A small team of aircraft maintenance professionals at the Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) detachment on board Marine Corps Air Station New River is making a tangible difference on flightline readiness for the V-22 squadrons stationed there.

Since 2014, the FRCE V-22 line at New River has posted a perfect on-time delivery record of the aircraft the team overhauls, returning them to the Marine tiltrotor squadrons who need safe, mission-ready aircraft to support national defense objectives. In fact, of the more than 75 aircraft delivered to the fleet during that time frame, more than 97% have arrived ahead of schedule, some with turnaround times almost 30% under projections.

The benefits of providing consistent, dependable service while driving down maintenance turnaround times are easy to explain, said Lavon Vance, head of FRCE’s New River V-22 Branch: “More aircraft, faster: It’s all about giving them back to the fleet.”

While the explanation may sound simple, the work done at New River has a critical, real-world effect said FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Randy J. Berti.

“The operational impact of the V-22 line at FRC East’s New River detachment cannot be overstated,” Berti said. “These dedicated aircraft maintenance professionals directly enhance flight line readiness by giving our Marines the reliable, mission-ready aircraft they need when they need them. I couldn’t be more proud of this team and the world-class work they do every day in support of the warfighter.”

The results are also, quite literally, easy to see. Right outside the spaces FRCE shares with the Marines, the squadrons’ operational V-22 aircraft sit ready on the flight line – clearly visible from the hangar decks where FRCE artisans overhaul them during planned maintenance interval (PMI) events.

“At New River, we have the only FRC East PMI line where you can walk out on the flight line and see your planes, and with the number of PMIs we complete each year, we’ve touched every one of them,” Vance said. “We get to look out of our hangar every day, and we see the cost of our business – it's the Marines on the flight line who are flying the planes that we work.”

The team’s proven track record means the Marines can depend on FRCE to return the aircraft when it’s due, Vance noted.

“Plainly put, when you walk into a maintenance control officer's space and you ask what the most important thing to his maintenance schedule is, I have only ever heard consistency: Give me the aircraft when you said you would,” Vance said. “And for FRC East, for 10-plus years, we induct when we need to induct and it goes back out the door when it needs to go back out the door.”

The unique relationship the New River detachment has with the operational units it services plays a huge part in being able to meet these mission-critical timelines, Vance said.

“While the V-22 PMI specification is the V-22 PMI specification no matter where you’re at, comparing the New River work to other PMI lines is not apples to apples,” he explained. “In comparison to the V-22 line at FRC East Cherry Point or at other depots, the work is the same but much of the preparation and follow-up are very different.”

At FRCE New River, the V-22 aircraft are inducted for maintenance when they are towed in from the squadron after the Marines do a good deal of the prep work, and they are towed back to the squadrons for final buildup and completion. This differs vastly from FRCE Cherry Point, for example, where the aircraft typically fly in and out.

The New River Detachment also doesn’t have what’s called “over and above,” or O&A discrepancies, where needed maintenance that is not part of the PMI process is discovered during inspections and overhaul. These discrepancies are resolved by the custodial squadron and contract employees during the PMI event or scheduled as an in-service repair request, or ISR.

“If unexpected issues are encountered, that can become an ISR,” Vance said. “In that case, we complete the PMI, and then the Marines come and get their aircraft, tow it back to their squadron, continue with the buildup and coordinate with our ISR planners to send a team over to complete that maintenance requirement outside of the PMI process. We don’t have that extra workload to complete while the aircraft goes through PMI, so we’re able to maintain our timeline.

“When the aircraft has to fly out after the PMI, any O&A discrepancies must be corrected first,” he continued. “Not having to address those during the PMI is to our advantage and is a significant difference that most people miss when they try to compare us to other V-22 lines.”

Another advantage the New River team has, in terms of driving down turnaround times, is the condition in which they receive the aircraft, many of which come in from a training squadron. That means the aircraft have not experienced the same harsh conditions as aircraft used in an operational environment.

“The majority of the time, those aircraft come in better material condition than your average fleet aircraft because they don't deploy,” Vance said. “They stay here at New River, and they're used solely for training.”

Being co-located with the squadrons they service also aids the FRCE team by allowing maintainers to see the condition of the aircraft before it’s ever inducted.

“The process starts before we even get the aircraft,” Vance explained. “Once we have an aircraft on the schedule, we can go out and observe while the Marines are breaking the aircraft down so we can get an idea of its condition, let them know if we need them to clean an area better so we can get a better look at it, things like that.

“At the same time, we’re able to see any non-PMI issues that may be present and coordinate with the Marines before we take custody of the aircraft,” he continued. “We can let them know in advance if there’s a problem, and we can start talking to engineering to come up with a solution for it now that we implement in an ISR once the maintenance evolution is complete. We don’t have to wait until we have the aircraft in hand before we figure out what we do with it.”

The team’s solid performance even allowed the New River V-22 line to take on an additional aircraft PMI this year when supply constraints impacted turnaround times, including at FRCE’s headquarters on Cherry Point. Once those logistical issues were solved, an all-hands effort to complete maintenance evolutions launched across the enterprise. For FRCE, having the New River team available to assist made a huge difference in the ability to return an additional combat-ready aircraft to the fleet.

“They really stepped up; the New River workforce buckled down and worked extremely hard to shorten the duration of their scheduled PMIs and open a window in their normal workflow to fit in an extra aircraft,” said Allen Williamson, V-22 Branch head at FRCE Cherry Point. “We gave them an aggressive but achievable goal, and their workforce came together to reach that goal for FRC East as a whole.

“Their performance really highlights FRC East’s team unity,” Williamson continued. “We have sites in three different locations throughout the continent – Cherry Point, New River and Destin, Florida – and we can come together and function as a team. We’re doing what we need to do and developing creative solutions to meet the warfighter’s needs, regardless of one particular site's goals or challenges.”

Being able to provide service the Marines can depend on is a point of pride for the team at New River, Vance said.

“We’re local. These are our friends and family flying those aircraft. It means something to us to deliver that product back to them,” he said. “We’ve always prided ourselves at New River in giving the plane back to you when we told you we were going to, and that’s a hard sell in any aircraft maintenance environment because you have all of these unforeseens – but we are, in a good way, boringly predictable.

“That’s where we succeed,” Vance added. “We found a process. We’re able to rinse and repeat that process on every aircraft. We took a few years to figure it out, but now ... it’s not broke, so don’t fix it. And we keep rolling.”

FRCE is North Carolina's largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 3,600 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $886 million. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers. 

A commitment to flight line safety and efficiency has earned Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) recognition from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) with the CNO Aviation Safety Award for fiscal year 2025.

The award, also known as the Navy’s Safety “S,” is presented annually to Navy and Marine Corps aviation units to honor superior operational performance and mishap prevention efforts throughout the fiscal year. Unlike single-winner awards, this recognition is given to multiple commands across the Navy enterprise that meet the rigorous safety and operational standards set by the Naval Safety Command. FRCE became one of just 48 organizations within the Navy chain of command to receive the accolade for 2025, and one of only two within Naval Air Systems Command.

FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Randy Berti said this accomplishment was made possible by the hard work and dedication of the depot’s workforce coming together in support of the warfighter.

“FRC East’s primary mission is to ensure that our nation’s Marines, Sailors and Airmen are equipped with the safest, most reliable products,” said Berti. “We are committed to maintaining our record of zero flight mishaps and further enhancing our operations through safe practices. Our success is driven by a workforce that has fully embraced our safety management systems, knowing the vital role they play in our nation’s defense. This deep-rooted culture of safety not only protects our people but also guarantees that every aircraft, engine and component we deliver is fully mission-ready, every time.”

This achievement represents the FRCE’s eighth CNO Aviation Safety Award, and the second time since 2013, adding to the command’s previous wins in 1984, 1991, 1996, 2004, 2010 and 2023.

In fiscal year 2025, FRCE logged nearly 200 flight hours and returned 81 mission-capable aircraft back to the fleet. This flight line support was delivered across five types of aircraft for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force: the F-35 Lightning II, MV-22B Osprey, MH-53E Sea Stallion, CH-53E Super Stallion and UH-1N Huey.

With a team of only six pilots – four military and two civilian – and five enlisted military aircrew members completed nearly 140 flights in fiscal year 2025. These flights included functional check flights that check the aircraft’s systems and performance and ferry deliveries of aircraft as they return to their home squadrons. FRCE H-53 Military Branch Head Marine Capt. Robert McGuire, who serves as the command’s aviation safety officer, said of the 140 flights and 200 flight hours, the team experienced no mishaps. McGuire credits this success to the depot’s highly effective safety management systems and dedicated workforce.

“As a command, especially one that performs such in-depth maintenance, we do a really good job maintaining the safety of our people and products,” said McGuire. “We haven’t had a Class A mishap in 28 years, and it’s been about 47 years since our last Class B or C mishap. I believe our excellent record is a result of our safety management systems; our employees and leadership continue to work hand-in-hand to foster a safety-first culture that ensures hazards are identified, mitigated and resolved. These efforts are critical in maintaining both a safe working environment and a continued high standard of flight safety once aircraft leave our hangars.”

As part of the depot’s safety management system, every aircraft, component and part is subjected to rigorous quality and assurance inspections, foreign object debris checks, and general safety inspections. McGuire said he believes these checks, some of which go above and beyond the naval aviation standard, are how FRCE maintains such an excellent aviation safety record.

“Because we do such in-depth maintenance – completely tearing every aircraft, engine and component down to the bolts for overhaul – we also have many mandatory safety checks embedded throughout the maintenance process to ensure everything is working accordingly before it goes back out to the fleet,” McGuire said. “Not only do we have our safety team focused on employee safety, but we also have our quality assurance team, logs and records professionals and maintenance controllers who are constantly checking and rechecking the safety of our aircraft and components.”

In addition to verifying the safety and quality of the products FRCE maintains, the command has also implemented daily foreign object debris inspections, according to McGuire. He said these inspections are conducted on the flight line, in aircraft hangars and in back shops to ensure workspaces remain free of hazards.

In 2025, FRCE updated its aviation safety management system to further enhance the command’s safety policies and procedures, McGuire said.

“Safety is an ongoing thing; changes are always happening to keep up with the best and safest way of doing things,” said McGuire. “As of last year, the aviation safety management system was completely overhauled, which included many audits. We have made sure to incorporate all those changes and new information into our local instruction to ensure we have the best system in place to protect our people and the fleet’s products.”

The command also made upgrades to its facilities, improving lighting and adding freshly painted pavement markings on the depot’s flight line to allow for a safer and more efficient working environment, McGuire said.

“In 2025, we installed advanced lighting systems to improve visibility and safety during nighttime operations,” said McGuire. “We also repainted all of our taxiway lines and parking spots. They’re now easy to see and organized in a way to limit congestion when we have multiple aircraft on our flight line. We also audited our aircraft pickup and drop-off procedures. Because we have a non-standard flight line, we established clear instructions – complete with visual guides and updated wingtip clearances. These improvements are extremely valuable for non-local pilots who have not been here before because they eliminate confusion and drastically lower the risk of a mishap.”

Through proactive safety measures, FRCE is able to lower risk and mitigate delays, saving time and maximizing fleet support, McGuire said.

“If we are doing things the safe way the first time, then we are able to avoid having to repeat processes or use extra time to fix mistakes,” McGuire said. “Aircraft get back to the fleet sooner, giving them the products they need to enhance readiness even faster. We ensure the maintenance is done properly throughout every step here and because of that, the fleet knows when they get a product from FRC East, they can trust that it’s safe to use and is working properly.”

 An unplanned repair on an Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter is providing Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) with the opportunity to refine its HH-60W maintenance skills before the depot begins planned maintenance on the aircraft platform later this year.

While FRCE is slated to begin inducting HH-60W Jolly Green II aircraft for depot-level maintenance overhauls in September at its new facility at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston, this unexpected in-service repair is serving as a strategic training ground for the depot-level maintenance team, providing an invaluable head start on readying its facilities for the workload.  

FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Randy Berti said the event showcases the depot’s dedication to supporting the warfighter and flight line readiness.

“This is an important step in our greater expansion in support of the warfighter and a massive win for our workforce,” Berti said. “This shows that our artisans will stop at nothing to give the fleet the support they need when they need it, even though our dedicated facility is not yet fully operational.”

As the first maintenance event of its kind to be performed at FRCE’s existing H-1 facility at the Global TransPark in Kinston, this in-service repair is giving artisans beneficial experience that will enable the team to easily transition to supporting the new workload later this year, said Rotary Wing Division Director Andrew Rock.

“By taking on this repair now, we are gaining essential knowledge of the platform's systems that can’t be taught in a classroom,” Rock said. “It allows us to establish our workflows and refine processes well before we begin inducting aircraft for scheduled, depot-level maintenance.”

FRCE was selected as the stateside depot source of repair for the HH-60W Jolly Green II in 2023. FRCE will conduct all airframe programmed depot maintenance for Jolly Green II aircraft located within the continental United States, which represents about 70% of the platform’s total expected workload.

Unlike routine, scheduled maintenance, this aircraft arrived at FRCE as an in-service repair – an unscheduled, targeted repair request triggered by a specific fleet issue. These specialized repairs require depot-level expertise because the damage falls beyond the scope of standard squadron- or intermediate-level maintenance.

This in-service repair is being performed by members of the depot’s current H-1 aircraft line, who will transition to supporting the HH-60W full-time later this year. The team has been training alongside operational Air Force maintenance squadrons since 2024 to become more familiar with the platform’s maintenance activities, according to HH-60W Branch Head Travis Beamon. 

“Working side-by-side with active-duty units allowed us to learn a lot,” said Beamon. “It gave us opportunities to perform flight control rigging, landing gear inspections, and main rotor head and transmission inspections – all the things we needed to master by September. That training, combined with this current repair, has given our team the qualifications we need for inductions.”

For this specific event, the helicopter arrived at the Kinston facility via a C-5M Super Galaxy – the largest military transport aircraft in the U.S. Air Force designed to transport oversized cargo. Ahead of its arrival, the FRCE team traveled to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, to undergo specialized aircraft loading and unloading training with the squadron. 

“Whenever you load an aircraft onto a C-5, it’s called uploading,” said Beamon. “It involves very specific events, such as folding the blades, because they aren’t automated functions like some other aircraft. Artisans had to learn how to manually fold the blades and prepare the aircraft to fit into a C-5, in addition to learning how to put it back together once it’s taken out of a C-5.

“This was an important learning opportunity for our artisans,” Beamon continued. “Many of our HH-60W inductions that are set to take place when our new facility opens up will come in on a C-5 and may even go back to the unit on a C-5, so it’s very important for our artisans to be knowledgeable of the processes and feel comfortable uploading and downloading these aircraft.”

While this is the depot's first HH-60W repair on FRCE property, it is not the team's first experience with the platform. Earlier this year, FRCE artisans traveled to Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, to complete their first in-service repair alongside the local rescue squadron. Beamon said the knowledge and experience gained during that initial repair event will allow the team to repair and return aircraft to the fleet faster.  

“Even though our current repair is more involved, it builds directly on the training and experience we gained during our first in-service repair at Kirtland Air Force Base,” Beamon said. “Because we are repeating several of the same high-level repairs and inspections we’ve already done before, we’re hoping to expedite this turnaround time so we can get it back to the Air Force quickly.

“These aircraft are used for combat search and rescue, and since they are a newer platform, there are still a lot of HH-60Ws being delivered to the units,” Beamon continued. “In order to maintain readiness of the fleet, it’s very important that we get this aircraft back as soon as possible.”

In addition to building technical skills, the event allows the depot to identify and source any additional support equipment and specialized tooling required to support the platform. Beamon said this opportunity will enable a more seamless adoption of the workload.

“Being able to go out and work with the maintenance squadrons, in addition to bringing an aircraft here to use our tools for the repair, we’re able to easily identify the support equipment commonly used on this aircraft,” Beamon said. “It allowed us to see their specialized and locally manufactured tooling to help us understand what types of equipment we need at our facility. That way we have everything we need for inductions in September.”

When Marine Corps Air Station New River-based Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 (HMH-461) experienced a critical need for CH-53K King Stallion parts while conducting training in Arizona, Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) filled the requirement within hours, returning the aircraft to mission-capable status at breakneck speed.

HMH-461 needed support brackets for a heat exchanger unit onboard a CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter, and they needed them quickly: The squadron, supporting a high-visibility tasking, was slated to return to New River less than two weeks later. The parts were unavailable through traditional supply methods, and the initial estimate for organic manufacturing at FRCE came in with an eight- to 10-week lead time – far too long for the aircraft to be grounded and still meet the squadron’s operational requirements.

In the end, a cross-disciplinary team at FRCE was able to condense a weeks-long process into just over 37 hours, and a depot in-service repair (ISR) team was dispatched to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, with parts in hand only five days after FRCE received the initial request. When a second aircraft experienced the same requirement days later, FRCE was able to reduce manufacturing time on a third bracket to an unheard-of 12 hours and overnight the part to Yuma for installation by the ISR team already there on the ground. 

“This successful endeavor reinforces what our customers know to be true: FRC East is here to take care of the warfighter, and we’ll go to any lengths to make that happen,” said FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Randy J. Berti. “When called upon by the squadron, our people were able to condense a manufacturing effort from weeks into mere hours, then send a team with parts in hand to complete a much-needed repair that returned a mission-ready aircraft to the Marine Corps. It sounds incredible because it is incredible … but it’s also what our people do day-in and day-out in service to the fleet.”

FRCE Military Production Officer Cmdr. John Vincent said the effort took a tremendous, collaborative push from disciplines across the command – machinists, engineers, quality analysts, aircraft maintainers and more – but is an excellent representation of FRCE’s dedication to supporting Naval aviation.

“We understood the urgency, and when the fleet has a need that affects mission readiness, FRC East is thoroughly capably of responding,” he explained. “This was not a standard processing time – this was a Herculean effort we put together. All the pieces fell into place in a perfect scenario, but the truncated timeline wouldn’t have been possible without the expertise and commitment of the individuals pushing this project forward to make it happen so quickly. Our people do amazing things, and each one of the leaders along the way knew the importance of what we were doing.

“Demonstrating that FRC East is able to rapidly manufacture these parts will definitely help enable fleet readiness, because now the task is easy: just replace the bracket,” Vincent continued. “The ability for the enterprise to manufacture these parts removes the question of where the part can be obtained and makes it a matter of simply completing the repair rather than sourcing the materiel.”

The inboard utility heat exchanger on the King Stallion is secured by four brackets; FRCE manufactured two of the brackets for the first time earlier this year, with the initial run taking about 30 days due to technical requirements. FRCE obtained technical data packages for the parts and a team in the depot’s Digital Data Center converted the data into digital models and programs that guide computer numerical control (CNC) machining equipment in cutting the brackets from blocks of solid metal. Meanwhile, the materials engineering lab verified the composition and physical properties of the metal being used to manufacture the parts. With those foundations in place, the command’s organic manufacturing team was able to complete the machining process, and the finished brackets went forward for quality assurance verification, nondestructive testing, cleaning and anodizing before being shipped to the squadron.

The successful first round of manufacturing the heat exchanger brackets set the stage for the rapid turnaround time achieved for HMH-461’s request from Yuma, said Russ Becker, the manufacturing planning supervisor in FRCE’s Centralized Coordination Department.

“The long lead times on the first run were driven by first-time manufacture requirements; what truly made this latest effort a spectacular success were the building blocks put into place the first time through,” Becker said. “Provided with an executable plan and the tools and data they needed to perform, our talented and dedicated team of artisans was able to provide the fleet with the assets needed to get the aircraft back to mission-ready status in unmatched time. The fleet had an urgent requirement and, in keeping with our ‘Service to the Fleet’ mandate, FRC East responded.”  

After receiving HMH-461’s urgent request and manufacturing two heat exchanger brackets at incredible speed, cutting the process from more than 30 days to just over three, FRCE received the follow-on request for the third bracket. This time, the part reached completion in about 12 hours – reducing the previous manufacturing timeline for that part by almost two-thirds.

According to Clifton Force, head of FRCE’s Field Team and In-Service Repair Planning shops, the undertaking represented a massive win for the enterprise.

“This was a great example of our teams coming together to support the fleet,” he noted. “The incredible turnaround in manufacturing the first set of brackets allowed our in-service repair team to fly out with the parts in hand. When the need for the third bracket was identified, the manufacturing team produced it almost immediately, ensuring no momentum was lost in this expedited repair effort. The overall effort by FRC East ensured both aircraft could be returned to a mission-capable status so the squadron could return to New River on schedule – that’s a real-world operational impact.”

Maj. Clayton Cottrell, the MHM-461 maintenance officer, agreed that the support provided by FRCE made a tangible difference in the squadron’s ability to complete the mission.

“During high-tempo operations like Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course 2-26, aircraft availability is critical to achieving our training objectives and maintaining our combat readiness,” he explained. “When we faced a sudden, non-mission-capable status due to unavailable brackets, the traditional supply chain process couldn't source the required parts in an acceptable timeline.

“The speed and adaptability demonstrated by the Fleet Readiness Center East team was outstanding, directly facilitating continued advanced tactical training at WTI,” he continued. “By compressing a weeks-long manufacturing process into a much shorter timeline and deploying an In-Service Repair team directly to the flight line in Yuma, FRCE’s timely effort kept our aircraft in the fight, ensured our pilots and aircrew completed their training at WTI, and allowed the squadron to redeploy back to New River on schedule. We are incredibly grateful for FRCE’s support.”