CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Marines and sailors around the fleet with key roles in operations and ordnance departments participated in a week-long Gun Systems Working Group at Camp Pendleton, Calif., April 23-27.
The working group was hosted by Direct and Time Sensitive Strike Program to allow Marines and sailors to discuss problems and find potential solutions that pertain to aviation and amphibious weapons systems.
Capt. Jermaine Cadogan, aviation ordnance officer with I Marine Expeditionary Force, said systems and technology are always changing, which is why it is important for the officers, maintainers and logisticians to get together to discuss important issues.
“It’s a lot of help and knowledge to us, the user of these items,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Patrick Clinton, ordnance officer with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. “We’re gathering important information on everything that is going to affect us down the road.”
Issues discussed included logistical support, finance, hardware and input from the users at the squadron level.
“We get briefed about what current issues are, what past issues have been resolved and what future items we can look forward to,” Clinton said. “There’s always information getting passed through, especially on the supply side that will save the guys time and avoid a redundant process.”
Lt. Col. Matthew Moway, commanding officer of HMLA-267, shared information about weapons systems used during his deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He also spoke briefly about the implementation of hand-held tablet devices to store and share information, which helped Marines further accomplish their mission.
Cadogan said the working groups are significant to the fight because the discussions allow a constant flow of information to keep everyone in the fleet on the same page.
“I hope we can continue get everybody who has a stake in the fight in the same room to get things worked out,” he said.