Property control office overhauls telecomms system

Photo By Lance Cpl. Andrea Cleopatra Dickerson | More than 1,500 computers have been distributed from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point’s station property control office during the past three months. The distribution process is part of an information technology refresh mandated by Headquarters Marine Corps. “These computers were processed for distribution throughout the air station,” said Capt. John D. Stout, deputy supply director of the station property control office. “This is a big deal because computer systems will no longer be owned by Navy Marine Corps Intranet. The government will now be responsible for the computers basewide.”  

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

03.30.2012

Story by Lance Cpl. Andrea Cleopatra Dickerson 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. - As of March 30, more than 1,500 computers have been distributed across Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point to replace computers previously owned by Navy Marine Corps Intranet.

The air station property control office, with the help of contractors from the Telecommunications Information Systems Directorate, carried out the three-month-long information technology refresh.

“This is the second iteration in a series of projects scheduled to take place throughout the next couple of years,” said Capt. John D. Stout, station property control officer.

Headquarters Marine Corps issued a series of Marine administrative messages mandating the new changes, the amount of new equipment the government would receive and the specific guidelines and timeframes for when the assets would be integrated into the workforce.

The replaced technology platforms still deliver services to more than 700,000 Sailors, Marines and civilians across the globe. When the NMCI contract ended September 2011, a continuity of services contract was instated. Under it, NMCI no longer owns the new equipment used, but is still responsible for providing help desk support, network control and operations responsibilities, while the government is responsible for buying, receiving, and inventorying the new equipment.

“This is a very monumental change,” said Stout. “The new computers don’t belong to NMCI anymore. The government now owns those computers.”

The refresh was a difficult task to undertake, said Stout, but it was done successfully, and the process to continue updating equipment has improved tremendously.

“This was made possible through directorates working together to accomplish the mission that has been set forth by Headquarters Marine Corps,” said Trish Jolley, a supervisor at the telecommunications directorate.

With troops constantly on the move due to deployments and the adjusting schedules of different work sections, the original refresh process was somewhat complicated, said Jolley.

“It’s vital the directorates continue to work as a team with the station communication specialists at G-6, to foster good working relationships and ensure the transition to updating and maintaining the new station assets goes smoothly throughout the next couple of years,” she said.

• Date Taken: 03.30.2012
• Date Posted: 04.06.2012 14:17
• Story ID: 86393
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, US