CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan -- As the Marine Corps advances technologically, the need for a state-of-the-art logistical system has come about.
To meet that need, the Marine Corps has recently introduced the Global Combat Support System-Marine Corps, and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit is the first MEU in the Marine Corps to field it.
GCSS-MC will be replacing multiple legacy systems currently being used that was designed in the 60’s and will bring the Marine Corps into the 21st century logistically.
“The cutover of the 31st MEU to the new GCSS-MC system should streamline our accountability of equipment and give us global, real time access to our data,” said Capt. Paul Bartok, a supply officer with the 31st MEU. “In theory, that will make us more efficient in our supply and logistics process.”
It will do this by eliminating paper trails, simplifying accountability, as well as maintenance and supply procedures for ground equipment, according to Lisa J. Vanoli, a GCSS-MC instructor. “It will also allow 100 percent visibility by all users,” she said.
If a Marine submits a request through GCSS-MC, then goes on leave, anyone in their command can go in and see what has been done with the request, make edits to it, and a variety of other things, said Vanoli.
“For example, if a repair request was submitted through GCSS-MC, anyone in the submitter’s command can go in and see what has been fixed already,” she added.
“As long as everybody works together and does their part, this system will allow requests to be processed days faster than the older system, making for huge gains in productivity,” she said.
GCSS-MC is a near real-time system, meaning that within minutes of submitting a request, the user will recieve a response telling them if the query went through or if corrections need to be made. With the old system this process would usually take 24 hours or more.
“Currently, the 31st MEU is transitioning to the garrison version of GCSS-MC, which is slated to be complete by the beginning of June,” said Bartok. “However, we will soon begin the transition to GCSS-MC 1.2, which will give us additional capabilities in a deployed environment.”
The 31st MEU will be the test subject for the entire Marine Corps for the deployed version, GCSS-MC 1.2.
The 31st MEU is the only continually forward-deployed MEU, and remains the nation’s force-in-readiness in the Asia-Pacific region.