May 17, 2013 -- By Bill Johnson-Miles, MCSC Corporate Communications
"We don't just admire the problem, we take steps to identify, correct and sustain equipment," said Col. Ed Mays, a guest speaker who provided the opening remarks at the Marine Corps Corrosion Prevention and Control 2013 Working Group. Mays is Marine Corps Systems Command’s assistant commander for Acquisition Logistics and Product Support. He spoke to more than 50 people attending the CPAC Working Group hosted May 7-9 by MCSC at Quantico’s Gray Research Center.
According to Bernard Friend, CPAC Program Operations and Sustainment, the working group is more than just discussion. They identify problems and challenges to corrosion prevention and control, and then take steps to make necessary corrections.
“The working group gives attendees an opportunity to discuss these items in depth, leverage the collective knowledge of the group, evaluate solutions that others have tried and decide on a common, mutually beneficial path forward,” Friend said. “This could be a course of action, process change or the initiation of a study to investigate the more complex issues allowing implementation to be done correctly and efficiently.”
The attendees are both-active duty Marines and civilian maintenance management personnel who meet annually to discuss corrosion-related issues affecting the readiness of Marine Corps ground combat and combat support equipment. They represented most Marine commands including I Marine Expeditionary Force, II MEF, III MEF and Marine Forces Reserve. Headquarters Marine Corps, Installations and Logistics, and Logistic Command also sent representatives.
“We completed all but one of the 2012 action items and identified seven new action items for completion during 2013 by working group members,” Friend said. “The working group also reviewed and accepted the corrosion repair facilities and corrosion service teams process flow charts as the baseline for use across the Marine Corps.”
“The major accomplishment this year was the update of Marine Corps Order 4790.18 that will be signed out later this year,” said Matthew Koch, MCSC’s CPAC program manager. “Members were given the draft order on Tuesday and asked to look over it as ‘homework’ before discussing changes.”
Koch said the working group “slapped the table” and concurred on all changes.
These accomplishments define a successful working group, one that is essential in preparing documents and plans for execution of an effective program, according to Friend.
“The personal fingerprints of every working group member are on all CPAC products that support Marines’ efforts in combating the effects of corrosion on their equipment,” Friend concluded.