Gail Baker shows ABHAN (AW) Joy Eckman, left, and CSSN Patricia Richey how to operate the identification badge equipment in the Depot Force Protection Office. The Sailors are on a temporary assignment to the Depot. Photo by Bill Bartkus

Depot employee helps stranded family of five

By Bill Bartkus
NAVAIR Depot North Island

CORONADO, Calif. – Gail Baker and her husband Mike have hearts of gold.

Mike, a mid-shift patrolman with the Base Police Department at North Island Naval Air Station, was on duty when he overheard a call come in at 10:30 p.m. from the Navy Lodge on the air station.

An employee, his Italian wife and their three young daughters under the age of five, had just arrived from Italy and were stranded at the lodge. The family’s reservation had been cancelled and they had nowhere to go at that late hour. The husband didn’t know the San Diego area, nor did they have any transportation or sufficient funds to find room elsewhere.

“Mike called me immediately,” said Gail who works for Force Protection at NAVAIR Depot North Island, “and asked if we could put the family up for the night.” Like the kind-hearted soul that she is, Gail didn’t hesitate to offer her help. She jumped into her van and drove from the couple’s home in Imperial Beach to the Navy Lodge where she warmly greeted the family of five and put them up in the Baker home.

“The employee told me that he had accepted a transfer and an assignment at the Depot, and that he was assured through email from his sponsor that he and his family had a room at the lodge,” Gail said. “But as they were checking in, the husband discovered that there was a mix up with his credit card and he never had reservations at all. And he didn’t know where to go and what to do, so someone at the lodge called Base Police for assistance.”

The following day as his wife and daughters remained at the Baker home, Gail helped the new employee check in to the Depot.

She mentioned that it was a pleasure having the family remain with her and her husband for a few days. “The wife speaks broken English, but she knows how to convey herself,” said Gail. “She also prepared excellent Italian dishes for dinner, too!”

She said that it wasn’t any problem giving the family a place to stay for a few days. Mike Baker and the new Depot employee managed to find a room at a Red Lion where the family will stay until they find housing. “They want to live in our area and be near the ocean,” Gail stated.

“Individuals such as Gail make NAVAIR and America great,” said Paul Roushia, Gail’s boss at the time. “She is a warm and wonderful human being. She opened her heart and her home to a teammate and his family in their time of need.”

Capt. James Woolway, NAVAIR Depot commanding officer, awarded Baker a Commanding Officer’s Coin for being a stellar public servant. “Gail is customer focused 24 hours a day and consistently puts the welfare, safety, and security of Depot employees and contractors ahead of her own self interests,” Woolway said. “This is a routine event for her. Gail has a warm heart and never hesitates whenever she can be of assistance to others. I’m so proud to have her on our NADEP team.”

NAVAIR provides cost-wise readiness and dominant maritime combat power to make a great Navy and Marine Corps team better.