MaSSSoftech

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – In Alexandre Dumas' novel, "The Three Musketeers," Athos, Porthos and Aramis set out on many adventures and work together to battle a number of opponents, living up to their famous slogan, "All for one, and one for all."

Also living up to this slogan is a trio of Marines aboard Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, who come together to battle malfunctions with information technology equipment on a daily basis.

Sgt. Jerry Martinez, Cpl. Christopher Tanzer and Lance Cpl. Christopher Cowham set up, fix and maintain everything from computers to video teleconferencing equipment to ensure service members throughout Multi-National Force - West can communicate effectively.

The trio's information technology chief, Staff Sgt. Christopher Jarr, said Martinez, Tanzer and Cowham have become the most recognizable faces in MNF-W information technology and keep command and control running smoothly.

In the past few months, the three Marines have responded to MNF-W help desk referrals, implemented Microsoft Office 2007 on government computers and acted as the VIP computer help desk for the commanding general and his staff. They have also fixed computer and printer issues for the service members assigned to Al Asad's Base Command Group, and continue to ensure all service members on base comply with Marine Corps security standards.

Additionally, they help coordinate the turn-in and transfer of computer gear when Marines redeploy. Martinez said the three Marines personally inventory, perform operations checks and take all of the computers to the MNF-W help desk for replacement hard drives before MNF-W service members return to the United States.

Jarr said the Marines' teamwork and work ethic have allowed them to handle large amounts of responsibility in a professional manner.

While Martinez, Tanzer and Cowham each specialize in certain areas, they share their knowledge with each other so any one of them could respond to a call for help.

"Each of us is good at specific things, so when one of us doesn't know something, the others hop in and save the day," said Martinez, the IT/VTC non-commissioned officer-in-charge. "Whenever something needs to be done, we pick our parts and do it."

Tanzer, a VTC and network application non-commissioned officer, said he has learned a lot more about software applications during this deployment by working with Martinez. He has also learned a lot about his own leadership style by working with Cowham.

"We are all professionals," said Tanzer. "We work hand-in-hand."

Cowham, who works at the base help desk aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., when not deployed overseas, said he has enjoyed working with Martinez and Tanzer for the past few months, and has gained a lot of technical skills that will help him in the future.

"I specialize in all data areas because I have outstanding non-commissioned officers who inform me of their specializations and train me on all aspects of the data world," said Cowham, an IT/VTC technician. "Whether it's VTC, software or helping the [generals and their staff], I've been able to learn and gain good hands-on experience."

Jarr said he has full confidence in the Marines' abilities to take care of the tasks at hand, and most importantly, each other.

"These guys are great Marines," said Jarr. "They work hard all the time, day in and day out. They're a good team and fit nicely together."