"Now it's time to put some warheads on some foreheads!" exclaimed Lt. Cdmr. Peter Waters.

Aboard USS Carl Vinson off the Afghanistan coast, Waters had just received an aircraft safety certification over a holiday weekend in less than six hours from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). He deemed the response "headspinning."

Waters needed official assurance that using the Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) would be safe for the ship's F/A-18 squadrons in an Enduring Freedom mission.

From Waters' recent experience at U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Md., he knew to call NAVAIR to certify the airworthiness and safety of loading weapons on Navy aircraft.

What he didn't know was that NAVAIR recently established a fleet response center with a toll-free number, 877-41-TOUCH (press option 2), open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The NAVAIR Response Center provides a single point of entry for Navy personnel worldwide that need naval aviation information and assistance from the shore-based infrastructure. With a central access number, the response center augments traditional communications between fleet aviation units, the aviation chain of command, and shore-side aviation support.

Although Waters didn't know about the response center, he had a friend from Test Pilot School, classmate Jessica Wilt. In addition to being a recent TPS graduate, Wilt is also a flight dynamics engineer on NAVAIR's F/A-18 team. She directed Waters to the right starting point when he called from the Afghanistan coast that day. That right place started with NAVAIR's Airworthiness Office.

"Half a dozen engineers met at the office, ironically on Veterans Day, to collect and analyze all the data," explained Bob Hanley, the NAVAIR Airworthiness Office deputy. "We teleconferenced with other NAVAIR engineers and leaders and even with Carl Vinson a few times, and we got the certification to the fleet in a matter of hours."

"Knowing that your work has an impact down the road is a good feeling," Hanley said. "It's really satisfying when the product you deliver, in this case a flight clearance, is used immediately after receipt."

Wilt also worked on the certification that day, and she agreed.

"Knowing that I helped the fleet was extremely rewarding," she relayed. "It doesn't get much better than a teleconference with an air wing in theater on a carrier and within hours giving them the answer they need to go do their job!"

By 7 p.m. an electronic copy of the flight certification reached the Naval Air Forces Pacific Command Duty Office to be readdressed to fleet squadrons. Now the fleet could load the JSOW into the next deck cycle.

NAVAIR continues to provide real-time support to Combined Task Force 50 and Enduring Freedom. For naval aviation support, contact the NAVAIR Response Center toll-free at 877-418-6824, option 2.