Employee Training Institute

NEWS

For Immediate Release

Contact: Sarah Halstead
C 619 865 5132
shalstea@sdccd.edu

May 30, 2006

Current Thinking: Utilities Get Wired to Cope with Iraqi Realities

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION, MIRAMAR, CA – Dealing safely with electrical systems takes know-how under the friendliest circumstances. Bring on the challenge of foreign power grids, collaboration with multinational forces representing different technical standards and cultural customs, a severe environment, and the Marine creed of “adapt, improvise, and overcome” takes on even deeper meaning.

“We have a situation in Iraq where we are sending Marines to both create systems where none exist, and fix and support systems that would test certified master electricians. Operation Iraqi Freedom II clearly calls for special training,” says Chief Warrant Officer Matias Delgadorodriquez, utilities platoon commander, MWSS-373, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. “We were dealing with foreign wiring and success was hit or miss. Now our utilities Marines are moving from tactical setups to more permanent commercial power. We hope that this course will give the Marines more experience and confidence in Iraq.”

To meet the need, innovative Marine leadership went to San Diego City College which has one of the best-known accredited certified electrical curricula in the region. Due to the need for customized training, City College referred the project to the Employee Training Institute (ETi), a unit of the San Diego Community College District that specializes in customized training that meets unique needs. ETi worked with the Marines to devise a program designed to teach deploying Marines international industry-standard hard-wiring electrical skills that can be applied immediately within the evolving Operation Iraqi Freedom power grid. A class of 30 Marines has just graduated from the first course.

“We are confident that these Marines are ready now to quickly respond to the electrical systems situation in Iraq,” Delgaorodriquez says. “Because they are familiar with international standards, they can communicate with allied personnel, and both install adequate systems and train personnel to use and repair these systems.”

A component of the course is how to use and maintain commercial generators which have been modified to meet the needs of the Marine Corps’ mission in Iraq. Also, the Marines were taught how to use a set of new tools. “I’m pretty happy with them,” Delgadorodriquez says. “Having proper tools for the job makes a huge difference. It makes the job easier.” To further facilitate the training, the Marines built a structure with sections of wood, metal and brick to simulate the wiring obstacles they will deal with in Iraq.

The course was designed originally for Wing Marines, but soon it was opened to all interested west coast utilities. “We have Marines from MWSS-371, 372, 373, and communications Squad 38,” said Delgadorodrequez.

The Marine Corps offers a journeyman electrical course as part of its continuing professional education process, but until now, the course has not included instruction in European wiring standards, and covers only the most basic instruction in commercial/residential hard-wiring.

“The standard course is under review and being rewritten to support current and future missions these electricians will face,” Delgadorodriquez says. “In the interim, this specialized course serves the unit’s immediate needs.”

Future courses delivered in conjunction with the San Diego Community College District’s ETi may offer college credit that can be applied toward certification or a degree.

The Marines who attended the course were temporarily assigned duty to the OIF-funded course, which included segments focusing on skills review, theory of electricity, and design, installation and maintenance of international commercial electrical distribution systems.

The program accommodated deploying Marines by incorporating lessons from the field into the ‘learn-apply’ instructional model to make sure the program was mission-focused and relevant.

Instructor Kurt J. Eisenach implemented the course, making day-to-day adjustments in the program in response to immediate need. It was his first time working with Marines. “I really enjoyed it,” he says, even though being away from his home in Minnesota for the four-week total training period of the first class was a stretch. “When I thought about how these Marines will be in Iraq a lot longer than that, I didn’t mind so much.”

“The course was great,” says Lance Cpl. Clay A. Luna, electronic equipment repair specialist, Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron 38, Marine Aircraft Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. “I got a refresher on things I had previously learned, and this course taught me things I will need to know for Iraq.”

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