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, they participated in a STEM event. Science Technology Engineering and Math, or STEM, programs and activities provide an opportunity for today's youth to have exposure to what a career in STEM may look like and helps ensure we develop the next generation of engineers. Manny sits down with the Command's engineering competency lead and federal STEM action officer, Ms. Joy Champion.

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 joint non-lethal weapons systems that the Department of Defense or combatant commands have identified as needs. The Marine Corps is the executive agency for the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program and as such, its director is an acquisition Marine. Manny chats with the man at the helm, the director of the JNLW program, Col. Wendell Leimbach.

Movie Recommendation- Kelly’s Heroes

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 managers to learn about any technical or operational limitations of a system so they can be resolved prior to production and fielding. T&E is an integral part of the systems engineering process and this week Manny chats with the command’s testing and evaluation lead, Dr. Karen McGrady.

Show Notes: Recommended Reading- Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by Jim Mattis and Bing West

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 at a small test facility called the Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch, or AVTB. During the preceding decades, AVTB maintained an integral role in testing many variants and upgrades of the Amphibious Assault Vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, the Marine Personnel Carrier, the Amphibious Assault Vehicle Survivability Upgrade and most recently the Amphibious Combat Vehicle. Manny has the pleasure of speaking with the AVTB Director, LtCol Scott Graniero. The views expressed in this podcast reflect those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions or the United States Marine Corps or Department of Defense. Recommended Reading- Defense Acquisition Research Journal https://www.dau.edu/library/arj/ U.S. Naval Institute https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings?gclid=Cj0KCQjwjN-SBhCkARIsACsrBz6Z8ARFydAiPTdfAVzN76Vl33m_2SFk7fs5aWCQrcwjAWWqwiZg1bcaAnJEEALw_wcB Marine Corps Gazette https://mca-marines.org/magazines/marine-corps-gazette/

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. One of those was the DC for Combat Development and Integration who bore the responsibility of not only developing the requirements, but also conducting experimentation efforts to validate concepts, working through plans to divest of capabilities that did not meet future needs, and ultimately creating decision space for the Commandant to make informed decisions on Force Design 2030. That individual spent nearly two years conducting those studies and analysis, and burning the midnight oil to get the Corps to where it is today --- a strategic naval response force ready to answer our nations’ calls and meet and defeat any future threat. This week Manny has the honor of sitting down with the Corps’ 36th Assistant Commandant, General Eric Smith.

The views expressed in this podcast reflect those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions or the United States Marine Corps or Department of Defense.

Book recommendation - For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith

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 Command's Command Element Systems Portfolio provides and sustains many of these capabilities for the Fleet Marine Force. Marines need timely, actionable intelligence to develop plans for fires and maneuvers. Program Manager Intelligence Systems acquires the necessary capabilities to collect, process, exploit and disseminate intelligence information. Manny sits down with the Program Manager for Intelligence Systems, Lt. Col. David Bain, to discuss how the portfolio is developing and fielding critical capabilities for our Marines.

The views expressed in this podcast reflect those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies or positions of the United States Marine Corps or Department of Defense.

Show Notes:

The Marine Corps' Talent Management 2030 document, released in November, recognizes the need to create a culture of inclusion and reinforce diversity to be successful in competition and conflict in the 21st century. It says, "Teams with diverse perspectives and modes of thinking solve problems faster and more creatively. In this way, diversity provides us a competitive warfighting advantage over our adversaries, particularly those who place a premium on uniformity of thought." Since 2012, Marine Corps Systems Command's Diversity Awareness Program, or DAP, has been enhancing our workforce's knowledge of and appreciation for diversity. On this episode, Manny chats with the Chair of Marine Corps Systems Command's Diversity Awareness Program, O'Bryan "OB" Woods.

The views expressed in this podcast reflect those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions of the United States Marine Corps or Department of Defense.

Show Notes:

Edit: The museum O'Bryan was referring to is the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Book Recommendation - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe