 They were the first unit in the Marine Corps Reserve to field and successfully operate the MRC-142 multichannel radio.During the same period, they were the first unit in the Reserve to field and successfully operate the AN/TTC-42 digital telephone switch.Yet perhaps more significantly, in 1993 MWCS-48 became the first unit in the Marine Corps, active or reserve, to receive fiber optic cable, and became the first unit to use it in support of a major combined arms exercise when they used it to support Enhanced Combined Arms Exercise (ECAX) 7/8 at Twentynine Palms.