When the fleet has an urgent operational need, there is no time to wait. There is a mission to support, Sailors and Marines depending on the equipment, and a clock already running. That is where Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) shines.

Recently, FRCSW was asked to rapidly manufacture a new configuration of T-bolt needed to support an urgent fleet requirement. The Navy needed the capability manufactured, tested and delivered in approximately two weeks, with an immediate requirement for 70 bolts, fourteen of which were assigned to the command.

FRCSW was the last of several sites contacted but was the first to deliver.

The request came through Matthew Tunderman (FRCSW F/A-18 and E-18G FST Lead) and was quickly sent to the FRCSW Manufacturing team.

Chris Sturm, Manufacturing Deputy Integrated Product Team lead, turned to planner and estimator Adam Gesin, who immediately began determining what would be required to manufacture the part.

The challenge was significant. FRCSW had never produced this modified configuration before, and the team had only an engineering model to work with. The available raw material was also limited so there was no room for a failed first attempt.

Gesin immediately built the manufacturing plan, identified the required resources and coordinated the work needed to get production moving. At the same time, Jacob Weintraub (F/A-18 and EA-18G FST Structures Lead) and Derrick Pettit (F/A-18 FST Production Line Support Lead) established a formal path that allowed the team to move quickly while maintaining the necessary technical controls.

Then came another challenge. Testing revealed the raw material was softer than required.

Instead of stopping the effort, FRCSW's Materials Lab experts stepped in. Ron Pangilinan (Materials Lab Director), John Schneider (Aerospace Engineer), Michael Schutt (Materials Engineer) and Blake Whitmee (Senor Materials Engineer), worked with the team to determine the appropriate heat treatment requirements. The material was successfully treated and cleared for production.

This is where the efforts of Ernesto Adame and Hung Truong (FRCSW Model Makers) came to fruition. In fact, Adame was already on scheduled leave. He came back because the work required precise programming, turning, milling and tooling to transform the raw steel into finished T-bolts. Every dimension mattered, and there was no opportunity for a second attempt.

Both Adame and Truong worked extended hours throughout the weekend, arriving as early as 3 a.m. and working late into the evening to ensure the parts were completed.

There was no room for error. And there wasn't one.

“When the first one came off 100% correct, I knew we’d be able to fulfill the whole request.” – Ernesto Adame

Processing personnel, coordinated by James Green (Manufacturing Production Manager) and Dan Doyle (Processing Production Manager), came in before the normal Monday shift to complete their portion of the work and by approximately 5:30 a.m. the parts were ready for Quality Assurance (QA).

QA completed the final documentation, and by 6:15, the 14 T-bolts assigned to FRCSW were complete.

There was still no time to slow down. By approximately noon Monday, Sturm was on a plane hand carrying the T-bolts to the East Coast.

The request had arrived only days earlier and FRCSW had already delivered.

Other Navy sites continued working toward the larger requirement, demonstrating the power of a coordinated fleet wide response. But FRCSW's rapid production provided an immediate capability to support the operational need.

The accomplishment was about more than producing a piece of hardware. It demonstrated what FRCSW does when the fleet needs something now.

No single person could have accomplished this effort. It took the entire team.

Planners determine what is required. Engineers find a safe and technically sound path forward. Materials experts solve unexpected challenges. Model Makers turn designs into precision hardware. Processing and Quality Assurance ensure the finished product is ready. Logistics partners secure the material and deliver the item.

That culture of teamwork is one of FRCSW's greatest strengths and one of the reasons the command serves as a backbone of fleet readiness.

The Navy and Marine Corps operate around the world, and their missions can change in an instant. When they need something, they need an organization that can respond with urgency, expertise and confidence. FRCSW demonstrated exactly that.

From an urgent request to a hand delivered capability in just days, the team showed what happens when engineering, manufacturing, logistics and leadership come together with a common purpose.

FRCSW Employees are the Backbone of Military Readiness!