Equipping the Corps

Engineers are critical to the design, development, testing and fielding of systems and gear supporting our Marines. Chemical, software, systems, electrical, mechanical - all types of engineers make up the SYSCOM team to ensure our Marines have the gear they need to succeed and win in the battlefields of today and tomorrow. Unknowingly, many of those engineers got their start when, at a younger age...

The Joint Intermediate Force Capabilities Office is responsible for the management of the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program and serves as the focal point for technical and programmatic guidance of current and projected joint non-lethal weapons technologies. The office provides programmatic recommendations and facilitates joint non-lethal weapons requirements by ensuring that funding supports the jo...

Test & Evaluation, or T&E, assists in the risk management process involved in developing, producing, operating, and sustaining systems and capabilities. T&E provides additional information on system capabilities and limitations to the acquisition community to improve the system’s performance and optimize its operational use and sustainment. It also provides an opportunity for program m...

Conducting amphibious operations is part of the Marine Corps DNA and amphibious vehicles have been a critical component to Marine Corps operations since their introduction during WWII. The names and models have changed but one thing has remained constant since their development. Before many of them first crossed the surf in the Pacific, they most likely spent some time in the shores of California...

In July of 2019, the Commandant of the Marine Corps published his planning guidance. In it was a bold vision to modernize the Corps to meet rapidly evolving future threats. This vision is Force Design 2030. As General Berger developed his strategy, he also made some very important assignments, tasking his respective Deputy Commandants with critical requirements in building the Corps of the future....

Manny joins Sgt. Juwan White on Camp Pendleton, California to discuss the Amphibious Combat Vehicle’s New Equipment Training Team. The NETT is responsible for learning everything there is to know about the ACV. They then train the Marines who will eventually be operating those vehicles in the operational forces. The views expressed in this podcast reflect those of the speakers and do not necessari...

In 2015, the Secretary of the Navy issued a memo to bring together the Department of the Navy additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, community to rapidly develop AM capabilities for integration into the Fleet. The Marine Corps quickly began exploring AM and formally established the Advanced Manufacturing Operations Cell in 2019. AMOC’s mission is to develop and provide advanced manufacturing tech...

One of the primary focus areas of Force Design 2030 is command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting or what we commonly refer to as C5ISRT. In the Commandant's Force Design Annual Update released in April, he stated that we now have an enhanced understanding of the need to succeed and not just compete in C5ISRT. Marine Corps Systems C...

PEO Land Systems is the only program executive office in the Marine Corps and is located aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico. The PEO is a team of Marines and civilians dedicated to developing, delivering and sustaining lethal capabilities for our Marines. As the Marine Corps undertakes its greatest modernization in a generation, the PEO is playing a critical role in the fielding of modern cutting-e...

Innovation is a critical element to the success of any organization and many innovative ideas come from small businesses. It is one of the many reasons DoD and the Marine Corps believe in the potential for small businesses to provide innovative and sometimes revolutionary solutions to meet the needs of our future forces. Small businesses fill critical manufacturing and industrial base gaps and are...

The Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) is the Corps' next-generation vehicle designed to move Marines from ship to shore. It is currently replacing the Assault Amphibious Vehicle, which has served the Corps for more than 40 years. The ACV will be the primary means of tactical mobility and lethality for the Marine Battalion Landing Team embarked aboard a Marine Expeditionary Unit at sea and ashore. Th...

The Marine Corps is aggressively modernizing to meet the threats of the future battlefield. Lethality is crucial for the individual Marine to be successful, but so is mobility across the full range of military operations. At the heart of mobility is the new Joint Tactical Vehicle family of vehicles. However, it is not just the JLTV, the entire tactical wheeled fleet is evolving as part of Force De...

The Marine Corps is modernizing to meet the Commandant's vision of Force 2030. That modernization includes providing Marines with the most realistic training to meet and defeat those evolving threats. The Program Manager for Training Systems (PM TRASYS), located in Orlando, Florida, improves the warfighting effectiveness of Fleet Marine Forces by providing training support and developing and susta...

Our contracting professionals play a critical role in bridging the gap between the industry and the program offices to ensure we're equipping our Marines with the best capabilities for the fight. Manny chats with Johany Deal, Director of Contracts for Marine Corps Systems Command about what it's like working in contracts here at the command and upcoming engagements with industry. Question, comment...

Equipping our Marines with the gear and ground combat equipment needed for the current and future fight is the responsibility of Marine Corps Systems Command and its supported PEOs. Overseeing the acquisition of boots to body armor, JLTVs to ACVs, and all of the unique technologies in between, requires unique and flexible leadership. Manny sits down with the individual who is responsible for nearl...

The Marine Corps is in the middle of a generational modernization --- one that will ensure that tomorrow's Marines continue to be the force of choice to meet and defeat evolving threats. To that end, the Marine Corps has been outfitting the individual Marine with the latest warfighting technologies and conducting extensive research, analysis and experimentation to ensure they are headed down the r...

The Ammo team is working hard to lighten the warfighter's load, increase lethality, and provide logistics support for new capabilities. Lt. Col. Brian Wisneski, Deputy Program Manager, Ammunition joins Manny to discuss all things ammo including .50-caliber polymer ammo, cartridges, two new shoulder-fired rocket systems, and when Marines can expect to see it all.

Deb Olson, a recent Acquisition Award winner for her work as the Program Manager, Engineer Systems, Logistics Combat Element Systems, sits down with Manny to discuss her experiences with the divestment process. Deb's strategy led to the divestment of 47,000 pieces of equipment. Question, comment or idea? Leave us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/equipping-the-corps/message The views expressed in...

CWO4 David Tomlinson, Gunner with Portfolio Manager Ground Combat Element Systems, talks with Manny about new gear coming to infantry Marines and what he's learned as the first Gunner assigned to Marine Corps Systems Command. Question, comment or idea? Leave us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/equipping-the-corps/message The views expressed in this podcast reflect those of the speakers and do no...

Equipping the Corps launches soon! Join our host Manny Pacheco, USMC, retired, as he talks acquisition with professionals from around the Corps. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for the latest updates!