NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER WEAPONS DIVISION, CHINA LAKE, Calif. -- It’s not every day that Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) employees get a chance to see the impact their work in acquisition and research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) has on the fleet, but recently, 14 of them got to do just that.

The group — comprised of logisticians, configuration and data managers, engineers and office managers — traveled to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, California, June 9, and Naval Air Station North Island, California, June 10, to visit Marine Air Logistics Squadron 11 (MALS-11) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). The trip was coordinated to encourage a better understanding of weapons maintenance issues between the acquisition/RDT&E community and fleet personnel.

“It was great to witness how our work here supports the end users,” said Suzanne Bachman, a NAWCWD office manager who supports the fleet weapons support team.

The tours, arranged by NAWCWD’s Logistics and Industrial Operations competency (AIR 6.0), allowed the group to witness weapons maintenance, see how an M61A1 gun is serviced and become familiar with the cockpit of an F/A-18 Hornet, among other things. The employees also got to hear from the members of the fleet that they are directly supporting.

“Not everyone can solve our problems here at Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 101 and we appreciate what NAVAIR does for us, and conversely, we are here to help if you all need anything,” said Maj. David King, a maintenance officer with the VMFAT 101 Sharpshooters. King, a Marine who has completed a tour with NAVAIR, said that “everyone should have the opportunity to complete one tour with the command.”

The second day of the tour was spent aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, where the group was introduced to ordnance safety aboard the ship.

“Up here, we have what you could call ‘controlled chaos,’” said Chief Petty Officer Helvin Gomez, an aviation ordnanceman on CVN 76. “You have to know what you’re doing up here, or lives can be lost.” Gomez also explained the meaning of the different colored lines marked on the deck.

In all, the group agreed that the trip was a great opportunity to see how their work affects the fleet.

“I enjoyed having direct access to each area that we toured,” said Richard Moore, a NAWCWD Harpoon deputy assistant program manager for logistics. “Being able to see, touch, and feel brought a lot of things full circle for me.”