Program Manager for Global Combat Support System Marine Corps

1. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MESSAGE IS TO ANNOUNCE THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF A PROGRAM MANAGER (PM) FOR GLOBAL COMBAT SUPPORT
SYSTEM MARINE CORPS (GCSS MC) WITHIN PRODUCT GROUP - 10, INFORMATION
SYSTEMS AND INFRASTRUCTURE, MARINE CORPS SYSTEMS COMMAND. 
2. GCSS MC IS ESSENTIAL TO SUPPORT OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS -
ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE CURRENT DEPLOYMENT OF FORCES. GCSS MC IS
BASED ON AN OPEN ARCHITECTURE USING THE COMBATANT COMMANDERS TOP 57
INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS AND THE MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS OPERATIONAL
ARCHITECTURE (MC LOG OA). GCSS MC WILL BE
INTEGRATED, INTEROPERABLE, AND AN UPGRADEABLE INFORMATION SYSTEM
COMPLIANT WITHIN DOD IT STANDARDS (E.G., C4ISR). THE OPPORTUNITY
TO ACCOMPLISH LOG MODERNIZATION REQUIRES SOLID TEAMWORK AND
DETAILEDUNDERSTANDING OF THE REQUIREMENTS, CHALLENGES, AND
TECHNICALCOMPLEXITIES GERMANE TO THESE EFFORTS. A COLLABORATIVE
RELATIONSHIP WAS FORMALIZED IN THE GCSS MC MANAGEMENT TEAM (GMT)
CHARTER (REF C). BY CAPITALIZING ON THE
STRENGTH OF THIS RELATIONSHIP, SELECTED ASPECTS OF THE MC LOG OA AND
ITS ENABLERS HAVE PROCEEDED AT AN ACCELERATED PACE. FOREMOST OF
THESE INITIATIVES IS THE EXPANDED VALIDATION (EV) OCCURRING AT II
MEF, CLNC. THE PROVEN IT SUPPORTING THIS EFFORT CONSISTS OF THE
BASIC FUNCTIONALITY IDENTIFIED IN REF F. ADDITIONAL GCSS MC
CAPABILITIES WILL BE FIELDED INCREMENTALLY (TO ADD FUNCTIONALITY,
DATA, AND USERS) IN ORDER TO ENHANCE LOGISTICS RESPONSIVENESS AND
COMMAND AND CONTROL CAPABILITIES.
3. MR ROBERT L. HOBART, THE DEPUTY COMMANDER, COMMAND, CONTROL,
COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTERS, AND INTELLIGENCE (C4I) WILL PROVIDE
DIRECT OVERSIGHT OF THIS CRITICAL INITIATIVE WORKING IN CLOSE
COLLABORATION WITH THE ADVOCATES AND CIO. MS SONIA KITCHEN, THE PM
GCSS MC, WILL SERVE AS THE ACQUISITION MANAGER FOR TECHNICAL
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, PORTFOLIO MANAGER FOR LOG INFORMATION SYSTEMS
AND WILL PROVIDE OVERSIGHT OF CRITICAL GCSS MC ACTIVITIES AND PLANS.
PM'S INDEPENDENTLY DEVELOPING, ACQUIRING, AND FIELDING IT MUST
SYNCHRONIZE THEIR EFFORTS WITH THE FUNCTIONAL ADVOCATE TO VALIDATE
REQUIREMENTS DRIVING IT SOLUTIONS AND WITH PM GCSS MC IN ORDER TO
ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY REDUNDANCY THAT COULD IMPAIR COMBAT
EFFECTIVENESS. PM GCSS MC MUST ENSURE UNITY OF EFFORT, INTERFACING
OF CRITICAL SYSTEMS, AND MAXIMUM USE OF SCARCE RESOURCES (PEOPLE,
FUNDING, TIME, ETC). ALL SUBORDINATE LOGISTICS IT CURRENTLY
RESIDING WITHIN THE GCSS MC PORTFOLIO (E.G, COMMON LOGISTICS COMMAND
AND CONTROL (CLC2S), CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT (CRM), INVESTMENT
ADVISOR, SHARED DATA ENVIRONMENT (SDE), ATLASS, ATLASS PIP,
AUTONOMIC LOGISTICS (AL), AND THE SYSTEMS REALIGNMENT AND
CATEGORIZATION (SRAC) EFFORT, ETC) MUST BE FULLY INTEGRATED AND
ORGANIZED TO RESPOND TO LOG MODERNIZATION INITIATIVES AS DIRECTED BY
PM GCSS MC. THE DECISION SUPPORT AND PLANNING CAPABILITY RESIDENT
WITHIN THE CLC2S APPLICATION FULFILLS BASIC LOG C2 NECESSARY TO
INTEGRATE GCSS MC WITH THE GLOBAL COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM (GCCS)
USING A SDE/IDE.
4. GCSS MC IS AN INVESTMENT FOR OUR CORPS AND WILL BE ESTABLISHED
AS A PROGRAM OF RECORD IN THE NEAR TERM. PM GCSS MC WILL PROVIDE
SUPPORT DURING THE POM PROCESS TO ENSURE FISCAL CONTINUITY FOR FY03
AND BEYOND. DIRECT/INDIRECT ACTIVITIES THAT IMPACT FUNDING PROFILES
NECESSARY TO SUPPORT GCSS MC/EV IT FY03 DEFICIENCIES MUST BE
REALIGNED TO SUPPORT SUCCESSFUL PROTOTYPING AND FIELDING.
5. NEAR TERM INITIATIVES ARE RAPIDLY TRANSITIONING FROM THE
PLANNING PHASE TO THE EXECUTION STAGE AND WILL REQUIRE A COMMITMENT
OF RESOURCES TO COMPLETE IMPLEMENTATION AND POSITION THE MARINE
CORPS FOR CRITICAL FY 04 ACTIVITIES. WITHOUT THESE RESOURCES, WE
WILL BE HARD PRESSED TO CONCLUDE ACQUISITION PLANNING, MODERNIZATION
EFFORTS, AND IMPLEMENT THE MC LOG OA. THE OPPORTUNITY TO
SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE MC LOG ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE IS AT HAND BUT
DEPENDS ON CONTINUING TEAMWORK AND ACCELERATED STRATEGIES FOR
RESOLVING TECHNICAL CHALLENGES AND IMPLEMENTING STREAMLINED
APPROACHES TO IMPROVE ACQUISITION ACTIVITIES.