MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Marines can now update personnel data through Marine OnLine - an option that will save on trips to administrative offices while lightening the workload for admin workers.

With a few keystrokes, personnel can update a broad range of information - including emergency data, religious preference, gas mask size, home and work telephone numbers and home address - contained in the Total Force Administrative System.

The program, implemented Oct. 30 by Marine Administrative Message 576/02, provides Marines greater control over the accuracy of their personnel records, according to the MarAdmin.

Marines must register with Marine OnLine to gain access to their services. Future access is then controlled with a user password, said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Richard Caplan, the officer-in-charge of Camp Pendleton's Consolidated Personnel Administrative Center.

Access to personnel information is password-driven for security. No pay-related items can be changed online, Caplan said.

The system is designed to reduce workload and foot traffic in the administrative shops, Caplan added.

Marines no longer have to leave their workplaces to change the information - and can even do it from home, he noted.

Caplan said admin personnel will continue to monitor service members' records and call them if anything appears illogical or out of order. But he hopes the online feature will encourage Marines to keep their records accurate and current, thereby reducing the need for intervention by admin workers.

Marines can go to www.mol.usmc.mil to register for a Marine OnLine account.