Photo Information

U.S. Marine Cpl. Didivalis Cruz, maintenance management clerk with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, analyses task and transaction records kept using the Global Combat Support System-Marine Corps aboard the USS Boxer, Sept. 25. The Marines and Sailors with 13th MEU will deploy for several months in support of theater requirements of Geographic Combatant Commanders. (Marine Corps Photos by Sgt. Jennifer Pirante/RELEASED)

Photo by Sgt. Jennifer Pirante

13th MEU sustains readiness with GCSS-MC

23 Oct 2013 | Sgt. Jennifer Pirante 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit

No more green logbooks, stubby pencils or fat codebooks.

That's so 1775.

When the Global Combat Supply Support Marine Corps' (GCSS-MC) Total Force Implementation (TFI) phase concluded in March 2013, Marines with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit were nearly halfway through their Western Pacific pre-deployment training block. It was a vital time for supply and maintenance clerks with the command and subordinate units to make sure all necessary gear and supplies were ordered and could be disseminated among the troops before they departed Aug. 23.

To accomplish their tasks, Marines used GCSS-MC, an information technology program that combines supply and maintenance functions to allow Marines to perform real-time transactions on a single system.  Its purpose is to provide better resources for planning, logistics and management.

The system gives supply and maintenance section leaders like Staff Sgt. Sadys Corcino, maintenance chief with 13th MEU, more visibility and oversight in order to avoid mistakes and inaccuracies.

"GCSS-MC was significant prior to the deployment because it gives us a total visibility on what we have and where it is," Corcino said. "It lets leaders know they are ready for battle and gives them better knowledge of supply status."

Aboard the MEU, GCSS-MC aims to sustain Marine forces with full-spectrum, current and future expeditionary and crisis response capabilities, enhancing the Marine Air-Ground Task Force and supporting task organizations.

"The real time or nearly real time transaction features allow for a faster transaction when issuing gear compared to SASSY," said Sgt.

Christopher Quinlan, 13th MEU supply clerk. "Being able to process receipt transactions and posting to your inventory on the same day allows for us as supply to issue that gear as soon as possible."

The 15th MEU implemented the program while on deployment and returned with valuable lessons learned to pass on the "Fighting Thirteenth."

"The biggest lessons I learned, to both implement and teach, that help me operate more efficiently in the system, are the different ways to complete tasks within the system," Quinlan said.

One of the biggest challenges supply and maintenance clerks face while deployed aboard ship is maintaining efficiency with limited available connectivity to ensure operational security.

"A lot of the process and functions have multiple steps to them that may become time consuming, depending on the task and the speed and strength of you network connection, so I look for the fastest way to complete these tasks in a limited amount of steps," Quinlan said.

The 13th MEU continues to use GCSS-MC to maintain maximum readiness while deployed with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.


13th Marine Expeditionary Unit