MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- A new communications device, which will help shorten the time it takes to setup and take down field communications equipment, will soon be introduced to the Marine Corps.
The Mobile Modular Command and Control vehicle is currently under development at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay. The new vehicle is equipped with radios, communication computers, and satellite links. This new device allows communication to be up and running while the vehicle is in motion — something that currently cannot be done.
In order to set up a field communications command, Marines, today, must use three trucks, three trailers, and three Humvees in order to transport the equipment needed to setup to establish communication between command and field units.
“The M2C2 takes all the equipment and condenses it into one Humvee. It saves a ton of time,” said Cpl. Jayson B. Schemenauer, 22, 3rd Marine Regiment. “It allows communication to still be up — even when the vehicle is in motion, which is not possible now.”
Schemenauer went on to explain that all aspects of communication are programmed onto a laptop, which makes it easier to set up a communications link.
Computers on the M2C2 also contain a chat program, which will be used in the field between the units and the command. M2C2 contains a command and control computer that tracks every vehicle and unit on a map and transmits the information to headquarters. One device on the vehicle is the TalkNet radio. This radio allows the M2C2 to talk to all radios in the area from one microphone.
“The M2C2 also supplies its own power,” said Fresno, Calif. native, Cpl. Brenton D. Phillips, 21, a small-computers specialist assigned to Headquarters and Service Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Communications. “It contains three, two-hundred and seventy-five watt power generators that powers everything in the vehicle. Now we would never have to turn things off.”
The M2C2 also extends the range of radios during operations in a field environment without the need for any extra equipment. That is a feature which has proven to be time saving out in the field.
“This will open up a huge number of radio possibilities,” said Schemenauer, a Kalamazoo, Mich. native. “This is exciting. This will be the first one that will actually be tested out in the field.”
On Aug. 25, Rear Adm. Jay M. Cohen, Chief of Naval Research and Assistant Deputy Commandant, Headquarters Marine Corps, Quantico, Va., made a visit to K-Bay to oversee the current development of the M2C2 prototype. Cohen sat down with contractors and developers and asked about the vehicle’s status and what could be done to make it better.
“I keep using the phrase, ‘This vehicle is like a Swiss Army knife to us,’” said Master Gunnery Sgt. Mark E. Clemmons, communications chief, III Marine Expeditionary Force. “It has so many things that it can do.”
The M2C2 is currently under development. No date has been set to utilize the vehicle for military operations.