Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity
| Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity | |
|---|---|
MCTSSA Insignia
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| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Role | C4I Integration |
| Part of | Marine Corps Systems Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Colonel Benjamin Stinson |
The Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA) is the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Intelligence (C4I) Integration center for the United States Marine Corps. They are a component of Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM) and are located at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California
MCTSSA is the Marine Corps' organization for integration, interoperability, and technical support for tactical C4I systems to ensure Marines continue to win battles by:
Marine Corps leaders, with the advent of automation, saw the need within the Marine Corps for a single focal point for computer driven tactical systems. Marine leaders founded MCTSSA to support the technology requirements of the C4ISR community. As Marines learned how to take advantage of automation, MCTSSA monitored tactical systems development and prepared for transition and fielding to the Operating Forces. Requirements changed as computers grew in memory, power, and downsized. MCTSSA met the evolving C4ISR needs by changing their core competencies, workforce skill sets, size and composition, infrastructure, facility, and organizational structure. In 1970, the Marine Corps took ownership of its first computer based Command and Control (C2) System.
Initially MCTSSA was assigned to the Marine Corps Development & Education Command (MCDEC) at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia and was funded totally with RDT&E dollars. The command was functionally organized into a Headquarters element, Programming Branch, Test Branch, Configuration Management (CM)/ Quality Assurance (QA) Branch, and Maintenance Branch. The skill set of the workforce was predominantly software programmers, CM & QA specialists, test specialists, data link interoperability experts, operational Marines and maintenance Marines. There were no Project Officers, Fund Administrators, or Contracting Officers on the compound. The only support contractors on the compound were for hardware maintenance. When the Position, Location, and Reporting System (PLRS) was fielded in 1977, MCTSSA became the software support facility for that Joint Service system. The other Services sent money to MCTSSA to pay for software updates. MCTSSA completed its first decade as a specialist in software support to the Tactical Air Operations Center (TAOC) and PLRS systems.
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