“I believe in my soul that Marines are different,” said General David H. Berger, 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps. “Our identity is firmly rooted in our warrior ethos. This is the force that will always adapt and overcome no matter what the circumstances are. We fight and win in any clime and place.”
II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group (II MIG) is one unit at the forefront of preparing for future battles, developing a team to code the way of the future: the II MIG Coders. Code — in a sense — is a language that computers can understand; it utilizes a series of numbers, symbols and words that seem predictable, but can also be far from it.
The II MIG Coders are part of a solution to the ever-evolving world, focused on teaching, developing and inspiring Marines interested or passionate about the initiative. The intent is to bring II MIG Marines to a new environment embraced by like-minded people who can problem solve and collaborate on everyday issues.
In the late months of 2020, II MIG Coders was just a thought to leaders; Col. Brian Russell, commanding officer of II MIG, was thinking about new ways to launch his unit to the forefront of innovation.
He wanted to “expedite main tasks”, such as administrative trackers and rosters.
“Marines spend countless hours plugging and pulling information, wasting time and resources,” he said. “Solving this problem can be done with coding.”
The idea to automate systems and programs with code could save time and money, allowing Marines to complete more pertinent tasks, and – more importantly — get Marines into the fight quicker and keep them in longer.
One motivation behind the group is this year’s Marine Corps Micro-Application Development Innovation Challenge, which targets coders to research, design, test and employ an application that could improve the Marine Corps. Coding teams across the Marine Expeditionary Forces will also be allowed to develop their system using the Marine Corps’ equipment and facilities.
For the next few months, participating teams will go through four key phases: a proposal phase, panel selection phase, execution phase and an after-action phase. A panel will then convene and select the winner, at which time their design could be implemented as a resource for the Marine Corps.
II MIG Coders is comprised of Marines from various military occupational specialties (MOS), ranks, and talents. Marines with experience in coding have the chance to share their knowledge in an open-minded environment. Their unifying factor is their passion to teach, learn, and explore new ways to improve how II MIG operates.
“Innovation and problem solving is the driving force of this team,” said Russell.
Innovation is a never-ending process, a growing mindset, making the Coders imperative in modernizing II MIG.
For more information on the Marine Corps’ inaugural Micro-Application Development Innovation Challenge, reference MARADMIN 164/21.
Story by Sgt. Megan Roses
II MEF Information Group