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Danny Macahilas, Gerald Swope, Avelino Garlejo, and Juan Otamias (from left) install flap shrouds on a F/A-18 Hornet at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Photo by Joe Feliciano

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The Miramar PMI-2 Team (kneeling from left) Charles Arnold, Alex Rosete, Pat Vanderwarker, Gary Grela, Danny Macahilas, Craig Young, Avelino Garlejo. (Standing from left) David Kelly, Corey Smith, Mark Chapman (QA), David Clark, Juan Otamias, Gerald Swope, and Steven Kelly (E&E). Ronald Middleton, Jeff Mahn, John Dunn, Joseph Bonilla (on site engineer), Dennis Bailleul, and Robert Franco were not available for the photo. Photo by Joe Feliciano

Team supports the fleet to the max

By Bill Bartkus
NAVAIR Depot North Island

CORONADO, Calif – The NAVAIR Depot North Island Integrated Maintenance Concept (IMC) Team at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar has taken support to the fleet to a new level. On July 9 and 15, the team completed Planned Maintenance Interval 2 (PMI-2) inspections on two F/A-18 Hornets in 23 and 24 calendar days respectively. The normal turnaround time is 36 days.

“Both of these jets were must meet aircraft and had to be delivered on time before the Marine squadron deployed,” said David Kelly, Customer Liaison Support. Kelly said that the early delivery allowed the squadron “to groom and profile” the jets, configure the aircraft with radar threat warning systems, and perform last minute maintenance actions that prepare the aircraft for combat duty.

He said that the team had a scheduled requirement of one Hornet, but due to a change in commitments, the squadron had to deploy earlier than expected and the team was tasked with performing a PMI-2 on another jet several months early. So the team inducted two Hornets four days apart.

“The squadron needed the aircraft towards the end of July,” Kelly said, “but because the squadron was leaving in early August, this didn’t give the Marines enough time to groom the jets for duty in Iraq,” Kelly stated.

The PMI-2 team weighed their options as to what would be the best and safest approach to return the aircraft as quickly as possible. “The team came through and worked together. We were also lucky because the material condition of both aircraft was good,” said Kelly. “The disassembly phase didn’t take that much time, the metal phase went very quickly, and the assembly phase went very quickly, too! The net result was that we sold one aircraft in 23 days and the other in 24 days,” Kelly noted.

“The birds were in good shape when we got them, and they had very little corrosion,” said team member Gerald Swope. “The team pulled together; we had a job to do and that job is to support the fleet.”

“But the real reason why we got the aircraft in and out so quickly was by improving the process artisans worked together as a team. During lulls between phases of the inspections, machinists did mechanic work, electricians did mechanic work, mechanics performed metalwork, and metal smiths did mechanic work as required,” said Kelly. “We had no work slowdowns or stoppages. Someone was always working on the jets due to the versatility of the artisans.”

Lt. Col. Kevin Iams, commanding officer of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 at Miramar, visited the team and personally thanked the members for their hard work and cooperation in returning the jets to the fleet in record time. Iams said, “Once again faced with a seemingly impossible task, NADEP North Island came through.”

“My personal thanks for the outstanding support you provided to prepare one of our squadrons for deployment. Twelve F/A-18D’s left on their journey to support operations in the war on terrorism,” said Maj. Roy Lawrence with the Third Marine Aircraft Wing at Miramar, in an email. “This task could not have happened without the flexibility, dedication, and professionalism displayed by Commander Naval Air Forces and the Depot teams at both Miramar and North Island. From the two PMI 2’s that were completed in record time to the large number of P&E repairs, the team went above and beyond to insure that all support requirements were met to ready the unit.”

Shawn Delaware, the F/A-18 Program manager, agreed that Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., and Miramar have produced the fastest PMI-2 on record. These two aircraft have added to the totals.

NAVAIR provides cost-wise readiness and dominant maritime combat power to make a great Navy and Marine Corps team better.

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