation support of various tenant commands through innovation, sustainability, partnerships and quality of life programs,” said Col. Michael J. Fitzgerald, commanding officer, MCLB Albany, said. “I am very proud of the base’s workforce for their many manhours and significant efforts to make this accomplishment a reality. I expect this to be one of many to come as MCLB Albany’s advancements for the next generation continue.”

One recipient is selected from each military branch and the Defense Logistics Agency. The other CINC Award honorees this year are:

• U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

• Naval Station Mayport, Florida

• Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom

• Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado

• Defense Distribution San Joaquin, California

Installations compete on how well they achieve the DOD’s objectives in several areas of installation management including mission support, energy conservation, quality of life and unit morale, environmental stewardship, real property management, safety, health and security, communications and public relations.

Excellent installations enable better mission performance and enhance the working and living conditions for military men and women, DOD civilians and their families. Each of the winning installations were determined as being the best in performing installation management within their military service and DLA.  

A crystal trophy is awarded to each recipient, along with an installation excellence flag and a letter from the current president recognizing personnel for their outstanding achievements.  MCLB Albany was selected as the Marine Corps' recipient by Commandant Gen. David H. Berger and approved by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro prior to Austin’s announcement last week.

The award recognizes multiple achievements for MCLB Albany. Of note, the base announced it had become the first DOD installation to reach electric “Net Zero” in May 2022. MCLB Albany is also serving as a DOD installation to field industrial 5G technology to establish warehouse modernization. The base has served the Marine Corps’ pilot for achieving a “Conditions Based Maintenance Plus” operational architecture through sensors and data tied to an enhanced facility related control system. 

Partnered with Georgia Power, MCLB Albany was awarded funding via the electrical vehicle “Make Ready” program. The effort consists of 21 charge points at nine locations across the installation and includes underlying infrastructure to allow for future growth.

In March 2022, MCLB Albany opened the first hybrid dining facility to feed both active duty and civilians, emphasizing nutritional density while maintaining compliance with the Military Dietary Reference Intake. The base is also recognized as a Military Community of Excellence through various partnerships with industry, schools, local, state and federal leaders.

President Ronald Reagan established the CINC Award in 1985. The DOD has since initiated service-wide competition on behalf of the president. 

Reagan challenged the men and women of the DOD to search for installations where defense personnel have done the best job with their resources to support the mission and to seek out the most imaginative solutions to the many complex problems they face.

“I am confident that this search for excellence and innovations will yield many new and better ways of accomplishing our mission and at the same time honor those whose dedication has produced the best defense organization in the world,” the late president said at the time.

The Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force conduct their own intra-service competitions as part of the challenge. The DLA was added to this competition in 1988. An installation is identified in each service and DLA where the command has done the best job with its resources to sustain the mission, increase productivity of the workforce and enhance quality of life. 

The valuable, long-term benefits from this program include recognition, competition, creative management, improvements, new ideas and leadership. 

Any DOD military or DLA installation of any size is eligible for the CINC Award. In accordance with the purpose of the award and with the guidelines contained in DoDI 1005.16, “Commander in Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence,” the military services and DLA develop their own selection procedures, conduct their award competition, identify special recognition recipients (offices, programs and individuals) and then forward their award nominations for consideration and final selection by the defense secretary.

For more information, visit https://www.acq.osd.mil/EIE/