Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity
Encyclopedia
The Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA) is the Marine Air-Ground Task Force
(MAGTF) Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Intelligence (C4I)
Integration center for the United States Marine Corps
. They are a component of Marine Corps Systems Command
(MARCORSYSCOM) and are located at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
, California
C4I systems to ensure Marines continue to win battles by:
, workforce skill sets, size and composition, infrastructure
, facility, and organizational structure. In 1970, the Marine Corps took ownership of its first computer based Command and Control (C2) System.
Initially MCTSSA was assigned to the Marine Corps Development & Education Command (MCDEC) at Marine Corps Base Quantico
, Virginia
and was funded totally with RDT&E dollars. The command was functionally organized into a Headquarters element, Programming Branch, Test Branch, Configuration Management (CM)/ Quality Assurance (QA) Branch, and Maintenance Branch. The skill set of the workforce was predominantly software programmers
, CM & QA specialists, test specialists, data link interoperability experts, operational Marines and maintenance Marines. There were no Project Officers, Fund Administrators, or Contracting Officers on the compound. The only support contractors on the compound were for hardware maintenance. When the Position, Location, and Reporting System (PLRS) was fielded in 1977, MCTSSA became the software
support facility for that Joint Service system. The other Services sent money to MCTSSA to pay for software updates. MCTSSA completed its first decade as a specialist in software support to the Tactical Air Operations Center (TAOC) and PLRS systems.
In the 1980s, computers started to become small and powerful enough to begin to find their way into tactical applications within the Ground Combat Element
. The decade brought a revolution in how a MAGTF could take advantage of technology and move into the “digital” age. The result was a bow wave of computer-based C4ISR systems moving through the acquisition pipeline and ultimately being fielded. The object for both Program Managers and industry was to build the best special purpose “stovepipe” system possible. Program Managers had little or no experience with the acquisition of digital systems or planning for post deployment software support. This increase in the acquisition of computer systems required MCTSSA to begin supporting dozens of Program Managers as new systems worked their way through the acquisition milestones.
New skill sets were needed by the MCTSSA workforce in order to provide software engineering
and software support expertise to Marine Corps Program Managers. Systems acquisition expertise, software/firmware
design, software/firmware development and IV&V became important skills in supporting the Program Managers. Support contractors were brought on board in record numbers to augment the workforce. MCTSSA was reorganized into commodity divisions such as Air, Ground, Communications, and Intelligence in order to support both the Operating Forces and Acquisition process. The degree of technology in these systems was unanticipated at the beginning of the decade. However, MCTSSA was able to develop the capability to become a major influence on the acquisition and support of Marine Corps tactical C4 systems.
In the late 1980s, the Marine Corps
established the Marine Corps Systems Command
(MARCORSYSCOM) and MCTSSA was removed from MCDEC and assigned to the new command. MCTSSA now had an O&M, MC budget for operating expenses and post deployment support as well as an RDT&E budget for specific system support. There were many Project Officers, Fund Administrators, and contractors on the compound. Building 57 was POMed for, and eventually built, to house all the additional people. MCTSSA ended the decade supporting the acquisition and post deployment support of a variety of tactical C4 systems spread out across a number of MAGTF elements. Exactly what the Marine Corps needed.
The 1990s saw an increasing number of C4I systems being developed and eventually the advent of “systems of systems” as the Marine Corps connected these new C4I systems together. First it was peer-to-peer connections and then ever widening circles of local area networks, wide area networks, and eventually the Internet cloud. The ability to produce a common operational picture and to share it with others became a reality. MEFs struggled with Unix operating systems and MEUs struggled with Microsoft Windows
. The concepts of standard hardware, standard operating systems, common operating environments, and software applications as “plug-ins” began to emerge. Stovepipe systems became less desirable as integration and interoperability became more important. The need for software programmers at MCTSSA dwindled to just a few.
Joint interoperability became an operational necessity rather than just an optional capability. MCTSSA became the USMC facility for participation in all Joint TADIL/Message
Certification testing (JINTACCS). MCTSSA was an early champion and leader of these new concepts.
In 1992, the initial Letter of intent
(LOI) that established the Systems Integration Environment at MCTSSA was signed. We made significant contributions to the development and architecture of C4I systems in this decade. MCTSSA developed the skill sets to deal with the standard operating systems, common operating environment, integration of systems, networks, and systems interoperability. As the number of “networked” systems in the Operating Forces increased, MCTSSA support to the Operating Forces increased. Due to the dramatic increase in demand for MCTSSA support, additional Project Officer and Project Engineer billets were added to the MCTSSA T/O and a contracting office was established. Contractor support assigned to the Divisions made up a larger percentage of the workforce. MCTSSA completed the decade poised to support Marine Corps C4ISR systems in the 21st century.
Marine Air-Ground Task Force
The Marine Air-Ground Task Force is a term used by the United States Marine Corps to describe the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air-ground, combined arms task organization of Marine Corps forces under a single commander that...
(MAGTF) Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Intelligence (C4I)
C4ISTAR
In military usage, a number of abbreviations in the format C followed by additional letters are used, based on expanded versions of the abbreviation C2 - command and control.C2I stands for command, control, and intelligence....
Integration center for the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. They are a component of Marine Corps Systems Command
Marine Corps Systems Command
Marine Corps Systems Command is located at MCB Quantico.-Mission:Serve as the Commandant's principal agent for acquisition and sustainment of systems and equipment used by the operating forces to accomplish their warfighting mission....
(MARCORSYSCOM) and are located at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and serves as its prime amphibious training base...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Mission
MCTSSA is the Marine Corps' organization for integration, interoperability, and technical support for tacticalMilitary tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
C4I systems to ensure Marines continue to win battles by:
- Providing technical support to the Commanding General, MARCORSYSCOM, and Program Managers to acquire and sustain Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) products for the Operating ForcesFleet Marine ForceThe United States Fleet Marine Forces are combined general and special purpose forces within the United States Department of the Navy that are designed in engaging offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment...
. - Providing technical support to the Operating Forces for fielded command and control systems.
- Providing technical support to the Deputy Commander for C4I Integration, MARCORSYSCOM, for systems engineering and integration.
- Providing a Systems Integration Environment.
History
Marine Corps leaders, with the advent of automation, saw the need within the Marine Corps for a single focal point for computer driven tactical systems. Marine leaders founded MCTSSA to support the technology requirements of the C4ISR community. As Marines learned how to take advantage of automation, MCTSSA monitored tactical systems development and prepared for transition and fielding to the Operating Forces. Requirements changed as computers grew in memory, power, and downsized. MCTSSA met the evolving C4ISR needs by changing their core competenciesCore competency
A core competency is a concept in management theory originally advocated by CK Prahalad, and Gary Hamel, two business book writers. In their view a core competency is a specific factor that a business sees as being central to the way it, or its employees, works...
, workforce skill sets, size and composition, infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, facility, and organizational structure. In 1970, the Marine Corps took ownership of its first computer based Command and Control (C2) System.
Initially MCTSSA was assigned to the Marine Corps Development & Education Command (MCDEC) at Marine Corps Base Quantico
Marine Corps Base Quantico
Marine Corps Base Quantico, sometimes abbreviated MCB Quantico, is a major United States Marine Corps training base located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly in southern Prince William County, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and was funded totally with RDT&E dollars. The command was functionally organized into a Headquarters element, Programming Branch, Test Branch, Configuration Management (CM)/ Quality Assurance (QA) Branch, and Maintenance Branch. The skill set of the workforce was predominantly software programmers
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
, CM & QA specialists, test specialists, data link interoperability experts, operational Marines and maintenance Marines. There were no Project Officers, Fund Administrators, or Contracting Officers on the compound. The only support contractors on the compound were for hardware maintenance. When the Position, Location, and Reporting System (PLRS) was fielded in 1977, MCTSSA became the software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
support facility for that Joint Service system. The other Services sent money to MCTSSA to pay for software updates. MCTSSA completed its first decade as a specialist in software support to the Tactical Air Operations Center (TAOC) and PLRS systems.
In the 1980s, computers started to become small and powerful enough to begin to find their way into tactical applications within the Ground Combat Element
Ground combat element
In the United States Marine Corps, the Ground combat element is the land force of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force . It provides power projection and force for the MAGTF.-Role within the MAGTF:...
. The decade brought a revolution in how a MAGTF could take advantage of technology and move into the “digital” age. The result was a bow wave of computer-based C4ISR systems moving through the acquisition pipeline and ultimately being fielded. The object for both Program Managers and industry was to build the best special purpose “stovepipe” system possible. Program Managers had little or no experience with the acquisition of digital systems or planning for post deployment software support. This increase in the acquisition of computer systems required MCTSSA to begin supporting dozens of Program Managers as new systems worked their way through the acquisition milestones.
New skill sets were needed by the MCTSSA workforce in order to provide software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
and software support expertise to Marine Corps Program Managers. Systems acquisition expertise, software/firmware
Firmware
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...
design, software/firmware development and IV&V became important skills in supporting the Program Managers. Support contractors were brought on board in record numbers to augment the workforce. MCTSSA was reorganized into commodity divisions such as Air, Ground, Communications, and Intelligence in order to support both the Operating Forces and Acquisition process. The degree of technology in these systems was unanticipated at the beginning of the decade. However, MCTSSA was able to develop the capability to become a major influence on the acquisition and support of Marine Corps tactical C4 systems.
In the late 1980s, the Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
established the Marine Corps Systems Command
Marine Corps Systems Command
Marine Corps Systems Command is located at MCB Quantico.-Mission:Serve as the Commandant's principal agent for acquisition and sustainment of systems and equipment used by the operating forces to accomplish their warfighting mission....
(MARCORSYSCOM) and MCTSSA was removed from MCDEC and assigned to the new command. MCTSSA now had an O&M, MC budget for operating expenses and post deployment support as well as an RDT&E budget for specific system support. There were many Project Officers, Fund Administrators, and contractors on the compound. Building 57 was POMed for, and eventually built, to house all the additional people. MCTSSA ended the decade supporting the acquisition and post deployment support of a variety of tactical C4 systems spread out across a number of MAGTF elements. Exactly what the Marine Corps needed.
The 1990s saw an increasing number of C4I systems being developed and eventually the advent of “systems of systems” as the Marine Corps connected these new C4I systems together. First it was peer-to-peer connections and then ever widening circles of local area networks, wide area networks, and eventually the Internet cloud. The ability to produce a common operational picture and to share it with others became a reality. MEFs struggled with Unix operating systems and MEUs struggled with Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. The concepts of standard hardware, standard operating systems, common operating environments, and software applications as “plug-ins” began to emerge. Stovepipe systems became less desirable as integration and interoperability became more important. The need for software programmers at MCTSSA dwindled to just a few.
USMTF
United States Message Text Format is a Military Standard collection of information exchanges, currently defined in W3C XML Schema, which seeks to improve the interoperability of Joint military systems. The US national version is coordinated with NATO for coalition interoperability. The standard...
Certification testing (JINTACCS). MCTSSA was an early champion and leader of these new concepts.
In 1992, the initial Letter of intent
Letter of intent
A letter of intent is a document outlining an agreement between two or more parties before the agreement is finalized. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement...
(LOI) that established the Systems Integration Environment at MCTSSA was signed. We made significant contributions to the development and architecture of C4I systems in this decade. MCTSSA developed the skill sets to deal with the standard operating systems, common operating environment, integration of systems, networks, and systems interoperability. As the number of “networked” systems in the Operating Forces increased, MCTSSA support to the Operating Forces increased. Due to the dramatic increase in demand for MCTSSA support, additional Project Officer and Project Engineer billets were added to the MCTSSA T/O and a contracting office was established. Contractor support assigned to the Divisions made up a larger percentage of the workforce. MCTSSA completed the decade poised to support Marine Corps C4ISR systems in the 21st century.
See also
- Organization of the United States Marine CorpsOrganization of the United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy . The most senior Marine officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for...