Logistics are central to the U.S. Marine Corps mission. Without personnel, supplies and equipment in the right place at the right time, the Marine Corps can’t deliver on that mission. At the same time, managing logistics for such a large, dispersed organization is very complex, requiring targeted training on everything from planning and executing the movement and support of forces to acquiring, storing, distributing, maintaining and disposing of assets.
The Marine Corps needed new training equipment with more power and storage—a mobile training systems with cutting-edge technology that could facilitate the modernization of aged logistics processes and procedures. Specifically, they needed a pop-up classroom anywhere in the world, packaged into a logistics kit.
The Solution: A Mobile Training System
After weighing its options, the Marine Corps eventually awarded Tuva, an Akima company, the contract for a new mobile training systems. The fact that they had previous experience providing kits to other areas of the Marine Corps, such as the Tactical Decision Kit for simulated battlefield training, probably bolstered its case as well. Determining what components to use in each kit – there were 120 components in all – took time and research.
When Tuva had a viable prototype, it was submitted to the Marine Corps, which requested certain changes. Once those were made, the prototype was complete. In addition to assembling the kits afterward, Tuva recorded all serial numbers, labeled all kits and components, and included documentation, warranties and instruction manuals.
After 12 months after the award, Tuva shipped 40 of the kits to the Marine Corps’ “schoolhouse” in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The rest are deployed to forward units across the United States, with some sent overseas.
This article is an excerpt from our new case study, “Field-Based Logistics Training: Business as Usual for the U.S. Marine Corps,” download the full case study to read the full story of how the Marine Corps upgraded its mobile training systems, including stats for the state of the Marine Corps today and tips for your own agencies’ success here.
