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MCTSSA personnel welcomes Vietnam veterans, share legacy - Then 1st Lt. Ken Brown poses in front of his unit in Danang, South Vietnam in 1970. Brown, a retired Marine Colonel and former Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity commanding officer, was part of a group of Vietnam veterans from Marine Air Support Squadron 3 that toured MCTSSA's headquarters aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton this summer. (Courtesy photo)

MCTSSA personnel welcomes Vietnam veterans, share legacy

Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity welcomed Vietnam veterans from Marine Air Support Squadron 3 to MCTSSA’s headquarters aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton this summer. MCTSSA hosted the veterans and their family members, who hail from all over the country, as part of a 50th reunion tour that took them to various units across base.

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The Marine Corps released a request for information for a lightweight hard armor plate to lighten the load for Marines and allow commanders to adapt to the mission on the battlefield. Marine Corps Systems Command will assess industry’s capability to make a plate that would supplement the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert and provide protection for low intensity threat environments. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. William Chockey) - The Marine Corps released a request for information for a lightweight hard armor plate to lighten the load for Marines and allow commanders to adapt to the mission on the battlefield. Marine Corps Systems Command will assess industry’s capability to make a plate that would supplement the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert and provide protection for low intensity threat environments. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. William Chockey)

Marine Corps searches for new hard armor plate to lighten the load

The Marine Corps has released a request for information for a lightweight hard armor plate to lighten the load for Marines and allow commanders to adapt to the environment, mission and threat on the battlefield. Marine Corps Systems Command will assess industry’s capability to make a plate that would supplement the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert, or ESAPI plates, and provide sufficient protection for low intensity threat environments. Vendors should be able to produce a minimum of 40,000 lightweight armor plates within a year of First Article Test approval, which is expected 180 days after contract award.

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Next gen binoculars increase survivability for Recon, EOD Marines - A Marine with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon waits on the flight deck while training in the Pacific Ocean. Marine Corps Systems Command is fielding Force Recon and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Marines greater capability with the Binocular Night Vision Goggle II. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. T. T. Parish)

Next gen binoculars increase survivability for Recon, EOD Marines

Marines will have better situational awareness on missions in dark areas thanks to new night vision goggles. The Binocular Night Vision Goggle II, or BNVG II, is a helmet-mounted binocular that gives operators improved depth perception at night, and uses white phosphor Image Intensification technology to amplify ambient light, with a modular thermal imaging overlay capability. BNVG II helps Marines identify potential buried explosive devices, find hidden objects within foliated areas and safely conduct tasks that require depth perception.

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On-the-move communications system set to field this fall - Marines from the 1st Marine Division test out the Mobile User Objective System at a Field User Evaluation in Camp Pendleton, California. MUOS is a satellite communication system that uses commercial cell phone technology to increase access while on the battlefield. Marine Corps Systems Command will begin fielding MUOS in the fourth quarter of 2018. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Eddie Young)

On-the-move communications system set to field this fall

Marine Corps Systems Command is improving the way Marines communicate with a reliable and convenient on-the-move system. The Mobile User Objective System, or MUOS, is a narrowband satellite communication system that uses commercial cell phone technology to increase access to voice and data communication while on the battlefield. The Marine Corps will be the first service to widely deploy the system as it has already fielded thousands of MUOS-capable AN/PRC-117G radios over the previous six years. Ultimately, the firmware within the radios will be updated to support the MUOS waveform and three new antenna kits will be added to support multiple operational configurations.

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Marine Corps fields ‘game changer’ biometric data collection system - Marines conduct a field user evaluation for the Identity Dominance System-Marine Corps, or IDS-MC, in Dahlgren, Virginia. In September, Marine Corps Systems Command completed fielding of the IDS-MC, which is a new biometrics system to help deployed Marines identify and track the movement of individuals encountered on the battlefield, conduct entry control point operations, and determine who is a friend or foe.