Camp Pendleton, CA -- A team of 24 Marines, civilians, and contractors from the Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA) recently joined more than 1,000 other military and civilian personnel from approximately 40 European, Middle East and North American nations to participate in “Combined Endeavor,” the World’s largest communications interoperability exercise.
“Combined Endeavor was a unique opportunity to show to other nations what a Marine Combat Operations Center (COC) looks like,” says Major Mark Davis, MCTSSA’s Office in Charge for Combined Endeavor. “It’s an important undertaking because we may, at some time in the future, be working together in an actual, complex environment, such as a providing aid during an emergency.”
Held at the Joint Multinational Training Center in Grafenwoehr, Germany, the participating Combined Endeavor nations were divided into four different missions. Tasked to support a stability mission scenario—a mission similar to what Marines are currently doing in Afghanistan—MCTSSA established a COC with a satellite-based network, “virtually” emulating and exercising a full, displaced unit environment.
“The 13 nations in our mission network were all tied to the COC,” says Major David Norton, the Operations Systems Controller. “It was a combined effort where each nation or participating military unit provided distinctive services to the network with our COC being the hub for the command and control architecture, complete with providing the common operational picture, video streaming, etc.”
At times during the nearly three-week long exercise, the MCTSSA-operated COC also provided support outside organizations—beyond the 13 nations and units involved in its mission exercise.
“The US Army battalion that was there was in a different mission network; it was in the one doing full combat operations,” continues Major Norton. “Our COC tied with them, allowing them to have full intraoperative capabilities, an organic capacity it wouldn’t normally have operating autonomously at the battalion level. Importantly, this underscores one of the major products that comes from the Combined Endeavor exercise: the publishing of an interoperability guide for everyone to use.”
“MCTSSA’s COC was the top feature of the exercise,” says Major Norton. “Every general officer walked through it; every delegation that brought any visitors came and looked through it, because it was tactically deployed, giving everyone a first-hand feel of what it was like to go into a Marine COC and see the environment it provides.” Those visiting dignitaries included Lt. General Frank Gorenc, Commander of the 3rd Air Force; Rear Admiral Robin Braun, U.S. European Command’s Deputy Director of Operations; and Mr. James H. Smerchansky, Deputy Commander, System Engineering, Interoperability, Architectures and Technology for the Marine Corps Systems Command. All the COC visitors received operational briefings and tours from MCTSSA personnel, and by the feedback received, that continuous effort and exceptional performance of the MCTSSA Marines didn’t go unnoticed.
"This exercise was not just about showcasing capabilities," say MCTSSA's Commanding Officer, Colonel Christopher Snyder. "It was about building relationships with our coalition and partner nations. The time and energy we invested during Combined Endeavor will be the foundation for future joint and multinational operations, ranging from humanitarian and disaster relief to combat operations. Our MCTSSA team members did a truly outstanding job, underscoring prominently the value of their support to C4I systems."
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