New executive deputy for Marine Corps Logistics Command set to build on community bonds

MCLB-ALBANY — Marine-turned-civilian David Clifton, now serving as the executive deputy of Marine Corps Logistics Command, has intentions — both professionally and personally — to solidify bonds already in place on the other side of the Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany fenceline.

Clifton has been serving as second in command for LOGCOM to Maj. Gen. Craig Crenshaw since stepping into his new role less than a month ago.

“I have spent more than 40 years with the Marines,” he said. “It is the only thing I have ever done, except 14 months in NATO.”

Clifton replaces Mike Madden, who left earlier this year after working in the role for almost a decade. He is the senior civilian providing comprehensive logistics/supply chain and distribution management, depot level maintenance and strategic prepositioning support to all operating forces as well as other agencies and organizations while also serving as the principal advisor to Crenshaw.

The Citadel graduate spent 30 years of active duty before retiring as a colonel and entering into civil service in 2001. From June 2011 until June 2016, Clifton served as the executive director of both the Headquarters Marine Corps Facilities Services Division and the Marine Corps Installations Command.

Prior to that was his service to NATO as the chief advisor for ministerial development to the Ministry of Interior in Kabul, Afghanistan. He applied after a job posting regarding a service opportunity continued working on his mind, and following further research, he determined his skill set was a good fit.

“If not me, then who?” he recalled of his decision to apply for the job.

During a call to follow up on his application, he found out his interview was the next day. A day after the interview, he was told he would be part of a group leaving the following week.

He said he was attracted to the position at LOGCOM for a variety of reasons, among them the people and the challenges it would present.

“I’m happy to be here, I like it a lot,” Clifton said. “The activities available don’t matter. It’s peaceful, it’s quiet. People are very friendly.”

As someone who has a passion for environmental causes, Clifton also has gained an appreciation for some of the plant life in Southwest Georgia — including what he sees outside his office window. That passion makes the base’s efforts to be environmentally friendly a good fit for him, and gives him a reason to stay connected if he finds a similar cause to attach to in his personal life while in Southwest Georgia.

“I want to be a good member of the community, not just in the (LOGCOM community), but me personally,” he said.

Clifton said he wants to reinforce bonds with the community that have already been established, including giving college graduates a greater connection to job opportunities in the Albany area.

“It helps us in our mission, and I think it gives the community (an opening with an employer),” he said.

He added that interaction with the small business community, in part as an effort to hold on to community partners, and achieving Occupational Safety and Health Administration Voluntary Protection Program Star Status for LOGCOM, are among the other priorities.

The VPP status, which MCLB-Albany has already obtained, reflects a strong commitment to the community by supporting the people who live in it and come to work on the installation every day. There is a strong commitment at LOGCOM to accomplish the mission of making sure the equipment Marines use in their line of service operates as it is supposed to — something those at LOGCOM consider very important.

“We care about the people,” he said. “It is the people who get the job done.”

Clifton’s prior exposure to officials with MCLB-Albany and LOGCOM, primarily through delegation meetings, were positive — giving him confidence in the environment at the base as well as its tenant command.

“They stood out of all the commands that came (to the meetings),” he said.

A civilian in a high-ranking position helps to provide continuity to the uniformed Marines who cycle out every two years. There are a lot of moving parts associated with logistics, one of the reasons Clifton has committed himself to staying for at least three years to effectively work on maintaining the culture already in place in a time the Corps is transitioning out of wartime.

Information systems and resourcing are among the tasks associated with that, he said.

“Everything I do is in support of (Maj.) Gen. Crenshaw,” Clifton said. “These are the things I focus on. I (may not be as) helpful to Crenshaw, but I will be helpful to Crenshaw’s replacement. I like being out of corporate headquarters. Actually seeing stuff get done is a very positive change for me.”

Clifton describes himself as a curious person, and with all that goes on at LOGCOM, it is hard for someone not to get submerged in an attempt to get their feet wet.

“(Curiosity) fits naturally in this environment, but there is much (going on),” he said. “There is a lot to absorb, so it will take a while.”

Clifton once heard Billy Graham say that he never found anyone in the Bible who had retired, and because big things can still be accomplished by people as they age, his mindset is that he should give back as long as he can.

In his case, having experience on both sides of the uniform has been particularly helpful in building bridges.

“I think it is important to contribute as long as I can,” he said.

He was appointed to the senior executive service on Feb. 6, 2004, and served as the director of the Marine Corps Business Enterprise Office. He was charged with coordinating performance improvement necessary to support war fighting excellence – while optimizing Marine Corps financial resources — until 2010.

From 2002-2004, Clifton served as the director of the Installation Reform Division at Headquarters Marine Corps. He received the 2004 International Bonsack Award for Cost Management. From 1998 until his military retirement, he established and implemented the U.S. Marine Corps A-76 Program, the Continuous Process Improvement Program and the Marine Corps Activity Based Cost Management System.

From 1995-1998, Clifton served with Marine Forces Pacific, where he was responsible for resource management of operating forces and installations in the Pacific region. His active-duty assignments included artillery officer, maintenance management officer, coordinator of Corps matters with Congressional Appropriations Committees, Class I Budget System sponsor, fiscal occupational field sponsor, coordinator of the Department of Defense program review process in the Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation, battalion commander, installation commander and comptroller.

Clifton graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from the Citadel and holds a master’s degree in human resources management from Pepperdine University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Orleans and a Master of Science in national security resource management from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

He and his wife of 33 years are the parents of five adult sons.