At least, that is where the Coast Guard established a temporary armory for the G-8 Summit.  The creation of that facility on  Jekyll Island was planned by the armory team from Group Mayport in Jacksonville, FL.,led by GMC Chad Barber. GM1 William Coachman, Group Mayport, headed up the north armory site in Savannah, Ga.

“We received everything we asked for...which is everything we need,” said Barber.  22 Gunners Mates maintained both the north and south armory sites.

The south armory consisted of 2 rooms. The larger one resembled a banquet facility with abstract floral carpet and neutral walls stacked high with riot gear while radios stood like sentinels in charging stations. The men passed weapons and brand new night vision gear (AN/PVS 14 monocular) in black Pelican cases across the table.

The smaller arms room was lined in cinder block, a drab storeroom painted gray with no carpeting. A small card table with two chairs and a logbook adorned a room where wood and metal shelves lined the walls.  A new wooden rack sat squarely in the center holding larger weapons, such as the M240 Bravo machine guns. Extremely organized and devoid of clutter, the effect was dramatic, making the weapons appear as if they are standing at attention. 

Every six hours, a meticulous weapons count took place. The information was painstakingly logged into the green linen bound book and signed by one of the Gunners Mates on duty. If one attempted to check out a weapon, they were checked and cross-checked through a unique database designed by Auxiliarist Chuck Statkus. 

Statkus designed an inventory system for all the weapons and all the Coast Guard personnel working at the G-8 Summit. It told the Armory staff what weapons they are qualified to carry and exactly which weapon members had at all times. Statkus also designed a paper back-up system. If you stepped behind the check-out tables, you were required to sign in and out. In the South Armory the Gunners Mates conducted over 8,000 weapons transfers during the G-8 Summit. Documentation is taken seriously in this line of work.

There were over 2 million dollars worth of guns, ammunition and equipment in the secure area. On the wall hung a sign about safety goals, something to which Chief Barber was dedicated.

 “Safety has to be first in situations like this where we have multiple units coming together to work on one team,” he said. Barber also implemented the use of open bolt indicators, precisely for the G-8 summit. The OBI's serve as another added layer of safety for those handling weapons. OBI's are long yellow or orange plastic rod slid into the barrel of the 9mm pistols to assure the person handling the weapon it is devoid of rounds and cannot be discharged.

Armory personnel had cell phones, landlines and radios at their fingertips, in case problems arose. A minimum of four team members were in the room at all times though five to six were more likely. The armory was never left unattended and Chief Barber expressed a high level of confidence in his crew.

 “I had a good crew. Hardest working group of kids I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Months before the G-8 conference, Barber and Coachman did a site visit to ensure the space would be sufficient for the needs of the Coast Guard. To streamline the organization, Barber requested weapons from the Small Arms Repair Facility. The MSST's and HITRON Units also supplied weapons. It took seven large trucks to move all the supplies from Mayport to Jekyll Island.

Creating a secure, organized armory was a huge task and Barber credits his team with ensuring a smooth and successful operation.

“I have no complaints, they did a great job.  I knew they would.”