MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Amid complaints from Marines basewide concerning the quality of their barracks, one unit is taking matters into their own hands and turning their barracks into Shangri-La.

The bachelor enlisted quarters for I Marine Expeditionary Force's Headquarters Group personnel went from the barracks nobody wanted to one worth emulating.

There's no secret to the transformation, said Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Dyer, the group's company gunnery sergeant. The key ingredients were hard work, pride and good leadership.

When the MEF Headquarters Group moved from the base's Mainside to Camp Del Mar in December 2000, they got stuck with Building 210636 as barracks for sergeants and below.

"People didn't want it because it was in such bad shape," Dyer said.

The Marines lived in newly remodeled barracks just prior to moving to Del Mar, but now had to start over.

"We started small," said Sgt. Anthony Ware, barracks manager.

They started by installing toilet paper holders, Ware said. Since then, the barracks has new or improved curtains, light fixtures, carpets, fire alarms, paint, mattresses, locks on doors and windows, washing machines and dryers, and a lounge so full of plush couches it resembles a La-Z-Boy showroom.

"You can go in that third deck lounge and forget you're in the Marine Corps," said Dyer.

Even the little things like doormats for each room go a long way toward improving the appearance, said Dyer.

Yet it's the bigger improvements that really show how far the barracks has come and reflect the unit's ingenuity.

A beach volleyball court sits perfectly manicured next to the barracks. It cost only the price of the net and poles. The railroad ties marking the court's edge were all free. Beside it sits a martial arts training pit encircled with tires. The tires were free from the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office. Then there's the two barbeques - the bricks were just lying around, the grills were constructed of scrap metal by welders with the base's Facilities Maintenance Department, and Navy Seabees laid the bricks for training. The grand total: $8 for two padlocks. The grills are on a concrete patio canopied with flowers weaving through a wooden gazebo's lattice.

"You can smell the jasmine coming in," Dyer said while walking through the gazebo.

Then there's the verdant lawn. The sandy soil was plowed up by Marines in the unit and a bag of grass seed cost just $25. When the barracks was constructed in 1983, it had a sprinkler system. It was broken by 1984 and has never been fixed. So Dyer created a new system that doubles as a fence to keep people off the grass. Cost - $100 for pipes and sprinkler heads.

"I get phone calls from sergeants major to company gunnies asking me 'How'd you do this??" said Dyer.

According to Dyer, the secret is knowing that countless resources are available to improve the barracks on base, either through self-help venues or through FMD, which is made up of carpenters, masons, plumbers, electricians, locksmiths - you name it.

"The thing is, people are not taking the time to find out," said Dyer. "There's so much available."

For example, when Dyer wanted to get new mattresses, he didn't ask for money to buy new ones. He did his homework and found out that mattresses must be replaced every so many years by the base's property control office. His were overdue for a switch, so he got new mattresses at no cost to the unit. The same for paint. The building was overdue for a fresh coat, and he found out about free recycled paint for his Marines to use.

Of course, some of the work requires written requests; but in most cases, it's free to the unit as long as it's not a new project.

Now, Dyer and FMD have such good rapport that he's on a first-name basis with many of the workers.

However, much of the labor came from MEF Marines. Company offices have a reputation of being a dumping ground for Marines who've gotten in trouble.

"We took the so-called 'trouble makers,' who other units said wouldn't work, and worked them nine-hour days," Dyer said.

When it was time for them to transfer or go back to their units, Dyer said, they didn't want to leave.

For the things that did cost money, Dyer said the group's commanding officer, Col. Timothy E. Brooks, always had his checkbook ready.

"He never said 'no' when it deals with the Marines," said Dyer.

Dyer credits Brooks, who retires today, with the barracks rejuvenation.

"It's the commanding officer that drives the morale in the barracks," Dyer said.

And morale is high. Lance Cpl. Jamie G. Palomino, a MEF legal clerk who used to live in the barracks before he got married, remembers life in the old barracks when they didn't even have field days. That all changed when Dyer took over, he said.

"I saw what it was like to have a new room and a nasty room," Palomino said.

Now, after seeing how far their homes have evolved, the Marines aim to keep it the oasis of Del Mar.

For Dyer, an infantryman for more than 18 years, this is his first headquarters job. His credo is "take care of the guy below you," and his troops certainly know it.

So do other units in Del Mar, some of which are taking the MEF's cue and working on their own barracks. Dyer said you can ask him for advice, but you'll have to do the work yourself. After all, he has already taken care of landscaping the area surrounding the camp's flagpole, the MEF Headquarters Group's office building and the Del Mar mess hall.

Dyer's advice - stop complaining and pointing fingers and take pride in the places you live and work.

"Do we need to live in the ghetto?" he said.