Countywide : Marines Get Look at High-Tech Hardware

Beneath the bang of F-16 Hornets bursting off a nearby runway, military contractors staffed booths Thursday in an empty hangar at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station as they fielded questions from Marines about existing and soon-to-come hardware.

For the 5,000 Marines expected to attend the two-day exposition in Hangar 296, it is a chance to learn more about equipment as well as offer firsthand advice to manufacturers.

Representatives from some 50 companies, including Hughes Aircraft Co., Northrop Corp., Martin Marietta Corp. and McDonnell Douglas Corp., answered questions about numerous products ranging from the $28-million V-22 Osprey helicopter to a $1,000 navigational device for ground troops.

“We are here to maintain contact with the people who will be using our systems so we can better identify and address their needs,” said Vincent Conroy of Rockwell International Corp.’s Hellfire missile division.

The missile, which was used extensively during the Persian Gulf War and weighs about 100 pounds, is a powerful weapon, said Maj. Russell Barnes, who is stationed at Camp Pendleton.

But Barnes had a question: “Is the Hellfire missile limited to use by helicopters, or can it be adapted to be hand-carried?”

Conroy and Barnes discussed possibilities, with the businessman telling the warrior that he will pass the inquiry on to engineers at Rockwell.

Lt. Gen. H.C. Stackpole III, who is in charge of 80,000 Marines on the West Coast and in the Pacific, said that understanding and maximizing technology are more important now than ever.

“One of the difficulties we are facing during our current downsizing is as you get smaller, you must be more technologically proficient,” Stackpole said.

Amid the displays of high technology, it was a seemingly mundane machine that caught Gunnery Sgt. Ron Timmons’ eye.

The Hawaii-based Marine watched incredulously as a representative of Mini-Max Cleaners used a small hose to clean the internal parts of a computer.

Timmons asked if the toaster-sized machine could clean a .50-caliber machine gun.

When the representative said one person could clean the gun in half an hour with the Mini-Max, Timmons shook his head.

“We have three people spend two to three hours cleaning a 50-cal with hand brushes,” the 18-year-veteran said, picking up brochures from the desk. “This thing is really great.”