FLEET READINESS CENTER WESTERN PACIFIC, NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI, Japan – Members of Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific (FRCWP) Operations Department In Service Repair (ISR) team recently received kudos from the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 commander for its performance during a nine-month deployment aboard USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77).

In an email message to Cmdr. Mark Nieto, who was serving as the FRCWP commanding officer during the mission, Capt. Daniel Cheever, CVW-8 commander, air group (CAG) wrote that the support provided by the ISR team was the “best I've ever seen!” Cheever went on to say “the entire team knocked it out of the park” and without the team, the ship “would not have been as successful in combat!”

During the deployment last fall, CVN 77 was ordered to the Arabian Gulf to protect U.S. interests in response to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL or ISIS) occupation of several major cities in the region. Over the next few weeks, F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets were launched from CVN 77’s decks to strike targets in Iraq and Syria.

Cheever’s praise lets the FRC members know they are making a difference, Nieto said.

“Receiving official command-level awards from the chain of command is great but receiving messages from deployed Marine Aircraft Group and Carrier Air Wings commanding officers like the one from CVW-8 CAG (onboard USS George H.W. Bush) to our ISR team mean the most,” Nieto said.

The mission of the ISR team is to provide on-board maintenance abroad that would otherwise be performed at a Continental U.S. (CONUS) land-based Fleet Readiness Center (FRC). During the deployment, the ISR team repaired, supported and completed many tasks that strengthened the Air Wing’s readiness, to include work on F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, F/A-18 C/D Legacy Hornets, MH-60R/S helicopters, E-2C Hawkeye and EA-6B Prowlers.

“We were the first team to successfully comply with an Accessory Bulletin for the 1455 Outer Wing Panel Spar Repair, while forward deployed,” said Marvin Thiele, an aircraft planner and estimator with the ISR team. The team removed and replaced severed doors on three different F/A-18C Hornets, and one of those included a complete fit, drill up and installation of a door that would normally be repaired at a CONUS FRC facility. The FRCWP team was also on hand to provide support for the initial repairs for crack issues with the F/A-18 Super Hornets.

“We removed and replaced the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Accumulator Brackets on two Super Hornets,” Thiele said. “These were the first ones found cracked in the fleet, and with no parts available, we had to obtain the brackets from the Boeing aircraft production line. This was teamwork in action.”

Accolades aside, the team said the deployment was simply business as usual.

“This was just another routine deployment for us,” Thiele said. “But with the age of the EA-6B Prowlers and F/A-18 Legacy Hornets onboard, we had a few more tasking requirements than a ‘normal’ deployment. We are a group of proud Americans who take pride in our work and share the extreme sacrifices that our active-duty brethren endure. Most all team members are prior service [members] who just want to give back.”

In addition to Thiele, the FRCWP team for the mission aboard USS George H.W. Bush included Bill Houk, an aircraft planner and estimator; structural, sheet-metal mechanics Tim Kennedy, Virgil Antolin, Renato Bolo, Vince Joco, Bob Tou, Byron Boman and Alex Monge; Joe Hankins, aviation machinist work leader; Eric Saunter and Eric Weissinger, aviation machinists; Dave Parrish, aircraft mechanic work leader; Matt Mendiola, Jason Branson, Frank Wuttke and Chad Myers, aircraft mechanics; and Dan Lee, aircraft evaluator and estimator/canopy mapper on the Super Hornet.

George H.W. Bush completed its deployment and returned to its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, in November. Meanwhile, FRCWP leaders said the organization will remain engaged supporting deployed units around the globe.