Key Results
- Cited in my Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal: the citation calls the MLC homepage crucial to the MLC mission
- Up to date information: built to keep forces informed during Operation Iraqi Freedom
- Classified network: built and maintained on SIPRNet while deployed
- Deployment: 14 February 2003 to 31 May 2003
Summary
From 14 February to 31 May 2003, I served as G6 Programmer for the Marine Logistics Command (MLC), US Marine Corps Forces, Central Command, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. One of my main jobs was the MLC homepage: a web application I helped plan, then built and maintained on SIPRNet, the classified Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, for the length of the deployment.
The homepage was part of the operations of the 2nd Force Service Support Group's Combat Service Support Operations Center (CSSOC), its headquarters operations room, where officers from each division had desks and collaborated in person to coordinate operations. I worked in the CSSOC during the deployment, and the homepage's purpose was simple: give forces up to date information. My medal citation describes it as crucial to the MLC mission.
About the Mission
What the Marine Logistics Command was
For Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 2nd Force Service Support Group deployed and formed the Marine Logistics Command, the logistics organization supporting I Marine Expeditionary Force as it pushed into Iraq. The Marine Corps History Division account of combat service support in OIF explains that "2d FSSG or MLC was the wholesale level logistics organization," responsible for brokering sustainment such as ammunition, fuel and water and pushing it out across the battlefield. The 2nd FSSG began that deployment in December 2002, according to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group history.
About the 2nd Force Service Support Group
The 2nd Force Service Support Group was the logistics backbone of II Marine Expeditionary Force, headquartered at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Its lineage goes back to 1944, and according to the official 2nd Marine Logistics Group history the unit relocated to Camp Lejeune in September 1945 and was "Redesignated 30 June 1978 as 2d Force Service Support Group." In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 2d FSSG formed the Marine Logistics Command. The Marine Corps History Division account of combat service support in OIF explains that "2d FSSG or MLC was the wholesale level logistics organization," responsible for brokering sustainment such as ammunition, fuel and water and pushing it out across the battlefield. In 2005 the Marine Corps renamed every FSSG a Marine Logistics Group, and the command I was stationed with, and whose in garrison website I helped build and maintain, became today's 2nd Marine Logistics Group.
What SIPRNet is
SIPRNet, the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, is the Department of Defense network used to carry classified information up to the Secret level. It is kept separate from the public internet, so a site built there is only reachable by cleared users on approved systems.
The Challenge
Information moving as fast as the war
A logistics command in a war zone runs on current information. Units in the field needed a place to get it, and it had to stay up to date while the situation changed daily.
A classified environment
Building on SIPRNet meant working inside the rules of a classified network. I will not go into the details of what was on the site, but the work had to be accurate and secure.
Our Solution
Planning and building the MLC homepage
I was instrumental in planning and creating the MLC homepage, and I built and maintained it on SIPRNet during the deployment. In the words of my citation, the work applied "cutting edge programming applications to provide up to date information to forces."
A separate project from Tent Management
The homepage was a separate project from the MLC Tents program, the personnel tracking system I also built on that deployment. You can read about that one in Tent Management: A Personnel Tracking System for Deployed Marines.
Results
On 1 October 2003 I was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for my service as G6 Programmer, Marine Logistics Command. The citation credits me with being instrumental in planning and creating the MLC homepage, crucial to the MLC mission, and with developing the MLC Tents program, and it notes proficiency and professionalism above my peers.
What It Taught Me
Keep information current. A site is only as useful as its latest update. That is why we host and maintain the sites we build.
Security is part of the build. Working on a classified network taught me to treat access and accuracy as requirements from day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the MLC homepage?
A command website for the Marine Logistics Command during Operation Iraqi Freedom, built and maintained on SIPRNet to provide up to date information to forces.
What was the Marine Logistics Command?
The logistics command formed from the 2nd Force Service Support Group to support I Marine Expeditionary Force in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
What is SIPRNet?
The Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, the Department of Defense network for classified information up to the Secret level.
Is the MLC homepage the same as Tent Management?
No. They were separate projects from the same deployment, and both are named in my Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal citation.
Related Military Case Studies
- Small Unit Logistics: A ColdFusion to .NET Migration for the Marine Corps
- Armory Management System for Camp Lejeune: Custom Asset Tracking
- Tent Management: A Personnel Tracking System for Deployed Marines
- 2nd FSSG: Building the In Garrison Website at Camp Lejeune
- Marine Corps 4067 Computer Programmer: Learning Ada and Databases at 29 Palms
- Gas, Gas, Gas: The Network Emergency Alert I Built During Operation Iraqi Freedom
- The MLC Homepage: A Command Website on SIPRNet in Operation Iraqi Freedom
In My Words
Building the MLC homepage on SIPRNet in the middle of a war taught me that keeping people informed is part of the mission.
Brian Messenlehner
Project leadership by Brian Messenlehner.
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