CHERRY POINT, N.C. -- December 16th will mark the Naval Aviation Depot's 56th birthday. Born out of wartime necessity, the depot was officially dedicated on this date in 1943. Commissioned as the Assembly and Repair Department, it provided distinguished and commendable service to the nation during the final years of World War II. After World War II, the Assembly and Repair Department's name was changed to the Overhaul and Repair Department.

Throughout the '50s, the O&R Department continued to grow, adding hangar and shop space and controlled environment rework facilities. It fast became one of the world’s most advanced aviation rework industrial complexes.

In April 1967, the O&R was detached from the Marine Corps Air Station and commissioned as the Naval Air Rework Facility, a separate command of the Naval Air Systems Command.

In 1968, the facility ranked as the second largest industrial plant in North Carolina. It consisted of 46 buildings encompassing 91 acres.

In the '70s, the AV-8A Harrier and its associated Pegasus F402 engine became one of the facility’s newest programs. Much of the tooling and equipment for this program was designed and manufactured here at Cherry Point.

The '80s brought numerous changes to the facility. A new infrared light beam communication system was installed on the station that connected the station with the NARF; an automated warehouse system (ASKARS) made tracking of components easier; the Production Support Facility was added; the first AV-8B was worked; the AV-8 Power Check Facility was opened; a Plating Shop, V-STOL building, jet engine test cell, GSE tension structure, and the engine blade rework building were added making the '80s a decade of tremendous growth.

The facility was renamed the Naval Aviation Depot in March 1987.

During the '90s, the depot has continued to show its pride and dedication in serving the Fleet. For example, the NADEP assisted in Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm by providing front line field teams on site in Saudi Arabia and other deployments, and engines, components, aircraft, ground support equipment and squadron support. Also, many employees were deployed as reservists.

NADEP today

Over the years, the NADEP has evolved into a modern industrial complex. The depot is spread across 144.6 acres with 1.8 million square feet of floor space. It has an estimated replacement value of equipment and buildings at $800 million.

The depot workload includes the maintenance and repair of a variety of aircraft and primary aircraft engine systems. The depot is the only U.S. repair site for the AV-8B Harrier, the H-46 Sea Knight and the H-53 Sea Stallion. Ite also maintains and repairs the F-4 Phantom aircraft and the Air Force's MH-53J Pave Low helicopter. In addition, the depot provides engineering and logistics support for all types of Navy helicopters.

The depot's engineers and logisticians have worked closely with prime contractors for the V-22 Osprey to establish the logistics and maintenance support requirements for the medium lift transport aircraft. The depot has also been named repair point and prospective cognizant field activity for the joint-service V-22 Osprey with capabilities to repair thousands of types of aircraft components for more than 100 types, models and series of aircraft.

Our customers include all U.S. military services, other federal agencies and more than 20 foreign countries.

Depot personnel are always on call to meet the immediate needs of fleet units around the world; services they provide include emergency field team repairs, field team modifications, fleet training, customer service and engineering support. When they are needed, these field teams can be deployed quickly to almost any location around the globe.

The NADEP today as a Competency Aligned Organization uses state-of-the-art business management tools in its operations. These include: Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP) II in a remanufacturing environment, Business Process Reengineering (BPR), critical path modeling, earned value performance monitoring and an enterprise information system. On Nov. 19, NADEP Cherry Point achieved a highly significant business milestone. The depot became the first full Department of Defense industrial facility to be awarded the coveted International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9002 Registration.

The depot is one of three naval aviation depots and the only one under the command of Marine Corps officers. With approximately 3,600 employees, NADEP Cherry Point is North Carolina’s largest single-sited industrial employer east of Interstate 95. Its annual payroll exceeds $220 million, making the depot a key player in Eastern North Carolina’s economy.

If history is any indication, as the NADEP enters the new millennium, it stands ready with the same steadfast constancy of purpose and mission of "Service to the Fleet" that it was founded on nearly 60 years ago.