Marine Corps Installations Command (MCICOM) -- Brigadier General (BGen) Daniel B. Conley took command of Marine Corps Installations Command (MCICOM) on July 8, relieving Major General (MajGen) Edward D. Banta.
MajGen Banta served as the MCICOM Commander from July 9, 2019 to July 8, 2021. He will go on to serve as Deputy Commandant, Installations and Logistics.
During his tenure, Marine Corps bases and stations around the globe made critical advancements in infrastructure reset and implemented vital innovations that substantially increased installation resiliency. Specifically, the standing up of network battalions and the development of microgrid technology significantly enhanced our warfighting capabilities and energy resilience.
"I don’t think that the [senior leaders who established MCICOM] fully comprehended the magnitude or the scope of the responsibility that this Command grew into. During [MajGen Banta’s] tenure, he executed $3.7 billion in reconstruction efforts as a result of Hurricane Florence under his watch,” said Lieutenant General (LtGen) Charles G. Chiarotti.
MajGen Banta also had the unprecedented responsibility of leading MCICOM’s four regions and its 25 bases and stations through the challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic while ensuring the well-being of Marines, Sailors, civilians and families.
“From the moment he took command, he recognized and effectively communicated the critical role Marine Corps installations play in generating combat power, using his time leading MCICOM to advance installations priorities and provide crucial support to our Fleet Marine Force,” said General David H. Berger, Commandant of the Marine Corps.
MCICOM’s new Commander, BGen Conley, comes from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton where he served as Commanding General of Marine Corps Installations West (MCIWEST). While there, he was responsible for promoting and ensuring Marine Corps combat readiness from the service’s West Coast installations.
After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, BGen Conley began his career as a logistics officer. His prior command assignments also include Commanding General of 3rd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Kinser in Okinawa, Japan, Commander of Bagram Air Field and Deputy Commander of the U.S. National Support Element-Afghanistan.
“This is the nitty gritty, work of what it means to get the Marine Corps to where it needs to be and we take a lot of pride in that,” said BGen Conley. To the Marines, Sailors, and civilians at MCICOM, I am looking forward to joining this headquarters team.”
The establishment of MCICOM relieved the Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) Commanders of the burden of managing bases and stations. Since MCICOM reached Full Operational Capability (FOC) in 2012, the Command has focused installation management in direct support of the Marine Corps’ role as the naval expeditionary force-in-readiness.
The Marine Corps’ installations are key national defense assets that offer a unique combination of ocean, coastal, riverine, inland and airspace training areas that reinforce fleet and joint force readiness. MCICOM will continue to ensure our regions, bases and stations support the FMF’s readiness and warfighting needs of today while meeting the challenge to deliver in support of the Future Force requirements.
“Thank you to my staff at MCICOM, Headquarters. We on paper have just over 300 personnel, and that’s not a lot for everything that we do. The program management and oversight, resourcing and the long-term decisions - it’s those types of things that take an awful lot of work,” said MajGen Banta.