thedrifter
10-21-07, 08:55 PM
Small items, great utility
MEP cuts through red tape to get it now
By Patricia Kime - pkime@militarytimes.com
Posted : October 29, 2007
Marines receiving a new bipod grip for the M4 carbine can thank an obscure program in Quantico, Va., for the off-the-shelf marvel that offers a more stable shooting platform.
Without the Marine Enhancement Program, the Grip Pod Systems-brand handholds might still be plodding through the Corps’ procurement process or awaiting discovery on a store shelf.
MEP is a program designed to put such handy pieces of gear into the hands of infantry Marines quickly, without bureaucratic red tape.
“You still have to go out and compete [the contracts] … make sure you are getting the right product for the right price, but it’s a lot quicker,” explained Maj. Brian Christmas, a staff officer with the Fires and Maneuver Integration Division at Marine Corps Combat Development Command.
MEP has existed since 1989, when Congress directed the Army and Marine Corps to establish programs that would improve the lives of infantrymen by fast-tracking small-gear buys. But the program is enjoying renewed interest, in part because of an ambitious advertising campaign launched this year by managers and aimed at the “boots on the ground.”
The MEP’s new “We Need Ideas” campaign appears in magazines and newspapers, and is being presented at professional schools, such as platoon sergeants courses and E-8 seminars.
“We’ve seen an increase in input in Marines as a result of these efforts. We still have people go on the Web site — vendors, manufacturers, even the public — and that’s OK. New ideas come in every day,” Christmas said.
For a procurement program, MEP is relatively low-cost: In fiscal 2008, it will receive $5.8 million in funding, and it received $6.7 million in fiscal 2006.
Its budget reached an all-time high in fiscal 2007, receiving $20.8 million — including $14 million from the supplemental spending bill — to cover slated initiatives and buy new equipment.
The process works like this: Marines and vendors submit their ideas and MEP officials review them. If the office deems the ideas worthy of a second look, they’ll do research to see if Marines like the idea and say they need it.
Then, the idea goes before others in the combat development directorate to decide whether it becomes a priority.
Gear needed for all Marines, however, is sent to Marine Corps Systems Command. For example, MEP received feedback that the standard sleeping bag is heavier than Marines would prefer. MEP administrators found that Marines could use a lightweight three-season bag, but that program was transferred to SysCom, Christmas said.
“A sleeping bag goes to every Marine. It’s not something MEP can afford.”
Items on the fiscal 2008 priority list include: battery alternatives, multibattery chargers, new individual water purification systems, fire-extinguishing grenades, sling keepers and muzzle covers.
Christmas urges Marines to check out the Web site, www.mccdc.usmc.mil/featuretopics/mep or call (703) 432-3696 with ideas.
No idea is too small, he said. If it works for one grunt, it may be on the wish lists of others.
“We really want to field things they need to survive, be lighter, move quicker and do their job better,” Christmas said.
https://www.mccdc.usmc.mil/featuretopics/mep/
Ellie
MEP cuts through red tape to get it now
By Patricia Kime - pkime@militarytimes.com
Posted : October 29, 2007
Marines receiving a new bipod grip for the M4 carbine can thank an obscure program in Quantico, Va., for the off-the-shelf marvel that offers a more stable shooting platform.
Without the Marine Enhancement Program, the Grip Pod Systems-brand handholds might still be plodding through the Corps’ procurement process or awaiting discovery on a store shelf.
MEP is a program designed to put such handy pieces of gear into the hands of infantry Marines quickly, without bureaucratic red tape.
“You still have to go out and compete [the contracts] … make sure you are getting the right product for the right price, but it’s a lot quicker,” explained Maj. Brian Christmas, a staff officer with the Fires and Maneuver Integration Division at Marine Corps Combat Development Command.
MEP has existed since 1989, when Congress directed the Army and Marine Corps to establish programs that would improve the lives of infantrymen by fast-tracking small-gear buys. But the program is enjoying renewed interest, in part because of an ambitious advertising campaign launched this year by managers and aimed at the “boots on the ground.”
The MEP’s new “We Need Ideas” campaign appears in magazines and newspapers, and is being presented at professional schools, such as platoon sergeants courses and E-8 seminars.
“We’ve seen an increase in input in Marines as a result of these efforts. We still have people go on the Web site — vendors, manufacturers, even the public — and that’s OK. New ideas come in every day,” Christmas said.
For a procurement program, MEP is relatively low-cost: In fiscal 2008, it will receive $5.8 million in funding, and it received $6.7 million in fiscal 2006.
Its budget reached an all-time high in fiscal 2007, receiving $20.8 million — including $14 million from the supplemental spending bill — to cover slated initiatives and buy new equipment.
The process works like this: Marines and vendors submit their ideas and MEP officials review them. If the office deems the ideas worthy of a second look, they’ll do research to see if Marines like the idea and say they need it.
Then, the idea goes before others in the combat development directorate to decide whether it becomes a priority.
Gear needed for all Marines, however, is sent to Marine Corps Systems Command. For example, MEP received feedback that the standard sleeping bag is heavier than Marines would prefer. MEP administrators found that Marines could use a lightweight three-season bag, but that program was transferred to SysCom, Christmas said.
“A sleeping bag goes to every Marine. It’s not something MEP can afford.”
Items on the fiscal 2008 priority list include: battery alternatives, multibattery chargers, new individual water purification systems, fire-extinguishing grenades, sling keepers and muzzle covers.
Christmas urges Marines to check out the Web site, www.mccdc.usmc.mil/featuretopics/mep or call (703) 432-3696 with ideas.
No idea is too small, he said. If it works for one grunt, it may be on the wish lists of others.
“We really want to field things they need to survive, be lighter, move quicker and do their job better,” Christmas said.
https://www.mccdc.usmc.mil/featuretopics/mep/
Ellie