LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — A Marine from Loxahatchee was recently honored for potentially saving the federal government millions of dollars.
Cpl. Gage Barbieri, a Loxahatchee native and Seminole Ridge Community High School, was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal on May 10.
Barbieri is an automotive maintenance technician in the 2nd Marine Division.
The Marine Corps said his "skills, knowledge, and training" on the military's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle could potentially save the Department of Defense more than 900,000 hours of maintenance production time and a total cost savings of more than $140 million throughout the entire life cycle of the vehicle's program.
The military said Barbieri identified gaps in technical manuals and repaired more than 75 principal trucks and equipment, sustaining overall readiness above 90% throughout the battalion.
"He is a technically savvy, well-rounded Marine," Master Sgt. Kenneth Byxbee Jr., Barbieri's former motor transport maintenance chief, said. "He could diagnose issues that most Marines couldn't find and was able to make the repairs that civilian engineers from external organizations couldn't. He was an asset to have down here as far as troubleshooting and improving maintenance proficiency."
Barbieri plans to continue teaching young noncommissioned officers as a corporals course instructor while also working toward a degree in mechanical engineering.