By Wayne Booth
Training Specialist

Employees at NADEP Cherry Point work hard every day to support the fleet. Some work with the Marines and sailors of the fleet first hand. Fleet training instructors not only put their technical skills to the test each day, but they also volunteer to teach those skills to the fleet through the NAVAIR Aviation Maintenance Training Program. They must be highly skilled in their trade, extremely motivated and very influential. The ideals that the students take with them to the fleet are not only an imprint of the instructor, but also a direct reflection of NADEP Cherry Point. The instructors at our depot have definitely made quite an impression with the fleet. They have recently received informal recognition awards and also letters of appreciation from Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann, the assistant commander for logistics (AIR 3.0).

The NAVAIR Aviation Maintenance Training Program provides skills to technicians maintaining and supporting the life of the Navy’s aircraft weapon systems and support equipment. These courses emphasize troubleshooting, alignment and bench work on various accessories and components.

Aviation Welding, Aircraft Corrosion Control, Aircraft Paint Touch-up and Markings, Radome and Fiberglass Repair, and Non-Destructive Inspection Technician Recertification are the courses from the program that are taught right here in our own depot. More than 300 Marines, sailors, soldiers and DOD civilians attend these courses each year. These students take what they have learned in the school and implement it into the fleet. This helps to meet the continuously increasing need for a highly trained workforce.

-30-

Cutline: Marine students practice masking letters in the depot’s Aircraft Paint Touch-Up and Markings class. More than 300 Marines, sailors, soldiers and DOD civilians attend a wide array of courses here at the NADEP through the NAVAIR Aviation Maintenance Training Program. (Photo by Dykie Whitfield)