Total Force Structure Management System (TFSMS) FY05 Fielding Message

1. THE CG MARCORSYSCOM AND CG MCCDC WILL FIELD
TFSMS ON 15 JULY 2005. THIS MESSAGE ADDRESSES THE ACCESS AND
REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR TFSMS USERS AND RELATED SUPPORT
INFORMATION. 
2. BACKGROUND. TFSMS IS A COMMERCIAL-OFF-THE-SHELF (COTS)
WEB-BASED SYSTEM BASED ON THE ORACLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SUITE
OF APPLICATIONS, ENABLING MANPOWER AND EQUIPMENT TRANSACTIONS. 
TFSMS INCLUDES TOOLS TO SUPPORT SYSTEM DESIGN, AUTOMATED WORKFLOW
AND CHANGE REQUEST MANAGEMENT, AND DECISION SUPPORT. EMBEDDED
WITHIN THE TFSMS APPLICATION IS THE COGNOS REPORTNET BUSINESS
INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE ENABLING USERS TO VIEW STANDARD REPORTS AND
CONDUCT AD-HOC QUERIES AGAINST TFSMS DATA. 
3. CHANGES/UPDATES. TFSMS HAS PRODUCED THE FOLLOWING CHANGES:
A. TABLES OF ORGANIZATION (T-O) NUMBERS AND TABLES OF EQUIPMENT
(T/E) HAVE NOW BEEN INTEGRATED INTO T/0&E'S. LEGACY TABLES OF
ORGANIZATION (T-O) NUMBERS AND TABLES OF EQUIPMENT (T-E) NUMBERS ARE
NO LONGER THE KEY SEARCH ELEMENTS. A UNIT'S MANPOWER AND EQUIPMENT
DATA (IN TFSMS) IS ACCESSIBLE VIA EITHER THE UNIT IDENTIFICATION
CODE (UIC) OR UNIT PUBLISHED LONG TITLE. EVERY TABLE OF
ORGANIZATION & EQUIPMENT NOW HAS A UNIQUE UNIT IDENTIFICATION CODE
ASSIGNED TO IT. THESE UIC'S ARE MARINE CORPS READINESS UIC'S AND
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH A UNIT'S FINANCIAL REPORTING UIC. BILLETS
WILL NO LONGER HAVE A SPECIFIC LINE NUMBER; RATHER, EACH BILLET HAS
ITS OWN UNIQUE BILLET IDENTIFIER CODE (BIC). 
B. UNIT EQUIPMENT ALLOWANCES ARE DISPLAYED ON THE SAME SCREEN WITH
UNIT MANPOWER REQUIREMENTS TO INCLUDE THE CAPABILITY TO INTERACT
WITH THE APPROVED ACQUISITION OBJECTIVE PROCESS. 
C. THE TOTAL FORCE STRUCTURE DIVISION (TFSD), MCCDC WEBSITE WHICH
PREVIOUISLY POSTED T-O&E DATA, HAS BEEN REPLACED BY THE "TFSMS
PORTAL PAGE" (WEBSITE). ALL FORCE STRUCTURE DATA WILL MIGRATE TO
TFSMS. THE TABLE OF MANPOWER RERQUIREMENTS (T-MR) AND LOGISTICS
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (LMIS) HAS TRANSITIONED TO TFSMS AND
ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE. TFSMS IS THE SINGLE MARINE CORPS
AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE FOR ALL FORCE STRUCTURE DATA TO INCLUDE THE
OFFICIAL MARINE CORPS HIERARCHY, T-O&E'S WHICH DISPLAY ALL APPROVED
UNITS, UNIT TABLES, UNIT IDENTIFICATION CODES (UIC), BILLETS, UNIT
EQUIPMENT ALLOWANCES, INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT ALLOWANCES, TAMCN'S, ALL
EQUIPMENT CHARACTERISTICS, AS WELL AS APPROVED ACQUISITION
OBJECTIVES (AAO'S). INDIVIDUAL ALLOWANCES ARE AUTOMATICALLY
COMPUTED ON THE X-78 EXPRESSSIONS. TFSMS SHALL ALSO REPLACE T-MR AND
LMIS AS THE AUTHORITATIVE DATA SOURCE FOR ALL MARINE CORPS FORCE
STRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS DATA TO ALL SOFTWARE
APPLICATIONS CURRENTLY INTERFACING WITH T/MR AND LMIS, OR RECEIVING
INTERFACE DATA FROM THESE TWO SYSTEMS. PERSONNEL WITH THE NEED FOR
FORCE STRUCTURE DATA (TO INCLUDE UNIT T-O&E'S) WILL ACCESS THE DATA
VIA TFSMS. 
4. TFSMS USER GROUPS. TFSMS USERS ARE CLASSIFIED INTO TWO GROUPS: 
'NON-TRANSACTIONAL USERS' AND 'TRANSACTIONAL USERS'. THE
'NON-TRANSACTIONAL USERS' WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO 'VIEW' FORCE
STRUCTURE DATA (TO INCLUDE T/O&E'S) AND CREATE-RUN AD HOC QUERIES
AGAINST PUBLISHED DATA. THE 'TRANSACTIONAL USERS' WILL HAVE THE
ABILITY TO CONDUCT EQUIPMENT AND MANPOWER TRANSACTIONS (E.G., MODIFY
DATA IN TFSMS) ON LINE THROUGH THE TFSMS APPLICATION. 
A. WITH THIS FIELDING, MOST USMC ACTIVITIES WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO
VIEW THE DATA - THESE USERS ARE 'NON-TRANSACTIONAL USERS' OR
'VIEWERS.' A LIMITED NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES WILL BE ABLE TO CONDUCT ON
LINE EQUIPMENT AND MANPOWER TRANSACTIONS VIA TFSMS, AS
'TRANSACTIONAL USERS' AND INCLUDE USERS FROM HQMC, MCCDC, MCSC,
MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS (M&RA), AND MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS
COMMAND, ALBANY. AN ADDITIONAL RELEASE OF TFSMS WHICH IS CURRENTLY
PROGRAMMED FOR THE END OF FY05 THROUGH 1ST QTR FY06, WILL EXTEND ON
LINE 'TRANSACTION PROCESSING' CAPABILITY FOR ALL MARINE CORPS UNITS
DOWN TO THE BN LEVEL. ALL ACTIVITIES NOT POSSESSING ON LINE
TRANSACTION CAPABILITIES CAN STILL PROCESS CHANGE REQUESTS UTILIZING
THE CURRENT TFSD PROCEDURES. A NEW TO&E CHANGE REQUEST FORM HAS
BEEN LOADED TO THE 'TFSMS PORTAL PAGE' AND IS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE
ACTIVITIES TO SUBMIT CHANGES.
5. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR USER ACCESS. ALL USERS MUST HAVE
INTERNET EXPLORER V5.0 OR HIGHER TO ACCESS THE TFSMS PORTAL AND THE
TFSMS APPLICATION. ADDITIONALLY, 'TRANSACTION USERS' WILL ALSO
REQUIRE A 
J-INITIATOR APPLET (V 1.1.8.16) TO BE INSTALLED. THIS APPLET
PROVIDES TFSMS USERS THE CAPABILTY TO ACCESS THE ORACLE 11I
APPLICATION WITHIN TFSMS. FOR NMCI USERS, THE JINITIATOR WAS ADDED
TO THE NMCI 'MARINE CORPS ENTERPRISE TEMPLATE' IN EARLY JUNE. FOR
'TRANSACTIONAL USERS' THERE IS A REQUIREMENT TO DOWNLOAD THE
JINITIATOR 'CERTIFICATION DATABASE (CERT DB) FILES' - THIS PROCESS
IS OUTLINED ON THE 'TFSMS PORTAL PAGE.' FOR NON-NMCI USERS, THE
JINITIATOR APPLET WILL AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD AT THE FIRST ENTRY
INTO THE TFSMS APPLICATION. AND PROVIDES TFSMS USERS THE CAPABILTY
TO ACCESS THE ORACLE 11I APPLICATION WITHIN TFSMS. 
A. USER ACCOUNTS. ALL NEW USERS MUST REQUEST AN ACCOUNT FROM THE
PORTAL BY APPLYING THE FOLLOWING STEPS:
1) ENTER TFSMS THROUGH THE TFSMS PORTAL LOCATED AT: HYPERLINK
"HTTPS:TFSMS.MCCDC.USMC.MIL" HTTPS:TFSMS.MCCDC.USMC.MIL 
CLICK ON "REQUEST NEW TFSMS USER" AND FILL IN YOUR INFORMATION.
CLICK 'SUBMIT REQUEST'. USERS THAT DO NOT HAVE .MIL EMAIL ADDRESSES
WILL NEED TO SUPPLY THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: MILITARY SPONSOR
NAME, MILITARY SPONSOR EMAIL, MILITARY SPONSOR PHONE NUMBER, AND
JUSTIFICATION.
2) IF THE USER ENTERED A .MIL EMAIL ADDRESS, A NOTIFICATION EMAIL
WILL BE SENT WITH USERNAME AND A RANDOMLY GENERATED PASSWORD TO THE
EMAIL ADDRESS SUBMITTED IN THE REQUEST. THIS EMAIL WILL ALSO CONTAIN
DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO LOG INTO THE TFSMS PORTAL AND
REPORTS. ONCE THE EMAIL IS RECEIVED, USERS MAY LOGIN UNDER 'TFSMS
USER LOGIN' BY ENTERING THE USERNAME AND PASSWORD SUPPLIED IN THE
EMAIL, AND CLICKING 'LOGIN'. IF THE EMAIL ADDRESS IS OTHER THAN
.MIL, THE USER MUST HAVE A GOVERNMENT SPONSOR TO AUTHENTICATE ACCESS
PERMISSIONS. THE REQUEST WILL BE ROUTED THROUGH THE TFSMS SUPPORT
CENTER FOR APPROVAL. IF APPROVED, THE APPLICANT WILL RECEIVE A
NOTIFICATION EMAIL WITH USERNAME AND PASSWORD ALONG WITH DETAILED
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO LOG INTO THE PORTAL AND REPORTS.
3) ALL USERS WILL BE PROMPTED TO CHANGE THEIR TFSMS PORTAL PASSWORD
AFTER INITIALLY LOGGING IN.
4) AFTER LOGGING IN TO THE TFSMS PORTAL, USERS CAN ACCESS REPORTS
UNDER 'TFSMS REPORTS' BY CLICKING THE 'TFSMS REPORT PORTAL' LINK. 
AT THIS POINT, USERS WILL BE LOGGING IN TO AN EXTERNAL SYSTEM AND
WILL BE PROMPTED TO LOGIN. UPON INITIAL LOGIN, USERS NEED TO
UNCHECK THE 'REMEMBER THIS PASSWORD' BOX DURING THIS LOGIN STEP AND
USE THE LOGIN INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE EMAIL TO ACCESS THE TFSMS
REPORT PORTAL. 
5) USERS WILL BE PROMPTED TO CHANGE THEIR 'TFSMS REPORTS' PASSWORD
TO ALIGN WITH THE PASSWORD USED FOR THE TFSMS PORTAL, ALLOWING THE
USE OF A SINGLE PASSWORD.
6) THE SECOND TIME USERS CLICK ON TFSMS REPORTS LINK FROM THE TFSMS
PORTAL, THE USER WILL BE PROMPTED TO LOGIN. ON THE SECOND LOGIN,
USERS ARE REMINDED TO CHECK THE 'REMEMBER YOUR PASSWORD' BOX AND USE
THE NEW TFSMS REPORTS PASSWORD. AFTER USERS HAVE COMPLETED THE
SECOND LOGIN TO THE TFSMS REPORTS, THEY WILL NO LONGER BE PROMPTED
TO LOGIN. THE LINK WILL TAKE USERS DIRECTLY TO 'TFSMS REPORTS.' 
FOR ASSISTANCE, USERS CAN CONTACT THE TFSMS SUPPORT CENTER 
HYPERLINK "MAILTO:
TFSMS.HELPDESK@USMC.MIL'MAILTO:TFSMS.HELPDESK@USMC.MIL" 
B. TFSMS REPORTS AND AD HOC QUERIES. ALL TFSMS USERS WILL HAVE THE
CAPABILITY TO CONDUCT AD HOC QUERIES AND REPORTING WITH THE COGNOS
REPORTNET TOOLSET ASSOCIATED WITH THE TFSMS APPLICATION. 
1) TFSMS USERS WHO DESIRE TO REVIEW T-O&E INFORMATION: UNDER 'TFSMS
REPORTS' CLICK ON 'TFSMS REPORT PORTAL' AND A NEW WINDOW OPENS. ONCE
LOGGED INTO THE TFSMS REPORT PORTAL, USERS WILL THEN CLICK ON
'STANDARD REPORTS' AND "UNIT T-O&E REPORT" FOR THEIR INFORMATION. 
2) TO CONDUCT QUERIES, USERS SHOULD CLICK ON THE "STUDENT GUIDE" TAB
(LOCATED IN THE UPPER RIGHT HAND PAGE CORNER) OF THE "TFSMS REPORT
PORTAL" FOR THE SELF-PACED INSTRUCTION GUIDE THAT WILL FAMILIARIZE
USERS WITH THE FEATURES OF REPORTNET AND HOW TO CONDUCT-CREATE AD
HOC QUERIES.
6. SUPPORT CENTER. THE TFSMS SUPPORT CENTER IS AVAILABLE VIA PHONE
AT: 703-784-6232 (DSN 278) AND VIA EMAIL ( HYPERLINK
"MAILTO:TFSD.HELPDESK@USMC.MIL"0" TFSD.HELPDESK@USMC.MIL . TFSMS
PROGRAM OFFICE WILL PROVIDE BASELINE SOFTWARE SUPPORT VIA THIS
SUPPORT CENTER, AVAILABLE DURING NORMAL GOVERNMENT WORKING HOURS
(8AM-4PM, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, EST) EXCLUDING HOLIDAYS. ALL AFTER
HOURS CALLS WILL GO TO VOICE MAIL. REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE MADE
AFTER THE HOURS OF OPERATION WILL BE ADDRESSED THE FOLLOWING
BUSINESS DAY. THE 'USER HELP' TAB ON THE TFSMS PORTAL PROVIDES A
LINK TO THE TFSMS USER MANUAL FOR USE BY TRANSACTIONAL USERS. THIS
TAB ALSO PROVIDES THE TFSMS SUPPORT CENTER EMAIL ADDRESS FOR QUICK
REFERENCE. FUTURE CAPABILITY WILL ENABLE ALL USERS TO ENTER THEIR
OWN REQUEST DIRECTLY TO THE SUPPORT CENTER. THE 'FAQ' TAB ON THE
TFSMS PORTAL PROVIDES QUICK REFERENCE INFORMATION FOR FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS. QUESTIONS REGARDING POLICY SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO
THE RESPECTIVE CONTACT POINT. CONTACT POINTS ARE LISTED ON THE
'CONTACTS' TAB ON THE PORTAL.
7. USER TRAINING. USER TRAINING WILL SUPPORT INITIAL FIELDING AND
CONTINUE AS SUSTAINMENT WITH FOLLOW-ON TFSMS RELEASES. 
ALL 'TRANSACTIONAL USERS' MUST HAVE ATTENDED TRAINING PRIOR TO
PERMISSIONS BEING GRANTED TO THEIR USER ID TO CONDUCT TRANSACTIONS. 
THE INTENT IS TO HAVE ALL 'TRANSACTIONAL USERS' RECEIVE FACE-TO-FACE
INSTRUCTION BY DECEMBER 2005. SUSTAINMENT TRAINING WILL BE CONDUCTED
UTILIZING ON-LINE INSTRUCTION AVAILABLE WITHIN THE TFSMS
APPLICATION. AS WITH IOC TRAINING, TRAINING WILL BE CONDUCTED IN A
HIEARCHIAL FASHION TO ENSURE THAT THE PREDETERMINED AUTOMATED
WORKFLOW FUNCTIONS SMOOTHLY. TRAINING FOR THOSE COMMANDS LISTED
PREVIOUSLY AS 'TRANSACTIONAL USERS' FOR THE INITIAL FIELDING WILL BE
CONDUCTED FROM JUNE THROUGH AUGUST. TRAINING FOR ALL OTHER
ACTIVITIES THAT WILL HAVE TRANSACTION CAPABILITY FIELDED TO THEM IN
THE SECOND RELEASE WILL BEGIN IN THE OCTOBER TIMEFRAME. DETAILED
TRAINING COORDINATION FOR COMMANDS WILL BE PROVIDED VIA SEPCOR. 
8. COORDINATING INSTRUCTIONS:
A. TFSMS WILL FOLLOW A SPIRAL DEVELOPMENT APPROACH IN WHICH
FOLLOW-ON UPGRADES/RELEASES WILL CONTINUE TO ENHANCE SYSTEM
CAPABILITY UNTIL FULL OPERATING CAPABILITY (FOC). THE FIRST PLANNED
UPGRADE, FOLLOWING IOC, WILL ENTAIL AUTOMATED WORKFLOW AND
TRANSACTION PROCESSING CAPABILITIES SLATED FOR FIELDING TO THE REST
OF THE MARINE CORPS. OTHER PLANNED ENHANCEMENTS WILL INCLUDE BUT
ARE NOT LIMITED TO: INCORPORATION OF A GRADE STRUCTURE REVIEW
MODUAL, INCORPORATION OF THE MARINE CORPS EQUIPMENT REVIEW
CAPABILITY, AUTOMATION OF THE CATALOGING ACTION REQUEST PROCESS,
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GLOBAL FORCE MANAGEMENT FORCE STRUCTURE
CONSTRUCT (GFM/FSC) DATA MART BASED ON THE LOGICAL GFM/FSC DATA
MODEL, AS WELL AS INCREASED FORCE STRUCTURE MODELING CAPABILITIES. 
B. DEMONSTRATION VISITS. THE OPERATING FORCES WILL BEGIN RECEIVING
ORIENTATION DEMONSTRATIONS IN JULY 2005. THE INTENT IS TO DISPLAY
TFSMS FUNCTIONALTY AND CAPABILITIES TO MARFOR HQ PRINCIPALS AND
SENIOR LEVEL STAFFS. A SCHEDULE FOR THESE DEMONSTRATIONS WILL BE
PROVIDED VIA SEPCOR.