Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity The Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity ( MCTSSA ) is the Marine Air - Ground Task Force ( MAGTF ) Command , Control , Communication , Computer , Intelligence ( C4I ) Integration center for the United States Marine Corps . They are a component of Marine Corps Systems Command ( MARCORSYSCOM ) and are located at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton , California Mission . MCTSSA is the Marine Corps ' organization for integration , interoperability , and technical support for tactical C4I systems to ensure Marines continue to win battles by : History . Marine Corps leaders , with the advent of automation , saw the need within the Marine Corps for a single focal point for computer driven tactical systems . Marine leaders founded MCTSSA to support the technology requirements of the C4ISR community . As Marines learned how to take advantage of automation , MCTSSA monitored tactical systems development and prepared for transition and fielding to the Operating Forces . Requirements changed as computers grew in memory , power , and downsized . MCTSSA met the evolving C4ISR needs by changing their core competencies , workforce skill sets , size and composition , infrastructure , facility , and organizational structure . In 1970 , the Marine Corps took ownership of its first computer based Command and Control ( C2 ) System . Initially MCTSSA was assigned to the Marine Corps Development & Education Command ( MCDEC ) at Marine Corps Base Quantico , Virginia and was funded totally with RDT & E dollars . The command was functionally organized into a Headquarters element , Programming Branch , Test Branch , Configuration Management ( CM ) / Quality Assurance ( QA ) Branch , and Maintenance Branch . The skill set of the workforce was predominantly software programmers , CM & QA specialists , test specialists , data link interoperability experts , operational Marines and maintenance Marines . There were no Project Officers , Fund Administrators , or Contracting Officers on the compound . The only support contractors on the compound were for hardware maintenance . When the Position , Location , and Reporting System ( PLRS ) was fielded in 1977 , MCTSSA became the software support facility for that Joint Service system . The other Services sent money to MCTSSA to pay for software updates . MCTSSA completed its first decade as a specialist in software support to the " Tactical Air Operations Center " ( TAOC ) and PLRS systems . In the 1980s , computers started to become small and powerful enough to begin to find their way into tactical applications within the Ground Combat Element . The decade brought a revolution in how a MAGTF could take advantage of technology and move into the “ digital ” age . The result was a bow wave of computer - based C4ISR systems moving through the acquisition pipeline and ultimately being fielded . The object for both Program Managers and industry was to build the best special purpose “ stovepipe ” system possible . Program Managers had little or no experience with the acquisition of digital systems or planning for post deployment software support . This increase in the acquisition of computer systems required MCTSSA to begin supporting dozens of Program Managers as new systems worked their way through the acquisition milestones . New skill sets were needed by the MCTSSA workforce in order to provide software engineering and software support expertise to Marine Corps Program Managers . Systems acquisition expertise , software / firmware design , software / firmware development and IV & V became important skills in supporting the Program Managers . Support contractors were brought on board in record numbers to augment the workforce . MCTSSA was reorganized into commodity divisions such as Air , Ground , Communications , and Intelligence in order to support both the Operating Forces and Acquisition process . The degree of technology in these systems was unanticipated at the beginning of the decade . However , MCTSSA was able to develop the capability to become a major influence on the acquisition and support of Marine Corps tactical C4 systems . In the late 1980s , the Marine Corps established the Marine Corps Systems Command ( MARCORSYSCOM ) and MCTSSA was removed from MCDEC and assigned to the new command . MCTSSA now had an O & M , MC budget for operating expenses and post deployment support as well as an RDT & E budget for specific system support . There were many Project Officers , Fund Administrators , and contractors on the compound . Building 57 was POMed for , and eventually built , to house all the additional people . MCTSSA ended the decade supporting the acquisition and post deployment support of a variety of tactical C4 systems spread out across a number of MAGTF elements . Exactly what the Marine Corps needed . The 1990s saw an increasing number of C4I systems being developed and eventually the advent of “ systems of systems ” as the Marine Corps connected these new C4I systems together . First it was peer - to - peer connections and then ever widening circles of local area networks , wide area networks , and eventually the Internet cloud . The ability to produce a common operational picture and to share it with others became a reality . MEFs struggled with Unix operating systems and MEUs struggled with Microsoft Windows . The concepts of standard hardware , standard operating systems , common operating environments , and software applications as “ plug - ins ” began to emerge . Stovepipe systems became less desirable as integration and interoperability became more important . The need for software programmers at MCTSSA dwindled to just a few . Joint interoperability became an operational necessity rather than just an optional capability . MCTSSA became the USMC facility for participation in all Joint TADIL / Message Certification testing ( JINTACCS ) . MCTSSA was an early champion and leader of these new concepts . In 1992 , the initial Letter of intent ( LOI ) that established the Systems Integration Environment at MCTSSA was signed . We made significant contributions to the development and architecture of C4I systems in this decade . MCTSSA developed the skill sets to deal with the standard operating systems , common operating environment , integration of systems , networks , and systems interoperability . As the number of “ networked ” systems in the Operating Forces increased , MCTSSA support to the Operating Forces increased . Due to the dramatic increase in demand for MCTSSA support , additional Project Officer and Project Engineer billets were added to the MCTSSA T / O and a contracting office was established . Contractor support assigned to the Divisions made up a larger percentage of the workforce . MCTSSA completed the decade poised to support Marine Corps C4ISR systems in the 21st century .