January 2015 has been our busiest month since our inception 8 years ago in terms of product delivery in a single month. Through our partnership with Chilcott, Inc and Miguel Ameigeiras, our presence in South America continues to grow. In early January, a team from Chilcott, IP Access, and CCS traveled to Lima, Peru to do the delivery, acceptance, and training on two new Mobile Emergency Response Centers (MERC Lites) for the Peru Military.
This was another project that was done through the funding and guidance of the United States Southern Command ( http://www.southcom.mil/ ). As US Citizens we should all be very proud of the support and service that our military provides other countries to help them improve on things like mobile emergency communication solutions. I do not think the average American realizes how much our military does for other countries that have nothing to do with fighting the war against terrorists.
The two Mobile Emergency Response Center units were equipped with an AVL 1.2 Meter auto acquire satellite, a Cummins Onan 12,000-watt diesel generator with a 91 gallon fuel tank, a 30 foot Tempest pneumatic mast, two Motorola mobile radios, multiple PTZ cameras mounted on the mast, a custom designed climate controlled inflatable shelter that is designed to enclose around the rear of the MERC Lite trailer, and a Mutualink Incident Response System that allows the Peru military to collaborate with their headquarters when they are deployed in the field sharing live video feeds from the MERC Lite, communicating across their Motorola radios, bridging in VoIP and SIP phone lines, sharing documents, and having the ability to text. The MERC lite is equipped with a 27,000 BTU heating and ac unit embedded into the body of the trailer and the inflatable shelter comes equipped with two additional 8,000 BTU ac units. During the week-long training session, members of the Peru Military were trained on every aspect of the operation and maintenance of the MERC Lite units from operating the satellite system, to changing the oil on the generator, to using the Mutualink system to communicate and share video, and setting up and storing the inflatable shelter.
After the return from Peru, we turned our focus on delivering and training on two new MERC Lite units for the Defense Logistics Agency (www.dla.mil ). The Defense Logistics Agency is the Department of Defense’s largest logistics combat support agency, providing worldwide logistics support in both peacetime and wartime to the military services as well as several civilian agencies and foreign countries. The Defense Logistics Agency provides the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, other federal agencies, and combined and allied forces with the full spectrum of logistics, acquisition and technical services. The Agency sources and provides nearly 100 percent of the consumable items America’s military forces need to operate, from food, fuel, and energy, to uniforms, medical supplies, and construction and barrier equipment. DLA also supplies more than 85 percent of the military’s spare parts. In addition, the Agency manages the utilization of military equipment, provides catalogs and other logistics information products, and offers document automation and production services. The Defense Logistics Agency is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Va. As a global enterprise, wherever the United States has a military presence, DLA is likely there as well.
The DLA did a lot of research on mobile communication systems before contacting us about our MERC Lite solution. A video we have posted on a MERC Lite deployment for the Puerto Rico National Guard caught their attention (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m43bzQpSR2Q). They loved the fact that the MERC Lite was small enough to be towed by a small truck, powerful enough to support three IT racks full of communication equipment, and combined with the custom inflatable shelter provided with the MERC Lite spacious enough to provide a climate controlled workspace for 6 to 8 DLA communication technicians. After a formal RFP process, CCS was awarded the contract to provide them with two new MERC Lites. In January these were both delivered to their Tracy, CA location, and their New Cumberland, PA location. The DLA Teams at both locations were a pleasure to work with and we look forward to future projects for them.
Here in our home state of Texas, we continue to work on projects for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and Verizon Wireless. Our expansion also continues north of the Border with two more MERC Lite trailers with our partners at Chilcott, Inc. for the Canadian government. Much more on these projects in next month’s update. Feel free to contact me with any questions about our products and services.
Thanks,
Gary Collins – CEO
972-772-2721
gwcollins@ccscontact.net